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
(click to expand)
WOW! Oh WOW! Just made this for lunch! I had all of the ingredients and I was hungry and this sounded amazing so I couldn’t wait. I cannot believe that this is made with cauliflower! So creamy! So rich tasting! I added a titch of nutmeg since the dairy versions of Alfredo Sauce often use it. This is soooo delicious! Thank you Angela for another winner!!!
This looks so good! I’ve been scared to jump on the cauliflower Alfredo sauce band wagon too, but I may have to give this a try!
I saw this today and immediately went and bought the ingredients to put this dish together. Mine doesn’t look as creamy, but it tasted amazing. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
That looks fantastic!
healthy-dirt.com
This could even be made paleo with zucchini noodles!
I just made this for dinner. I served it over spaghetti squash instead of pasta and mixed in some steamed broccoli. So delicious. Thanks for the recipe
This looks so good I might just have to go pick up some cauliflower to make it for dinner tonight! I have overdone it with cashew alfredo so this would be a wonderful change! Plus I love that you don’t even need to prep ahead like with cashew based sauces.
Update: I made it for dinner and absolutely loved it! I bought a pre-cut and washed bag of cauliflower from Trader Joe’s to do it which made it so quick and easy! Threw in some spinach as well for a little extra boost. This is definitely my new favorite Oh She Glows pasta recipe!
I’m slowly, but surely, discovering how versatile Cauliflower is. This sauce looks delicious. I’ve been dying to try Cauliflower mashed ‘potatoes’ too. Just made cauliflower pizza crust over the weekend (coffeewithkate.com/2014/01/20/weekend-recap-117-119/ )and it turned out great! I was so surprised. It actually satisfied my pizza craving.
Do you have nutrition information for this recipe?
Wow, I am SO making this for my fam this week! I love introducing them with delicious foods that are super-healthy and vegan – their surprise is priceless!! ;)
xoxo
Natalie
nataliemint.com
Wow! This looks AMAZING! Isn’t cauliflower immensely versatile?!!? Not only am I going to try your recipe but now I have the courage to make a 2nd attempt at vegan cauliflower crust pizza. I had a MAJOR fail last night with. I believe I left too much water left in the cauliflower and not enough “egg” (flax + water + nutritional yest + chia seeds). I was wondering if you might have a recipe to share or suggestions as to what the be the best prep. method? I was thinking of not cooking the cauliflower first but I’m not sure! I Thanks & as always, I look forward to your next post! :-)
I made this for dinner tonight. It was filling…yet pleasantly so, knowing it was mostly cauli. Mine was slightly stodgier than yours. I will tweak the milk next time to make it a bit less thick. Otherwise, a great flavour and a great meal idea. Very easy and tasty.
Made this tonight, so amazing! I upped the lemon juice and nutritional yeast a bit because I had a larger head of cauliflower. Then I added roasted baby bella mushrooms and fresh spinach as I tossed it all together. This stuff is definitely a crowd pleaser! Don’t know if it beats your smokey butternut squash sauce, but I haven’t found anything that does! Love it more than typical dairy heavy Alfredo for sure!
:O oh my goodness – how gloriously delicious! I haven’t had alfredo in years! I can’t believe this is vegan AND healthy. Amazing.
This is perfect! What a coincidence that I just bought a huge head of cauliflower yesterday, and now I know exactly what I’m going to do with it. I’m always looking for ways to mimic Alfredo; it’s the dish I miss most since becoming lactose intolerant. Thank you for this simple and delicious-looking recipe!
Update: I made it today and added some vegan butter like you suggested. Amazing!!!
And that will be added to my menu for next week! Who doesn’t love alfredo?
Looks really good! Just made cauliflower mashed “potatoes” last week and loved them. Excited to try this! What’s the nutrition information? Can you please post this on all recipes like you used to!
I LOVE the name you gave to this recipe and your photography makes me want to reach into the screen and try a bite of your vegan Fettucine Alfredo! I made something very similar to this this weekend using cauliflower and soaked cashews! I love how creamy it makes the pasta sauce :) Yum!!
I’ve been a long time follower and just moved to Zambia in August… without nutritional yeast! Thankfully a friend from home brought me several cups in December, and I’ve been guarding over it like it’s gold. Oh my goodness, I am SO SO SO glad that I used it for this recipe. With a couple modifications (no unsweetened soy milk here, sub tofu; vegetable oil, raw garlic and onion instead), the dish turned out to be delicious! Being vegan in Africa has been a challenge, and I’ve been drooling over your last few months of posts… I’m being completely honest when I say that one of the things I miss the most about being Stateside is making your food. Thanks for spreading the joy!
Girlfriend, I am reading this recipe at the coffee shop, and my jaw has dropped in complete surrender. I want this for my Valentine’s dinner, too! I wonder if my date ( my dog) will approve. Ha ha! Love. Thanks for the divine recipe. Sharing it now!!!