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.
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)
Delicious! I added paprika to the sauce and poured the mixture directly into the sauteed garlic and olive oil on the stove. The sauce was a bit much, so I added some steamed zucchini ribbons into the mixture, and now we have enough servings for 6-8. Thank you for this recipe!
I make the raw Alfredo using cashews A LOT but I will most definitely be trying this version out. Alfredo was a favourite of mine before going vegan (and learning how terrible it was for me lol) so this is pretty exciting :D
I made this today and it’s super tasty! I actually prefer it on it’s own rather than mixed into pasta and have been having it as a dipping sauce with carrot sticks!
Thanks for another great recipe Angela :)
This looks divine, I just love cauliflower especially in a creamy sauce. Thank you.
So funny you posted this because I just made your other Alfredo recipe last week! I made this too, it was amazing! I hash tagged the pic on Facebook. Have you ever tried bean pasta? I used mung bean fettuccine for this recipe. Black bean pasta is incredible also. Packed full of protein and gluten free!
What is the difference between regular and nutritional yeast?
This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it, but I have an allergy to yeast. I saw your comment about replacing it with pesto. (which sounds great) Just wondering if there’s anything else to replace it with to keep it low cal/fat and healthy?
Oh yum.
Just pinned – LOVE it!
Dear Angela, you’ve done it again! I can’t wait to try this recipe….
I am new to nutritional yeast and working on avoiding dairy as much as possible. With that said, do you have any recommendations for brands of nutritional yeast that are tried and true?
What’s the story with nutritional yeast? I haven’t tried it yet and have seen it in lots of recipes. Is it a flavor or texture kind of thing?
It lends vegan recipes a cheesy flavour. :)
Ok, after reading your post my daughter and I were like we have to make this, so…… we did and it was awesome!!!!! It even fooled my cheese and meat loving husband, who would have NEVER tried it had he known what it was. ( honestly i never thought it would get past my hubby) Fooled my son as well, My daughter and I could barely keep a straight face as my husband asked for 2nd helpings!! What a great recipe, Everyone should make it, easy and YUMMY!!!!
So excited to hear that!!! Thanks for the feedback :)
Son of a muthamuchacho I want this! lol!
Gonna stick the recipe on the fridge for this week.
Did I just get cauli-power sauce in my hair while I was licking the serving tongs?! Yes. Yes, I did. And I found a use for the last of my frozen peas that had horrible freezer burn! But there was no freezer burn taste with that amazing sauce that I could put on anything!
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! It makes me wonder how absolutely wonderful the recipes must be that you don’t share with us because they’re going in your cookbook!
-Amy in Texas!
OMG! This dish is out of this world! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! :)
Yum Looks so good! I’ll try this for my husband, since Fettuccine Alfredo is one of his favs! He’s a veggie hater, but I bet he won’t even notice with this!
Thanks for sharing!
This is SUCH a great idea! I love how cauliflower can be substituted for so many things – rice, pizza crust, and now alfredo sauce?! Who knew? :)
Oh my gosh Angela – that was amazing !!! We all enjoyed that one. I am not eating wheat so I had it with rice and spinach. It was so good I included this recipe and another one of your posts in to my blog yesterday. In admiration of your blog I called it “Oh Yes, She Glows”
loseweightandgainhealth.com/2014/01/20/oh-yes-she-glows/
Angela, I’m a big fan of your website. I like reading your stories. I am not a vegan or vegetarian but enjoy the healthful aspects of your recipes. What would you suggest using as a substitute for the nutritional yeast in this cauliflower recipe?…cheese?