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There are a lot of ways to make vegan cheese substitutes. The problem, for an elimination diet, is that most of them use cashews or soy. I searched using so many different key word searches trying to find one that would fit this diet but also sounded edible. I honestly am not a huge fan of vegan cheese like substances. I find them to be a poor approximation of what I really want. But this vegan, nut free, alfredo sauce actually does the job right.
I found a recipe similar to this one that I thought I could work with. I added more nutritional yeast for a bolder flavor and substituted arrowroot powder for the corn starch to make it an elimination diet friendly recipe. Make sure to blend the arrowroot powder and water first or you’ll get lumps in your sauce! Arrowrooot powder might become your new staple even post elimination diet. Not only is it corn free but it is also completely flavorless which means you can use it in both sweet and savory recipes completely worry free.
When I first tasted this vegan, nut free, alfredo sauce I was shocked. It really does have a cheesy flavor! And it doesn’t taste like coconut at all so don’t worry about that part. My boyfriend hates coconut and he didn’t even notice that this one had any coconut flavor. The nutritional yeast seems to cancel it out well and the garlic powder really helps bring it all together. I used it for this chicken and broccoli casserole but you can use it on pasta, or anything that could use some cheese sauce! This vegan nut free alfredo sauce is a great way to make phase one elimination diet meals feel like comfort food.
Ingredients
- 1 can, 13.5 oz, full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- In a saucepan over low heat stir together coconut milk, salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast until well combined
- bring to a low boil
- whisk together arrowroot powder and cold water
- add arrowroot powder to coconut milk blend
- continue to stir at a low boil until sauce begins to thicken
- use for pasta, casseroles, anything you want to be creamy!

Wow this cheese sauce is a stretch for me. I have trouble believing that it’s at all cheesy flavor. But I’ve found several of your recipes that I’ve really liked. So I will give this one a whirl. I’m always looking to reduce calories and still taste good. So I’m thinking this is worth the gamble. Thanks for posting.
When it’s with the casserole it’ll all come together. It’s never gonna be ooey gooey stretchy cheese goodness but it’ll do the trick!
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