Cauliflower Alfredo (no Heavy Cream)

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.

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.

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.

Serve with a side of fresh greens and salads:

• Fennel salad
• Easy side salad
• Zucchini salad
• Avocado salad

Or, roast some veggies and serve them with the pasta:

• Roasted cauliflower
• Garlic-roasted broccoli
• Roasted artichokes
• Grilled asparagus or roasted asparagus

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.

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.

Pasta

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Mains

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Pasta

Broccoli Pasta

Soups

Cauliflower Soup

For many more pasta ideas, check out our pasta category page.