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This is the creamiest, easiest, and BEST Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce with NO cashews. A bold statement, I know. But you won’t even believe that this Fettuccine Alfredo is vegan, dairy-free, and plant-based.
This sauce is made without coconut milk, cauliflower, cashew cream, or dairy-based heavy cream and is ready in just under 30 minutes. If you’d like a pasta sauce made with cashews…check out my vegan cashew cream pasta or the cashew version of my vegan carbonara!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Emily’s Recipe Notes:
- Flavor: A super tasty, slightly cheesy, velvety sauce that tastes like the real thing.
- Texture: This vegan Alfredo sauce has an unbelievably creamy texture and I promise you won’t be able to tell it is dairy free!
- Difficulty: This recipe uses minimal equipment, no need for a high powered blender or food processor- you only need 2 pots!
- Ingredients: No raw cashews or cauliflower needed here… just vegan versions of traditional Alfredo sauce ingredients like plant-based butter, plant milk, and vegan parmesan cheese (the secret ingredient!).
- Time: Quick and easy- the sauce and the fettuccine are ready to eat in under 30 minutes.
Why We Love This Pasta Sauce: My husband challenged me to make an Alfredo sauce as good as Olive Garden’s (his favorite pasta and favorite traditional Alfredo sauce). And thus, this easy vegan pasta dish was born. The best part about this Alfredo? It’s ready in under 30 minutes, making it an amazing weeknight meal. Or it could even be an easy date night dinner!
Ingredients:
This dairy-free Alfredo sauce only has 6 ingredients (not including salt & black pepper!). They are:
- Vegan Butter, I’m using Country Crock Plant Butter
- Olive Oil
- All Purpose Flour
- Dairy Free Milk, unsweetened & unflavored (I like oat milk or almond milk)
- Violife Parmesan Cheese, or another vegan Parmesan
- Fresh Garlic
The Best Plant Milk for Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Every non-dairy milk has its pros and cons. For this vegan fettuccine Alfredo, I prefer to use either unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened oat milk.
⭐️ I don’t recommend using plant milk with strong flavors, like coconut milk. ⭐️
Keep in mind that each milk has a different consistency and water content, so the sauce may need to simmer slightly longer to thicken or may need a little extra flour depending on the specific brand or type you use.
Add-Ins
- Lemon Juice: Add a squeeze of zesty lemon at the end to help lighten up the dish.
- Nutritional Yeast: While I don’t think this sauce needs any other flavorings, you could definitely add in some nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.
- More Garlic: To make garlic Alfredo sauce.
Helpful Equipment
- Small Saucepan or Pot: for making the alfredo sauce
- Large Pot: to boil the pasta
- Strainer: to strain the pasta
Step-by-step instructions
*Video Tutorial is Above the Recipe Card Below*
STEP 1: Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta per the package’s instructions until al dente.
STEP 2: Melt the vegan plant butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add in the grated garlic clove and cook for a minute.
STEP 3: Once warm, whisk in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until completely dissolved. The mixture should begin to thicken.
STEP 4: Add in the dairy free milk, 1 cup at a time whisking constantly to prevent any clumps from forming.
STEP 5: Reduce the heat and let the sauce thicken. Then, stir in the vegan parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper.
STEP 6: Pour this creamy vegan Alfredo sauce on the cooked pasta and toss to combine.
Serving the Vegan Alfredo
This vegan alfredo sauce is best served warm and poured over Fettuccine pasta. I like to garnish the dish with fresh chopped basil, salt & pepper, and a little more fresh grated vegan Parmesan. This is truly the creamiest vegan alfredo that I’ve ever had and it’s completely omnivore approved.
You can serve this vegan alfredo pasta with plant-based chicken, roasted mushrooms, or a side salad. Below are a few vegan recipes this dish would pair well with:
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Blackened Vegan Chicken
- Flavorful Baked Tofu
- Crispy Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts
- Simple Lemon Arugula Salad
- Basil Balsamic Tofu
Storage Tips
This pasta is best served fresh, however, it can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days once the sauce has been tossed with the cooked pasta. Keep the pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. The sauce will absorb into the pasta while it’s stored, so it won’t be as creamy the next day.
For best results, store the vegan alfredo sauce separately from the cooked pasta.
When stored separately in an airtight container, the leftover sauce will last up to one week.
Helpful Tips For The BEST Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Simmer the sauce until it thickens and easily coats the back of a spoon: Increase the heat if it looks like the sauce isn’t thickening enough.
