Why you need this dairy free Alfredo sauce in your life
I think creamy pastas might be one of the first things you miss when you switch to a dairy free diet. Personally, the only thing I miss more is cheese itself.
For a while, we were making lactose free Alfredo sauce – which is really just a creamy, garlic sauce – using lactose-free milk. When we went fully dairy free, I just tried not to think about it, but, eventually, I found myself craving creamy, garlicky pasta.
I made a few different versions with store-bought vegan cream cheese. They were definitely good, but since I try really hard not to rely solely on those kinds of products, I didn’t want to make it very often.
It wasn’t until I started experimenting with cashew cream and my dairy free queso, that I realized the creamy base I was developing would work equally well as a pasta sauce. And, now I have a million different creamy pasta recipe ideas floating around in my head.
More dairy free pasta recipes: butternut squash pasta sauce / pasta carbonara / BLT pasta salad / vegan vodka sauce / penne bolognese
my favorite blender
You’ll need a quality blender or food processor to make the cashew cream for this recipe. If you’re in the market for a new one, I really recommend a high speed blender like this Vitamix for the smoothest results.
Ingredient notes:
- All-purpose flour – This helps thicken the sauce. If you want to make the sauce gluten free, you’ll need to swap it for cornstarch or a GF flour blend. If you go with cornstarch, reduce the amount to 1 tablespoon.
- Olive oil – You can swap this for melted dairy free butter or another type of fat, like coconut oil.
- Coconut milk – You want full-fat canned coconut milk for added creaminess.
- Cashew cream – We use homemade cashew cream for this, but you can also make it with blanched almonds if needed. Learn more about cashew cream here.
- Nutritional yeast – Nooch adds lots of great cheesy flavor to this recipe, but if you don’t have it, you can leave it out or swap it for vegan parmesan cheese.
- Pasta – I like to serve this over fettuccine, but any pasta you like will work. You can also make gluten free pasta if that’s what you need.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
I can’t eat cashews. What can I use instead?
You can simply swap the cashews for almonds and make almond cream. For a nut free version, try my cauliflower alfredo sauce, instead!
Can you make alfredo sauce without cheese?
Traditional Alfredo sauce is made with heavy cream and/or grated pecorino cheese. Luckily, with a few simple ingredient swaps, you can make Alfredo sauce without any milk products. It just takes a little know-how and the perfect combination of substitutes.
What can you substitute for milk in Alfredo sauce?
For this recipe, I’ve used my favorite combination of dairy free milks: cashew cream and canned coconut milk. Normally I find the coconut milk to sweet, and the cashew cream a little nutty, but paired together, they mask each others non-dairy flavor. They also make the creamiest base for dairy free alfredo. With just a little garlic and some nutritional yeast, you won’t believe there isn’t cheese (or dairy cream) in this Alfredo sauce.
More dairy free recipe favorites: dairy free pizza / dairy free brownies / dairy free mashed potatoes / dairy free cheesecake / dairy free ranch dressing
This recipe would be great with: microwave steamed broccoli / pan seared chicken / kale caesar salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup cashew cream - see instructions below or almond milk
- 3/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- Black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Before draining, reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Make the roux. In a large skillet or saucepan, heat olive oil to medium. Once it's hot, add the minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.Then, add the flour and whisk until the olive oil has been absorbed and a paste has formed.
- Whisk in the liquids. Slowly whisk in the broth, followed by the coconut milk and cashew cream. Continue to whisk until smooth.
- Let it simmer. Whisk in the nutritional yeast, salt & pepper, and simmer until sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, to taste.If you're using nut milk instead of cashew cream, allow it to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
- Toss the pasta. When pasta is cooked, drain and add the cooked pasta, with about 1/4 cup of pasta water, to the sauce and stir to coat. Stir in additional pasta water, if needed.
