Eric is in love with this creamy cauliflower pasta dish. I mean, in love. In fact, he asked if we could make it together on Valentine’s Day. Who am I to deny a grown man cauliflower? Plus, creamy pasta and Valentine’s Day go hand and hand. Chocolate too, of course. I’d say it’s a win-win.
Traditional Alfredo sauce is mostly made up of butter, cheese, and often, cream. Decadent? You betcha. Hiding a super healthy vegetable? Not so much. I’m happy to say this cauli-power sauce brings us both decadence and nutrition. To be honest, I was super skeptical to try the blended-cauliflower-as-pasta-sauce trend and I wasn’t rushing to try it out. But after whipping up a version in my kitchen, I went crazy for this stuff. And by crazy, I mean standing over the pot of pasta and spooning it into my mouth uncontrollably. Yea that happened. It’s downright irresistible just like you’d hope a creamy pasta to be. Of course, soaked cashews can create a fine alfredo sauce too, but it’s great to have a change from nuts. All you have to do to make this sauce nut-free is swap the almond milk for a nut-free non-dairy milk of your choice. Fun, right?
This sauce makes a lot (3 cups!) which means you can happily drown the pasta with the sauce. No skimping here! It is cauliflower after all. I stirred the sauce into whole grain spelt ribbon pasta which was quite tasty. I gravitate toward meals that leave me feeling good and this certainly made the cut. Not bad for a decadent-tasting pasta, I say.
Cauli-power "Alfredo"
Yield
4 servings (makes 3 cups sauce)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This vegan “alfredo” sauce tastes decadent, yet is super light and energizing thanks to the sneaky cauliflower base! The nutritional yeast lends this sauce a rich "cheesy" flavour, while the blended cauliflower creates a creamy, luxurious base. This alfredo sauce is lovely served with pasta, but you can also enjoy it stirred into your favourite roasted or sautéed veggies. I love sautéing seasonal vegetables to serve along with the sauce over pasta. In the photo, I topped my bowl with a lovely spring veggie trifecta of leeks, asparagus, and peas. Thanks to Pinch of Yum for inspiring this tasty recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 heaping cups (460 g) cauliflower florets (1 small/medium cauliflower)
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened and unflavoured almond milk*
- 1/4 cup (20 g) nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
- 1 package (350 g/12 ounces) fettuccine or rotini pasta**
- Fresh minced parsley, for garnish
Directions
- Place cauliflower florets in a steamer basket and steam, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes until fork tender. (Alternatively, you can boil the cauliflower in a pot of water for 8 to 15 minutes until fork tender. Drain well before proceeding.)
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well and add it back to the pot. Set aside.
- Add the oil and minced garlic to a small skillet and sauté over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Be careful not to burn.
- Add the cooked cauliflower, sautéed garlic, milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a high-speed blender. Blend until a very smooth sauce forms. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Add the cauliflower sauce to the pot with the pasta and stir well. Heat over low-medium until heated through. The pasta will tone down the flavours of the sauce so it’s important to taste the mixture and add more seasonings (salt, pepper, lemon, etc.) to taste before serving.
- For serving: Divide the warm pasta into bowls and top with more salt and pepper (to taste), along with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh minced parsley. Feel free to add your favourite cooked veggies such as broccoli, peas, leeks, asparagus, butternut squash, etc.
Tip:
* It’s very important that you use an unsweetened and unflavoured non-dairy milk in this recipe (nothing with vanilla or added sugar, please!).
** If you’re only preparing a couple servings, feel free to cook less pasta and save leftover sauce for another time. The alfredo sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a few days.
To make the alfredo taste extra decadent, add a tablespoon or two of vegan butter to the sauce.
Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta.
Boost the protein: Use a legume-based pasta such as chickpea pasta.
Make it nut-free: Use a nut-free non-dairy milk (such as soy milk) instead of almond milk. Be sure to use unsweetened and unflavoured milk.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Sounds great. What does the nutritional yeast do? Would the recipe work without it?
Thanks!
