This is the best creamy vegan Alfredo sauce recipe you’ll ever find, and it’s easy to make at home with no dairy, no eggs, and no cashews required!
Imagine a classic vegan Alfredo recipe so luxuriously rich and smooth, you’ll want to pour it over absolutely everything.
I’ve served the recipe to both vegetarians and omnivores, always with rave reviews and expressions of complete disbelief that something this deliciously creamy could possibly be made without any heavy cream at all.
Also be sure to try this Vegan Cheesecake
The best vegan Alfredo sauce
Dairy free
Gluten free
Nut free
No tofu or soy
No heavy cream
It’s perfect for serving over your favorite pasta, such as fettuccine, linguine, tortellini, spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, rotini, macaroni, or ravioli.
Or if you want to try something other than pastas, the dairy free Alfredo is also great with broccoli or roasted vegetables, gnocchi, rice, stuffed shells, lasagna, low carb zucchini noodles (zoodles), baked potatoes, or spaghetti squash (see How to cook spaghetti squash).
You can even use it as a vegan white sauce for an Alfredo-style Vegan Pizza!
More vegan pasta recipes
I’ve also included my cauliflower Alfredo recipe below, or if you’re looking for a homemade Alfredo sauce with cashews, try this Creamy Vegan Garlic Pasta.
Healthy Alfredo ingredients
Milk of choice: Feel free to use whatever milk you have on hand. I recommend choosing an unsweetened variety, such as almond milk or soy milk, or it’s especially rich and creamy if you use nondairy creamer or canned coconut milk.
For garlic Alfredo: Add 2-3 tsp minced garlic to the saucepan at the same time as the salt, before bringing the mixture to a boil.
For the cheese: The recipe works with either Parmesan cheese (such as dairy free Violife or Follow Your Heart) or nutritional yeast. The two ingredients have different flavors but are both good here in their own right.
Or you can sub your favorite shredded vegan cheddar, pepper jack, or mozzarella cheese. Add this in at the very end when you turn off the heat, then stir until it melts.
Oil free Alfredo: While the recipe below does call for oil or butter (try Earth Balance or Miyokos vegan butter, or Smart Balance Light for low calorie Alfredo sauce), I substituted an equal amount of tahini once with great results.
Add-ins: Make it a meal by throwing in a handful of spinach or kale, some roasted mushrooms, peas, vegan bacon (for carbonara), or a protein like baked tofu or tempeh.
This vegan pasta sauce is super quick and easy to make, but if you’re looking for something even easier, then there are a bunch of boxed or jarred Alfredo brands on the market, including Primal Kitchen, Daiya Cheeze Sauce, Victoria Vegan, and Simple Truth Plant Based Alfredo.
For dessert, try these Homemade Chocolate Bars
How to make vegan alfredo pasta
To make the recipe, start by gathering all of your ingredients.
In a saucepan, whisk the cornstarch into the milk or creamer until it’s completely dissolved, with no lumps.
Whisk in the salt and oil or vegan butter spread. If desired, also add 2 tsp minced garlic.
Over low-medium heat, slowly bring this mixture to a boil. Stir occasionally at first, then constantly once it begins to thicken. The whole process should take under 10 minutes.
Once thick, turn off the heat and whisk in the nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan until it melts. Taste the sauce, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
Above, watch the Alfredo recipe video
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk of choice or nondairy creamer
- 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch or 5 tbsp flour (or try this Cauliflower Alfredo Recipe)
- 2 tbsp oil or vegan butter (for oil free, see note above)
- 6 tbsp vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz pasta, optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk cornstarch into milk until completely dissolved. Whisk in salt and oil (and 2 tsp garlic if desired). Slowly bring to a boil over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally at first and then constantly once it starts to thicken. Once thick, turn off heat and stir in cheese until it melts. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as desired. View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Vegan recipes from scratch
(Or these Cauliflower Tacos)
Tammy S says
Love this recipe! So easy to make and delicious, I added some garlic powder instead of fresh and it so good!
Kate says
My family loved this vegan alfredo recipe. My daughter and I are vegan, husband and other daughter are not. Two thumbs up from everyone!
Chris says
Can I substitute coconut milk and if so is it a 1 to 1 ratio? Do you think it would taste like coconut though?
Bree says
I used nutritional yeast, and tried making it twice in case it was my error, but it got thick and separated both times. Any tips?
Jenny says
Oh my gosh, Bree! This separates on us all the time, too! We have to put it in the blender with some pasta water to get it to come together. I don’t know what we’re doing wrong, but we LOVE the flavor and make it often. Any idea any one?
Kimberly Lewis says
Great!
Leah says
This Alfredo sauce is so good and so quick to make!! I LOVE it! Will definitely be making this again soon! Thanks for sharing!!
Kristy Pickering says
I love this recipe! I subbed arrowroot powder for cornstarch but followed it for everything else and it was easy to make and delicious to eat! I see many possibilities for this recipe (nachos, liquid pizza cheese, Mac & cheese, etc.) Thanks so much!
Linda says
Loved it! I added some sauteed veggies and veg cheese and mixed them in. Topped with Fried onions.
Delicious!
Angela Leet says
Really good vegan Alfredo recipe. I added garlic and Italian seasoning to the recipe. Very creamy texture. My vegan and non-vegan family members really enjoyed this one!
Marlena says
This is hands down the best vegan Alfredo sauce I have ever made. It isn’t heavy at all, and my family of non-vegans ate it happily and wanted to know when we can have it again! It kind of reminds me of Panera’s Mac and cheese. This is definitely going to be a frequent weeknight dinner recipe in our house. Thank you so much Katie!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you all so much for trying it!
Ellie says
Hey! I have some dairy issues but love this recipe. However, I can’t do nut subs either, and don’t know what to do for all these dairy options. What do you suggest?
Kaley Giap says
Hi Katie if I’m serving a family of 6 what would the measurements be for the recipe!?
Stacey says
Made this for dinner tonight! It was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing!
Mona says
Thank you so much. I have a son with food allergies and this was a perfect vegan “alfredo” sauce. It is so hard to come by recipes that taste good while using alternate ingredients. I used extra creamy oat milk, 6 tbsp vegan mozzarella cheese(all I had on hand) and additional 2 tbsp nutritional yeast to boost nutritional values. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
Crystal says
Excellent recipe, perfect creamy texture, thanks so much. In my recipe book now as a keeper. I used just nutritional yeast and felt like I needed just slightly more cheese flavor so next time I will use some vegan parmesan too!
Jill says
This was Excellent! And Easy. Thankyou 🙏
Emilie says
This Alfredo sauce was so good that my non-vegan family loved it too. I used the base of your milk/corn starch slurry to make a cheese sauce for mac and cheese and that’s the best way I’ve seen to make a nice thick sauce.
Peter McQueen says
Easy and delicious! Very clear instructions and the video was helpful.
Kathy says
I’m lactose intolerant so I made your recipe with unsweetened Almond Breeze. I subbed in butter and Parmesan because they are lactose free. OMG! So good!!