Cashew Alfredo Sauce Recipe – How to make the best easy, creamy garlic sauce that can be vegan, paleo, keto and dairy free friendly – with video.
Cashew Alfredo Sauce
This cashew alfredo sauce recipe is incredibly versatile and can easily adapted to be either dairy free, vegan, paleo or keto friendly, depending on the exact ingredients you choose to use.
The creamy sauce has only a handful of ingredients and is perfect to serve with your choice of comforting pasta, cooked vegetables, spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles, depending on your dietary requirements.
Cashews are my favorite nut, so I love finding ways to incorporate the nutritious ingredient into meals instead of just wolfing them down by the handful.
Your taste buds won’t believe the nutty flavor and creamy base can be created with just these 4 simple ingredients, although feel free to adapt to make your own perfect version of the creamy, dreamy sauce to enjoy in comforting pasta meals.
Sauce Ingredients
Here are the 4 key ingredients included in my version of a classic alfredo sauce recipe:
Cashew Milk – you can use store bought cashew milk or easily make your own by blending a third of a cup of raw cashews with three quarters of a cup of water, in a high-speed blender or food processor, until smooth and creamy, then simply use in the recipe as needed.
You can use soaked cashews in the blending process for an extra creamy sauce. You’ll find that when you soak cashews they become soft and easier to quickly blend, as well as digest when you consume the creamy pasta sauce.
You can also feel free to swap some or all of the cashew milk for almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk or make an extra creamy texture by mixing in heavy cream, cashew cream or even sour cream.
It all depends on what you have in your kitchen and your dietary requirements. To make a vegan cashew alfredo sauce just be sure that the creamy ingredients are dairy free.
Garlic – to make a strong garlic alfredo sauce, simply use more garlic, which you can chop, grate or crush into the recipe.
Seasoning – include your seasoning of choice from sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and you can also finish the dish with fresh parsley or your fresh herb of choice.
Cheese – use one to two cups of grated cheese in the recipe, just depends on how thick and cheesy you’d like the cream sauce to be.
To make a dairy-free alfredo sauce you can use vegan friendly cheese alternatives or nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor without dairy.
More Ingredient Ideas
Here are more ideas for simple ingredients to include in your pasta sauce:
Lemon – add in lemon zest or a teaspoon lemon juice for a lemon flavored sauce.
Cauliflower – make a cauliflower alfredo sauce by adding in finely chopped or grated cauliflower.
Mushrooms – another veggie option is to mix sauteed mushrooms through the sauce.
Parmesan Cheese – top the sauce with parmesan cheese, vegan parmesan or another dairy free alternative to mimic a traditional alfredo sauce.
Garlic Powder or Onion Powder – incorporate more flavor into your white sauce by using garlic or onion powder.
Arrowroot Or Corn Starch – thicken the sauce by stirring through a couple of spoons of arrowroot powder or corn starch.
Pasta Water – if making with pasta, you can save some of the pasta water to blend into the sauce if you’d like to adjust the consistency.
Cashews – top your bowl full of pasta with chopped cashews for added protein and a crunchy element.
Cashew Alfredo Sauce Recipe
- 1 Cup Cashew Milk
- 1-3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1-2 Cups Grated Cheese or a dairy free/vegan alternative
- Make homemade cashew milk, if using, or measure out a cup of cashew milk for use in the recipe.
- Heat olive oil, coconut oil or vegan butter in a large pot on the stove top over medium-high heat, when hot add in the crushed garlic.
- Saute for a minute or two to become fragrant, then pour over the cashew milk, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring up to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, add the cheese and cook until the cheese has melted and sauce has thickened to your liking.
- Serve with your favorite pasta, vegetables or zucchini noodles.
Creamy Alfredo Sauce Video Tutorial
Here’s the video where you can watch the homemade alfredo sauce being prepared, step by step. Hit play below or click here to watch on YouTube.
More Easy Comfort Food Recipes
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Cashew Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Cashew Alfredo Sauce Recipe – How to make the best easy, creamy garlic sauce that can be vegan, paleo, keto and dairy free friendly – with video.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Cashew Milk
- 1-3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1-2 Cups Grated Cheese or a dairy free/vegan alternative
Instructions
- Make homemade cashew milk, if using, or measure out a cup of cashew milk for use in the recipe.
- Heat olive oil, coconut oil or vegan butter in a large pot on the stove top over medium-high heat, when hot add in the crushed garlic.
- Saute for a minute or two to become fragrant, then pour over the cashew milk, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring up to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, add the cheese and cook until the cheese has melted and sauce has thickened to your liking.
- Serve with your favorite pasta, vegetables or zucchini noodles.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85
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