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)
Made a double batch and loved it! The first night, I just poured it over some steamed chard. Yum. The second night, I smothered some asparagus in it. Yum again. I was too lazy to cook up some grains…
I made this for the family tonight. Super delicious and creamy! Will be making again, God willing. Thanks for such a healthy alternative. :)
I have just started to explore being a vegan, in fact this is my first week and this is going to be my dinner tonight with some peas and spinach in the mix. I loved your green monster vegan overnight oats too…. <3
Thank you for sharing this recipe, i tried it, and it became, one of my favorite dishes
Wow, this is delicious! Thank you! Easy to make and just wonderful! Next time, I’ll make extra sauce and freeze it! :)
Because I hate pouring vitamins down the drain, I wonder if there’s any reason why the cauliflower couldn’t be steamed, rather than boiled. Today I plan to pick up the cauliflower for my own sweetie’s “heart day” dinner and can hardly wait to taste the result. Took another reader’s suggestion and am ordering a spirulizer to make the “pasta” even healthier in the future. Thanks for the wonderful recipe ideas!
I love this recipe. I will have to make it!
I made this recipe and thought it was delicious. I am a big fan of garlic so it was perfect for me. My kids were more so-so about it but my husband liked it as well. It does make tons of sauce so we had a lot left over. I ended up slicing some potatoes and making scalloped potatoes with the sauce. I just added a bit more salt and it was excellent. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Where do you find this yeast ?
Try health food stores or bulk bins – or even the natural section of some grocery stores. Hope this helps!
Dulce Angela, you are a genius! I just made this recipe and it was sooo good! It made two servings – and I’m tempted to drink up the left-overs… This will definitely be added in my “go-to” recipe book.
I’ve been saving this recipe and I finally made it last night! I liked it but I thought it needed something extra (probably because I didn’t have nutritional yeast- they were cleaned out at Whole Foods!) so I added a bit of tomato sauce and red pepper flakes to make sort of a slightly-spicy tomato alfredo sauce. It came out very good! Thanks for such an innovative alfredo recipe!
Just made this for a Valentine’s Day dinner. So delicious. The recipe turned out perfect and I would definitely make it again. Great with red wine.
Wow – I just made this for dinner and have fallen in love with this sauce (and not just because it is Valentine’s day!)
It is so nice to find a creamy sauce not made from cashews. Thanks so much!
I made this without the milk – I guess I had enough liquid from taking out the cauliflower with a slotted spoon. I also added a bit of prepared mustard. It tasted a bit lemony when I first tried just the sauce, but when mixed with the pasta it was absolutely perfect.
We made this tonight for supper, and it was absolutely amazing. I will never make a cream based Alfredo sauce again, and would recommend this recipe to anyone I know. Thanks!!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe and introducing me to nutritional yeast! I was amazed by how cauliflower could be transformed into this creamy sauce. Extraordinary!
This is such an amazing recipe and my husband (Mr. Meat and Potatoes) loves it too!. I may or may not be using a spoon to shovel the sauce directly from the blender to my mouth at this exact second…
Hi! I am a University of Toronto student with a busy schedule, so I am always trying to find healthy meals that are quick and easy to make, but still taste like comfort food. I had to look up food blogs for a project, and I remember a friend telling me about yours. She loves all of your recipe’s, so I am now a huge fan of nutritional yeast thanks to you! Anyways, I made this recipe and invited friends over to test it out with me. We ended up spooning pasta into our mouths with reckless abandon and without shame, while drinking wine and feeling awesome about our healthy but delicious Saturday night meal. It was a welcome change from cafeteria food. Thank you for making healthy eating fun!
Aw Heather this is such a sweet story!!! Thanks for sharing :) So happy you enjoyed it (and the company too!)
Made this tonight and it was awesome and garlicky! My boyfriend loved it as well. You have created a pasta trifecta with this and the avocado pasta and the butternut squash mac and cheese!!!!!!
I found your website when looking for some meatless recipes for my 21 year old vegetarian /vegan daughter for when she comes home for the weekend from college. I’ve made several, including this one and WOW it was great. My Italian husband gobbled up the fettuccini Alfredo and neither one of us felt guilty! We had some sautéed broccoli on the side and mixed it in as we ate, it was filling, delicious, and healthy. Also a recipe that can be made on a week night after work. It’s a keeper!
Eating it as I type. AMAZING.