Quick & easy recipe for homemade dairy-free alfredo sauce made with coconut & almond milk – no cashews! Way better than store-bought and ready in minutes! Perfect with pasta & oven-roasted chicken.
I’m not opposed to dairy, but after finishing the Whole30, my family and I realized that we do best when we keep dairy to a minimum.
For example, fresh mozzarella on homemade pizza? We’re good.
Homemade yogurt in our smoothies? Still good.
Rich and creamy homemade alfredo sauce? Not so good.
Fortunately, though, I created a dairy-free alfredo sauce recipe that tastes so good, we think it might be even BETTER than my regular version!!
Easy Dairy-free Alfredo Sauce
There are a lot of dairy-free alfredo sauce recipes out there, but it was important to me that I make one that was:
- Brain. Dead. Easy.
- Simple. I need to use pantry staples people. No special ingredients.
- Quick. I need the sauce done when the noodles are.
- Made with 100% whole foods only. Nothing weird going on here.
- No cashews. Love them in my vegan cheese sauce, but not here.
- No chicken stock or chicken broth.
- Better than store-bought. Yep, you heard me! Move on over Kroger and Walmart, this recipe has you beat!
And on top of this, I needed a sauce that my picky eaters LOVE. Not just tolerate. I mean, I needed them to lick-their-plates it’s so good…
And this dairy-free alfredo sauce fits the bill!
Simple Ingredients for Dairy-free Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Believe it or not, you only need a few basic pantry staples to make this simple alfredo sauce:
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Flour
- Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk
- Almond Milk
- Nutritional Yeast
- Salt & Pepper
How do you make something creamy without dairy?
This alfredo sauce is rich and creamy thanks to the coconut milk!
Can you make dairy-free alfredo sauce with almond milk?
Yes! We like the creaminess that the coconut milk gives, but you can use almond milk if you’d prefer.
How to Make Gluten-free Dairy-free Alfredo Sauce
This alfredo sauce comes together really quickly, so make sure you have everything ready before you start.
- Warm the garlic in the oil; add the flour and prepare a roux.
- Slowly add the almond milk, whisking as you add.
- Add the remaining ingredients, turn the heat up to thicken, and serve when it’s done!
Want to make dairy-free chicken alfredo?
No problem! Prepare fettuccine noodles according to the package, and make your choice of slow cooker chicken, oven-roasted chicken, or even Instant Pot frozen chicken breasts.
Toss with the sauce and you’re good to go!
How do you make alfredo sauce from scratch without parmesan?
Follow this recipe! There’s no parmesan, but instead just a bit of nutritional yeast for that rich, umami flavor you get from traditional cheese.
What to serve with alfredo sauce?
- Serve with pasta (did you know you can freeze cooked pasta?)
- With all-purpose slow cooker chicken.
- As a sauce for homemade pizza.
- With easy-roasted broccoli.
Other Dairy-free Sauces
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Quick & easy recipe for homemade dairy-free alfredo sauce made with coconut & almond milk – no cashews! Way better than store-bought and ready in minutes!
- Prep Time: 2 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Sauces & Condiments
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 2 Tbsp flour (any kind)
- ½ cup almond milk
- ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- In a medium stockpot, warm the oil and the garlic over low heat JUST until the garlic is fragrant.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the flour. Cook the flour, stirring often, for one minute.
- Slowly add the almond milk while whisking well, so that the almond milk and the flour make a thick paste after each addition. (I highly recommend using a flat-bottomed whisk for this step.)
- Add the remaining ingredients and keep the sauce at medium. Cook for 5-7 minutes and the sauce will thicken as it cooks.
- Serve as desired, or over chicken and fettuccine noodles!
Can this sauce be frozen? I am the only one in my family who eats it so it’s a bit much for just me. I am wondering if it would be too runny?
Hello Sherry,
This alfredo sauce freezes well. Place it in an airtight freezer-friendly container. When you’re ready to use it, let it thaw overnight in the fridge and warm it up. Hope this helps.
