Ever wanted a healthy version of a white pasta cheese sauce? Meet the answer: creamy cauliflower sauce! Alex and I just added this to our repertoire, and it was a big hit (and our kid couldn’t get enough). Why make sauce with cauliflower? This sauce is like a healthy alfredo sauce, but unlike the traditional version, you’ll feel light and vibrant afterwards! The standard cheesy pasta often feels too rich and I end up with an upset stomach. This cauliflower sauce is much lighter. Even better, you get all the nutritional benefits of cauliflower. Looking for a plant-based or vegan cauliflower sauce? Go to Vegan Alfredo Sauce.
What’s in this cauliflower sauce?
Now, there are lots of variations on creamy cauliflower sauce! Some recipes are vegan or dairy free, but many use milk and cheese too. This version has dairy, so it’s not fully plant-based. If you’d like a vegan version, go to Vegan Alfredo Sauce instead! This one is a lightened up version of alfredo sauce using mostly cauliflower to cut down on richness, but it still has the traditional Parmesan cheese. Here are the ingredients in this cauliflower sauce:
Cauliflower: it’s sauteed, then cooked in veggie brothGarlic: Both fresh and a little powder, to get that classic flavor!Butter or olive oil: for sauteing the cauliflowerVeggie broth: most recipes call for milk, but this uses broth to keep it lighterParmesan cheese: just ½ cup of Parmesan cheese brings big flavorOregano & salt: to round out the flavor!
When you try this sauce, you’ll be surprised how savory and delicious it tastes!
What does the Parmesan do?
If you’re wondering: the Parmesan cheese adds some necessary richness to this creamy cauliflower sauce. This helps it to coat the pasta! Using only cauliflower makes for a watery texture, and it doesn’t cling to the noodles correctly. If you’d rather omit the cheese, go to our Vegan Alfredo Sauce instead.
Cauliflower nutrition
Making a cauliflower sauce instead of alfredo doesn’t just cut down on calories: it adds lots of nutrients too! You get all the nutrient-density of 1 head of cauliflower in this sauce. Here’s a breakdown of cauliflower nutrition (source Harvard Medical School):
1 cup of chopped cauliflower has only 25 calories and 5 grams carbsIt’s a great source of Vitamin C!Cauliflower is also a good source of Vitamin B and potassium. Cauliflower is high in fiber (1 cup has about 10% of your daily needs).
Important: cook your pasta to al dente! (Please.)
When you add this cauliflower sauce to your pasta, you’ll notice it will be slightly looser than the standard pasta sauce. For this reason, you should make sure you cook your pasta perfectly to al dente! Mushy pasta with a loose sauce is not so appetizing! Here’s how to cook pasta to al dente:
Check the package instructions, then start tasting a few minutes before. The timing listed on many packages results in rubbery pasta.Catch the pasta right when it goes from crunchy to tender. It should still be slightly firm inside–but not crunchy! When it’s just tender enough but still firm, drain it immediately! Even a few seconds can be the difference between mushy and al dente pasta.
How to serve cauliflower sauce
Great question! You don’t have to only serve cauliflower sauce with pasta. Here a few other ideas for serving it:
Creamy Cavatappi Pasta GnocchiFettuccine alfredoSpinach Artichoke Pizza: use this as a creamy sauce instead of olive oil!
Is there a vegan variation?
There is! Our Vegan Alfredo Sauce uses cauliflower and blended cashews to make a luscious, creamy sauce. Head to that link for the recipe!
This cauliflower sauce recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, to go Vegan Alfredo. 4.5 from 4 reviews
