A creamy dreamy vegan mushroom alfredo sauce without the cream, making it dairy free too. Yes, it is possible. Let me show you how!
This post was originally sponsored by the Australian Mushroom Growers Association. It's since been updated. As always, all opinions are my own.
While we all know mushrooms are healthy, research suggests the potential for mushrooms to assist in reducing the risk of breast cancer. Which is good news if you are a mushroom lover like me!
So to support the Australian Mushroom Grower's Association and their "Mushrooms Go Pink" campaign, I'm sharing this creamy, dreamy mushroom vegan alfredo recipe with you.
Looking at this creamy mushroom vegan alfredo sauce you'd never know that it doesn't have cream in it. Not an ounce, dollop or lick of cream. Nada. Zip!
Not an ounce, dollop or lick of cream. Nada. Zip!
In fact it is absolutely dairy free and vegan too!
The secret ingredient? Cashews.
Yes, cashews.
Tip: For more creative ways to vegan-ize your favorite recipes, be sure to grab this free vegan substitution cheat sheet!
I know you are probably wondering if I am off my rocker, but no, I'm not because this is the best creamy dairy free mushroom sauce ever.
In fact, it tastes SO much like a creamy pasta sauce that my husband has declared it his new favorite meal!
I was actually skeptical that my very traditional, "different" hating husband would hate this sauce so I refused to tell him what was in it at first.
But as he devoured a bowl of it and went back for seconds I knew I had a winner with this easy vegan dinner.
The trick to this sauce is to blend it well. Really well. While a powerful blender, such as a Blendtec, is perfect for this, my Ninja blender also does this really well.
I just let the blender run while I chop the onions and mushrooms to ensure everything is mixed to a delicious smooth and creamy emulsion.
Once the mushrooms and onions are cooked the sauce simply needs warming through before tossing through the pasta.
If you are gluten free, be sure to use gluten free pasta, and to make it vegan use a vegan pasta.
And if you love this vegan mushroom alfredo, you'll want to check out these other simple vegan pasta recipes:
- One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Five-Minute Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- One Pot Thai Green Curry Noodles (just use a vegan pasta)
- Vegan Mushroom Bolognese
- The Internet's Favorite Vegan Mac & Cheese
If you love vegan cooking, make sure you grab a copy of my free vegan cheat sheet while you’re here. It’s packed with all my favorite plant-based substitutions to help you vegan-ize any recipe!
Creamy Vegan Mushroom Alfredo {vegan + dairy free}
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raw cashews unsalted
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ onion peeled and diced
- 3 cups button mushrooms finely sliced
- 3 tbsp thyme leaves picked from the stalk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 350 g pasta gluten free if preferred
Instructions
- Place the cashews, water, nutritional yeast, mustard and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add half the oil and fry the onion until golden. Remove the onions from the pan and return the pan to the heat. Increase the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms (you may need to cook them in batches) and the remaining half of the oil. Cook until lightly golden. Return the onions to the pan and add the thyme and the alfredo sauce.
- While the mushrooms are cooking cook the pasta according to packet directions. When you add the sauce to the pan take a spoonful of the pasta water and stir through the sauce. Heat until warmed and then remove from the heat. Drain the pasta.
- Toss the pasta through the sauce and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure
Kathy says
Can you use a food processor instead of a blender?
Nicole says
Yes, a food processor will work just fine!
Maria William says
My daughter and I both liked this a lot. Our recommendations include using a little less pasta, but more mushrooms. The mushrooms give the dish a real depth of flavor. This recipe is a keeper.
Nicole says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it - I will never argue with more mushrooms!
Emily says
I just made this ands it's so good! Ive tried other vegan cheese sauce recipes that dont use nutrional yeast, but it clearly makes this dish super delicious/cheesy! I added some red pepper flakes to the blender mix and love the lil bit of heat it gave!
Nicole says
Thanks - the red pepper flakes are a great addition!
Nart says
Thank you, but is there any replacement for nutritional yeast? I could not find that in the supermarket
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
To be honest, it is best not to try to substitute nutritional yeast as it is an essential component to this dish which provides the cheesey flavour. If you have a health food shop near you, they will most likely have nutritional yeast. It also is also called savoury yeast flakes. 🙂
Kathy says
Hemp seeds can be a substitute for cashews.
Amanda says
Wondering what could substituted instead of the nutritional yeast? As it causes really bad gas in my little 2 yr old...
Jennifer Schmidt says
I'm sorry to hear that Amanda. As for a substitute, you could perhaps try 2 tsp of miso with a little soy and a pinch of vegetable stock powder, but I don't think the effect would be quite the same as the nutritional yeast really adds that cheesey flavour. If you decide to give it a go I'd love to hear how it turns out.
Rachel says
Could you substitute this with chickpea flour? I am allergic to tree nuts.
Jennifer Schmidt says
I'm sorry to hear you are allergic to nuts Rachel. Unfortunately I don't think chickpea flour would work. It would turn into more of a crepe batter. You could perhaps try using your favourite non dairy milk (such as soy or oat) and then instead of turning the heat off when you add the milk mixture cook it for a few minutes to let it reduce and thicken. Alternatively, you could try using sunflower seeds although I haven't tried it personally it might be a good substitute. I hope that helps. Let me know how you go 😀
APARTMENT2504.WORDPRESS.COM says
looks delicious 🙂 love showing my friends that vegan can also mean cremyyy
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I've heard about this sauce! Well, not this sauce but a sauce made with cashews and my friend raved about it in the same way. So eager to try it now.
Joey says
Looks amazing. Will definately give this a go when I get home.
Jennifer says
Thanks Joey 😀 I hope you like it.
Christie says
Oh my goodness, luscious! What a comeback 🙂
Amanda (@lambsearshoney) says
Glad to see you back in cyberspace Jen, and with such a delicious recipe!
Jennifer says
Thanks Amanda 🙂
Alexandra says
This looks awesome! I love the idea of creamy vegan sauces. You should check out Chloe Coscarelli's new vegan Italian cookbook. It has a ton of recipes like this 🙂
Cheryl says
Do you think that you could substitute other nuts for the cashews? Like almonds - or would they be too dry?
Jennifer says
You could use almond milk however almonds to have a bit more of a distinct nutty flavour so they might not work as well. I'd definitely suggest sticking to cashews if possible.
vegeTARAian says
Welcome back, so glad to see you back on my screen! I'm a BIG fan of mushrooms and I love cashew cream so you've got me sold! Sounds delicious.