Cauliflower Alfredo

4.97 from 405 votes

Cauliflower Alfredo sauce is a creamy, gluten-free, nut-free homemade Alfredo sauce with less fat & less calories as compared with the original recipe

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If you’re searching for a healthier vegetarian creamy Alfredo sauce, you will love this Cauliflower Alfredo sauce! It’s low in calories as is, but what you serve it with, on the other hand is all up to you! 😉

Final cauliflower alfredo tossed with fettuccine in a large pan
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What is cauliflower Alfredo?

Here’s the gist of the recipe, instead of butter, cream and flour, we’re basically blending cauliflower in a blender to make a creamy puree that truly resembles Alfredo sauce! You’ll still use some of the good stuff in there like garlic, olive oil and milk. But the result is a naturally gluten-free and an Alfredo sauce that you can use in a wide variety of dishes!

Health benefits of cauliflower

By now, you know that cauliflower is truly one magic vegetable than can be substituted in so many creative ways to reduce carbs, whether it’s Cauliflower Rice, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes or even Cauliflower Mac and Cheese!

It’s a great swap if you’re looking for more fibrous foods with low calories. In fact, it only has 25 calories per cup, but 3 grams of fiber and with all kinds of nutrients and vitamins! Add to that the fact that cauliflower is like 90% water, and you can see why it can actually help with weight loss.

Ingredients to Make Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Brandless Blender blending vegan alfredo sauce
  • Cauliflower: Use one fresh head of cauliflower or sub for frozen cauliflower if preferred.
  • Aromatics: garlic and shallot
  • Milk: Whole milk will give you the richest flavor, but to keep it vegetarian, any plant based milk will work.
  • Seasonings: red pepper flakes, salt, and white pepper

How to Make Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

To start, boil 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into florets. You can use fresh or frozen. You want to cook it until the cauliflower is very tender, at least 8-10 minutes. But don’t worry about over-cooking it, because that will just make for a smoother sauce. Set the cauliflower in a blender and pour 1 cup of the cooking water into the blender too.

Next you’ll lightly sauté minced garlic and add that to the blender. Finally, you can add some milk, some olive oil or just more liquid to get the cauliflower Alfredo to your desired consistency.

The key to the creamy velvety sauce is having a strong and efficient blender that does all the work. It should take 30-60 seconds to get a smooth and creamy sauce. Be patient though if your blender needs more time. Make sure there are no chunks of cauliflower left over and that the sauce is homogenous.

And what you’ll get is a naturally gluten-free, paleo-friendly Alfredo sauce. Now, I love mixing mine with fettuccine to make a healthy fettuccine Alfredo. Straight from the blender to a big pan of pasta – family style!

But you can use the sauce in many other ways that don’t involve pasta at all! It’s rich, creamy, garlicky and really is a great stand-in for the original Alfredo sauce!

Tips for making Cauliflower Alfredo

  • Use frozen cauliflower if you prefer. This recipe works just the same with frozen cauliflower as it does with fresh cauliflower. And that even cuts the prep time.
  • Don’t over-cook the garlic. You want to cook the garlic on medium heat only for a couple minutes until it softens and becomes fragrant. It can become lightly brown in color, but don’t let the color deepen too much since burnt garlic will lend a bitter taste to the cauliflower Alfredo.
  • Replace the milk with non-dairy milk, vegetable broth, olive oil or even more cooking water. The 5-6 cups of cauliflower florets will need about 1 and half cups of liquid. Feel free to add more based on your preference.
  • Add nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor. Just place it in the blender with the other ingredients and it will give it a cheesy flavor vegan recipe when paired with non-dairy milk. You can also use any normal cheese you’d like. I recommend about ¼ cup.
Fettuccine alfredo with Brandless blender in background

Frequently asked questions

How long can you store the cauliflower Alfredo sauce?

If there are any leftover cauliflower sauce, make sure to allow it cool completely, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze cauliflower Alfredo?

