Cauliflower Alfredo
Cauliflower Alfredo (Vegan & Oil-Free)
Cauliflower Alfredo (Vegan & Oil-Free)
One summer, when my middle daughter was in high school, we had an Italian exchange student from Rome. She left her bustling city to come live with us on the rural Olympic Peninsula. After picking her up from the airport, we headed to the Olive Garden for dinner. The first thing she saw on the menu was Fettuccini Alfredo and immediately exclaimed “That is not a dish, that is a boy’s name!” Turns out, it’s both.
The Americanized Fettuccini Alfredo, that we all know so well, is food coma inducingly rich, made with dairy-based heavy cream, butter and cheese. Wanting to create an equally creamy but healthy plant-based version, I turned to my favorite brassica, cauliflower. Cauliflower has the unique ability to blend up super creamy when cooked until fork tender. It’s mild, almost nutty, taste works well in this delicious, nutrient dense, vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce.
For additional creaminess, I’ve added in soft silken tofu. This helps to create a silky texture while preventing stickiness. If you can’t find soft silken tofu, use regular silken tofu and adjust by gradually adding additional oat milk while blending.
This flavorful and rich tasting sauce clings beautifully to fettuccini. Cook the noodles until just al dente, so that the hot Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce absorbs into them, without over cooking the noodles and making them mushy.
Note: To make the Cauliflower Alfredo gluten-free, use Miso Master Mellow White Miso which is certified gluten-free.
Ingredients for Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
½ cup of water (divided)
1½ teaspoons of kosher salt (divided)
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups (525 grams) of cauliflower florets (approx. 1 large head)
6 oz. (170 grams) of soft silken tofu
½ cup (4 oz.) of oat milk, unsweetened
2 tablespoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon of white miso paste (aka mellow white miso)
½ cup of nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon of white pepper
Makes 4 cups (950 ml.) of Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce (To see what I used in this recipe, click on the ingredients in bold.)
Method for making Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Steps One-Three:
1. Add the onions and ¼ cup of water to a large pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the onions, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent. The onions will “sweat” their own liquid as they cook down, but if they begin to dry out, turn down the heat and sprinkle with more water. Be patient here, this will take about 7-10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic to the onions and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
3. While the onions are cooking, prepare your cauliflower. Cut the florets away from the stem. Then cut each of the florets into quarters. (see note) Measure out 6 cups and add them to the onions. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of additional water and stir the cauliflower into the onions so that the florets are moist.
Steps Four-Five:
4. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the cauliflower is fork tender, 10-12 minutes.
5. Transfer the cauliflower mixture to a blender container. Add in the soft silken tofu, oat milk, lemon juice, miso paste, nutritional yeast and white pepper.
Step Six-Seven:
6. Securely attach the lid to the blender container, leaving the small center hole open for steam to escape. (you can cover this with a cloth to prevent spattering) Blend until completely smooth. This takes 2-3 minutes in a Vitamix but may take longer depending on the type of blender you are using. It’s okay to do this in batches too if your blender won’t hold all the liquid at once.
7. Pour generously over fettuccini noodles, tossing to combine, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Cauliflower Alfredo (Vegan & Oil-Free)
Not just for pasta, Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce tastes wonderful on other grains, legumes and veggies too!
Note: Leftover cauliflower stems and leaves are great to save for homemade vegetable stock.
Other savory pasta sauces to fall in love with:
Printable Recipe Card:
Cauliflower Alfredo (Vegan, Gluten & Oil Free)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the onions and ¼ cup of water to a large pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the onions, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent. The onions will “sweat” their own liquid as they cook down, but if they begin to dry out, turn down the heat and sprinkle with more water. Be patient here, this will take about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the onions and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
- While the onions are cooking, prepare your cauliflower. Cut the florets away from the stem. Then cut each of the florets into quarters. Measure out 6 cups and add them to the onions. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of additional water and stir the cauliflower into the onions so that the florets are moist.
- Cover and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the cauliflower is fork tender, 10-12 minutes.
- Transfer the cauliflower mixture to a blender container. Add in the soft silken tofu, oat milk, lemon juice, miso paste, nutritional yeast and white pepper.
- Securely attach the lid to the blender container, leaving the small center hole open for steam to escape. (you can cover this with a cloth to prevent spattering) Blend until completely smooth. This takes 2-3 minutes in a Vitamix but may take longer depending on the type of blender you are using. It’s okay to do this in batches too if your blender won’t hold all the liquid at once.
- Pour generously over fettuccini noodles, tossing to combine, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Notes:
See blog post for links to certified gluten-free ingredients.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
84.77Fat (grams)
2.02Sat. Fat (grams)
0.30Carbs (grams)
11.98Fiber (grams)
4.74Net carbs
7.24Sugar (grams)
4.24Protein (grams)
7.79Sodium (milligrams)
500.06Cholesterol (grams)
0.16Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.