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
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I made this dish tonight and it was delicious! Glad it made a big pot cause now i can eat it for my lunches at work this week!
WOW! This turned out A*M*A*Z*I*N*G and my omnivore friends were fighting over the last serving :)
So….I don’t like cauliflower. However, my brother who is visiting from Ottawa loves it. (And who, I am excited to say, is exploring the possibility of going veg.) So I thought I would try this out for him…not for me. I have to say, I will not wait for my brother to come back and visit me in Vancouver to make it again. What a pleasant surprise… It was so easy to prepare and tastes really, really good.
BTW, I thought I would put some in the freezer to see how it holds up. Will let you know…
thumbs up to freezing!
We made this last night, but switched out the onion and garlic powder for 5 cloves garlic and 1/2 sm. onion and caramelized them. I don’t have to tell you, I know, how crazy good and unbelievable this recipe is, but the little hint of toasty flavor put it over the top. Almost a bit of a smoky gouda flavor.
Thank you so much for this one. I have missed alfredo since going vegan.
OXXO
Paula Marie Coomer
I made this last night for dinner and it was fantastic! I have a cheap-o crappy blender, so I had to split the ingredients into 2 batches, but it came out fine when I combined it after. I used penne, sauteed mushrooms, and basil garnish. Also of note, this was my first time ever cooking cauliflower (or even using a head of cauliflower for anything.) I’m 33. Ha!
YUM! I am totally making this. I have been on a cauliflower-mash kick and this looks just as yummy. Thanks for sharing!
I just made this, and it is DELICIOUS. I am eating it over brown rice. I have sweet potatoes, red peppers, and tomatoes roasting in the oven, but I couldn’t resist this yummy sauce and have eaten two bowls before the veggies are even done cooking. Thank you for another great recipe. I love how easy it is to put together, and how creamy and satisfying it is.
This is so good! Thank you for providing good tasting whole food recipes.
This was absolutely delicious! I love all your recipes! I’m constantly proving people wrong that vegans don’t just eat salads every day and it’s all because of you!
I was a little skeptical of this recipe, but I had a bag of frozen cauliflower in the freezer and decided to give it a try. Sure enough, it was delicious! I ended up topping it with roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Finally made this! I added my “vegan secret weapon” to this recipe – dried shitake mushroom. It does double duty: I boiled the mushrooms a few minutes to soften them used the soaking liquid in the sauce to add some amazing umami depth, and then I sliced the soaked mushrooms thin and fried them in a really hot pan with oil to make them crispy. I tossed them at the end with a tiny bit of soy – and they made a really great bacon subsitute!! Also pan-friend some brocolli to add as well.
Dried shitake mushroom also makes the most AMAZING homemade vegetable broth. I would never bother to make vegetable broth without it anymore. The only problem is the mushrooms would be hard to find in a regular grocery store, but luckily I have a small Asian grocery within walking distance of my house, and a large Asian grocery (T&T) within walking distance from work and they both sell dried shitake.
Hi Angela. I don’t know if anyone has asked this yet but can you substitute the almond milk with water? Would it taste just as good? Thanks
It wouldn’t be as creamy for sure, but I’m not sure on the taste as I haven’t tried it before. Let me know if you do!
Hmmm, I’m feeling slightly skeptical myself (especially after my epic fail of trying to rice cauliflower for a pizza crust). But this does sound REALLY good =)
Omg that looks so amazing, i make mine with cashews
Hello Angela!
I tried this recipe tonight and it didn’t turn out as expected… The tast of yeast was way too strong :/ I don’t know if I made a mistake when converting the quantity into grams or if the problem lays in the brand I use but next time I’ll definitely put less yeast into it ! But I’ll do it again soon because I’m so sad not having my alfredo pasta tonight! ;)
I made this over the weekend and my whole family loved it including my little preschoolers who even asked for seconds! No one knew it was cauliflower and gobbled it all up. I accidently left out the milk but it still turned out nice and creamy. I had leftover sauce and made a veggie and brown rice bowl for work the next day. Perfect! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Tried it!! Loved it!! Great, easy easy EASY dish!
Just made this tonight and it’s fab. Thanks for the awesome recipe! xx
I made this and I’m officially hooked! I don’t know how I went so long without this in my life. I put mine over spaghetti squash. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Hello,
When researching vegan on the web, your site came up and this is the recipe I made. My family really, really enjoyed it, and actually preferred it over dairy version. Your ‘touch’ in vegan cooking seems to be the one I go to for the transition we are making…Thanks so very much. Looking forward to your upcoming cookbook as well.
I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! Thanks for your kind words :)