Yes, you can freeze the cauliflower Alfredo as long as you don’t use any dairy in it. The dairy may separate when frozen with the sauce, which will make it unappealing.

Two bowls of fettuccine alfredo and forks

This lighter Alfredo sauce is a delicious replacement for traditional homemade Alfredo sauce. Use it with pasta, chicken, vegetables or even pizza to add a rich creamy sauce!

More pasta recipes:

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Cauliflower Alfredo recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

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Cauliflower Alfredo

Cauliflower Alfredo sauce is a creamy, gluten-free, nut-free homemade Alfredo sauce with less fat & less calories as compared with the original recipe
5 from 405 votes
Servings 6 servings
Course Entree
Calories 190
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes

Video

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 pound cooked fettuccine

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 8-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic with crushed red pepper until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not browned, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked cauliflower to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
  • Transfer the cauliflower mixture to a blender along with the reserved cooking liquid and milk. Cover the vent in your blender lid with a thin kitchen towel to allow venting and puree until the sauce is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. If the sauce starts to look dry, add a few drops of water, milk, or olive oil.
  • Toss the alfredo sauce with cooked fettucine and serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe has been updated from a vegan recipe using plant milk to using regular milk or milk of choice, plus added seasoning and shallot. Simply swap for plant milk to match the previous recipe.
Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 4-5 days in the fridge. 
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.
  • To make it gluten-free, you can use any gluten-free pasta of your choice.
  • To make the sauce more creamy, you can use more milk and olive oil instead of the cauliflower cooking water.
 
Original vegan recipe
  
  
  
   
  
   
  
  • Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 8-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Reserve 1 cup of the boiling water.
  • Heat the olive oil a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the minced garlic until soft and fragrant, but not browned, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked cauliflower to a blender. Add the sautéed garlic, reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, milk, salt and pepper. Cover the vent in your blender lid with a thin kitchen towel to allow venting and puree until the sauce is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. If the sauce starts to look dry, add a few drops of water, milk, or olive oil.
  • Serve with cooked fettuccine

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 430mg, Potassium: 374mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 74IU, Vitamin C: 47mg, Calcium: 63mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American
Course: Entree

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Comments

  1. It was good! A bit spicy for my taste and a toddler, so I would reduce the red pepper and white pepper if I make it again, but great weeknight meal! And being able to throw the remaining (dairy free) sauce in the freezer to throw on some pasta for another day? Winner!

  2. My husband and I are on the Daniel fast so this recipe was the perfect switch up to our recent meals. I found it to be a bit bland as well. I did add nutritional yeast and I salted the water I cooked the cauliflower in. Both of my kids raved, one even took seconds. We will definitely be making it again, I will probably add more nutritional yeast and salt/pepper to taste. The consistency was perfect! Thanks so much(:

    1. So sorry to hear this didn’t come out as expected. Would love to know a little more about what went wrong in your opinion so I can try to help.

  3. Wow, this is really delicious! After I had a first bite, I kept rechecking the ingredients to see what is ‘fattening’ to make it taste so good, but it truly is a very healthy dish. I used 3/4 cup homemade chicken stock instead of the plant based milk, as suggested as an option in the recipe. So nice to get the same taste for so many fewer calories!

  4. I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thanks , I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?

    1. This is irredeemably bad.
      I can’t believe I’ve just wasted a whole cauliflower and the really good fettuccine on this inedible mess 🙁

      1. Oh no! I am so sorry it didn’t turn out well for you. It has been quite some time since I have tested this recipe. I will see what is going on. Thank you for your feedback.

        1. I think it’s just really bland. The base flavors are there, but it needs some oomph to make it more palatable

          1. So sorry to hear this didn’t come out as expected. You can add about 1/4 cup of Nutritional Yeast to give it a ‘cheesy’ flavor. Also, feel free to season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic so it better suits your taste.

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