This non dairy homemade alfredo sauce comes together quickly in a blender and gets its creamy texture thanks to a secret ingredient: sunflower seeds! Yes, you don’t need cashews to create a luscious gluten-free, dairy-free sauce. Simply toss this easy alfredo sauce with your favorite pasta and dinner is ready in under 15 minutes.
When I was experiencing the worst of my gut and autoimmune symptoms, I was convinced I was allergic to dairy. Every time I ate a creamy pasta or grilled cheese, I’d suffer the consequences after. And being a naïve, stubborn 20-something, I’d wake up the next day and do it all over again.
As I wrote about in my second book, The Wellness Project, once I did my first elimination diet, I discovered that dairy wasn’t the worst culprit: it was actually the gluten. Still, ever since, I’ve tried to limit large quantities of heavy cream and cheese in my diet. Which has meant making my own rich non-dairy alfredo sauce at home.
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Dairy-free Alfredo Sauce
If you can’t eat nuts or dairy but love creamy sauces, this lactose-free alfredo sauce hack is for you.
The problem with many plant-based sauces is that they use cashews or flour as the thickener. Cashews, when soaked, can be pureed in a high-powered blender to create a thick sauce or soup. But I’ve discovered over the years that there are other nuts and seeds that do just as good of a job creating that same texture.
Sunflower seeds, which are used here, are relatively neutral and take little time to soften in boiling water.
In addition to being egg-free and nut-free, using sunflower seeds instead of cashews or gluten-containing flour also makes this sauce low FODMAP if you omit the garlic and shallot. I also have this amazingly creamy low FODMAP pasta sauce!
How to Make Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce
This quick sauce comes together in a blender and is very easy to incorporate into your workflow when making a dairy-free chicken alfredo.
Simply soak your seeds, sauté your garlic and shallot, add to the blender, and use the same pan to proceed with searing your chicken. If making a vegan version, skip the chicken (duh) and saute some broccoli or greens in the pan, then toss together with the sauce and pasta.
The lactose-free alfredo is adapted from my latest cookbook CARBIVORE, where it’s used in a Gnocchi Primavera recipe that’s completely plant-based. That version has slightly more lemon and no “cheesy” flavor additive (in this case nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan).
If you want to up the umami of the dairy-free sauce you can also add a teaspoon or two of white miso. This helps to give the sauce that slight funk that you normally get from Parmesan cheese. But if you can find nutritional yeast or a good quality vegan parm, those should do the trick on their own.
You can use the sauce right away, but the beauty of omitting any dairy is that it also freezes well. I like to make a double batch for my family and then freeze the second half in small portions in silicon ice cube trays so that I can pop a few out for my daughter’s pasta at dinner time.
For more delicious homemade jars to have at the ready, check out the complete list of all my fan favorite gluten-free sauces and condiments!
Read on for this easy dairy-free gluten-free alfredo sauce! For more creamy dishes without the cream, you’ll also love this gluten-free cream of chicken soup!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Rich & Creamy Alfredo Sauce (No Dairy, Gluten or Nuts!)
This non dairy homemade alfredo sauce comes together quickly in a blender and gets its creamy texture thanks to a secret ingredient: sunflower seeds! Yes, you don’t need cashews to create a luscious gluten-free, dairy-free sauce. Simply toss this easy alfredo sauce with your favorite pasta and dinner is ready in under 15 minutes.
Servings 1 cup
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup raw sunflower seeds
- Extra-virgin olive oil or plant-based butter
- 2 large shallots thinly sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- Sea salt
Instructions
Bring a kettle filled with at least 1 cup of water to a boil.
Place the sunflower seeds in a medium heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes, then drain.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick or stainless-steel skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil or butter over a medium-high flame. Cook the shallots and garlic until soft and beginning to lightly
brown, about 4 minutes. Scrape the garlic and shallots into a blender. Reserve the skillet.
To the blender, add the milk, dairy-free cheese or nutritional yeast, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon salt, and the drained soaked sunflower seeds. Puree on high until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, nutritional yeast or lemon juice, as needed.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!