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’ve made this recipe twice already and it’s so simple!!! Especially for a non-cook like me. My meat-loving husband is a big fan as well and was shocked when I told him it was cauliflower. Great job.
I went with 1 tbsp garlic which was 3 or 4 regular sized cloves. Way too much (I am scaring people away) but I like garlic so it worked for me. Next time I will probably use 1 or 2 regular sized cloves and skip the garlic powder or vice versa. I would also use a hand blender instead of the blender. It was much too thick to work with and I bent a fork that fell in while I was working -_-‘ I may have consumed some fork. The flavours of alfredo were all there for the most part and it held well to the noodles. You could easily tweak it to your preferences in flavour and thickness. Very nice recipe. I would definitely make this again.
Has anyone tried using coconut milk instead of the almond milk?
I’ve been making some of the recipes from your book and loving them! Especially loved the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas! I’m wondering what type of nutrional yeast you use. I feel like whenever I use it, that’s almost all I taste. I don’t know if that’s what it’s supposed to taste like or I just need a different brand. Thanks for your help!
This is soooo good.. I make it at least once a month.. Thanks so much.. After trying your recipe I saw other Alfredo cauliflower dishes that I also tried and nothing compares to yours.. It is the best!
Susan
Thanks for a great recipe. My daughter sent me a “cream” of cauliflower soup recipe a while back and we loved it & I thought at the time that cauliflower could be the secret to a “cream” sauce. This recipe was super easy to make & simple since I had all the ingredients on hand. This will be my go to dish when I’m craving that creamy “Alfredo” indulgence! Thanks again!
I am newly vegan so insert me completely lost. Lol. Loving this recipe, especially for my husband who is making this lifestyle change as well, so far he’s Mr. Grouchy but….it will pass as long as I can master your delicious looking meals. Now with Nutrional yeast, I hve cut yeast from my diet completely (suffered from yeast overgrowth) is there a substitute for the nutritional yeast?
This didn’t really taste like a fettucine alfredo sauce much, but it was a really good tasting pasta sauce ! :)
My family was mourning the loss of Fettuccine Alfredo and Macaroni and Cheese – this fantastic”Cauli-power” Alfredo has turned it around for us! Even the non-Vegan of the family was wolfing it down. So creamy and flavorful. We LOVE your blog Angela! You’ve been a Godsend in helping us through our first year of being Vegans! We all agree we’ve never eaten so well and your fabulous blog continues to inspire and give us wonderful recipes.
My only concern is I don’t like cauliflower!
I hate cauliflower I can honestly say it’s not what it tastes like
Omg GF and I thought this was the best pasta sauce we’ve ever tried !!
For a tasty alternative we put thin strips of semi-dried tomatoes and artichokes on top it’s a must try :)
I had heard you could do a lot of amazing things with cauliflower, but was always a bit doubtful. However, I tried this recipe last week and the consistency and flavor were outstanding! Really gave a depth of flavor that you don’t get using cashews or tofu (what I’ve used before). With fresh greens coming out in the garden, this is perfect way to fold them in without cooking them to death. We put fresh spinach and it was superb! Thanks so much!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! It was totally unexpected and wonderful. Even my boyfriend was thrilled, and he looked at me like a prisonner on death row when I asked him if he liked Cauliflower.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe. Today was my first time making it but considering how much I’ve loved every recipe of yours thus far I doubled the sauce knowing it would make a great dinner tomorrow. I’m so happy I did, it’s fantastic. I don’t own a Vitamix, just a simple Osterizer blender and a little patience but ohhh man is the sauce delicious.
I used Gluten Free pasta (quinoa) and added peas and a bag of Trader Joe’s ‘Power to the Greens’ (which is a blend of baby spinach, baby kale and baby chard) to the mix and it was perfect. Next time I’d definitely add some broccoli because it just doesn’t feel like Alfredo without broccoli.
Thank You for all the awesome vegan inspiration. Even my meat loving man is into everything I make off of your blog!
Thank you for such a great recipe!! My Eric and I loved this too! So healthy and creamy! I added 1/3 cup cashews for extra creaminess.
What is the reason for the yeast? Can I leave it out without it changing anything. I can not have yeast. Thanks!!!
This was so delicious! I was never too keen on the traditional Alfredo but this is so much better
Is the yeast necessary?
omg!! Thank you this was delicious!! Living on a student budget and being someone who LOVES good food, I hate how expensive it can be at times to live on a taste-bud satisfying vegan diet – I loved how yummy AND CHEAP this was to make!!
I made this for me and the hubby it was quick easy garlicy he LOVED it thanks:) I love u r blog I hope to try more of the recipes soon:)