This is hands down the best vegan alfredo sauce ever! It’s creamy, cheesy, garlicky and so easy to make. Ready in 30 minutes or less.
When researching this recipe, I had to go back to basics and find out what a traditional pasta alfredo really is.
Is it a cream sauce or a butter and cheese sauce? It seems that traditionally it was a butter and cheese sauce, but it has evolved to become any kind of sauce that is really really creamy and rich.
Whether there is cheese in it or not, butter in it or not, cream in it or not, is not the deciding factor.
Is it a crazy rich super creamy sauce? Then you probably nailed it.
If you love quick and easy pasta recipes then also check out our vegan vodka pasta and our hummus pasta. You’ll also love our vegan spaghetti sauce.
How To Make Vegan Alfredo
For this vegan alfredo recipe we decided to go with a cheesy garlic alfredo sauce made with coconut milk, fresh garlic and vegan butter for a crazily rich, crazily delicious sauce and some added nutritional yeast and dijon mustard for the cheesy flavor.
This is served with fettucine, lots of black pepper and some fresh parsley.
It’s so simple, so quick and seriously delicious.
You can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes with this meal. It’s really that quick.
Ingredient Notes
Vegan Butter: We chose to go with vegan butter for making the sauce to really get that super rich alfredo thing going on. Olive oil also works just fine though.
Coconut Milk: There is no overpowering coconut flavor in this alfredo, in fact you will hardly know there is anything coconut-y in here at all. However, it is vital that you use canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. Don’t use a sweetened coconut milk as that will definitely ruin the flavor. If you are allergic to coconut milk, you can substitute a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk or almond milk. However, the result will not be as rich.
Dijon Mustard: I’m a big fan of dijon mustard for adding cheesy flavor to vegan sauces, however, any prepared yellow mustard will also work just fine.
Recipe Tips
Make It Gluten-Free: You can make this meal gluten-free if you use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend instead of the regular flour for the sauce along with a gluten-free pasta.
Storage: Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 4-5 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
Freezing: If you want to freeze it, then don’t mix the sauce with the pasta. Freeze the sauce separately for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then reheat on the stovetop.
More ‘Comfort Food Style’ Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Vegan Mushroom Pasta
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Vegan Pesto Pasta
- Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
- Vegan Carbonara
- The Best Vegan Lasagna
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
For the Fettuccine Alfredo:
- 8 ounces Fettuccine Pasta (226g) Dry Weight
- 3 Tbsp Vegan Butter (45g)
- 3 Cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 14 ounce Can Coconut Milk (400ml) Full Fat, Unsweetened
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Stock/Broth (80ml)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast (15g)
- Sea Salt to taste
For Serving:
- Black Pepper
- Chopped Parsley
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Put the fettuccine on to cook according to package directions, when cooked, drain well and cover. If the pasta starts sticking together, toss with a small amount of olive oil.
- Add the vegan butter to a saucepan along with the crushed garlic and heat until the butter is melted.
- Sift in the flour and fry the flour in the butter briefly. Then add in the coconut milk and vegetable stock and whisk with a hand whisk to remove any lumps.
- Stir continuously until the sauce begins to boil and then continue stirring until it thickens. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, so it doesn’t need to be the perfect thickness when you remove it from the heat, but it must have thickened quite a bit from when you started.
- Remove from heat and add in the black pepper, dijon mustard and nutritional yeast and whisk in with your hand whisk. Add sea salt to taste.
- Toss the sauce with the cooked fettuccine and serve with chopped parsley and a sprinkle of black pepper and some vegan parmesan cheese (optional).
Video
Notes
- Coconut milk: If you have a coconut allergy or wish to use a different option, you can also make this with other non-dairy options like soy milk or almond milk. In this case use 1 and ⅔ cups (400ml) non-dairy milk. However, the result will likely not be as rich.
- Dijon mustard is our favorite for creating cheesy flavor in sauces, but you can also use any prepared yellow mustard.
- Make It Gluten-Free: Switch the all purpose flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend and use a gluten free pasta.
- Nutritional information includes pasta.
- This recipe was first published in September 2017. Updated with extra tips and notes.
