Sauteeing the garlic, onions, and shallots for the dairy free alfredo sauce.
The seasonings we used in the dairy free alfredo sauce.
Soaking the cashews in almond milk for the dairy free alfredo sauce.
Transferring the seasonings, garlic, onions, and cashews, milk, and cheese into the blender.
Transferring the seasonings, onions, and cashews, milk, and cheese into the blender.
The finished dairy free alfredo sauce.
Pasta topped with the dairy free alfredo sauce and fresh basil.
Pasta topped with thedairy free alfredo sauce and fresh basil.
This is one of my favorite recipes to make as it’s so comforting to have developed a recipe for one of my favorite sauces I missed since learning I was lactose intolerant, a dairy-free alfredo sauce! This one is super thick and creamy, and can be edited and changed by adding more veggies for a colorful kick, spice for a flavorful punch, or different varieties of non-dairy cheese to switch up the consistency or tanginess. Let us know your cool additions or what you added to your version in the comments below! We love to serve this with grilled chicken and pasta or some lemon pepper shrimp. This can easily be doubled to make a second batch that can be frozen for later (the pictures I’ve included above are from a double batch).
Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cup Unsalted cashews Split or roughly chopped
- 6 cup Almond milk Boiled
- ½ package VioLife Just Like Parmesan cheese You could also substitute this for sheep's milk Manchego or Pecorino Romano!
- 1 Medium onion Diced
- 5 Cloves of garlic Chopped
- 6 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 package Pasta Feel free to use a higher-protein pasta or GF pasta as well!
Spices & Herbs:
- 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ½ tsp Paprika
- 1 ½ tsp Dried parsley
- 1 ½ tsp Red pepper flakes Optional
- 1 ½ tsp Dried rosemary Optional, if including the Italian herb blend above.
- 1 ½ tsp Oregano Optional, if including the Italian herb blend above.
- 1 ½ tsp Basil Optional, if including the Italian herb blend above.
Instructions
- In a medium heatproof bowl, place 2 cups of cashews, and set aside.
- On the stove over medium-high heat, boil almond milk for 2-5 minutes, stirring consistently to prevent sticking. Pour the milk over the cashews and let them sit for 15 minutes.
- Drain off and reserve about ½ the liquid from the cashews after the timer goes off.
- Dice and chop up your garlic and onion. In a small saute pan over medium heat, pan-roast the onions in about 1-2 tsp. of olive oil just until fragrant and the onions begin to turn translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the soaked cashews, garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, cheese, spices above, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth, about 5-7 mins.
- If the sauce isn’t smooth enough, pour in a little more of the reserved almond milk (about ¼ cup at a time) and pulse for 2-3 minutes longer in the blender. Repeat this step until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and toss gently to coat.
Notes
- If any sauce remains, it can be stored in a Tupperware container in the fridge for up to two weeks. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe ziplock or Tupperware for up to a month.
- If the sauce becomes too thick, you can easily thin it out by adding more almond milk or a little water when reheating (but add it about a tablespoon at a time to avoid over-thinning).
