Vegan Garlic Alfredo Pasta
This Vegan Garlic Alfredo Pasta is such a creamy and cheesy weeknight dinner! It’s absolutely decadent, made with a cashew cream sauce, and the sauce is made easily in your blender!
Where do I start? You’re going to absolutely love and want to devour this Vegan Garlic Alfredo Pasta. I’m talking cheesy, creamy, absolutely indulgent in taste kind of pasta dinner. The kind of dinner that totally hits the spot, and makes you want to curl up on a Friday night. Without the heavy feeling, of course. All my pasta cravings are hereby conquered.
First things first – I haven’t been a big pasta fanatic. LET me be clear. When a pasta dish is done well – I am all for that. If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan though, you know that lots of pasta dishes just are not done correctly. Kind of a leftover, oh yeah whoops, kind of scenario, and it can drive you to never want to have pasta again.
WHAT a terrible nightmarish scenario. Fortunately, after making this Vegan Garlic Alfredo Pasta, I now know I have the best pasta dish sitting and waiting at home on me! You’re going to want to grab some cashews right now so that you can make this for dinner, friends.
Let’s talk key ingredients. That roasted garlic is a must. I mean, it deepens the flavour of the entire sauce, and really brings it to another level. You’re going to have to wait for your cashews to soak anyway, so you might as well make it. I guarantee it’ll change all of your dishes.
Speaking of which, cashews. OMG. Adding soaked cashews to this sauce makes it so creamy and gives it that traditional white colour. No, the sauce won’t taste like cashews, thanks to the addition of another ingredient: lemon or lime juice. This acid helps to neutralise the cashew flavour so all you taste is the cheesiness.
The nutritional yeast and the vegan parmesan cheese! I speak all about nutritional yeast here, and I made a vegan parmesan cheese for you here. You can also buy your vegan parm though, so it’s totally up to you. That extra bit of tanginess really ups the sauce, and you can add eons of it on top too. The nutritional yeast in the Alfredo sauce gives it that cheesy flavour, that will have you taste testing the heck out of this sauce.
Almond milk and pasta water! Don’t use regular water! Pasta water already has some saltiness, some starch, and is a perfectly seasoned form of water in this sauce. The almond milk of course adds more creaminess.
Basically what I’m saying is, friends, every ingredient is key here. Including the cooked down onions (adding a nice flavour + umami). What you get is a beautiful vegan Alfredo sauce recipe made in your blender that you can pour back on your pasta and then dig in. The kind of sauce you’ll probably want to put on anything, but will definitely slather all over your pasta.
That’s it! Your pasta dreams have come true! Dive in friends, and enjoy!
Vegan Garlic Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta
- 12 ounces any pasta, I used fettuccine
- chopped parsley, for garnish
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- 2 teaspoons vegan butter or olive oil, or any oil
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight, or in hot water for one hour
- 1/4 cup pasta water
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk, or any vegan milk
- 4 cloves roasted garlic*
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese, + extra for topping
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions in a well salted pot of water. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water.
- While the pasta is boiling/you're waiting for the water to boil, in a pan over medium high heat, heat the vegan butter or olive oil. Add the onion, stir and let cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the onions from the pan and add it to a blender. Add the rinsed off soaked cashews (without the water), the pasta water, the almond milk, the roasted garlic, the nutritional yeast, the sea salt the vegan parmesan cheese and the lime juice. Blend it all together until completely creamy. If you have a high powered blender this will happen quickly, about 1 minute, if not, just keep blending until completely smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt or vegan parmesan cheese if necessary.
- When the pasta is finished boiling, drain and pour back into the pan you had used earlier or even into a Tupperware container if you want. Pour the Alfredo sauce over and stir to combine completely.
- When serving, top with parsley to garnish and more vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I’m allergic to cashews, what would you suggest?
Hi Erica,
Maybe macadamia nuts? It might not be as smooth but they are pretty close in texture!
hi jessica! I’m making a vegetable lasagna for a bunch of midwest carnivores for xmas dinner, and am going to use this recipe cuz I’m trying to keep them healthy. hahaha. i have some vanilla almond milk in the fridge…..do you think it would change the taste that significantly, or do you think it might pair well and bring out the sweetness of the roasted garlic due to almond milk being slightly heady tasting all around anyways?
Skinless sunflower seeds
*sheless sun flower seeds I meant
Hi, thank you for this recipe, I’m excited to try it. Do you think it would freeze well?
Hi Michelle! We’re so glad that you want to try it. I’m sorry but creamy pastas don’t tend to freeze well.
Thank you for your prompt response! I meant just the sauce…I make a white bean lasagna and it usually freezes really well with dairy Alfredo sauce but I don’t want to use dairy anymore.
Just wanted you to know I made this and used it in a lasagna.I froze the extra sauce and it thawed beautifully in both the lasagna and the sauce alone. So, make extra and freeze it, it’s AMAZING!!!
Thank you so much Michele! We love your feedback! Thanks so much for your kind words!
Great recipe, been meaning to try a cashew alternative for this sauce but was hesitant that it would have a strong nutty flavor but this was creamy and great cheese flavor, like another writer above I added some extra salt and pepper (personal preference). Made your vegan parmesan as well, also super impressed. Will definitely make both again.
Hi Trena,
I’m so happy to hear that, and so happy you enjoyed the vegan parm also! Thanks so much for sharing.
This was wonderful! So creamy and flavorful. I tried one other recipe in the past with cauliflower and didn’t really care for it. This sauce was exactly what I hoped for. I added a ton of black pepper, which gave it a cacio e pape feel. I served it over Banza chickpea shells with Beyond Meat sausage and broccoli all mixed together. People ask if I feel deprived eating veggie/vegan and it’s sauces like this that make it easy to say no! Thank you.
should i use pre squeezed lime juice from a bottle, or should i buy a fresh lime and squeeze it myself?
Hi Chloe,
Fresh lime would be best! I hope that helps!!
This recipe is everything it promises and more! The onion and roasted garlic give the sauce depth of flavor and the nutritional yeast and vegan Parmesan make this sauce absolutely decadent. My only variation was to use oat milk in place of almond milk and it worked perfectly. This sauce will keep in the fridge for several days and actually tastes better when the flavors are left to meld a bit.
I will NEVER go back to dairy-based Alfredo. This is my new “go-to” recipe for a velvety, cheesy, satisfying sauce!
Hi Clare! that substitution does sound yummy! We’re so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for taking the time to share! ?
would it be ok if I used cashews that weren’t raw and didn’t soak them? I’m not close to a store that sells raw cashews, they’re always roasted.
Hi Madison,
I haven’t tried roasted cashews, so I can’t guarantee, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! As long as they aren’t salted! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
This recipe is divine!!! The sauce is so cheezy it’s hard to believe there’s no cheese in it. I added a bit of full-fat coconut milk for extra creaminess, and stirred in some sauteed mushrooms at the very end. My husband loved it so much he went back for thirds. Thanks for this delicious recipe! I’d give it 6 stars if i could. 😉
Wow thank you so much Maria! We’re so happy that you and your husband enjoyed it! We hope you have a great day!
Hi, this sauce is amazing. Thank you for the recipe. Even my pickiest eater loved it. Husband included and they don’t like to try new things. Didn’t tell them what they were eating. I have some extra sauce. How long can i keep it in the fridge. X
Hi Natalie thank u so much for your kind review! The sauce will keep in the fridge comfortably for 5- 7 days. I really hope this helps!
This recipe was so simple and so good! Definitely will be adding to the list of regulars. Thank you 🤗
Thank you so much Aly! We’re so happy that you like them!