You’ll love this creamy cauliflower Alfredo if you are looking for an Alfredo sauce without heavy cream.
This is not your normal Alfredo sauce, but a lighter pasta sauce alternative with fewer calories.
It’s easy to make in about 25 minutes, and the velvety smooth texture pairs well with al dente fettuccine pasta.

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Admittedly, Alfredo sauce without heavy cream is not the same as the olive garden Alfredo sauce.
But it is a light alternative with simple ingredients and camouflaged vegetables 💪.
TIP: Garnish your pasta with air fried cauliflower for a restaurant-y feel and crisp texture.
Love Alfredo sauce but are looking for something lighter and healthier to feed your family? You’ll love this creamy and tasty cauliflower Alfredo sauce without heavy cream.
You can make this easy pasta recipe in less than 30 minutes with a few simple ingredients.
It is as creamy as our mushroom Alfredo sauce, but less caloric and without cream.
What makes this recipe light, ultra-creamy, and nutritious is cauliflower.
We slightly prefer steaming cauliflower (to boiling) as it absorbs less water and preserves a little more antioxidants.
We recommend adding parmesan cheese, ricotta, garlic, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper.
Blend everything for a minute or two until velvety smooth, and toss it with your favorite pasta.
It’s a quick vegetarian dinner idea that will make you feel great! Enjoy.
Ingredients
Cauliflower
Fresh cauliflower is best for this recipe because it gets less watery. However, if you don’t mind a more watery sauce, you can also use frozen cauliflower florets.
You can steam or boil the cauliflower. Both methods work well for this cauliflower sauce, so pick the one you are more comfortable with.
Note: We prefer steaming because the cauliflower gets less watery that way.
Steaming preserves more nutrients than boiling, although there isn’t a substantial difference in nutrient loss. If you don’t have a steamer basket, go ahead and boil the cauliflower.
Garlic
You can add as much garlic as you like. Start with half a clove, taste the sauce and add more if you wish.
Mustard
We don’t add mustard in our original Alfredo sauce; however, cauliflower Alfredo benefits from the extra savory and tangy flavor of Dijon mustard.
You can substitute American mustard for Dijon.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg marries exceptionally well with cauliflower and adds a warm subtle aroma that takes this sauce up a notch.
Milk
Milk and blended cauliflower replace the heavy cream in the original alfredo sauce.
We tested the sauce with water and vegetable broth too, and Louise really liked it.
Coconut milk and almond milk work too, althoug they add a flavor that makes this sauce too different from traditional Alfredo sauce.
Parmesan cheese
Grated parmesan adds flavor and richness to the sauce that otherwise would be very watery and tasteless.
You’ve got to add something with fat and flavor; otherwise, you’ll end up eating something that is not pleasant.
For us, that’s good quality grated parmesan cheese. It melds perfectly with cauliflower.
If you are vegan, you can substitute vegan cheese and nutritional yeast for parmesan.
Ricotta
Ricotta is the best cream and butter alternative for a cauliflower Alfredo sauce without heavy cream.
If you don’t have ricotta, adding a little butter or oil helps. You can use unsalted butter, vegan butter, or extra virgin olive oil.
For vegan, choose a dairy-free ricotta, homemade or store-bought.
Salt and pepper
This sauce needs salt (sea salt or kosher salt) and freshly ground black pepper.
Pasta
Serve the sauce with your favorite pasta. We love fettuccine, linguine, or bucatini, but you can use any shape.
For gluten-free, use gluten-free noodles.
Fresh parsley
Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley on top makes this recipe more interesting. Parsley, cauliflower, and parmesan are an incredible trio.
Extra veggies
While cauliflower Alfredo sauce is delicious as is, you can add texture to your pasta by garnishing with air-fried cauliflower or roasted broccoli.
How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream
Cut the cauliflower into chunks, then steam or boil it until fork tender.
To a blender, add steamed or boiled cauliflower, milk, parmesan, ricotta, garlic, mustard, grated nutmeg, salt, and black pepper.
Blend at high speed until perfectly smooth.
Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot with plenty of heavily salted water. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.
Add the cauliflower Alfredo sauce on a large skillet on medium-low heat, toss in the pasta, and, if necessary, a ladleful of reserved pasta water.
Toss for a minute, add more parmesan if you want to, and toss until the pasta is fully coated in the sauce.
Note: you can serve up to about 1.20 pounds of pasta (540 grams) with this sauce – that’s about 6 portions of 2.8 ounces (80 grams) of pasta each. Use about 1 ladleful of cauliflower Afredo sauce per portion of pasta. Store leftover sauce in the fridge or freezer.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
Serving suggestions
Serve with a side of fresh greens and salads:
Or, roast some veggies and serve them with the pasta:
- Roasted cauliflower
- Garlic-roasted broccoli
- Roasted artichokes
- Grilled asparagus or roasted asparagus
Variations
Double-cauliflower Alfredo sauce
Who said one can only have double-chocolate something? Double-cauliflower Alfredo sauce is delicious, so we encourage you to try it!
