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.
This sounds absolutely divine! I know my husband misses creamy Alfredo, and I’m sure this will more than do the trick!
Tried it the original way super clumpy, then I did it your way and it was great! Thank you for the advice
I read the title and was like “no”, then read the post and was like “yes”. Excited to make this on the weekend!!
You are kind of a genius. Growing up alfredo was always my favorite dish but I haven’t had it in years since it’s such a total calorie bomb. Definitely making this asap!
I can’t wait to try this… perfect over zucchini ribbons… Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Adorable name!! And agree with Erica above – even though vegan alfredo sauce made with cashews is delicious, it’s still quite high in fat and calories. You just made THE dish for volume eaters aka can’t get pasta in my mouth fast enough!
This looks so tasty! I love the versatility of cauliflower. One dish I like to do is make mash with cauliflower instead of potatoes as a lower cal alternative. I’ll definitely have to try this alfredo recipe out!
Gorgeous!!! What sort of mushrooms did you use? There are none in the recipe but I spy some in the pics!
I used cremini :) I actually didn’t like them in this as much as I thought I would (I put this at the end of the recipe), but it was still tasty :)
Portobello would be nice, there more a meaty muchroom.
I did it with portobello mushrooms and was so yummy, this sauce is amazing and super low calorie sauce. My kids hate the cauliflower so when I made this sauce they told me that is the only way that they can ate that jajajajjaja!! Thanks!!!
Ok, totally trying this! I always avoid cream-based sauces because they’re normally heavy and I’ve noticed that dairy is causing huuuuge breakouts on my face, but you’ve got me dying to try this. I’ve never been so excited about cauliflower LOL! :)
Dairy is a common culprit for causing acne and other bad things. You’re smart to leave it off your diet.
I love being able to have comfort food that is healthy. So glad I saw this posted on Facebook.
haha I love the name of this! AND! It looks great! xx
Oh, how exciting! I just bought a cheddar cauliflower head from my local farmers market, and it’s supposed to have a more *creamier texture* than regular cauliflower. I think this is a match made in foodie heaven! I can’t wait to try this :)
Brilliant idea. 25% more Vitamin A too! :)
Wow that looks amazing – I love cauliflower, so versatile! xx
I love using nuts as a substitute for meat and cheese. Recently I made tacos with ground nuts from the Beauty Detox book and they were so good! I cannot wait to try this recipe.
This looks very good! I would be inclined to use it as a sauce for rice, millet or quinoa or even just as a dip for vegetables!
I think I might try this for dinner tonight! I have a big head of cauliflower that’s about to go bad, so this is perfect. Also, your photography is gorgeous, as always…
looks reallly good! do u think this sauce would freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing it yet, but let me know if you try it out :)
Just wanted to let you know and everyone else that this delicious sauce freezes beautifully.
Thanks, Lea! I have too much sauce left over so I’m going to freeze it. :)
Hi Hazel
Go ahead and freeze the sauce. It freezes great.
Thanks alot! Cauliflower just went on sale this week so I’m gonna make a double batch and freeze half :)
I try to steer clear of creamy sauces because they are usually so heavy. This one on the other hand, looks amazing. You continue to inspire me with these amazing recipes! This is the perfect meal for my birthday dinner tonight, thanks!!!
Yes yes yes! I love using cauliflower to make things creamy, sooo much better than butter annnd veggies for the win!!
Wow that looks delicious! Cauliflower is definitely the “IT” food of the year! I made a cauliflower crust pizza last night, it was wonderful!
This would be a great new dish for me to try to fuel my training! You cannot run 70 miles a week on salads! I am always on the lookout for new pasta dishes to fuel me up for my training :) Thanks for the recipe!
This is so unique! Would leaving out the nutritional yeast compromise the flavor too much? I don’t have any at my house, but still want to try it.
The nutritional yeast does give it a great flavour, but it might be ok without it – let me know if you try it out. You might need to adjust the seasonings too
Hi! Being down in Australia I wasn’t sure what the yeast was! Apparently sell it down here as nutritional yeast flakes. Left it out but found it lacked a bit of oomph… will try again with next time!
I tried this without the nutritional yeast. I added a bit of veggie stock and ground sage. Also, I tossed in some roasted mushrooms and raw kale at the end. I loved it!!!! Lots of sea salt and fresh ground pepper too.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
XO, Gina
classyeverafter.blogspot.com
Good to know, thanks!
I also couldn’t find nutritional yeast. Instead I added some freshly ground nutmeg and added fried aubergine to it. It was very tasty :)
I’ve had a hard time finding nutritional yeast. Maybe this recipe will inspire me to order some online. It looks and sounds scrumptious!
Try the bulk section if you haven’t already.
Yup, also the organic/natural food aisle of some grocery stores have it.