Lisa
I can’t even begin to say how much I love this sauce. I made it yesterday to use up the cauli I had left from xmas. I had the second portion today and it is even better after a day. I made it as per the recipe, except I used smoked garlic because it needed to be used up (put quite a lot in ;) ), and I didn’t have any onion powder so I left it out. Yesterday I had it with conchiglie pasta and small button mushrooms (just cooked in a bit of water) and a handful of fresh spinach. Today I had bits of left over veg stirred in with the same conchiglie pasta…. avocado, spinach, tomato, sweetcorn, green beans. Just amazingly delicious. Thank you :D xx
To Lisa – the nutritional yeast makes it really cheesy and yummy – try it, even if you hate the smell or taste of nutritional yeast. My husband tasted it and thought it was actual cheese….and he is a committed carnivore who will only try ‘my’ food if I don’t tell him what it is…
I think it could work as a parsley sauce, or as a plain ‘not bechamel’ sauce, but it wouldn’t be as nice… I just re-read the text above and it really is DECADENT!!! :D
I just made this and am in LOVE! Seriously, one of my all time favorite vegan recipes since I went vegan one year ago. Thanks soo soo much for this. Cauliflower is one of my all time favorite veggies. I posted a pic on my instagram @jennipherhulse . I added garlic sauteed button mushrooms and chopped bock choy. The bock choy added a great little crunch. I just used my fatsecret app to find out what the calorie count was as you wrote your recipe and I got 307 calories! That is so fantastic compared to typical fettuccine alfredo.
I made this tonight for my family and they loved it! I didn’t tell them it was cauliflower until dinner was over (lots of shocked faces). They knew something was a bit different but still thought it was made with cream etc.. (I swear by my Vitamix- really does help get the right consistency)
I made a few modifications but the original is just as delicious. I made the “base sauce” in advance. I then sauteed some sliced pear in a little bit of coconut oil and cinnamon. I added the sauce to reheat and added a bit of ginger to taste. Delish!
Can’t wait to try more recipes. In fact, I asked each family member to pick out a recipe that they’d like to try. My 11 year old daughter has requested the “Festive Kale Salad with Sweet Apple-Cinnamon Vinaigrette & Pecan Parmesan”. Yay!
Tracy
Hi Angela,
Loved this recipe – didn’t have onion & garlic powder so just chopped 2 onions and fried that with the garlic and the cauliflower (adding 2tbs of water and covering so the cauliflower steam fried) added it to the blender with the almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Added 1/2 tsp vegan chicken stock and extra almond milk as the sauce was super thick. Served over pasta with green peas. Everyone loved it. Thanks for another super easy and tasty recipe.
This is delicious. Very easy to make. My husband said he couldn’t tell there was cauliflower in the sauce. My 3 year old grandson shoveled it in. Very good. Thank you for the recipe.
I make this once a month or so. I have fallen in love with the sauce! I have recommended it to countless people as well. I add a variety of mix-ins, whatever sounds good that night. Thanks for a winner of a recipe.
Shame on me and my skepticism for waiting nearly a year before trying this recipe! How could I ever doubt you when every recipe of yours I have tried has been nothing short of wonderful? What I mean to say is – THIS WAS AWESOME! Who would have thought cauliflower could make such a delicious, creamy sauce? I tossed it with roasted broccoli and GF quinoa pasta. I totally would have added mushrooms as well if I had any on hand. I have at least 1.5 cups of sauce left and I cannot wait to have leftovers!
I tried this last night and was amazed at how tasty and filling it was! I added a bit more unsweetened coconut but still had a really think sauce so perhaps I had too much cauliflower. I toasted a couple of teaspoons of pine nuts in the same pan from the garlic and these were a really tasty add on! Tonight I had leftovers with veggie meatballs and was again impressed at how great the flavour was! Great recipe!
Love this recipe!
I added a can of white kidney beans for extra protein and it was delicious!! Just went a little heavy on the milk and spicing to compensate.
OMG, I made this yesterday and I was so surprised at how quick and easy to make it was!
The only thing I added was a bit of gratted nutmeg and I used that sauce with soba noodles.
AMAZING and super delicious! Thank you Angela for sharing this marvellous recipe!
Bisous from France
I skimped on this recipe – I mean, seriously skimped as I had no nutritional yeast, so ended up throwing in some yeast spread instead. No onion powder either, or garlic powder, but I simply had to have creamy pasta tonight. I ended up sauteing onion, NZ/perpetual spinach and brown button mushrooms and making it with what I had and tossing it in with brown spaghetti.
The family LOVED it – thanks so much! I can’t wait to try it properly once I have all the ingredients. It’s just the thing I’ve been missing since cutting out dairy. This is going to be one of those staple recipes like frozen banana ice cream.
Just made this tonight. The texture is awesome, very creamy. But I should have cut down on the garlic, it’s a bit strong. I’ll try it again though.
