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.
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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
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I love this sauce and have just used it on my lasagne. The best thing is the kids love it too.
What an awesome idea! I tried this last week, and it was great. I toyed with the sauce recipe today to create a “cheesy” sauce for a chickpea wrap. I’m seeing lots of potential here! :)
So I modified this slightly and it was delicious. Even got my SO to eat it and he loved it! I just added some wilted spinach and some fresh basil leaves. It looked a little weird because it was a green sauce but it tasted good, a mix between Alfredo and pesto.
This is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Do you think it is possible to use this sauce for lasagna?
Sorry, please ignore my previous comment. I’ve just seen the reply above. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ll give it a try because it is just what I’ve been looking for.
This recipe is brilliant! I was skeptical that it could be good, but I`m now a believer. My garlic alfredo loving 14 year old downed three large plates and never guessed it was made with cauliflower, lol!
The sauce is indeed divine – I just made it and not only is it gorgeous, but also so quick! Lovey recipe, thanks for sharing!
This was so amazing, Angela. I added some sautéed spinach per your recommendation. Your recipes never disappoint!
i just made this and it’s so delicious!!
Made for the very first time and honestly ate it by the spoonful it was so amazing! :-)
Hi,
Thanks for wonderful looking recipe. Wondering if anyone has tried a raw version and if so whether it still tasted good?
Thanks again.
This cauliflower sauce is so incredibly good! I just made it for dinner!
Thank you for sharing I’m going to check out more of your recipes!
:) Tria
Thanks for sharing Loved this and it was so easy to prepare! Next time I think I will try it with the basil pesto!!
I’m not usually a commenter but had to chime in here, I always love finding comments from people who have made the recipe. I made it this evening for dinner, and WOW! This tasted so much like traditional alfredo sauce my husband couldn’t believe it was vegan. Thank you! We’re new to this lifestyle and recipes like this are keeping us going :-)
This is a fantastic sauce! Really creamy, savoury and surprisingly versatile. I made it first with noodles as suggested, but with raw garlic. Then I used it as a base for a macaroni and “cheese”. What really made it exceptional the second time I made it, I tried my mom’s trick of using puréed yellow onion. My brother and I hated onions when we were growing up, so my mom used to purée them and sneak them into sauces and casseroles and then laugh when we wolfed down our food. It really gave it a nice authentic Italian kick! (Italians looooooooove their onions! Oh, and their garlic!)
I am trying to eliminate dairy…not vegan quite yet but I love pasta and cream sauces and loved this recipe. I added some of the tofutti cream cheese to it and it melted very well and gave it a creamier texture I thought. Just passing along for any others trying no dairy…
Delicious recipe!!! So creamy and satisfying. Thank you. I’ve now made this with and without nutritional yeast and didn’t notice much difference, but both times left out the lemon juice (personal preference). Salt and pepper are a must and I also added hot chili pepper flakes. I’ve made this with peas alone and then with steamed peas & asparagus (husband likes it better with just peas), and added fresh, sliced cherry tomatoes to the finished product. YUM! Can’t wait to eat leftovers tomorrow!
Also, used rice milk instead of almond milk.
Anything Alfredo is my favorite but I only eat the traditional one about once or twice a year because it’s so heavy. I using cauliflower o sub creamy textures like mashed potatoes. i will definitely give this recipe a try. I don’t have a VitaMix (yet) but do you think I can acheive the creamy consistency using a food processor? The kind I use is Black and Decker.
I’ll admit to being skeptical…until I tasted this! Wow! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.