I don’t know about you, but when I am not “allowed” to have something food related, my brain is automatically like…hey, you know what I want super bad? That. It’s like craving Chik-fil-a on Sunday…I know I can’t have it so it’s automatically what I want.

Right now we are trying to eat (mostly) dairy free. My hubbs is a little lactose intolerant so we are just trying to avoid it when we can. But the lack of dairy is making me crave delicious things like creamy, rich, delicious alfredo sauce 😍.

This alfredo sauce is luscious, velvety, slightly “cheesy,” and theeeee most satisfying thing in the world. Let me tell you all about how it goes down…

A lot of dairy free alfredo sauces are made by pureeing cauliflower or making a sauce with almond milk. Both of those options are yummy, but I think this sauce gives the best illusion of alfredo because it’s rich and thick and fatty (with healthy fats). So what’s the base?

Cashews! Pureeing soaked or boiled cashews is kind of all the rage right now, so you’ve probably heard of it, but have you tried it? There’s a reason why people are eating pureed cashews by the SPOONful when they are on dairy free diets…it’s because it’s ridiculously good.

In this particular sauce, we blend together cashews, almond milk, garlic powder, and a whoooole bunch of nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor, but it’s more than that. It’s also so savory and slightly nutty. Seriously delicious – I’m kind of obsessed. (Side note – it is LIFE CHANGING on popcorn!)

In these pictures, the dairy free alfredo sauce is smothering some chickpea pasta, but you can put it on regular pasta or (if you’re whole 30/paleo) on spaghetti squash or zoodles!

I am never forward thinking enough or patient enough to soak my cashews overnight, so I use a little time saving trick to make this a super quick and easy meal: boiling the cashews. I boil them for fifteen minutes and then blend them up like I would if I had soaked them, and it works great!

This sauce works best with a high powered blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec. Those babies will really break down your cashews into creamy dreamy sauce. I have a Ninja blender, which works great but not quite as well. Regardless, it’ll be creamy and taste like a hug.

Make it, love it, and be able to enjoy alfredo sauce on a dairy free diet on the REG, friends!

Creamy, Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce (whole 30, paleo)

Author: Annie Chesson
Yield: 3 1/2 cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups raw cashews
1 lemon
2 cups almond milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Instructions

Boil your cashews with the juice from half of your lemon for 15 minutes
Add the boiled and drained cashews to a high powered blender with your almond milk, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, a squeeze of lemon juice from your remaining half, and salt to taste
Blend until creamy and totally smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times
Season to taste and you’re done! I serve this over chickpea pasta, or if you’re looking for a whole 30/paleo option, spaghetti squash or zoodles would be great!