Alfredo sauce without the dairy

Learn how to create the most delectable 20-minute Easy Vegan Dairy-free Alfredo that will astound your visitors and surprise them with the fact that it is dairy-free and nutritious! Rich, creamy, delectable, and made with only 7 ingredients and no butter or oil!

Peas and carrots in a creamy vegan alfredo sauce

ALFREDO WITHOUT THE DAIRY
Impromptu vegan recipes may produce some of the most delicious vegan dishes. This is one of such recipes. I had intended to make my Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo for supper one night, but I discovered I was short of cashews (gasp!) and lemon juice.

So I decided to just toss some things together and make do with what I had on hand, and holy moly, this one ended up equally as creamy and delicious. I defy you to make this for someone and tell me they don’t like it (don’t tell them it’s not made with butter or cream). Despite the fact that I like my original.

Alfredo sauce on a white dish with peas and carrots on a wooden board
HOW TO MAKE ALFREDO WITHOUT THE MILK
To prepare this vegan alfredo, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

butter made from raw cashews (I make my own because store-bought tends to be roasted and flavored with oil, which won’t work.)
brown rice flour

veggie broth

garlic powder,

apple cider vinegar,

and dried Italian herbs
yeast for nutrition

Vegan Alfredo sauce in a pan
To begin, combine the cashew butter, brown rice flour, apple cider vinegar, Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, and salt in a blender and mix until smooth. I made advantage of my Vitamix.

When you put them in a skillet, they’ll be extremely thin (like water), but after a few minutes of cooking, they’ll come out creamy and delicious like this.

This dairy-free alfredo sauce comes ready in under 20 minutes, and I’m not joking. From start to finish, the pasta took exactly 19 minutes, while the sauce took just 12-15 minutes. There’s no vegan alfredo that’s easier to make!

This is also ideal for those without high-powered blenders, which are required for raw cashews in a variety of sauces.

Close-up of fettucini alfredo with vegan alfredo sauce in a bowl

This dairy-free, gluten-free, and oil-free alfredo sauce is delicious and nutritious. There are only eight ingredients (including salt) in this dish.

Alfredo sauce without the dairy
Learn how to create the most delectable 20-minute Easy Vegan Dairy-free Alfredo that will astound your visitors and surprise them with the fact that it is dairy-free and nutritious! Rich, creamy, delectable, and made with only 7 ingredients and no butter or oil!

THE PASTA’S INGREDIENTS
a 14-ounce bag of pasta of your choosing
ALFREDO SAUCE (1/2 teaspoon salt)

2 cups (480g) low-sodium vegetable broth, well-flavored (SEE NOTE)
1/4 cup (64g) RAW cashew butter with no additional oils or salt (I prepare my own because raw oil-free cashew butter is very hard to get in shops.)
apple cider vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons (5-10g) (I find this can really vary depending on brand of broth used, start with none or 1 teaspoon at first.)
2 tblsp. nutritious yeast (16 g) (Highly recommend the unfortified Sari brand-no weird vitamin taste)
a quarter-cup (20g) flour made from brown rice
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt, fine
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1 tsp. Italian spices

optional: any vegetables you’d want to include
NOTE
If you want to use raw cashews instead of cashew butter, use the same amount of weight, which is about a scant 1/2 cup. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, soak them in a dish of water overnight, then drain and rinse. Otherwise, the finished product would be gritty rather than creamy. When working with soaked cashews, a food processor is typically preferable to a weak blender.

UPDATE

Both are quite tasty. If you’re not using nutritional yeast, increase the garlic powder slightly and add a teaspoon of onion powder.
INSTRUCTIONS

To have this ready in 20 minutes, carefully follow each step. Prior to making the sauce, you must first prepare the pasta. In a big saucepan, add 12 cups of boiling hot water and cover (it will come to a boil faster). Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. It took around 10 minutes for mine to come to a boil (yours may be faster).

When the water is boiling, add the pasta and salt and swirl briskly to loosen it up. The salt is necessary because it gives the pasta its taste. Cook for 9 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente. Depending on the pasta you choose, yours will be different.
While the water is coming to a boil, combine all of the “alfredo sauce” components in a blender, starting with 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Brands of broth vary widely in flavor, and I’ve found that depending on the type, I may only need 1 teaspoon of vinegar or none at all. Blend, then taste and make your decision. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. It will be quite runny at first, but don’t panic; it will thicken dramatically as it cooks.
Check to check whether your water has started to boil.

In a large skillet, cook the sauce over high heat. When it begins to bubble all over, reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. To keep the flour from clumping, keep whisking over the bottom and edges of the pan. Don’t turn your back on it! It’s important not to overcook it since it will thicken significantly as it cools. If desired, add any vegetables. I occasionally add frozen peas and carrots to the sauce and let them boil for a minute.

Drain and rinse the pasta with water to halt the cooking process. Because brown rice pasta can stick a lot, I make sure to rinse it thoroughly before serving. You don’t need to rinse gluten pasta if you’re using ordinary gluten pasta. Place on a platter, then top with the sauce and more dried Italian herbs, red pepper flakes, or whatever else you desire.