This dairy-free Alfredo sauce is the ultimate healthy comfort food! It’s made with soaked cashews and a handful of other ingredients, and comes together faster than a pot of water can boil! It’s super creamy, full of garlicky flavour, and has less than 100 calories per serving!
Keep reading to find out how to make this delicious dairy-free Alfredo sauce!
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This dairy-free Alfredo sauce is cheesy, creamy and oh-so comforting! Whether you’re vegan, have gone dairy-free, or just looking for a healthy version of this Italian classic, this recipe will amaze you!
This recipe is ideal for those who:
- Are lactose intolerant.
- Are sensitive or allergic to dairy products.
- Are vegan.
- Love low-calorie, healthy comfort food.
- Like having homemade sauces ready to go, anytime.
- Adore creamy and garlicky Alfredo recipes!
How to Make Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce
Here are the step-by-step instructions to make this heavenly sauce!
THE STEPS (recapped)
- Soak your cashews in water overnight. This is what will give your sauce a rich and creamy texture.
- Drain and rinse your cashews then add them to your blender with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend on high for 1 minute and taste. Add more garlic if wanting a stronger garlic flavour. (NOTE: The garlic flavour will mellow out if you leave it in the fridge overnight.)
- Blend on high for another 2 to 3 minutes until it’s creamy and slightly warm. The sauce will thicken up a bit more after cooling.
- Enjoy it right away or transfer it to a glass storage container. Click here for tips on how to store it.
And there you have it! You’ve made healthy dairy-free Alfredo sauce from scratch!
BLENDER VS FOOD PROCESSOR
For the smoothest, creamiest version of this sauce, you’ll want to use a high-speed blender. However, that’s not to say you can’t make this recipe in a food processor or traditional blender!
Provided you soak your cashews for at least 8 hours or overnight, this sauce will come together nicely and still taste divine. The only downfall is that the consistency won’t be as smooth as a traditional Alfredo sauce or one blended in a high-speed blender.
Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce Uses
This dairy-free Alfredo sauce has the ability to turn any food into comfort food! Here are some ideas for how to use this delicious sauce:
- On top of your favourite pasta or rice.
- Tossed with spiralized veggie noodles, like zucchini noodles or ‘zoodles’.
- As a dip for roasted or barbequed veggies, fries or pizza crust.
- As a sauce for chicken, pork or fish.
- Drizzled over spicy chicken wings (or chicken tenders), like the Wild Wing cult classic, ‘Gar Par’ flavour.
Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce Nutrition Facts
Keep reading (or skip ahead using the links below) to find out what makes the ingredients in this dairy-free Alfredo sauce so special!
CASHEWS
Cashews give dairy-free recipes like this Alfredo sauce a creamy texture and buttery flavour.
More notably though, these highly nutritious seeds (that’s right, seeds, not nuts!) are full of healthy fats that can actually help modulate estrogen levels. Meaning, they can help to reduce estrogen dominance (which can increase PMS symptoms in women and decrease fertility in men) and mimic healthy estrogen in menopausal women. Pretty cool, eh?!
They can also help lower cholesterol, control blood sugar levels, and reduce cancer risks and tumour growth, all while improving the look and feel of your skin and hair.
Cashews also contain plant protein, fibre, and essential minerals like copper, magnesium and zinc.
The most affordable way to buy raw cashews is in 1 kg bags. When stored in a cool dry place, or even better in the fridge or freezer, they can stay fresh for months. Costco and Amazon sell my favourite cashews at the best price.
FUN FACT: Raw cashews you find in grocery stores and online are technically not 100% raw. That’s because truly raw cashews and their shells contain a toxic substance called urushiol, which triggers a poison-ivy-like skin rash when touched. Yikes! Thankfully, the raw cashews available for purchase have been shelled and heated just enough to make them safe for consumption while still maintaining their health benefits.
GARLIC
Garlic is one of the most well-researched superfoods out there because its ability to heal and protect the body is super-duper out of this world! Allicin is the primary healing compound in garlic. To get the most out of your garlic, use it raw or cook it lightly.
Here’s a list of just some of garlic’s superpowers:
- It can improve your body’s immune system function and even treat your common cold!
- It’s anti-septic, meaning it’s anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral and one heck of an infection fighter!
- It’s anti-inflammatory and can help relieve painful joint pain from the inside and out.
