This dairy free Alfredo sauce is the perfect dinner dish for your family or a crowd. Easy to make and absolutely delicious over pasta or numerous other ways! Completely vegan and gluten free sauce.
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If your are looking for an absolutely delicious dairy free dinner meal, then this dairy free Alfredo sauce should be on your list.
Most people assume that a dairy free Alfredo sauce isn’t even possible, but we are making your dreams come true!
This dairy free Alfredo sauce is perfectly creamy and sticks to your pasta in all the right ways just like any normal Alfredo sauce would do. The taste of this dairy free Alfredo sauce is insanely delicious.
This recipe is also a completely vegan Alfredo sauce, making this a great dish for so many different dietary needs.
WATCH: Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce Recipe Video
Dairy Free Alfredo Ingredients
You may be surprised to learn that in order to make this really simple vegan Alfredo sauce, you only need 9 ingredients. In order to make this dairy free Alfredo sauce recipe, you will need:
- Unsweetened dairy free milk (oat or cashew are great)
- Raw Cashews
- Dairy Free Parmesan Cheese (homemade linked version or store bought)
- Garlic
- Lemon Juice
- Italian seasoning
- Onion powder
- Black Pepper
- Salt
It’s really that simple to make this delicious dairy free Alfredo sauce recipe from scratch at home.
How to Make Non Dairy Alfredo Sauce
In order to make this vegan Alfredo sauce recipe, the first thing you want to do is to soak your raw cashews. In order to do this, you can place in a jar and cover with water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Another option you have is to boil the cashews for 30 minutes. Lastly, if you have a very high powdered blender, like a Vitamix, you don’t need to soak in water at all for this recipe.
Once your cashews are ready, you are going to place all the ingredients (yes, all!) into a high powdered blender or food processors. Blend until you have a smooth and creamy consistency. If the dairy free Alfredo sauce recipe is too thick, drizzle a little more unsweetened dairy free milk inside until you have reached your desired consistency. Remember, this is supposed to be a thicker sauce as you really want it to coat and stick to those favorite pasta noodles of yours.
Once you have your sauce ready, pour it onto hot pasta noodles or place into an air tight container for up to 1 week and place in fridge until ready to use. This dairy free Alfredo sauce will thicken upon being in refrigerator.
Non Dairy Alfredo Sauce Variations
Alfredo is the base sauce and so many things can take it up a notch.
Flavor Add-Ins
- Garlic – Sauté extra garlic or roast it for a deeper flavor.
- Lemon – Add lemon juice and zest for brightness and tanginess.
- Mushroom – Sauté mushrooms first, then stir into the sauce.
- Spinach – Add fresh or thawed frozen spinach for color and nutrients.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes – Blend in or stir chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy twist.
Protein Boosts
- Tofu Alfredo – Blend soft tofu into the sauce for added protein and creaminess.
- Chickpeas or white beans – Stir in for texture and nutrition.
- Vegan chicken or tempeh – Pan-fry and add on top.
Spice It Up
- Cajun – Add Cajun seasoning and a dash of smoked paprika.
- Buffalo – Mix in buffalo sauce for a spicy, tangy version.
Tips for Making Lactose Free Alfredo Sauce
To Make the best alfredo, here’s some of our top tips:
- Blend Well – You want the cashews and dairy free parm to really blend well so it’s not grainy or gritty. We recommend a high speed blender, but you could also do it with the right food processor.
- Season Properly – Sometimes people want to skimp on the seasonings. They are all there for a purpose and if you want optimal flavor, don’t skip!
- Cheesy – luckily you can make alfredo without dairy based cheese thanks to vegan parmesan and the creaminess our cashews give us. If you’re looking for a little more cheesy flavor, add in a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast.
- Thickness – The cashews are thickening up the texture without cheese. If you cannot have cashews, you still want to use something that will allow you to have this texture – silken tofu or pureed white beans would be good alternatives.
Ways to Serve Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce
Obviously, you want to use this dairy free Alfredo sauce over your pasta. It’s a given. But you may be wondering what other ways you can use this dairy free Alfredo sauce besides just over your favorite pasta. We’ve got the perfect ideas for you.
- Pizza sauce – move over red sauce, this dairy free Alfredo sauce was born to live on your pizza crust. Try our homemade dairy free pizza recipe and just replace the red sauce with this vegan Alfredo sauce
- Cooking Sauce – beyond pasta, you could could some chickpeas in this Dairy Free Alfredo sauce and serve the dish over rice
- As a gravy – take this dairy free Alfredo sauce and use as a gravy over your next meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes. It gives an amazing consistency and taste to the meal and is a different twist to your normal brown gravy sauce.
- Salad Dressing – using this dairy free Alfredo sauce as a salad dressing gives a nice savory flavor to your favorite salad combination
- Marinade – If you are not vegan, you could use this dairy free Alfredo sauce to marinade your favorite cut of meat – like pork loin or chicken breast.
- Your favorite casserole – did you have a favorite casserole before going dairy free that called for cream of (whatever) soup – instead of being upset you can never have it again, swap this dairy free Alfredo sauce for the amount of cans you need
Storing Lactose Free Alfredo Sauce
You’ll want to allow your pasta and sauce to cool to room temperature. Then, place in an airtight container and into the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Optional: You can place them in the freezer up to 3 months by cooling and then placing in an air tight bag or container suitable for the freezer. It’s important to note that sauces can separate when thawing, so you’ll need to stir really well when reheating.
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Lactose Free Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups raw cashews
- 2 cups unsweetened dairy free milk (oat or cashew is great)I
- 1 cup Dairy Free Parmesan cheese (homemade or store bought)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: 1 lb pasta noodles *use gluten free if needed*
Instructions
- High power blender (no soaking needed): In a high powdered blender, add 2.5 cups raw cashews to the blender, along with 2 cups non-dairy milk, 1 cup non-dairy parmesan, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon each Italian seasoning and onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- No high speed blender: Soak your raw cashews by placing them in a jar and covering with water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Need faster? Boil the cashews in water for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and continue with recipe. Once ready, add all other ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Pour sauce onto hot pasta noodles or let cool and place into an air tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Sauce will thicken further upon being in refrigerator.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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Another winner! So easy to make. Loved it! Wondering if you can freeze leftover sauce?
Yes you can
Could you do a nut free alternative alfredo?
t’s on our list to do!
Does grated or shredded dairy free Parmesan cheese work best? Planning to try this and make it tonight!
We use our homemade vegan Parm cheese recipe found Here: https://makeitdairyfree.com/dairy-free-parmesan-cheese/ But you could use any version like Follow Your Heart parm for example.
This is literally one of the most delicious things I have made! thank you for the sharing a great recipe!!
I’m so happy you like it!