To make it, toss some cauliflower florets in olive oil and salt, and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Toss them in with the pasta and the sauce, et voilà. A delicious double-cauliflower Alfredo sauce that is tasty, crisp, and will make you feel awesome.
Mushroom Alfredo
This version is a full-fat, full-flavor Alfredo sauce with sautèed mushrooms.
It is rich, creamy, and so easy to make you’ll want to eat it over and over again.
Storage
Sauce: leftover cauliflower sauce stores well in a airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. To use it, warm it up in a pan with a ladleful of pasta cooking water.
You can also freeze the sauce for up to 3 months, then thaw it directly on a pan with pasta water.
Pasta: store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Reheat on a pan with some water, or olive oil.
Similar recipes
PASTA RECIPES: mushroom pasta, red pepper pasta, pasta alla Norma, Pasta Pomodoro, aglio e olio, broccoli pasta, hummus pasta, lentil pasta.
CAULIFLOWER RECIPES: Cauliflower pasta, cauliflower soup, cauliflower and lentil salad, cauliflower curry, whole roasted cauliflower.
For many more pasta ideas, check out our pasta category page.
Cauliflower Alfredo without Heavy Cream
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower about ½ head, large
- 1 cup milk any
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 clove garlic or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or American mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
- 12 ounces pasta
Instructions
- Cut 1 pound cauliflower into chunks, then steam or boil it until very tender (about 15 – 20 minutes).
- To a blender, add cooked cauliflower, 1 cup milk, ½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ cup ricotta cheese, 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.Blend at high speed until smooth.
- Cook 12 ounces pasta al dente in plenty of salted water. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.Add the sauce to a large skillet on medium heat, toss in the pasta, and, if necessary, add a ladleful of reserved pasta water.Toss until the pasta is fully coated in the sauce.
- Serve immediately with a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Wow, so good! I rarely comment on recipes, but my husband and I both really enjoyed this dish. Made recipe as written, just added some fresh spinach to the pasta during its final minute of cooking then served the sauced pasta dishes with a grind of black pepper, grated Parmesan, and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper. Steamed broccoli as a side So good!
Yay, Nadine, that is so wonderful! ๐ฅณ I am really happy that you both enjoyed it – wonderful idea with the added spinach. Nico and I will try that for our next Alfredo!!
Thanks so much for your feedback here, and happy Sunday!
It was way too strong. I put two cloves on garlic but I think they should have been cooked. Also, too much mustard. Really disappointed because it could have been delicious.
This was so delicious!! I replaced the ricotta with about 2 T store bought vegan butter, and 1/4 c each almond meal and nutritional yeast for the parmesan cheese. Also added roasted cauliflowe. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Great recipe, madebit today. Never thought it would be so easy to eat so delicious at home!
Hi Rona, That’s such great news, I’m very happy you found it an easy and delicious experience ๐
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Kindest,
Louise
Hallo, ihr zwei sind eine der besten auf Pinterest, ich Holle mir ganz viele Ideen von ihnen zum nachmachen,DANKE !!! ๐
Bitte, Tara <3
Es ist uns ein Vergnรผgen ๐ Vielen Dank fรผr Ihre freundlichen Worte,
Louise
I have wanted to make this from the minute I saw it. I did modify slightly – hope thatโs ok! I roasted a head of seasoned chopped cauliflower along with cloves of garlic. Did the rest per the recipe (with a little less mustard) and OMG it is SO good! This is an absolute keeper of a recipe, thank you!
Hi Michelle,
What a great way to add more veggies, I love the idea with chopped cauliflower in the sauce.
I’m so happy you liked the recipe, and that you modified it to your liking ๐
Have a great rest of your week. Kindest,
Louise
The Dijon mustard is soooooo over powering! 2 Tbsp is way too much, ruined it. I would either completely omit or add 1/2 tsp at a time and keep tasting. So many other nice flavours and all you can taste is dijon. Otherwise nice textures, will add more garlic and no dijon next time.
Hi Roxy,
Thanks for your comment and feedback – I’m happy you liked the base flavor. We’ll be sure to include some suggestions for omitting the mustard as well.
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Kindest, Louise
Excellent recipe! This is a healthy and easy to make alternative to Alfredo. This is def on my favorites list.
Hi Leslie, I’m delighted to hear that you liked the Alfredo sauce! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a message. Have a wonderful Sunday. Kindest, Louise