Today, I am revisiting my creamy and velvety Vegan Alfredo Sauce with mushrooms and roasted garlic. It’s a classic recipe I first published in 2013 and many of you have made it over the years and come back to tell me about it.
After making it myself for the umpteenth time this past weekend, I thought it might be a good idea to pull this recipe out from the bowels of this blog and back to the front so those of you who are new to this blog can find it.
Alfredo is a creamy and rather voluptuous Italian white sauce for pasta made with lashings of butter and cream and cheese. To me, it’s always presented itself as an oxymoron. While its lush flavors scream out “eat me,” an Alfredo’s ingredient list pretty much makes it a no-no for nearly everyone except the most intrepid of eaters.
As a vegan, butter and cream and cheese are also out. So when I made a vegan version of this sauce all those years ago, I improvised with cashew cream, which makes a great substitute for cream in nearly any dish. It has a pleasing sweetness, like cream, and a similar mouth-feel, which is important because you want the texture of your Alfredo sauce to be silky and smooth.
The cheese is replaced here by nutritional yeast, and roasted garlic and summery herbs add an abundance of flavor.
Cashews are not a low-calorie food themselves, but they are certainly way lower in calories for all those dairy products they replace in this vegan Alfredo Sauce. Cashews — and the fat in them — are also actually good for you, unlike butter and cream and cheese. Altogether, there are just 228 calories in a serving of this vegan Alfredo Sauce, and 11 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber, which actually makes it quite good for you, unlike the traditional version.
I really love adding sage to this sauce. For one, this smoky, savory herb is plentiful in the summer months, and it begs to be used. I have a sage plant that I put into the ground in my backyard when we first moved into this house more than a decade ago and each year it survives the bitter winter to spring back to life and reward me with armfuls of sage. Not that you’d ever use armfuls of sage in any recipe. This is a strongly flavored herb, so a little goes a long way.
Nine ingredients for a Vegan Alfredo Sauce:
- Raw cashews. Cashew pieces are fine and even better because they’re more economical than whole cashews. They will be blended up anyway.
- Crimini mushrooms
- Sage
- White wine (or vodka will do). It’s optional, but use it for more flavor.
- Nondairy milk (like unsweetened almond milk or soymilk. Don’t add coconut milk please — the flavor just doesn’t work with an Alfredo sauce.)
- Nutritional yeast
- Garlic
- Oregano (dry)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or vegan butter)
How to make the creamiest Vegan Alfredo Sauce:
- Start out by slicing the tops off two whole bulbs of garlic. Place the bulbs in a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle on some olive oil on the exposed tops, and then wrap the garlic in the foil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes until the garlic is golden and soft and squeezes out easily from the papery skin.
- Soak 1 cup of cashews in 2 cups of any nondairy milk (except coconut — the strong flavor doesn’t really work here). After about 15-30 minutes, blend it until very, very smooth with 2-4 tbsp of nutritional yeast (use more or less according to your preference), the roasted garlic, 1 tsp of dry oregano, salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Heat 1 tbsp of vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Add the mushrooms along with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add about 1 tbsp of chopped sage and 1/4 cup of white wine or vodka. Continue to stir fry until all of the visible moisture has evaporated.
- Add the creamy cashew sauce to the skillet, stir well to mix, then cover and let it cook for 15 minutes on a low flame.
- Season with salt if needed and turn off the heat.
- Stir in your cooked pasta and enjoy.
What kind of pasta to serve with a Vegan Alfredo Sauce:
- Alfredo is traditionally served with fettuccine, which is a slim, ribbon-like pasta. I had pappardelle on hand this time, so I used that and it’s what you’ll see in the pictures. But while a flat ribbon shape like fettuccine is a nice vehicle for the creamy sauce, you don’t really need to stick with it. Many kinds of pasta are perfect with this sauce. A conchiglie or a farfalle pasta would be great here, as would orzo.
- To make a meal of this, all you need is a leafy salad on the side. If possible, serve with some vegan cashew parmesan.
Let’s dive into the recipe next.
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Looking for more creamy vegan pasta recipes?
The Best Vegan White Pasta Sauce
Creamy Vegan Orzo Risotto with Brussels Sprouts
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower Cashew Sauce
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Vegan Alfredo Sauce with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 large bulbs garlic
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 cups nondairy milk
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2-4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or vegan butter)
- 32 oz crimini mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 cup white wine (or vodka makes a good substitute. The alcohol is optional, but nice)
- 1 tbsp sage leaves (cut thinly)
Instructions
- Slice the tops off two whole bulbs of garlic. Place the bulbs in a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle on some olive oil on the exposed tops, and then wrap the garlic in the foil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes until the garlic is golden and soft and squeezes out easily from the papery skin.
- Soak 1 cup of cashews in 2 cups of any nondairy milk (except coconut — the strong flavor doesn’t really work here). After about 15-30 minutes, blend it until very, very smooth with 2-4 tbsp of nutritional yeast (use more or less according to your preference), the roasted garlic, 1 tsp of dry oregano, salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Heat 1 tbsp of vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Add the mushrooms along with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add 1 tbsp of the chopped sage and 1/4 cup of white wine or vodka. Continue to stir fry until all of the visible moisture has evaporated.
- Add the creamy cashew sauce to the skillet, stir well to mix, then cover and let it cook for 15 minutes on a low flame.
