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 just can’t stop making this. I’ve made it about 10 times already. It is divine.
This was so amazingly delicious!! Thank you :)
Hey Jessica, I’m so happy to hear you loved this “alfredo”…it’s one of my fave ways to eat cauliflower! lol. Enjoy
Has anyone tried this with frozen cauliflower? Does that work ok?
Hey Rachel, I’m sorry I haven’t tried it with frozen before, but maybe someone else can chime in if they’ve tried it. :) I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out!
Yes frozen cauli worked great for me and I think some other people in the comments too! Thanks Angela, my husband loved this too!
Forgot to say, I just microwaved the cauli until it was fork tender, instead of boiling it.
whohoo! That’s great news. I will try it soon. :) Thanks for following up!
Angela, this is so impressive! Tried this recipe last night and didn’t think it could possibly taste anything like alfredo sauce, but boy was I wrong! I find it amazing that it tastes nothing like cauliflower (how?). Just goes to show how it’s totally possible to have tasty food that is completely healthy. I honestly wish this notion was more mainstream, and perhaps one day it will be, with the help of such talented people like you. Thanks for the great recipe and everything that you do!
There’s so much leftover sauce that I’ll be having it again tomorrow :)
P.S. I sautéed some sliced mushrooms and cherry tomatoes with Italian seasoning as toppings on the pasta. So yummy!
I’m so happy you love it so much Alema! Thank you :) And I LOVE adding sauteed mushrooms to it as well. Cherry tomatoes also sounds like such a nice contrast to the creamy pasta.
Mine came out very bland, albeit creamy! I think it might have been the noodles I used (Trader Joe’s vegetable radiatore)…I will keep trying. Thanks for this recipe! Had no idea cauliflower could be so creamy.
Oh I’m sorry to hear that Remie..I do think you are right that the noodles can impact the flavour. I’ve experienced that issue with certain ones (especially gluten free). You may also need to increase the salt and other seasonings. Good luck if you try it again!
Husband and baby both love this dish!
So happy you all love it Steph! Thanks for trying it out.
Made it the other night – very good. A keeper.
This sauce is the gift that keeps on giving! I doubled the recipe and, three days later, am still finding ways to use it. Enjoyed it “as is” the 1st time around on pasta and it got my carnivore husband’s approval. The next night I added a little tumeric to some to give the illusion of a buttery garlic sauce and topped some smashed potatoes. Awesome! Last night I made a beet green pesto with it. I cleaned and blanched the greens, threw them in the Vitamix with a couple cups of the sauce, about half an ounce of walnuts, a splash of lemon juice and some roasted garlic that I had on hand and voila … pesto! I served it, again, on top of my garlic smashed potatoes. I’ll think I’ll try it on pasta today. Thanks for an awesome, keeper recipe! Here’s a pic of the latest creation with it and I gave you credit on my Facebook page.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10216333518798861&id=1481213470
Hey Jennifer, Mmm…I love all the ways you’ve repurposed this sauce! Such fun ideas. The facebook link didn’t open for me for some reason, but thank you for sharing. :)
Had this over a mix of zoodles and scattered banza noodles – what a treat!!
So happy you enjoyed it Ronnie!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. Making it again today….my 3rd time in about a month. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy you love it so much Vicky! We do too ;)
I made this recipe last night, and the sauce turned out to be a bit chunky. The flavors were great, and I adjusted the seasonings to taste, but it tasted more like I was eating pasta with mashed potatoes than alfredo. What is the consistency supposed to be like? Should I have added a lot more milk?
Hey Katie, Yes the consistency is supposed to be silky smooth. It could be a blender issue as opposed to a liquid issue (assuming all the other measures like cauliflower were correct). Does your blender normally have trouble blending sauces? I hope you still enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment :)
Can this be made ahead and frozen? It may need to be blended afterwards again, but have you ever tried?
Hey there, I’m sorry I haven’t tried this before, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work! After thawing you will likely need to whisk it well and then adjust seasonings to taste. I’d love to hear how it goes!
I love this recipe! It was absolutely delicious. I’m so glad to have found a healthy, creamy pasta recipe without cashews. I can already tell that I’m going to be meal prepping this every week…
I took a page from the How Not to Die Cookbook and replaced the salt with miso :) probiotics and more umami!
I had great hopes for this recipe, but I was disappointed. I didn’t feel that it had depth of flavour. Maybe the recipe is just right for folk who prefer dairy free, but I don’t think it is as tasty as a genuine alfredo sauce.
Thank you, though, for providing recipe alternatives for all tastes and preferences.
Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for your feedback and encouragement…I appreciate it! I find with this sauce it’s important to taste it after it has been mixed into the pasta, as pasta can “dilute” flavours quite a bit. I often taste it after mixing and add more seasonings to taste (salt, lemon, etc). Hope this helps :) Another option might be to add 2-4 tbsp of soaked raw cashews into the blender (if your blender can blend them smooth) to make the sauce a bit more rich.
I made this last night and it was delish. Invited my neighbor over and she gave it a thumbs up, husband liked it too! Will definitely add some more vegetables next time like mushrooms. I used some grilled asparagus and peas since that’s what was in the picture :-) The sauce was extremely easy, will make this again for sure.
LOVE THIS RECIPE! I was hesitant to make this because my boyfriend is a food snob and when he saw me pulling out the cauliflower, he kind of rolled his eyes (neither of us are vegan). But I was VERY surprised with how much he enjoyed it (I knew I would because I love every recipe I’ve made from OSG). He even asked me to make it again this week!
Hi Angela,
I am excited to try this recipe this week!! We are not super excited about pasta so I am thinking of substituting purple cabbage. Thoughts??
P.S many thanks to you! As a mom of two and CEO of the kitchen, I was becoming less than impressed with having to be the magician at meal time. Your recipes have brought some spunk!!
Hey Kelly, aww thanks for your kind words! So glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes so much.
As for swapping pasta for purple cabbage that’s such a fun idea! I assume you will boil or steam the cabbage before? I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Has anyone tried making this using vegan parmesan cheese? I like nutritional yeast, but I want to make this recipe for my mom & she isn’t vegan so it weirds her out a bit haha.
I made this in my new Vitamix 750 on the purée setting. It was the first time using that setting following the recipe as is and it was incredible. I used the water that I boiled the cauliflower in to cook my chickpea noodles. I added steamed asparagus tips. Both the recipe and the Vitamix exceeded my expectations. (The Vitamix should have exceeded my expectations considering the amount of $$coin$$ I spent on it).
Not a hit with my family. It was quite bland. Not worth all the pots and pans we had to wash afterward. I definitely appreciated that it was healthy though!