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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We absolutely love this recipe ! My father’s crazy about it, it reminds him of his childhood. And it is so creamy…Delicious. :)
The first time I tried this I liked it but it was missing something. Then I realized I only used the garlic powder and no garlic cloves. This is so much better now that I realize my mistake and I’m making it correctly! I’ve always loved white sauce but hadn’t had it in like a decade b/c it is so unhealthy. So very thankful for a healthy version of an old favorite!
Holy Hannah. This recipe is amazing. I crave it more than I crave actual alfredo. I’ve made it for non-vegan friends and everyone asked for the recipe. It will become a staple it our house for sure.
I love this recipe!! I’ve made it a few times so today I’m going to double and freeze half since I’m having a baby anytime now!
Ps- occasionally I’ll add 1/2-1 cup of soaked cashews for extra creamy and extra protein…tastes great!
Another one of my fave recipes! Usually I don’t like the taste of cauliflower but you wouldn’t even know it’s the main ingredient in this sauce!
Sooooo, I changed it a little….. I steamed my cauliflower (fresh) by filling a pot with maybe 1/2 inch of water and then added a head of chopped cauliflower and covered simmering for about 20 min. It was pretty much mashable by then but no need to drain and all the extra nutrients from the water and juice got added in. : ) I also added acv, for those out there that have nutritional yeast on hand probably have acv too ( gotta give a shout out to my homeboy Bragg’s) I also added onion with the garlic and a bit of agave in the blender because I like the extra fatty kind of Alfredo sauce. Little spice here or there ( anything Italian sounding right?) and there I was, hovering over the saucepan (I blended in a food processor and then put back in the sauce pan and then added spices by taste) anyways, and there I was, hovering over the saucepan dipping hunks of rosemary bread into what is now referred to as liquid gold. Oh god, I was eating by the spoonful too. I had no idea it was going to be that good. So, thanks for the idea. Been a vegetarian for over 20 years and would love to take the next step except for my mild obsession with cheese. This is like a good compromise. Thanks for sharing and helping fight my muffin top. : )
Just fyi for those readers who need nutritional yeast, I order from this company all the time & everything has been great – bulkfoods.com/buy-health-foods/5531-nutritional-yeast-1-pound.html
Just made this for dinner, and it is amazingly good! The best part is obviously the flavor, but it was so quick and easy to make, too. It only took about 5 minutes longer than warming up a jar of pasta sauce at the last second and is infinitely better. Don’t skip the nutritional yeast, people, you’ll be cheating yourselves!
I served it with sauteed baby bella mushrooms, chard and fava beans on a small amount of gf rotelle pasta. So good! My only complaint it that it was so filling I could only eat about 1/2 cup of the finished product before I was stuffed to the gills. The tummy is full, but the mouth wants more.
This is absolutely amazing. I make it at least once a week for DH and 9 year old daughter. I just saw the tip to freeze the sauce….can’t wait to see how that turns out.
I make this all the time. It’s so easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
OMG!! Just finished eating 2 plates full! Loved it.
My boyfriend is super picky so he didn’t like it as much as Olive Garden but he said he would eat it again which says A LOT for this recipe!
Will eat again!!
And again.. And again.. And again..
Made this for my non vegan family Sunday. They loved it! It was the bomb.com. Tastes better than Fettuccine Alfredo I have made in the past.
I made this for lunch today and it was really good. I’ve often used cashews but this was just as tasty but with a lot less fat and calories. Thanks for putting it on the web!
Made this sauce tonight for angel hair pasta. I paired it with roasted winter squash with an herbed goat cheese. My fiancé couldn’t stop eating it. I added red pepper flakes to the food processor to give the sauce some zest.
Wow! This was so delicious! Since my hubby despises cauliflower, my sons and I who love it have been making cauliflower dinners on nights when my hubby is at school. We ate the sauce over zucchini noodles (another thing we love and hubby hates) and it was incredibly tasty. We added freshly ground salt and pepper right before we ate it. I will definitely make this again and may try over regular pasta noodles for my sons. Thanks for a great recipe!
can I omit the nutritional yeast?
In case anyone sees this – I was sadly out of nutritional yeast (bad vegan) when I made this last night. I substituted 1 to 2 tablespoons of tahini instead and it worked really well!
Just made this and it is a keeper! Delicious! I substituted roasted garlic and caramelized onions for the powders. Will make again.
Fabulous recipe! so quick to make too! a big thumbs up from my family!
I was disappointed with the recipe… yeast and garlic tasted waaaaay too much, I lost money on trying this.