Creamy walnut pasta sauce, a 10-mins vegan sauce that’s dairy-free and gluten-free. This walnut pasta recipe is so easy to make, high in protein and only requires 7-8 basic ingredients with your pasta of choice.
Move over cashew pasta sauce, hello walnut pasta sauce! This creamy walnut sauce is more budget-friendly, lower in saturated fat and full of their own nutrition benefits than traditional cashew or dairy cream sauce.
This easy pasta recipe makes the more buttery, velvety, smooth, creamy walnut pasta sauce. It’s perfect for vegan alfredo pasta, creamy spinach sauces, rosé sauce or anything else that needs a vegan creamy white sauce.
A lot of critiques of many vegan cream sauces are qualms with cashews. Although cashews have the potential to be a weapon in your vegan pantry, walnuts are the affordable, lower fat sister.
Related Recipe: Easy Vegan Rosé Pasta
WALNUT PASTA SAUCE
VEGAN | GLUTEN-FREE | DAIRY-FREE
I receive comments all the time that I should make creamy, vegan, dairy-free alternatives without using cashews. Your wish is my command! TA-DA! I present to you, a cashew-free, dairy-free, and optional gluten-free pasta sauce. Now fill your bellies with this creamy pasta dream.
WALNUT PASTA SAUCE INGREDIENTS
This recipe has the following basic ingredients:
- Raw walnuts, soaked overnight
- Olive oil
- Small cooking onion
- Garlic
- Unsweetened soy milk (opt for soy-free milk if you have soy-allergy)
- Salt & Pepper
- Ground Nutmeg
- Parsley (optional)
- Vegan Parmesan cheese (optional) or nutritional yeast
- Pasta (Gluten-free optional)
Variations of Ingredients to use if you want:
- Chopped Parsley – Top pasta for a touch of colour
- Chopped grape tomatoes in olive oil – top your pasta for a touch of colour and sweetness.
- Spinach – add to blender to create a creamy spinach sauce.
- Tomato sauce – add to blender to create a creamy rose sauce.
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT I USED:
Related Recipe: Creamy Mushroom Pasta
HOW TO MAKE WALNUT PASTA SAUCE
HOW TO MAKE WALNUT PASTA SAUCEQuick and easy way to make walnut cream sauce:
- Boil pasta. Cook until al dente, reserving some cooking water. Then drain.
- Heat olive oil, cook onion and garlic.
- In a blender, blend garlic and onion mixture, soaked walnuts, plant-based milk, salt, and vegan cheese (optional). Blend until very smooth.
- Add sauce to a pot with salt and pepper, as well as a pinch of nutmeg. Heat up and mix.
- Toss with pasta to coat, adding reserved cooking water if the sauce is too thick.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
TIPS FOR WALNUT PASTA SAUCE
Soak the walnuts – when blended, walnuts naturally turn a purple-ish colour. For a more traditional looking alfredo sauce, cover the walnuts with water and let soak overnight to take out some colour.
High-Speed Blender – For the smoothest possible consistency, use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec. These are powerful enough to make a smooth sauce without any chunks or bits. You can also use a food processor if a high-speed blender is not available to you.
Pasta Sauce Variations – Add a handful of spinach to the blender to make a creamy spinach sauce. Mix with some tomato sauce to create a creamy rose. Or Cook a few chopped grape tomatoes in olive oil and top your pasta for a touch of colour and sweetness.
- 1 ¼ cups walnuts, raw soaked overnight
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ small cooking onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese, optional or 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp - 1 tsp salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- pasta of choice
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, and then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat, and cook onion and garlic slices until fragrant, about 3-5 mins. You want the garlic to be light in colour, but not browned, as it will be bitter.
- In a high-speed blender, add the cooked garlic and onion, soaked walnuts, soy milk, vegan cheese or yeast, if using, and salt. Blend until very smooth.
- Add sauce to the pot you cooked your pasta in with a pinch of nutmeg, heat over medium heat. Once warmed, season with additional salt, if needed and pepper to taste.
- Add pasta and toss well to coat.
- Add reserved cooking water if the consistency is too thick.
- When ready to serve, garnish with the chopped parsley and more vegan parmesan cheese as desired.
Hey, I’m Candice & welcome to The Edgy Veg! I veganize popular food recipes for vegans, plant-based diets, eco-conscious eaters & people who are trying to eat more plants over… y’know animals or by-products of animals. I hope you enjoy this tasty vegan recipe!
Looking For More Vegan Pasta Recipes?
- One Pot Pasta Sausage Gnocchi
- Vegan Pizzoccheri
- Jaime Oliver’s Mac and Cheese (Vegan)
- Easy Vegan Rose Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a 
star rating & comment below. It truly helps me & I really appreciate any support! Feel free to share your food photos on social and tag me @edgyveg so I don’t miss it!
Lucy says:
Can I make this ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to add to pasta?