Creamy, velvety, easy to make, alfredo sauce that’s 100% vegan! PUH-LEEZ tell me this is a real thing in the world? What was that? Oh wait… it is?! OH EM GEE. Friends, you do not want to miss out on this Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce recipe.
This plant-based alfredo sauce is made with 10 simple and natural ingredients including cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and nutritional yeast. That’s right – no processed vegan cream cheese or butter!
Let’s be real for a second, because you knoooow the story about the alfredo sauce at Olive Garden and how it contains a crazy amount of calories and fat and unhealthy animal products.
People order that there, not even knowing that it has more calories than you should eat in one entire day. That’s the way our world is.
But here, I’ve tested this recipe for creamy alfredo sauce using plants only and I am so pleased with the velvety texture that it’s a must for the blog right now.
And I don’t even have a super fancy extra blendy blender. I used my regular ol’ $30 blender I got with my 20% off coupon at Bed & Bath and this sauce came out CREAMY AF ? (and delicious AF, too).
Update: we got a new blender…
In going back through to update our older recipes, I figured I should admit we have upgraded to a serious blender. The $30 blender did the job so there’s nothing wrong if you have that, but our new Vitamix has been amazing. Everything comes out creamier than ever and we absolutely love it!
Perfecting this creamy vegan alfredo sauce recipe:
When thinking of an alfredo recipe, I thought of many different ingredients I could try. I already have a similar recipe for a white wine alfredo which uses cashews and white wine, of course.
This time however, I wanted to make a sauce that doesn’t use any cashews but still has the creaminess of a traditional alfredo sauce.
This creamy AF sauce is made with blended cauliflower. Now I know what you’re thinking, you’ve tried a cauliflower alfredo recipe and the texture was still not right. I’ve done that too! Being honest, I was totally turned off from the cauliflower alfredo trend for quite some time.
Then one day I thought to myself, “Stop with the excuses, girl! Pasta-based is missing a traditional cheesy alfredo sauce! Get on it already!”
So I got to experimenting and testing and eating wayyyy too much pasta then I would care to admit (even for an Italian food blog) then BAM! it was ready. The recipe came out BOMB ? with a few simple ingredients.
I used this vegan alfredo recipe to smother some homemade tortellini. There is nothing like tortellini alfredo with peas. Totally inspired by every tortellini dish I had growing up. You can use it with any type of pasta you want – fettuccine alfredo anyone? Ohhh damn.
Creamy, velvety, easy to make, alfredo sauce that’s 100% vegan!
This plant-based alfredo sauce is made with 10 simple and natural ingredients including cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and nutritional yeast. That’s right – no processed vegan cream cheese or butter!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (separated)
- 2 cloves garlic minced (large cloves)
- 1 bulb shallot thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk*
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper each
-
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Add minced garlic and sliced shallot. Cook until brown and fragrant.
-
Stir in almond milk and vegetable broth. Increase heat and bring to a low boil.
-
Add cauliflower florets, lower heat back to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cauliflower florets are soft.
-
In a blender, add the ingredients from the saucepan, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, another tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend on high until creamy and smooth, about five minutes. Add more vegetable broth or olive oil as needed for the consistency you prefer.
- *Substitute for any unsweetened plant-based milk for a nut-free option
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
I was struggling not to drool just looking at the mouthwatering images! This sauce sounds perfect for any pasta or gnocchi. Thank you so much for sharing.
Cassidy
This just looks dreamy! I’m a sucker for creamy sauces!
Nicole Dawson
Once I started using cauliflower as my cream base for pasta sauce, it’s been my favorite! Plus, we are nut-free also, which makes it even better.
Jasmin | VeeatCookBake
What a great idea to use cauli for cream substitute. Have to try this.
Erin
I’ve been trying to figure out a great vegan alfredo. Can’t wait to try this!
Vivian
Can I substitute the almond milk for soy milk? I like to use soy milk better in my vegan recipes.
pasta-based
Hi Vivian! Yes, you can use soy milk. Just make sure it’s unsweetened plain flavor, not vanilla.