I am a skeptic by nature. But I made this tonight and it’s good! I altered by using vegan pesto instead of plain olive oil and coconut creamer instead of nut milk. It’s really good!
Posted my prior comment to quickly!
I am a skeptic by nature so I was sure this would not be right. We are going vegan for three months to see if it will lower by husbands cholesteral. It was either vegan or protein and no carbs (including fruit). My husband likes his carbs so he chose vegan.
I altered the recipe a little by adding the vegan buttery stick for richness and vegan pesto for flavor. I finished the dish with spinach, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and squash. Wish I could post a picture at how pretty it turned out!
This was so good. Blew away my low expectations!
I just made this dish for my family–absolutely delicious! I didn’t have garlic or onion powder so I just used 5 garlic cloves instead of 2, and sauteed it with one small minced onion. I added peas per your suggestion and it was everything I wanted & more. Everyone loved it, definitely saving this recipe!
I’ve made this several times and it is soooo good!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband, not vegan but supportive, said I didn’t have to tell anyone that it was vegan . High praise indeed! I used a normal old blender and coconut creamer to blend. Fantastic!
I tried a cauliflower sauce once and I really enjoyed it- but the next day, it really tasted very strongly of cauliflower. I don’t know what happened, but I found as a leftover it just wasn’t quite as good. Which made me want to try a ROASTED cauliflower sauce. Have you ever tried? And while I’m on the topic….. I’d really like to try a roasted cauliflower sauce/ butternut squash lasagna ;)
I made this and absolutely love it. I will definitely be making this again.
We are a new vegan family, this recipe was an absolute hit, especially with my 11yr old son! I added 3-4 more Tbsp coconut milk as it was a bit too think, and I didn’t have any onion powder, it still was great. Thank you! :)
Went to the store to buy cauliflower as soon as I saw this! I added truffle salt to mine and it was amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Can this be made without nutritional yeast? My store ran out! =( Needless to say I can’t wait to try this!
Delicious! I have made a few times- but tonight used it as a sauce and made lasagna with roasted veggies! My non-vegan, carnivore husband had three helpings! Thanks for another winner,
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! I was pretty skeptical because I’m not a big fan of cauliflower, but I’ve made several of your recipes and haven’t been steered wrong yet. To be honest I didn’t use the nutritional yeast because it kind of weirds me out so I used about half a cup of parmesan cheese instead (no longer vegan, but that’s fine with me). It was so creamy, flavorful and easy to make! One thing I found useful though was to add some of the pasta water after the sauce and pasta was mixed to loosen it up a little. Thank you for a great alternative to dairy heavy Alfredo sauce.
How important is the yeast? The recipe sounds wonderful.
This recipe, in addition to being delicious, is FAST. On my first try I was eating in 25 minutes. I had planned to save some but I couldn’t stop. The left over sauce, I basically just drank. No matter because I can make more in mere minutes! :)
My new go to for cream sauce. I used this recipe last night as a base for white sauce in vegetable lasagna. And because I didn’t have the recipe in front of me I took some creative liberty. I added a handful of cashews to to the water when I boiled the cauliflower for some creaminess and didn’t use oil or nutritional yeast. I also added a slight teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon vegetable base to the food processor, and taking an idea from one of one of your other recipes, some fresh basil leaves. My son-in-law not a big vegetable eater said if he hadn’t seen me preparing it would never have known it was a totally vegan recipe. Thank you for posting this recipe. I will be using again and again in as a starting point in various applications.
I meant to rate this 5 stars!
Maybe it was the soya milk instead of Almond Milk that did it but this got the thumbs down from everyone. It just tasted flavourless other then oniony and garlicky, I didn’t like the consistency either it was thick and did taste of bland cauliflower. Sorry not for me. We even added broccoli, spinach and peas but there was nothing saving this :(
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it with vegan butter and 1/4 cup more almond milk. Served over portabella mushrooms and quinoa pasta. Big hit!
Where do the mushrooms in the picture get incorporated in the recipe..?
Delicious! Thanks for this recipe. I added spinach and thought it blended nicely. Also, I loved that this was an easy enough dinner for me to prep even with 2 young kiddos hanging around. I made the sauce during naps and kept it in the fridge until dinner. Worked great!
this sauce is the business. thanks for the recipe!
My response was literally – Holy S*** it really worked!! Love it thanks for the great recipe – sorry for the vulgarity!
