This dairy free Alfredo sauce recipe is the most luscious emulsion made with a base of cashews and olive oil packed with cheesy umami flavor from miso and nutritional yeast. Superbly creamy, delicious but good for you and cholesterol free, this is the best dairy free + gluten free rendition of the cult Italian classic everyone is sure to love. Mangia!

Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce

Enjoy your fettuccine Alfredo pasta again in all its delicious splendor and creaminess but free of dairy allergies, inflammation, saturated fat and cholesterol. This Alfredo sauce from scratch is fast and easy to make but incredibly delicious and guaranteed to give the original recipe a run for its money. The best most delicious vegan rendition of the cult Italian classic cream sauce everyone is sure to love.

Useful Ingredient Notes

Cashews – This is where the creaminess factor comes from. You’ll want raw pieces of any size that will be soaked in hot boiling water for 20 minutes or so. This process will soften the nuts but also plump them with extra moisture which will contribute to the smoothness and creaminess of the sauce. This is one place where I highly suggest soaking the nuts even if you have a Vitamix blender, this small step makes a huge difference between creamy and luscious.
Nutritional Yeast – Adds cheesy savory flavor and bonus points for being packed with good for you B vitamins.
Miso Paste – For umami, saltiness and just overall complex flavor. You want to use a white miso for color and you can choose between chickpea or soy, whichever you have in the fridge. Don’t use red miso as it will change the color of the sauce and you really want to stay true to the gorgeous esthetics of a classic Alfredo here, I swear colors taste different.
Garlic – I find 2 large cloves is just the perfect amount here, you can adapt to your taste buds with more or less as you go. You’ll want to grate them first so there’s no chance of any tiny piece ending up in the sauce. The garlic has to work its flavor magic without overpowering the final flavor profile and ideally without anyone really thinking there’s definitely garlic in there. Unless of course you just want it more garlicky, I support you wild child!
Lemon – Freshly squeezed and don’t skip it. It’s important to balance the umami flavor profile.
Olive Oil – Extra virgin cold pressed is the best, same as you would use in a salad dressing. I find 2 to 3 tablespoons is enough to create the rich emulsion I’m after; as always you are free to go heavier with this liquid gold for a richer final texture and flavor.
Purified Water – For blending all the sauce ingredients, you want a neutral profile here so please do not use any store bought plant milk of any kind. Cashews are the base in this sauce and when blended with water it basically yields the richest creamiest whole nut milk without any additives, gums, flavorings of any kind. It’s just like using whole milk but without the dairy and cholesterol.
Salt – Season to taste with a fine sea salt, I only used 1/2 teaspoon because there’s plenty of savoriness already from the miso and nutritional yeast. Adapt to your taste buds.

Serving + Storage

Noodles – Traditionally Alfredo sauce is served with flat and narrow fettuccine noodles and finished with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Pappardelle and tagliatelle which are both flat but wider make great substitutes if need be. Only coat as many noodles in the sauce as you plan to eat at once. I love to top it with crispy roasted Italian sausage tofu crumbles or a sprinkling of homemade Italian breadcrumbs for crunch.
Leftovers – Store any leftover sauce separate from the pasta up to 5 days. The sauce will thicken as it sits in the refrigerator but will loosen up when reheated. You might need to add a splash of water to thin it out and if desired you can run it through the blender again to re-emulsify it.

Italian Pasta Recipes

how to make dairy free Alfredo pasta sauce

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