Jennifer
This sounds good, but I don’t use oil at all. I cook the garlic and shallot without it, but will leaving it out at the end mess up the finished product? Any ideas for substitutions?
Thank you so much for the great blog, I just made the sweet potato gnocchi and am planning to make the ravioli very soon!
pasta-based
Hi Jennifer, thank you for the comment. I think you’ll be fine without the oil at the end. It may be a tiny bit less creamy but I don’t think it makes a HUGE difference. If you feel that you need more liquid, you can add some veggie broth instead 🙂 !
tCBN
This is insanely good! The consistency is so velvety and the flavor is spot on. My grocer was out of shallots and I took a gamble and minced some Vidalia onion instead and it was still a 10 out of 10. I’m so glad to have found this recipe. Thank you!!
pasta-based
Thank you for the awesome comment! Made my day. Glad you like the recipe <3 and good to know that vidalia onion works just as well.
Jassica
Hey, PASTA-BASED
This recipe was fantastic! Delicious & quick. My husband wanted Alfredo tonight and we happened to have everything on hand so we whipped up this recipe together in an instant. We’ll be making again! Thanks!!
pasta-based
Thank you! So glad you liked the alfredo, it’s really one of my favorite recipes!
Kristy
Hi! Can this be made ahead of time?
pasta-based
Yep! It should be fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Anna Lemke
Which nutritional yeast was used for this sauce, flakes or powder? Thank you
pasta-based
Flakes
Susan
Thank you. I added some browned crumbles. I’m not a big fan of nutritional yeast. It’s got a distinct taste that comes thru loud and clear. I did enjoy the it though with pasta. Trying to figure out another herb to add to complement the flavor and hide the NY a little more. Maybe a little nutmeg.
Celeste
Oh, I can’t wait to try this. I don’t like nutritional yeast in the new but based cheese recipes because the taste is way too pronounced. Back 20+years ago when there was only soy and rice milk available in stores and all the cheese recipes were basic soy milk and nutritional yeast and seasoning the nutritional yeast blended in with the taste better, which makes me think for people who don’t have problems with soy consumption soy milk would make the taste less pronounced.
Kristan
Hi!
Can cashews be substituted for cauliflower? If yes, what measurement do you suggest?
Thank you!
Cheers,
KS
Stacey
I love this so much. We have it quite often – my question is….can the sauce be frozen?
pasta-based
It sure can be frozen – just make sure you have a container that freezes well. When you’re ready to use, just put the block of frozen sauce into a sauce pan and cover on low heat until it’s back to its delicious liquid form! Thank you for sharing!
Wendy
Would chicken broth instead of vegetable broth change the flavor too much?
pasta-based
Feel free to use your preferred broth, I think that will be fine.
Fran
I just made this and it’s delicious. For those who don’t like nutritional yeast, I recommend a non-fortified brand. That’s what causes the NY not to taste very good. Frontier co-op makes a very good one. There are other brands too.
pasta-based
So happy you liked the Alfredo sauce Fran! Great tip about the nutritional yeast – thank you!
Frank
I made this this evening after making your white bean sauce last evening. It was delicious.
Thank you for being the absolute only one who says how long it might take to produce a creamy smooth sauce in the blender. You suggest “about 5 minutes.” That’s a huge help for this sauce and others.
Thank you for your efforts and for sharing this excellent recipe. The vegan life is made much better with vegan sauces. Thanks again.
Frank
Made this just now. It’s excellent. I sautéed the onion and 4 minced garlic cloves in veggie broth and used less nooch, otherwise I followed the recipe. Very, very pleased with the smooth and creamy result. Too thick or thin, easy fixes. Do not hesitate to try this delicious sauce.
Frank
I made this a week ago and it was fantastic. Creamy smooth and delicious. I sub’d water for the oil but otherwise prepared it as written. And, per your advice in the comments, I froze some while I was away for the week. Thawed it overnite and it tastes exactly the same.
Great recipe, thanks for the work! I really appreciate not using vegan substitutes or nuts.