Sabrina says
Literally just made this 20mins to the table. Super tasty garlic flavour, I can taste the coconut milk but I love it so no bother to me. Really thick rich sauce I didn’t have vegan bouillon in the cupboard so decided to use all purpose seasoning and also no Dijon mustard so used mustard powder, as I’ve not tried the recipe before I have no comparison but I throughly enjoying it and added spinach at the end to wilt with the heat of the pasta and sauce – quick winner dinner and enough for lunch too ????.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sabrina, sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review. xo
Leidy says
I have made this twice and I just love it.
Creamy (maybe too much but good anyway), salty, and satisfying. The coconut milk and the nutritional yeast are best friends. 🙂
Shayla says
Very, very good!
Tashima Sample says
The recipe was real simple. I modified it a bit to suit my taste. I substituted coconut milk with heavy coconut milk. I added Broccoli, Mushrooms & basil pesto. I tagged the picture to the IG page.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it. I think I saw the pic and it looked fabulous! 🙂
Julie says
Sure looks great! Cant wait to try it!
NJ says
So this makes a great thick and creamy sauce, however, I find it too sweet from the coconut milk. Does anyone have any tips on how to neutralise the sweetness?
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, it shouldn’t be sweet at all, I think you may have used a brand that had added sugar. Canned coconut milk isn’t supposed to have any sugar added. Check the ingredients list, there should not be any sugar at all, just coconut.
Teresa says
Overall great taste, creamy texture, and satisfying. The coconut flavor was a bit strong for me (compared to other vegan alfredo recipes I’ve tried) and I felt it needed more flavor so I added some sriracha sauce and more black pepper and salt.
Lynn M says
Just wondering if I made the sauce about a week out, would it turn out okay if I froze it. Looks very good and always looking for more vegan recipes.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lynn, I think it should be fine to freeze! 🙂
Dr. J says
I made this, along with your cheese spread, for our Valentine’s Day dinner. I have to say that before my wife and I went vegan, I was a serious pasta addict and fettuccini Alfredo was my absolute favorite dish in the world. I had high hopes for this recipe — and I was not disappointed! Super easy, super delicious, and totally scratched my Alfredo itch. This is a keeper. Next time I might try it with light coconut milk or even almond milk just because we normally try to eat low-fat.
For those asking whether you can taste the coconut, I’ll say that there was a hint of it there, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
Alison Andrews says
So happy you enjoyed it! I think it would work great with a light coconut milk, thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review! 🙂
Kate Hannah says
Wow! Just made this as a quick lunch and it was delicious!! Thanks for the recipie 😀
Alison Andrews says
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the great review. ?
Heather says
I rarely comment on recipes but had to for this one. Love it!! High praise from discerning tastes lol. I’ve been vegan and cooking since age 12 and believe food should be delicious!! Like another comment, the vegetable stock matters – I used no salt bouillon and it needed more tweaking to taste. But I expected that going in. Def a perfect base for versatility but strong enough to stand alone. Amazing mouthfeel, too! Thanks for this recipe♡
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Heather, so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the tips, yes, agreed, the salty vegetable stock makes a difference and more tweaking would be needed without it. Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Elizabeth Doyle says
I just made this with oyster and shitake mushrooms on pizza. So delicious! Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Ooh sounds delish! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rachel says
Unfortunately I found this recipe lacked flavour – I had to add a lot of pepper in order to enjoy it
Alison Andrews says
You are supposed to add salt (to taste), it is supposed to be seasoned with black pepper, it is supposed to be cooked with vegetable stock – vegetable stock is seasoned and salty – and it is supposed to be served with more black pepper. It is always very flavorful when I make it, if it wasn’t when you made it then I think something went wrong along the way.
Rachel says
This was absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I have missed eating Alfredo now I’m vegan so this is perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Rachel! Thank you so much for the great review. 🙂
Nikki says
Honestly, this is so so good. I’ve had non vegan friends adore it and ask me to make it again. So versatile can add any veg you like to it and I’ve also added tomato purée to one batch to make a creamy tomato linguine.
So easy as well, and refreshing to find good vegan recipes that don’t require crazy or expensive ingredients!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Nikki and I love the idea of adding tomato for a creamy tomato linguine! Thanks so much for posting and the awesome review. 🙂
Elio says
Will this work with coconut milk in a carton?? I’m assuming it’s just the same thing but I want to be sure.
Alison Andrews says
Yes, that’s totally fine. 🙂