- It has powerful disease-fighting and prevention abilities, including heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes.
- It improves heart health, by lowering blood pressure and bad cholesterol, and improving circulation.
FUN FACT: Freshly harvested garlic has a much milder taste than garlic that has had time to ‘age’ (aka ‘cure’ or dry out). When stored in a cool dry place, unpeeled garlic can stay fresh for anywhere from three to six months. Keep this fun fact in mind when making dishes that call for a generous amount of fresh garlic (like this dairy-free Alfredo sauce). Unless you know how old your garlic is, try using less garlic at first. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away!
NUTRITIONAL YEAST
Nutritional yeast is what gives this dairy-free Alfredo sauce its signature cheesy flavour! It’s an inactive yeast and a staple in most vegan and dairy-free diets because of its high protein and vitamin levels, and cheese-like flavour.
It’s a rich course of B vitamins (aka the anti-stress vitamins), including vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 supplementation is important for vegans because most natural sources come from animal products. Not getting enough vitamin B12 in your diet can trigger depression, fatigue, anxiety, headaches, increased heart rate and muscle weakness.
Nutritional yeast is also an excellent source of complete protein, with 8 grams per 2 tablespoons. It has a long pantry shelf life, so if dairy-free recipes are your jam, buying a larger bag will save you money in the long run. Amazon has the best price for the popular Anthony’s brand, which is certified gluten-free and oh-so yummy!
Meal Prep Tips
This recipe doubles and freezes beautifully! For maximum freshness, store your prepared dairy-free Alfredo sauce in glass storage containers, like glass jars or these food storage containers. Your sauce will stay fresh in the fridge for 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
HEALTHY EATING + MEAL PREP HACK
If you try this dairy-free Alfredo sauce and decide you can’t live without it, try doubling this recipe the next time you make it. Keeping it on hand in the freezer makes it as convenient as the store-bought stuff. Healthy comfort food on demand? Yes, please!
Depending on the size of your blender or food processor, you could double this recipe in one go. However given that this dairy-free Alfredo sauce takes so little time to make, making two batches back-to-back still saves you time because you only have to clean your appliance once!
I talk about this super easy-to-implement meal prep hack in my Healthy Eating Guide for Beginners.
Making every minute count in the kitchen is the ultimate hack for slowly integrating meal prep and healthy eating into your already busy routine. Click here for more healthy eating and meal prep hacks!
If you try this dairy-free Alfredo sauce, I’d love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me @nourashnutrition in your Instagram stories!
DAIRY-FREE ALFREDO SAUCE
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight -see notes
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or juice from one whole lemon
- 2 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 medium shallot
- 4 medium garlic cloves plus 2 more if needed – see notes
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Drain and rinse your soaked cashews then add them to your blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high for 1 minute and taste. Add more garlic if wanting a stronger garlic flavour. Note that the garlic flavour will mellow out if you leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Blend on high for another 2 to 3 minutes until creamy and slightly warmed. The sauce will thicken up after cooling.
- Use immediately or transfer to a resealable glass container or jar. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. See notes for reheating instructions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Soaking your raw cashews overnight will make them easier to blend. Alternatively, you can use hot water and soak your cashews for 4 hours.
- Not all garlic tastes the same, so it’s best to start with less and add more. The flavour and strength of your garlic will depend on when it was harvested and how long it’s been cured/dried out for. For more garlic fun facts, click here!
- To reheat, pour into a saucepan and heat over medium-low until just warm (about 2 to 3 minutes) stirring it with a whisk occasionally. Like traditional Alfredo sauce, it will scorch if left unattended on the stove. If reheating from frozen, allow it to thaw first and reheat as per the previous instructions. Enjoy!
- This recipe makes 2 1/4 cups of delicious sauce!
Nutrition
Questions About This Recipe?
If you have any questions about this dairy-free Alfredo recipe or the information you’ve learned today, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me an Instagram direct message! ✨
I can’t wait to hear all about your healthy eating journey and what you’ve been cooking! Please comment below or share your successes with me on Instagram @nourashnutrition so that I can celebrate you and your healthy eating milestones!
Sending you strength and confidence today to fuel your healthiest tomorrow!
This recipe is so quick and easy to make! Thanks for sharing such a delicious dairy free alternative to Alfredo sauce.
You’re welcome Maureen! I’m so happy you like the recipe!