Rich, creamy and delicious, this vegan cashew and cauliflower alfredo sauce will not disappoint. Plus it’s full of nutritious ingredients, making it a great healthy choice for dinner.
What's your favourite vegan pasta sauce recipe?
While I do love a veg packed sauce, I'm also rather partial to a simple tomato one (especially in summer) or a vegan pesto.
But I also love this creamy vegan Alfredo sauce. Made with roasted cauliflower, creamy cashews and almond milk, with a little nutritional yeast added for flavour and vitamins, it really hits the spot in terms of flavour. Plus it's extra creamy to boot.
What is Alfredo sauce?
In Italy Alfredo sauce or Fettucine Alfredo is simply pasta served with Parmesan cheese and butter. It was invented by Alfredo di Lelio in Rome in the early 20th century. The dish spread to the United States and ingredients in an Alfredo sauce there often include cream, garlic and herbs.
Alfredo sauce is traditionally served with fettucine, a long flat pasta shape. I often use spaghetti instead as it's much easier to find where I live.
How to make vegan Alfredo sauce
There are various ways that you can make vegan Alfredo sauce.
In theory you could make a simple version with dairy free spread and vegan Parmesan cheese. Most recipes are a little more complex though and many call for a sauce made with cashew nuts or cauliflower. In my recipe I've combined both for maximum nutritional value and flavour.
I sometimes roast extra cauliflower and serve it whole with the sauce - this makes it extra delicious and I really urge you to try it. Roasted cauliflower is a real game changer.
More vegan recipes you might like
- Roasted tomato asparagus pasta
- Sundried tomato pasta sauce with chipotle and walnuts
- Chickpea, fennel and romanesco linguine
- Tagliatelle with vegan rocket pesto
- The creamiest vegan cauliflower cheese
- Roasted cauliflower hummus
- Whole roasted harissa cauliflower
Pin vegan cashew and cauliflower alfredo sauce
How to make cauliflower Alfredo sauce
I first had a cauliflower Alfredo sauce when I made this delicious recipe by Kellie's Food to Glow, which uses sunflower seeds instead of cashews - great if you're trying to keep costs down. I've made Kellie's recipe several times now and it's gradually changed into my own version. I hope you love it as much as we do.
If you have made this recipe and loved it please consider leaving a comment and rating below.
Vegan cashew and cauliflower alfredo sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ large cauliflower
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 60 g cashews soaked in water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 250 ml almond milk or other plant milk
- Small handful flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First of all cover the cashew nuts with cold water and leave to soak for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
- Wash the cauliflower well and then break or chop into small florets. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven, add the chopped garlic and stir well. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked through and turning brown.
- Allow to cool a little then put the cauliflower in your blender. Drain the cashews and rinse well. Add to the blender along with the nutritional yeast and almond milk.
- Blend until smooth - check for rogue unblended nuts and blend again if necessary.
- Stir through the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with fettucine or spaghetti. Alternatively can be frozen once cooled.
Nutrition
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Cat | Curly's Cooking
What a fantastic and healthy sounding pasta sauce. Such a clever idea to use those ingredients to come up with a vegan alfredo sauce.
Cook Veggielicious
Thanks for commenting Cat - this really tastes great and is a lot healthier than a traditional alfredo sauce as well x
All That I'm Eating
I love how creamy the sauce looks and I bet the cauliflower adds such a great flavour.
Cook Veggielicious
It really does - thanks so much for commenting