- Add more salt and pepper if desired, then stir in your cooked pasta. This sauce is best served hot when it's at its smoothest and silkiest. If you have leftovers, reserve some of your pasta cooking liquid in the refrigerator and reheat the sauce with a small amount of the pasta liquid to make it smooth and silky again.
- You can garnish your pasta with parsley and serve with vegan cashew parmesan on the side.
Nutrition
Wow, I really love your veggie version of the recipe, that creamy sauce must be delicious! But for the records, i have to say it: fettucine alfredo is not actually an Italian dish! we don’t eat it here nor we know any Alfredo 😉
Peanut, your comment intrigued me, so I went and did some digging. According to Wikipedia, Fettuccine Alfredo was invented by a Rome restaurateur named Alfredo in the early 20th century, but in Italy it’s typically called Fettuccine al Burro. Anyway, we can all agree that this sauce by any name is quite delicious. 🙂
this looks so delicious!!! I know it’s in my future!!!!
HISTORY OF ALFREDO DI LELIO CREATOR IN 1908 OF “FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO”, NOW SERVED BY THE GRANDCHILDREN, ALFREDO E ISA DI LELIO, AT THE RESTAURANT “IL VERO ALFREDO” IN ROME, PIAZZA AUGUSTO IMPERATORE 30
With reference of your article we have the pleasure to tell you the history of our grandfather Alfredo Di Lelio, who is the creator of “fettuccine all’Alfredo” in 1908 in restaurant run by his mother Angelina in Rome, Piazza Rosa (Piazza disappeared in 1910 following the construction of the Galleria Colonna / Sordi).
Alfredo di Lelio opened the restaurant “Alfredo” in 1914 in a street in central Rome, after leaving the restaurant of his mother Angelina. In this local spread the fame, first to Rome and then in the world, of “fettuccine all’Alfredo”.
In 1943, during the war, Di Lelio sold the restaurant to others outside his family.
In 1950 Alfredo Di Lelio decided to reopen with his son Armando his restaurant in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 “Il Vero Alfredo” (“Alfredo di Roma”), which is now managed by his nephews Alfredo and Ines, with the famous “gold cutlery”” (fork and spoon gold) donated in 1927 by two well-known American actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (in gratitude for the hospitality).
See also the site of “Il Vero Alfredo” http://www.alfredo-roma.it (in which there are also informations on franchising) .
We must clarify that other restaurants “Alfredo” in Rome do not belong to the family tradition of “Il Vero Alfredo” in Rome.
We inform that the restaurant “Il Vero Alfredo” is in the registry of “Historic Shops of Excellence” of the City of Rome Capitale.
Best regards Alfredo e Ines Di Lelio
Wow yum!!!
Very yummo. Made it yesterday and both me and my meat-eating husband loved it. So it will definitely go into my regulars 😉 Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Vic, thanks for the feedback. So happy you guys liked it.
That’s something which is making my stomach growl.. If we can enjoy such pleasures without guilt, then I’m in for it !
This sounds lovely…would love to try it out with my mom (who is a big fan of Fettucini Alfredo)
We are considering going vegan so this is great timing 🙂
Just a quick question, we don’t consume alcohol so do you have any alternatives to the wine you would suggest? Or is it okay just to omit it from the recipe? 🙂
Sameera, you can leave out the wine. Add a pinch of sugar to help the mushrooms caramelize. Hope you like it.
I made this dish a while ago and LOVED IT! I had to tweak it a bit – no wine so kids could eat too, oregano instead of sage cos I didn’t have any, and regular vegan mozzarella instead of nutritional yeast, again for lack of it. Very creamy and super delicious, I couldn’t get enough of it. Will definitely try the original sometime. Thank you, Vaishali, for another amazing recipe!
VM, thanks for the feedback. So happy you liked it. Oregano’s a natural with pasta.
holy crap°°°° i have just made this! SO EFFIN GOOD!!!! totally love it 🙂 THANK U
Miss Kay, that’s wonderful! Thanks for letting me know, and so happy you liked it. 🙂
I had this tonight it was fantastic. The wine with the mushrooms and the sage really took it to another level!
Hey there!
Do you drain the cashews of the milk before blitzing? Or does it all get blitzed together? (When I make vegan cheese, I know the soaking water is discarded!)
Thank you so much!
No, blitz them with the milk!
Hi Vaishali, I remembered seeing a cashew sauce mushroom pasta recipe somewhere on here so I came searching for this today. I made a version of it for dinner – forgot to add the milk though. It was just cashew cream, basil, chives, rosemary, parsley from my garden, onions, garlic, carrots and peas sauteed in some butter with the mushrooms. Delicious!! Thank you 🙂
This was delicious, easier than I thought, and so mushroomy!
Haven’t made it yet, someone posted on FB but wow, what a great thread! Very interesting and I love the enthusiasm for delicious, healthier plant-based food! We are waking up and I love it. I’ll post after I make mine
Just a question; I was under the impression that when one cooked with wine/alcohol it simply added flavor and that the alcohol burned off? Some of my friends shouldnt have alcohol. (Ok I mean me.) But that’s what I’ve always been taught. Might be just a myth?
Yes alcohol does cook off or that’s what I’ve always heard. The dish definitely isn’t boozy. 😀 But you can and should leave it out if making the dish for someone who can’t tolerate alcohol for any reason.