Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe: How to Make Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Vegan alfredo sauce is a plant-based take on traditional Italian alfredo sauce, a rich cheese sauce typically served with fettuccine pasta. The non-vegan version is typically made with butter, parmesan cheese, and sometimes heavy cream. Vegan versions of alfredo sauce recreate the texture and flavors of alfredo cheese sauce without the use of animal-based ingredients, including dairy. Instead, vegan cooks rely on ingredients like nutritional yeast, cashews, and miso paste.

Alfredo is inspired by the creamy sauce served in the 1920s at the famous Roman restaurant Alfredo alla Scrofa. Their fettuccine Alfredo was made with unsalted butter and aged Parmigiano-Reggiano mixed directly with hot, cooked pasta. The warm pasta water surrounding the strands of fettuccine is emulsified with the butter and cheese to coat the pasta, in a similar fashion to cacio e pepe.

Cooks in the United States experimented with the original Alfredo recipe, thickening their sauces with cream cheese, low-moisture mozzarella, or a roux, and flavoring them with minced garlic cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper. These Alfredo sauces were heartier than the original and required less of the expensive Italian cheese than the original recipe called for. While not at all true to the original recipe, American-style Alfredo sauce has its own addictive richness and has become a favorite pasta sauce in its own right.

Start your alfredo sauce with one of these four basic methods. Each relies on a different key ingredient to create a flavorful, creamy sauce.

1. 1. Nuts: Raw cashews and macadamia nuts are often used to make vegan cheese due to their high fat content and mild, nutty flavor. Soaked overnight and blitzed in a high-speed blender with lemon juice, these nuts are transformed into a convincing cheese sauce.
2. 2. Tofu: Blended soft or silken tofu can be incredibly creamy, and it tends to soak up other flavors. Try using a combination of soaked cashews and soft tofu for the best flavor.
3. 3. Cauliflower: Boiled in nut milk and blended into a smooth puree, cauliflower florets can be an excellent base for alfredo sauce.
4. 4. Roux: If you have a nut allergy, make a roux to serve as the creamy base for your vegan alfredo sauce. A roux is a basic sauce made with fat and flour. In this case, you can use vegan butter or your favorite cooking oil. For a gluten-free alternative, swap in your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour, and remember to use gluten-free pasta (made from chickpeas, rice, or quinoa) as well.

Here’s how to make a creamy dairy-free alfredo sauce that’s just as delicious as the real thing, and fast enough for a weeknight.

1. 1. Use your pasta water. If you’re serving your vegan alfredo sauce with pasta, don’t dump the boiling water when your fettuccine is al dente. Pasta water is not only salty, it’s full of starch that can help bind sauces to the pasta. Don’t drain your cooked pasta in a colander: Use tongs to transfer the pasta, dripping with water, directly to a large skillet full of warm alfredo sauce. Toss the pasta using the tongs, adding a little pasta water from the pot if needed.
2. 2. Remove lumps. Nothing ruins a bite of pasta like a bite into a lump of unmixed sauce. If blending your own sauce, make sure the cashews, tofu, or cauliflower is completely blended. If making a roux, whisk thoroughly.
3. 3. Seek out unsweetened non-dairy milk. Many non-dairy milks are sweetened. For this recipe, you’ll want something that pairs well with savory flavors, so choose unsweetened full-fat oat, almond, soy, or coconut milk, and avoid anything vanilla-flavored.
4. 4. Add umami flavors. It’s easy to make a creamy vegan sauce, but to make alfredo sauce, you need to add cheesy flavor. Two of the most popular “secret ingredients” for adding cheesy, umami flavor to vegan dishes are nutritional yeast and miso. Nutritional yeast is high in protein and B12 vitamins and, most importantly, has a yeasty flavor that tastes kind of like cheese. Miso is a fermented soybean paste with a strong umami (savory) flavor. Adding just a small amount to vegan alfredo sauce can provide a big flavor boost.