This Vegan Roasted Garlic Alfredo is so good! Tangles of fettuccine tossed in an easy, ultra-creamy, cheesy, vegan alfredo sauce made with roasted garlic for amazing flavor!
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Meet your new favorite vegan dinner! Vegan Roasted Garlic Alfredo.
It's restaurant-worthy and yet simple to make. Great for a nice weeknight dinner while also being impressive enough for a dinner party. And yes, yes, yes, it's my favorite thing ever.
So good that it made it to the pages and the cover of my cookbook Vegan Comfort Cooking.
The lusciously creamy, cheesy, roasted garlic alfredo sauce is amazing. With 2 whole heads of roasted garlic, it is incredibly flavorful without being overpowering.
Roasting the garlic makes it mild and unbelievably sweet. A very different flavor profile to regular chopped garlic and is well worth the extra time it takes. It's what makes this vegan alfredo so special. It really is the best vegan alfredo!
Ingredient Notes
Some notes on the main ingredients:
- Raw cashews - The base of many creamy vegan sauces. They really are a magical vegan staple. It's important to use raw cashews, not roasted. Raw cashews blend much more smoothly because they are softer and they also have a more gentle, creamy, mellow flavor.
- Ground almonds - These make the sauce extra buttery. A trick I learned when developing my vegan carbonara recipe.
- Garlic - Oodles of it. 2 whole heads, not cloves. It's not a mistake so don't worry. It won't be overpowering because we are roasting it.
- Nutritional yeast - For umami cheesy flavor.
- Dairy-free milk - Any unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk such as cashew milk, soy milk, or almond milk. Don't use homemade oat milk. Store-bought oat milk is fine though. Double-check the ingredients in the milk you buy because you really don't want to accidentally use one with sugar or vanilla in it.
- Lemon juice - For acidity and flavor.
- White wine vinegar - Enhances the cheesy taste and balances the flavors. White wine vinegar is best but you can use apple cider vinegar instead if you need to. Simply omit if you don't consume vinegar.
- Fettuccine - Any other pasta noodles can be used instead. Use gluten-free pasta if necessary.
Not a garlic fan?
There is no need to miss out on this slurpy, delicious vegan alfredo pasta because it’s still super delicious if you make it without the roasted garlic!
How To Make Vegan Roasted Garlic Alfredo
This vegan alfredo sauce is really simple to make, but before you get going it's important to roast the garlic. This can be done up to 5 days ahead. I recommend roasting it while the oven is on with something else. I've included details on how to air fry it too. Keep it wrapped in the foil then refrigerate until you need it.
Once you've got the garlic ready all you need to do is blend the dairy-free alfredo sauce ingredients until perfectly smooth and creamy. Boil the fettuccine, then toss with the sauce and a little hot starchy pasta water. That's it. You're done!
Pasta water is your friend! Yep, the starchy boiling water you cooked the pasta in. Before draining the pasta scoop out a mug full, then when tossing the pasta in the sauce, add a splash of the pasta cooking water. The sauce will become extra glossy and cling to your pasta better!
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve fettuccine alfredo with plenty of vegan parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper. On the side I love a fresh crisp salad, and some no knead focaccia bread.
It's also amazing topped with some sliced or diced vegan chicken, pan-fried mushrooms, sweet roasted tomatoes, broccoli, peas, or any of the below:
Storage Tips
The alfredo sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. Store in an airtight container. Loosen it up with a little dairy-free milk and warm through very gently, or toss it through freshly cooked hot pasta.
Leftover sauce-tossed pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Loosen it up with a little dairy-free milk and reheat it in a microwave or very gently in a pan on the stove.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Use gluten-free fettuccine/pasta. The sauce is naturally gluten-free.
I don't recommend trying to make this particular sauce nut-free. However, you can make this vegan cheese sauce instead. Roast the garlic as per this recipe then add it when blending the nut-free sauce. Toss the sauce through the fettuccine with a drop of hot starchy pasta water over a low heat.
Or give my Cauliflower Alfredo a try instead.
Recipe
Vegan Roasted Garlic Alfredo
Author:Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 whole bulbs/heads garlic , (not individual cloves)
- ½ cup (70 grams) raw cashews , (soaked in boiling water for 15 mins if you don’t have a high-powered blender)
- ½ cup (50 grams) ground almonds or almond meal , (or use more cashews)
- ½ cup (40 grams) nutritional yeast
- 2 cups (480 ml) dairy-free milk , unsweetened & unflavored
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt , divided
- 1lb (454 grams) fettuccine , or other pasta of choice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Roast the garlic. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). If using an air fryer there is no need to preheat.
- Cut the top quarter off each garlic bulb/head with a sharp knife so the cloves inside are exposed. Discard the top part (or save for another recipe), then place the bulbs in some foil and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Draw the foil up around them. Wrap and squeeze the foil tightly shut.
- Place the foil-wrapped garlic heads in the oven, directly on the oven shelf, and roast for about 40 minutes. Or air fry at 380°F (190°C) for 25 minutes. Once the time is up carefully check whether they feel soft and squishy through the foil. Cook for a few more minutes if not. Once done, set aside until cool enough to handle. This step can be done up to 5 days in advance. Keep them wrapped and store them in the fridge.
- Make the sauce. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their silvery, papery skins from the root end, straight into your blender. They will pop out really easily.
- Add the cashews, ground almonds, nutritional yeast, dairy-free milk, lemon juice, vinegar, pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt; then blend until completely smooth.
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season with the remaining teaspoon of salt, add the fettuccine/pasta and cook for the time directed on the package. Make sure it's cooked al dente (slightly firm to the bite) and not too soft.
- Combine. When the fettuccine is done, scoop out about ½ cup (120 ml) of the boiling water into a mug and set aside before draining the fettuccine.
- Return the fettuccine to the pan and immediately add the sauce. Return the pot to the stove over a very low heat, and allow it to warm through for about 3 minutes while you toss the noodles in the sauce. It will thicken up a little as it warms up and you can loosen it to your liking with the starchy pasta water that you set aside. Add it a little at a time until it looks smooth, saucy, and glossy Serve immediately.
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Michelle says
Love this sauce Mel! I've made it before but forgot to leave a review. Last night I didn't have almond flour so just used 1 cup of cashews instead. The sauce was creamy and delicious. Served it with pasta and some sauteed mushrooms and spinach. A restaurant-quality meal at a fraction of the cost!
Debra Murphy says
Had this tonight we loved it. The sauce is delicious!
Thanks Mel
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you enjoyed it, Debra!
Larry says
I made this last night, and it was fantastic! I only used cashews since we didn't have any almonds on hand. Another great recipe from Mel! Thank you!
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you enjoyed it, Larry!
Mandy says
I next time I will use only cashews I think. I suspect my big bag of almond flour may not have been extremely fresh and there was a sort of off-taste to the dish. I doctored-it a bit to compensate, often not a good thing to do, but I couldn't help myself. I added nutmeg as I tend to with all my creamy sauces. I wonder if I should have added a bit of dijon too? It's probably just my taste buds and what I'm used to. Anyway I'll make it again sometime. It went very nicely with a crisp glass of pilot grigiot! Thanks Mel!