This plant-based Alfredo sauce from Clean Food Dirty Girl is rich, creamy, and simple to make.
It starts with cashews, blended until smooth with garlic, miso, lemon, and spices. The mixture looks quite fine at first, but thickens rapidly as it cooks on the stove. In just ten minutes, the sauce will begin to look velvety and will be ready to serve.
The beauty of this Alfredo is its versatility. It coats pasta beautifully, turning a plain bowl of noodles into comfort food. You can toss it with steamed broccoli, roasted cherry tomatoes, or spinach for a quick meal. It also works as a base for casseroles or as a creamy topping for baked potatoes and grain bowls. The mild flavor makes it easy to pair with almost any vegetable or grain.
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Because this plant-based Alfredo sauce is made from cashews and miso, it delivers both protein and savory depth, feeling indulgent but nutritious. Whether you use it for a weeknight dinner or as part of meal prep, this Alfredo sauce is a reliable staple that fits into countless dishes.
Whip up the plant-based Alfredo sauce
Creamy, rich, and endlessly versatile, this Alfredo sauce turns cashews into comfort food magic. Toss it with pasta, pour it over veggies, or spoon it onto a baked potato – it’s the kind of sauce you’ll want on everything.
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Duration30 minutes mins
Servings2
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews soaked in water for at least 10 minutes (130g)
- 1 ½ cups water (355ml)
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
- 1 teaspoon mild / yellow miso
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper about 10 turns
Instructions
Drain and discard the water from the soaked cashews and place the cashews in a blender, along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until creamy and smooth. The sauce will seem thin but no worries, it will thicken up as it heats up.
Transfer the sauce to a medium-sized saucepan, turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook for 10 minutes, stir often so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Cook and add pasta of your choice to your sauce.
Serve with some veggies for a fuller meal.
This sauce is super yummy served over cooked whole wheat or whole grain pasta and topped with steamed broccoli and roasted cherry tomatoes (as photographed).
This recipe was created by Clean Food Dirty Girl. Start a trial to Meal Plan Club for more plant-based and oil-free recipes like this. Photos by Team Dirty.
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