Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
This is the best Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo recipe because it’s creamy, garlicky comfort food that makes a perfect plant-based dinner. It begins with freshly cooked fettuccine noodles smothered with a creamy vegan cashew alfredo sauce. Be sure to serve it with some vegan garlic bread on the side.
If you love a rich, creamy sauce over your pasta, this healthy vegan fettuccine alfredo is for you. It may seem impossible to make a creamy vegan sauce, but once again, it’s cashews to the rescue. They deliver a truly plant-based creaminess that you’ll want to make time and time again!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Vegan butter adds healthy fats and a scrumptious buttery flavor as the base of the sauce
- Raw cashews don’t have to be soaked first, keeping this recipe easy to make and ready in minutes
- Adding just the right amount of garlic makes this recipe perfect to drizzle over freshly cooked fettuccine noodles.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Vegan Butter — Use storebought or make your own vegan butter.
- Onion — I used a mild, yellow onion which I think works best for this recipe.
- Garlic — You’ll need 3 to 4 cloves of garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- Raw cashews — I buy these in health food stores or online.
- Water — If your water has flavor, consider using filtered water.
- Bouillon — We’ll be using Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Broth Base to make a quality vegetable broth.
- Vegan cream cheese — I use Daiya, Tofutti, or Miyoko’s vegan cream cheese. You can find these at health food stores and sometimes the refrigerated health food department of local grocery stores.
- Vegan Parmesan — Use storebought or make your own vegan parmesan
- Black pepper — I prefer fresh cracked black pepper
- Fettuccine noodles — Be sure to read the package ingredients to confirm that it’s vegan.
Marly’s Tips
Make vegan zucchini lemon fettuccine Alfredo by adding 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest to the cashew sauce.
How to Make Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
It doesn’t take much time to make this easy vegan fettuccine alfredo recipe. It begins with cashews.
- Make the alfredo sauce by cooking onions and cashews in a saucepan with vegan butter over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender. Add chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add water and bouillon and stir to combine. Bring this to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer (low boil) for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Pour the slightly cooled mixture into a blender. Add vegan cream cheese and vegan parmesan and pulse in several short bursts, increasing the speed until the mixture is smooth. Learn more about making vegan alfredo sauce.
- Prepare the fettuccine noodles according to the package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander and turn it out into a large serving bowl.
- To serve, arrange mounds of fettuccine noodles on individual plates. Pour the warm vegan alfredo sauce over the fettuccine noodles. Garnish with fresh herbs and sprinkle with nutmeg, sea salt, and cracked pepper.
Storage Tips
Store the sauce and noodles in separate containers or combine them and store them in one single airtight container. Either way, it will keep up to 5 days in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
You can use this vegan cream cheese pasta sauce in so many ways. Here are some ideas for serving this tasty pasta dish:
- Vegan Chicken Alfredo — Add some delicious vegan chicken fillets
- With a Salad — Serve this vegan caesar salad on the side
- Vegan Meatballs — Use this lentil burger recipe to create meatballs for a tasty plant-based protein option.
- Vegan Sausage — Crumble some of this vegan breakfast sausage recipe over the top to add yummy flavor, texture, and protein.
- Bacon Fettucini Alfredo — Add tempeh bacon crumbles as a garnish on top of each serving.
- Vegan Mushroom Fettuccini Alfredo — Add some sauteed mushrooms to the sauce before serving.
- Vegan Zucchini Alfredo — Looking to go low-carb? Skip the pasta and serve that creamy sauce over cooked zucchini noodles. Check out this post on sesame zoodles to learn how to make your own.
- Serve Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo with Broccoli by adding some steamed broccoli on the side.
- Make Vegan Lemon Fettuccine Alfredo by adding some lemon zest to the Alfredo sauce.
When it comes to sides for fettuccini alfredo, you can’t go wrong with some balsamic green beans, vegan garlic bread, or these tasty vegan breadsticks.
More Vegan Italian Recipes
Do you love vegan pasta recipes like this vegan fettuccine Alfredo? Here are some more favorite plant-based pasta recipes to try:
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Plant-Based Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Base
- 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon vegan parmesan
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 package fettuccine noodles
- Optional toppings: Fresh herbs, ground nutmeg, vegan parmesan, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Instructions
- Add vegan butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once it's melted, add chopped onions and cashews. Stir to coat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add water and bouillon to the saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Once the broth mixture has cooled, transfer it to a blender. Add vegan cream cheese and vegan parmesan and pulse in several short bursts. Then use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender jar. Then pulse again, increasing the speed until the mixture is smooth. Learn more about ways to use vegan alfredo sauce.
- Pour the alfredo sauce into a glass jar or sealable container. Sprinkle with pepper. The sauce may seem a bit runny at first but it thickens as it cools.
- Prepare the fettuccine according to the package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander and turn it out into a large serving bowl.
- To serve, arrange a mound of fettuccine noodles on individual plates. Pour the warm vegan alfredo sauce over the fettuccine noodles. Garnish with fresh herbs and sprinkle with nutmeg, sea salt, and cracked pepper.
Recommended Equipment
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2015 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
This looks really wonderful. I do think spaghetti squash is a great option for enjoying traditional noodle dishes on a grain-free diet. Thanks for posting this on Food Flicks Friday.
Hi Rose. I love using spaghetti squash. I’m also in love with the zucchini noodles too. I’m not familiar with Food Flicks Friday, but it sounds great!
A seafood bake from my childhood. I need proper substitutes for the tuna and shrimp. More so for the taste than the texture.
It’s not so much a recipe as a product. I have yet to see vegan cottage cheese!
I would love vegan tamales
A recipe I’d like to see veganized is lady finger cookies!
I’d love a recipe for easy vegan croissant. Boy do I miss them!
Mincemeat pies, eccles cakes, kedgeree, scotch eggs, steak n ale pies, yorkshire puddings. I want a vegan version of each.
I’d love to see a Mexican flan veganized!
I would love to experiment with a great vegan cream cheese frosting!
I would love to see a South African dish veganized – Bobotie with eggy custard topping!