This is seriously amazing! I wish I didn’t put off making this for as long as I did. Stop what you’re doing and start cooking this up!
Delicous. Did it twice, once with peas, mushrooms and zucchini, and the other time with spinach and brocoli. Both yummy. The yeast gives a great cheesy feel, and it’s fast. Crowd pleaser, will do it again! :)
This was so delicious! I couldn’t believe how good it was!
Found this site from a co-worker, as I am “Veg-curious.” I will be taste testing this on my unsuspecting family. I love the idea of healthy decadence…LOL.
Very AWESOME pasta recipie ( and I am a growm man:) )
Totally loved it and discovering this blog!!
Thanks David! :) I hope you enjoy many more to come
My family of 6 (the baby did not eat this) just finished eating this dish. It was delicious! I cannot believe this recipe was void of cream and cheese. I did modify it a bit: 6 garlic cloves and 1 1/2 tsp. of fresh lemon juice. My children 12, 10, and 4 loved it. This recipe will be a weekly entree plus it was EASY PEASY to make. Thank you!
I’ve made this several times and adore it. I’ve taken to substituting roasted garlic. Today I used it as the base for a tomato “cream” sauce with roasted tomatoes and it is delicious. So glad I found your blog. Love the cookbook too!
Absolutely amazing! Tried it on both corn pasta and carrot/zucchini ribbons and LOVED it!! It came out way more creamy than I though it would. Thank you!
I came across this recipe after steaming a cauliflower without deciding in advance what sort of sauce I would make for it (Karfiol* is a favorite vegetable, and I was looking for a change of pace). Making a sauce FROM it rather than FOR it seemed like just the sort of thing I was in the mood to try. I made it with only minor changes: (a) I steamed the cauli, simply because I could use the rice cooker for that and not tie up a burner; (b) I used a potload more garlic, and skipped the garlic powder; (c) I added half of a large sweet onion to the saute, and skipped the onion powder; (d) I doubled the lemon juice to brighten the flavor; (e) I decided that the subtleties of a nice sea salt would be lost in a sauce this intense, so I used ordinary salt. The result was more than satisfactory! The texture of the sauce was velvety; it had the mouth “feel” of a much richer sauce. The nutritional yeast provided some of the flavor richness that one would have gotten from cheese, and probably was a lot of the reason this tasted like an Alfredo sauce rather than just like cauliflower puree. The cauliflower flavor was discernible, but did not dominate. When I served it, my wife pronounced it to be “comfort food of a high order,” and was surprised that it had so little fat. Although we ordinarily do eat dairy products, we have a family member whose irritable bowel seems to be helped by avoiding milk — so this will be a particularly nice recipe to have in the repertoire. It’s also nice that it’s pretty easy to make. I’d recommend it without reservation.
*”Karfiol” is the Austrian word for cauliflower; we often call it by that name in our Austro-American family, and I like the punning ring of “Karfiol-fredo” as a name for this dish!
I made this in a regular old blender with chocolate almond milk (unsweetened) and old cheddar cheese instead of the nutritional yeast and it was still delicious! I will add more pepper and I just saw the comment about pesto so I might add some of that too. Thanks Angela for the awesome recipes!!! My favourite food and recipe blog hands down.
Very good!
I am sad to report that this was a huge disappointment. I am not vegan, though I have a dairy allergy, so I am no stranger to “cheese” sauces made with vegetables, raw cashews, nutritional yeast, etc. This tasted like pureed cauliflower and there was nothing cheese-like about it. It wasn’t far off from many mashed cauliflower recipes, which tasted pretty “meh” when paired with pasta. I am truly shocked that reviewers are raving about this recipe. The Creamy Chard Linguine from Isa Chandra Moskowitz is much much more alfredo-like and remains my vegan “cheese” sauce standard. I will not be making this again.
I was vegan years ago, but ate mostly junk food. Now, in my 40s, I’m embracing a healthier, plant-based lifestyle for health reasons (for me and my kids). Your recipes are so very good. Never a dud, and exactly the kind of food I love to eat. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I should add that I’m down 25 lbs and have improved my cholesterol numbers :)
Made this pasta tonight, was pretty happy with it.
I probably added too much lemon juice (half of a large lemon, not measured), it ended up being pretty lemony. I added in some sauteed crimini mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and spinach. It wasn’t exactly an “alfredo”, but still a tasty creamy sauce.
Could you tell me the calories, carbs, and sugars for this recipe? Only the sauce not the noodles! Thanks!