This easy recipe for dairy-free Alfredo sauce uses blended cashews to achieve the rich, creamy texture of traditional Alfredo sauce—without the dairy. With just a few simple ingredients like garlic, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast, it delivers a luscious, savory flavor that pairs perfectly with pasta or veggies. Whether you're vegan, lactose-intolerant, or just looking for a lighter option, this wholesome twist on a classic is sure to satisfy!
Dairy free Alfredo Sauce is such an easy weeknight meal that doesn't take longer than boiling water and cooking your pasta. You can have the creamy cashew cream sauce while the pasta is cooking and then all you have to do is mix it in! This is one of my family's favorite pasta dishes and it is requested on our meal plan almost every week.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Dairy Allergy: Many people struggle with digesting dairy or have allergies, making a cashew-based sauce a great creamy alternative that is equally as delicious.
- Simple & Whole-Food Ingredients: Many store-bought Alfredo sauces have preservatives, artificial thickeners, and excess sodium. A homemade cashew version offers a whole-food option with simple ingredients, such as raw cashews and coconut milk.
- Lighter & Less Heavy: Traditional Alfredo is rich and heavy due to butter, heavy cream, and cheese (nothing wrong with this)! A cashew-based version has a creamy sauce but is often easier to digest and doesn’t leave you feeling sluggish.
Ingredients You Will Need
Spaghetti Noodles: When it comes to pasta, you can use any that you prefer! I like to use either the 365 brand from Whole Foods if I am not looking for gluten-free. My favorite gluten-free pasta is Banza Pasta because it is made from chickpeas and is higher in protein. For grain-free, I like Jovial best. Any of these three will work for this recipe.
Cashews: have essential minerals like magnesium and copper. They can help support heart health by reducing bad cholesterol levels, promoting bone health, and aiding in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure, making them a valuable addition to a balanced diet.
Coconut milk: A dairy-free alternative that is rich in healthy fats, particularly medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which can provide a quick source of energy. It also contains essential nutrients like potassium and magnesium, contributing to heart health and promoting proper muscle and nerve function.
Nutritional Yeast: A popular food product that is often used as a condiment or seasoning, particularly in a dairy-free diet. Nutritional yeast is known for its unique flavor, which is described as savory, cheesy, or nutty. Its most interesting nutritional benefit is that it is a complete protein.
Chicken Broth: has essential minerals like magnesium and copper. They can help support heart health by reducing bad cholesterol levels, promoting bone health, and aiding in maintaining healthy blood pressure, making them a valuable addition to a balanced diet.
Garlic: is known for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It helps fight many diseases like the common cold, heart disease, and others.
Lemon Juice: This adds a nice brightness to the sauce along with some vitamin C and acidity.
Italian Seasoning: is typically a mix of thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and marjoram. With all these spices it has tons of flavor and lots of health benefits because each herb has its own healthy properties!`
Recipe Variations
- Coconut milk: Any dairy-free milk will work for this recipe. Sometimes I have a preference, but truly any will work here. Some ideas are almond milk, cashew milk, or oat milk.
- Nutritional Yeast: Some people may not be 100% dairy-free and can handle hard cheese like parmesan. If this is you, parmesan cheese can be substituted for nutritional yeast (about ¼ cup).
- Protein: Adding some protein to this meal is super simple! I love adding ground chicken, grilled chicken, or even leftover rotisserie chicken that you might have on hand.
- Pasta: If you are looking to make this low carb this alfredo sauce is also delicious over zucchini noodles, too!
Instructions
Step 1: Boil a large pot of water and cook your desired pasta according to the package or until al dente.
Step 2: Add the rest of the ingredients into a high powered blender or food processor.
Step 3: Blend the dairy-free alfredo sauce until smooth. If it needs to be thinner, keep blending and slowly add small amounts of chicken broth.
Step 4: Pour the sauce into a pan with half of the reserved pasta water and the noodles. Mix together until the noodles are evenly coated and the sauce is warm.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- The sauce is too thick: Sometimes the sauce is very thick, which is a very easy fix! If you are looking for a thinner sauce, all that needs to be done is adding more chicken broth. Start slow and continue blending until it is your desired texture. If the sauce is too thick once you have it on the pasta, you can use up to a cup of pasta water to help thin it out, again start slow and add more as needed.
- Reheating: The sauce will get thicker the longer that it sits with the pasta, so if you are saving leftovers, I always reheat it in a pan with some chicken broth to loosen the sauce again.
- High-Powered Blender: If you don't have a high-speed blender (I have a Vitamix), this dairy-free sauce can also be made in a food processor. I do find that a food processor doesn't blend it to completely smooth, but it definitely does the job!
Storage Tips
Refrigerator: This creamy alfredo sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 4-5 days if stored in an airtight container. I mix it with the pasta and store it all together, however, you can also store the sauce separately. Meal prepping the sauce ahead of time and storing it for later would make for a super easy weeknight meal.
What To Serve It With
- Salad: Caesar Salad, Grilled Wedge Salad, Fall Kale Salad, Steakhouse Wedge Salad
- Protein: Grilled chicken or ground chicken
- Sides: Roasted broccoli, Air fried Asparagus
FAQs About Recipe
I recommend adding more cashews if you want it to be thicker. The sauce will also thicken as it sits in the pasta longer.
You can add more spices like garlic or Italian Seasoning, roasting the garlic first can give it more complexity. If you are not dairy-free you can also add some parmesan cheese or you can add more nutritional yeast.
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Dairy-free Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Box Spaghetti Noodles
- 1 Cup Cashews raw and unsalted
- ½ Cup Coconut Milk
- ¼ cup Chicken Broth
- 3 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
- 2 cloves Garlic
- ½ Lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook your desired pasta according to the package or until al dente.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into a high powered blender to make the alfredo sauce.
- Blend the dairy-free alfredo sauce until smooth. If it needs to be thinner, keep blending and slowly add small amounts of chicken broth.
- Drain the noodles, reserving about ¼ of a cup of pasta water.
- Pour the sauce into a pan with half of the reserved pasta water and the noodles. Mix together until the noodles are evenly coated and the sauce is warm. If the sauce is too thick or sticking to the pan, add the rest of the pasta water and mix together.
Notes
- Sauce is too thick: Sometimes the sauce is very thick, which is a very easy fix! If you are looking for a thinner sauce, all that needs to be done is adding more chicken broth. Start slow and continue blending until it is your desired texture. If the sauce is too thick once you have it on the pasta, you can use up to a cup of pasta water to help thin it out, again start slow and add more as needed.
- Reheating: The sauce will get thicker the longer that it sits with the pasta, so if you are saving leftovers, I always reheat it in a pan with some chicken broth to loosen the sauce again.
- High-Powered Blender: If you don't have a high-speed blender (I have a Vitamix), this dairy-free sauce can also be made in a food processor. I do find that a food processor doesn't blend it to completely smooth, but it definitely does the job!
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