Very good and super easy to make! Thank you!
★★★★★
I need to avoid white flour. So can I use any other flour? Like almond or cassava? I know the recipe said “any”, but wanted to be extra sure. I don’t care much for cooking and to have to make things from scratch and then mess them up, is really annoying 🙁 Thanks.
Does this have a coconut milk taste? My boyfriend won’t eat it if it does. Thanks.
HI Cecelia,
I don’t think it has a coconut taste. The coconut is unsweetened, so it doesn’t really taste like it. Plus, you have other flavors in there, with the almond milk. Hope this helps.
I did have to add abit more salt and pepper to really eliminate the last traces of the coconut/almond milk flavor, but not a lot more, just to taste.
Also, when I made it I added 2/5 of a zucchini, cut into quarter inch cubes, to soften with the garlic, then a handful of baby spinach, just until wilted. Then the flour, stir, add the almond milk, stir, add 1 lb of red Argentine shrimp, stir in the coconut milk, bring to a simmer, then stir in shredded mozzarella (in place of the nutritional yeast). As it simmers, taste from time to time and add salt and pepper as needed. Incredibly delicious, and making a double recipe with this much shrimp served over 4 ounces of Dream Field linguine clocks in at 1406 calories altogether. My wife and I happily split it 2 ways!
★★★★★
What kind of flour is used in this recipe? I looked at the gluten-free dairy-free part and it still says just flour. So, I’m curious if it is tapioca or arrowroot or something else that is gluten-free. Thanks for your help. It looks delicious!
Hello Shannon,
Yes, any flour can be used. Arrowroot itself might turn out a little gummy. A gluten-free all-purpose blend would be good. Hope this helps!
This sauce is really good and was very easy to make! I used a flat bottomed whisk from a bar set we have, and that really helped. Delicious and definitely going into the rotation to put over gluten free pasta for me and regular for my guy! Thank you for this creamy, tasty alternative.
★★★★★
Hi Tara!
We’re so glad you both love it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
I am new to going dairy free…. and seriously couldn’t believe anything would be able to come close to tasting as heavenly as this does and be DF and GF! Thank you for this recipe so very much, I love it and can’t wait to make it again. I didn’t make any alterations to the recipe, I may need to double it next time though. I will definitely start using your site for help! Thank you!
★★★★★
You’re most welcome Sydney! 🙂
I was looking for a creamy pasta sauce that was easy, gluten free, and dairy free and this sauce is definitely all those things. “Alfredo” …not so much. It’s not a bad cream sauce. I think I’m just really missing the parm flavor of my traditional alfredo sauce. I’ll probably make it again and play around with it a little, maybe skipping the coconut milk because I’m not really a fan. But, thank you for an easy and creamy gluten free / dairy free sauce as I attempt to navigate this new diet change!
★★★
Hello! Can this be made ahead/reheated without affecting texture?
Fresh is better but it should be okay to pre-make as well.
I am sensitive to almonds and oats. Can I use just the coconut milk or is there another substitute?
Yes, you can use coconut or regular milk if you don’t need dairy-free.
I am going to try this, but I don’t want the coconut milk. I don’t have nutritional yeast….and I am using edamame fettucine …..any ideas?
★★★★★
Use a different dairy free alternative such as a full fat unsweetened plain almond milk. As for the yeast I am unsure exactly how to adjust.
I want to try this but don’t have nutritional yeast and need to make it gluten free… Will it turn out if i omit the yeast & use gf all-purpose flour?
It would be fine to make it gluten free but I would add the yeast. My reasoning is because if you change to many factors it will lead to the flavor being greatly changed.
Does yeast make or break the recipe? Or can I make it without?
It will change the recipe without the yeast but it should still be okay.
I am so excited to try this! We haven’t had a good alfredo for over a year since we found out my daughter is dairy intolerant. I actually have all these ingredients on hand-so fun!