Name: Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 23 min
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 4 garlic cloves; 1 small head cauliflower (1 1/2 to 2 pounds), enough for 6 cups florets; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup raw unsalted cashews; 2 cups vegetable broth; 1/8 teaspoon onion powder; 1/8 + 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; Pinch nutmeg; 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Here’s the creamiest, best vegan alfredo sauce! It’s easy to make and stars nutrient-rich cauliflower and protein-packed cashews.

Do you eat whole food plant based (WFPB), but miss the creaminess of alfredo sauce? If so, this recipe is for you! More people than usual have been telling us lately that they’re trying to eat plant based more often. In fact, per the New York Times 40% of Americans want to eat more plant based foods. WOW! Alex and I have been eating mainly plant based for years, and we can confirm: it’s an incredibly delicious and energizing way to eat. This vegan alfredo sauce recipe is the perfect example. It’s creamy and luscious, yet full of nutrient-rich cauliflower and protein-packed cashews. Ready to get cooking?

What’s in this vegan alfredo sauce?

There are lots of ways to make a vegan alfredo sauce. The more you eat vegan recipes, the more tricks you’ll learn! This sauce uses a couple tricks to make a creamy white sauce that tricks your brain into thinking it’s alfredo sauce. Here’s what we’ve got:

Cauliflower: This white powerhouse vegetable provides the body of the sauce. It’s full of vitamin C and fiber (see below for more on nutrition).
Cashews: These nuts are packed with plant based protein and make a magical creamy body that feels just like dairy (see below for more recipes).
Garlic: A key to making vegan recipes taste savory and meaty: garlic! We use it in so many of our recipes, we’ve lost count…
Olive oil: It’s used to saute the garlic and cauliflower, and adds a little richness.
Spices: Garlic powder, black pepper and a little nutmeg round out the spices here.

Creamy cauliflower sauce — Try this vegan alfredo sauce on our Creamy Cavatappi!

What people are saying

Alex and I sent this recipe to some friends and family who are close enough to us that they tell us their true opinion! Here’s what they had to say about this vegan alfredo sauce:

“This is the best vegan alfredo sauce! It’s my new go-to. It had just the right amount of creaminess and the seasoning was on point! Some recipes say the sauce is creamy and it comes out a little runny. This one is actually creamy!” -Maeghan
“YUM! I love it! It’s super easy to make. I made it again 2 days later!” -Lisa

It’s also a gluten-free alfredo sauce!

Another advantage to this vegan alfredo sauce is that it’s gluten-free as well! Many alfredo sauce recipes have flour because it’s used to make the “roux” that thickens the sauce. Since this one uses cashews, it makes it gluten-free as well.

How to make the sauce: simmer then blend!

This vegan alfredo recipe is so easy to make! Here are the basic steps you’ll follow (see below for the entire recipe):

Simmer: Saute the garlic, cashews, and cauliflower, then add the veggie broth and spices. Simmer until the cauliflower and cashews are tender (this part takes 12 to 13 minutes).
Blend! Throw it all in a blender and blend until creamy!

For the blending, you’ll want a good quality blender. If you don’t have one, you may want to invest in one (a friend of mine had one that was so bad, you didn’t even have to put the top on when you blended!). Alex and I have a high speed blender (we use this Vitamix blender), and it makes quick work of this vegan alfredo sauce.

How much does this vegan alfredo sauce make?

This vegan alfredo sauce makes 6 cups total. Alex and I measured, and for our taste we liked using about 5 cups of alfredo sauce for 1 pound of pasta. So, if you make fettuccine alfredo with a pound you’ll have about 1 cup left over. Usually we calculate that 1 pound of pasta is 8 modest servings, so that would be just over ½ cup sauce per serving of pasta. Of course, you can use as much as you’d like on a serving!

Vegan fettucine alfredo — Try it on our vegan fettucine alfredo!

Top vegan recipes that are creamy with cashews!

You’ll be amazed at how cashews blend into a rich, creamy body for this vegan alfredo sauce! Unless of course, you already know this trick: it’s pretty widely used in vegan recipes. Alex and I use it often in our plant based recipes here on A Couple Cooks! Here are some of our favorite recipes that also use cashews to make them creamy without the use of dairy:

Best Wild Rice Soup This one is a fan favorite! It’s impossibly creamy, packed with flavor and full of tender veggies and hearty rice. Everyone asks for the recipe—it’s that good.
Vegan Corn Chowder You’ll never believe this creamy soup is vegan: it has the perfect velvety texture and is full of flavor.
Cashew Cream Cashew cream is the vegan equivalent for sour cream or mayo: and it takes only 5 minutes of hands on time.
Creamy Cilantro Sauce This cilantro sauce is creamy, tangy, savory, sweet, and totally delicious! It’s plant-based and perfect for dolloping on baked potatoes and tacos.
Best No Mayo Potato Salad This may be the best healthy potato salad you’ve ever had: it tastes just like classic picnic potato salad!
Vegan Nacho Cheese Basically vegan queso, this cashew cheese sauce recipe is ultra simple and totally creamy: with no cheese!

Cauliflower nutrition & recipes

Cauliflower is one of the 20 best vegetables you can eat! Cauliflower has only 25 calories per cup of florets, making it a low-calorie way to get vitamins and nutrients into your diet. It’s high in vitamin C, potassium and omega 3’s. It’s also is high in fiber (1 cup has about 10% of your daily needs).

Are you searching for the most delicious cauliflower recipes on the internet? You’re in luck: we’ve compiled our Top Cauliflower Recipes that highlight the glamorous vegetable that it is.

This vegan alfredo sauce recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.