If you’re looking for a healthy swap for rich pasta dishes, this cauliflower Alfredo sauce recipe does the trick. Pureed cauliflower adds the desired creaminess, along with melty Parmesan.
Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
This cauliflower Alfredo sauce recipe is a delicious dupe for Alfredo—and it’s just as creamy! It’s also a healthy version of the classic Italian dish, with each serving at just 371 calories. In fact, we like it so much that we included it in our collection of cauliflower recipes you should know about. Cauliflower is easy to find year-round, is high in fiber, and packs in nutrients and antioxidants.
This recipe makes an easy weeknight dinner, and for convenience, you can switch out the pasta from fettuccine to your favorite pasta type or whatever you have in the pantry. You could also turn this into a vegan recipe by eliminating the Parmesan or using a vegan cheese instead.
Ingredients for Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
- Fettuccine: Fettuccine’s flat, thick surface allows sauce to cling to each noodle easily.
- Vegetable bouillon cubes: These store-bought cubes are made from herbs, spices and vegetables, and all you have to do is drop them into your recipe to add the flavor.
- Cauliflower: Choose a medium-size head of cauliflower, which you’ll chop, cook and puree for the sauce.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is less processed and conducts well with high heat as you cook the garlic and shallots.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are the best option, but if you can’t find them, it’s okay to use a jar of minced garlic.
- Shallot: With a slightly sweet flavor profile, shallots taste like a cross between a red onion and a yellow onion. In cooking, they maximize the flavor of other ingredients.
- Red pepper flakes: These are sold in a jar in the spice section of grocery stores and add a little heat to this recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: This hard, aged Italian-style cheese is sold in a block or a wedge. If you’d rather not grate the cheese yourself, you can find pre-shredded fresh Parmesan in the refrigerated section of groceries or in a shelf-stable can near the pasta.
- Parsley: Choose fresh parsley, not dried, for this recipe.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the fettuccine
Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions for al dente. Drain it and set it aside.
Editor’s Tip: Al dente is the Italian term for “to the tooth.” When cooking pasta to be al dente, this means the noodles should be tender but still firm and chewy.
Step 2: Cook the cauliflower
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the bouillon cubes, and stir until they’ve dissolved. Add the cauliflower, and cook until it’s very tender, for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the cauliflower, reserving 2/3 cup cooking water.
Step 3: Puree the cauliflower
Transfer the cauliflower to a food processor or blender. Process until it’s pureed smooth, adding the reserved cooking water as needed.
Step 4: Make the sauce
In the same saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallot, and cook, stirring, until they’re fragrant, one to two minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and the cauliflower puree, then heat through.
Step 5: Combine the sauce and the pasta
Add the cooked pasta and 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, then toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley and additional Parmesan before serving.
Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Variations
- Roast the cauliflower: To add roasted flavors to this dish, roast the cauliflower instead of cooking it, then puree it in a food processor or blender according to the recipe.
- Brighten it up with peas: If you want to add a dash of color but don’t want to chop any more vegetables, stir in some cooked peas.
How to Store Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
The beauty of this recipe is that you can make the sauce ahead of time and wait to boil the pasta—or you can make the entire recipe and then store it in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to enjoy it.
Can you freeze cauliflower Alfredo sauce?
If you want to make the sauce ahead of time and freeze it in an airtight container, then all you would need to do for a quick and easy dinner is thaw the sauce, cook the fettuccine, then combine the two. The sauce should not be stored in the freezer for longer than three months.
How long does cauliflower Alfredo sauce last?
Keeping the recipe in the fridge in an airtight container will help it remain fresh for three to five days.
How do you reheat cauliflower Alfredo sauce?
The best way to nail the original flavors of this recipe is to reheat the dish in a saucepan on the stovetop, over medium-high heat, until it’s heated all the way through.
Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Tips
What would be a good side to serve with this?
While this recipe is hearty enough, if you want to create a two-course dinner, serve the pasta with salad greens. From the dried cherries and raspberry dressing on our Michigan salad to our perfect winter salad, any of our top green salads will work.
How do I make this spicier?
To make this dish hotter, increase the amount of crushed red pepper flakes.
If I want to add meat to this, what’s the recommendation?
The short answer is that you can add any kind of meat, but we really like smoked salmon, as in our smoked salmon pasta recipe.
Cauliflower Alfredo
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
20 min
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 package (16 ounces) fettuccine
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
- Chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Cook fettuccine according to package directions for al dente; drain, set aside.
- In a large sauce pot or Dutch oven, bring 4 cups water to a boil; add bouillon cubes, stir until dissolved. Add cauliflower, cook until very tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of cooking water.
- Transfer cauliflower to a food processor or blender. Process until pureed smooth, adding reserved cooking water as needed.
- In the same sauce pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallot; cook and stir until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cauliflower puree, heat through. Add pasta and 2/3 cup parmesan, toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with parsley and additional Parmesan cheese before serving.
Nutrition Facts
1-1/3 cups: 371 calories, 9g fat (3g saturated fat), 6mg cholesterol, 533mg sodium, 60g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 5g fiber), 16g protein.
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My family loves this quick and healthy cauliflower Alfredo sauce on any kind of pasta. —Shelly Bevington, Hermiston, Oregon
Recipe Creator
Community Cook
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