- Use unflavored and unsweetened plant milk: I don’t recommend using coconut milk in this recipe.
- Pick a vegan parmesan cheese that you enjoy the taste of: My favorites are Violife Vegan Parmesan and Trader Joe’s Vegan Parmesan Shreds.
- Remember the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools: And as it’s mixed with the pasta!
these create the best flavor & texture!
FAQ
This creamy vegan Alfredo sauce is similar to a Béchamel sauce (or also known as a vegan white sauce). The first step in making the sauce is to make a roux.
A roux is a mixture of a fat and flour made on the stove top that is used to thicken up sauces.
The fat used in this recipe is vegan butter (Country Crock Plant Butter) and olive oil. The vegan butter adds a rich saltiness that balances the flavor the olive oil provides. Plant milk replaces heavy cream in the recipe. I recommend extra creamy oat milk.
Once you add olive oil and vegan butter to the pan, you’ll want to add in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until completely dissolved and the mixture begins to thicken. Try not to add all the flour at once, as this will create more lumps.
Similarly, add in the oat milk 1 cup at a time. You’ll also want to whisk constantly to prevent any clumps from forming.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Vegan Baked Feta Pasta
- Vegan Tomato Pasta Bake (No Boil)
- Creamy Lemon Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
- Cashew Cream Pasta Sauce
- One Pot Vegetable Tomato Pasta
Video tutorial:
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The Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce (No Cashews!)
Rate this RecipeIngredients
Alfredo Sauce
- 6 tbsp salted vegan butter, 84g, like Violife or Country Crock Plant Butter
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 28g
- ½ tsp fresh grated garlic, about 1 clove
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour, 45g
- 3 cups dairy-free milk, unsweetened & unflavored like extra creamy oat milk or almond milk (see notes for nut-free options)
- ¾ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup grated Violife Parmesan Cheese, 32g, or other vegan parmesan like Trader Joe’s
Pasta
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- Chopped fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and cook the pasta per the package’s instructions until al dente. While the pasta starts cooking, begin the sauce.1 lb fettuccine pasta
- Melt the vegan plant butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add in the grated garlic and cook for a minute.6 tbsp salted vegan butter, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, ½ tsp fresh grated garlic
- Once warm, whisk in the all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until completely dissolved and the mixture begins to thicken.6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Add in the dairy free milk, 1 cup at a time whisking constantly to prevent any clumps from forming.3 cups dairy-free milk
- Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture begins to bubble and to thicken. The sauce should easily coat the back of a spoon when done. It will continue to thicken as it cools and as it is mixed with the pasta.
- Stir in the grated vegan Parmesan, salt, and black pepper.¾ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp black pepper, 1 cup grated Violife Parmesan Cheese
- When finished cooking, drain your pasta and add it back into the large pot.
- Pour the vegan Alfredo sauce onto the pasta and toss to combine. It should thicken more as it's heated.
- Serve warm and garnish with more grated vegan parmesan, basil, and any additional salt or pepper to taste!Chopped fresh basil for garnish
Video
Recipe notes
- It will appear that there is a lot of sauce prior to mixing it in with the pasta. This is okay! Once combined with the pasta, the sauce will thicken more and the pasta will absorb some of it.
- If you’d like to make the sauce nut-free you can use unsweetened Soy Milk, Rice Milk, or Oat Milk.
Did You Make This?
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I could seriously cry from relief! Since having to go dairy free, I’ve tried all the vegan cheese sauces out there. Gag. I can’t even look at cashews anymore. This recipe finally hit the spot! I didn’t have any Parmesan on hand, so used 1/2 cup nutritional yeast instead. Also added some fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon), and topped it with roasted red peppers! Yum.
We also used the leftover sauce to top off some potatoes a few nights later, and it was delicious as well!
My next venture is to blend up some roasted red peppers and mix them in with the sauce. Maybe use it as a base for pizza, since I can’t have tomatoes 🙂
This is VERY good! I don’t think I’ve had alfredo sauce this good since I last had Olive Garden fettucine alfredo years ago. :’) THANK YOU!
I’m so glad to hear that! My husband loves the Olive Garden Alfredo, so I tried to make this recipe as close to it as possible 🙂
I haven’t actually made it yet because I’m waiting for my hubby to come home with a couple ingredients I need. I love how the instructions are very simple. I’m having to make more homemade food since my son has food allergies. My question is how long will it keep in the fridge. Since I only need one serving, I won’t use the whole batch. Anyway, thank you so much for sharing. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it! 😁