Dreamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
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This rich, creamy, and totally dreamy cauliflower alfredo sauce recipe is 100% dairy-free. You’ll be amazed at how delicious vegan food can be!
This cauliflower alfredo sauce is EVERYTHING! Seriously, it’s a game-changer. With all its cream, butter, and cheese, regular alfredo sauce is pretty darn awesome, but my jeans are feeling a little tighter just thinking about it!
This Alfredo sauce is made from the highly skilled impersonator, cauliflower. It’s cooked with some onions and garlic, then blended into a smooth, creamy sauce with some veggie stock.
We’ve flavored it with a bit of nutritional yeast … that weirdly awesome flaky stuff that tastes a little like Parmesan cheese.
This sauce has been a lifesaver. Whip up a batch in 15 minutes, then slather it on everything from spaghetti squash to pumpkin alfredo noodles to casserole.
What does cauliflower alfredo sauce taste like?
Since we’re eat-everything-arians, we’re pretty picky about imitations of ‘real’ food. That’s why this sauce is such a dream; it’s the best knockoff Alfredo sauce ever.
Does it taste EXACTLY like cream and butter-loaded alfredo? No, but it’s unbelievably close.
It’s super creamy, even though there’s not a drop of cream in sight. The flavor is mild, with a touch of garlic and a little cheesiness, thanks to some nutritional yeast.
Troubleshooting cauliflower alfredo sauce
The sauce is too thick. This can occur if too much stock evaporates during cauliflower cooking. If needed, add a little extra stock or water to the blender.
The sauce isn’t smooth. This can happen if your blender isn’t powerful. In this case, pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pieces that didn’t blend properly.
The sauce needs more flavor. When making the sauce, start with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, then add more as needed
Ideas for serving cauliflower alfredo sauce
Pasta is the obvious choice here. Linguine, fettuccine, or even penne or fusilli all pair well with this sauce. And you can add extras like spinach, steamed broccoli, peppers, peas or any other veggie that you like. It’s also the base of my dairy-free chicken alfredo recipe.
This is also a great ‘base recipe”. You can use it to build a special dinner. Here are a few ideas:
- Add some roasted garlic.
- Pour it over steamed or roasted broccoli.
- Make some vegan mac and cheese pasta.
- Use it as a dip for nachos.
- Pizza sauce!
Dreamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ yellow onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 3 cups (12 ounces) chopped cauliflower
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- Optional: 1 tablespoon butter (vegan or regular butter both work, use what you have on hand)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook for 3-4 minutes, or until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower and the vegetable stock or water to the pot, cover with a lid and let the cauliflower steam for 5 minutes, or until it is soft.1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic, 3 cups (12 ounces) chopped cauliflower, 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- Transfer everything in the pot to a blender (a high-powered blender will make the smoothest sauce, but any blender will work) and blend on high until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients (starting with 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and 1 teaspoon of sea salt) and blend again. Taste and add more nutritional yeast and sea salt, if you'd like. If you are using the optional butter add it now and blend once more.1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons sea salt, ½ teaspoon soy sauce, Optional: 1 tablespoon butter
- Either use the cauliflower alfredo right away or pour it into a pan to keep warm until you are ready to use it.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
This has become one of my go-to recipes over the last couple years. I make it so often and everyone I’ve made it for loves it! So so good, def recommend!
The flavor was good, but I could not get it smooth no matter how much I blended (decent blender, Ninja). Will try with a stick blender next time maybe.
I’m sorry it didn’t get super smooth for you. I do have a Vitamix so I know that definitely helps.
This was excellent! We added a blob of white miso and likewise of mustard, which elevated it even more. Makes it cheesier.
Great call on the white miso and mustard!!
Wowwwwowowwwweee
Looks amazing and purrfect in every way! I’m curious as to what the shelf life/most efficient preservation method is?
Wanna make a bunch ?
Thanks!!
It will last for at least 5 days if you keep it covered in your fridge. I haven’t tried freezing it yet, but I suspect it would freeze well. Hope that helps!
I made this and it turned out great! Definitely on the thick side/mashed potato-y so I thinned it with some more liquid and added some more seasoning to compensate. Alfredo is my favourite and I love this vegetable-filled version!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it!
I’m not normally one to comment on these but I had to here. I was skeptical on the sauce because I’ve tried with the raw cashew ones before and could never get that gritty texture to come out smooth and creamy. You freaking nailed it on this. Came out perfect, as if it just came out of a jar. Nice job!!!
PS…. I used my cuisanart food processor to blend it. Had no issue with the texture as I stated above.
I’m so happy to hear that it turned out so well for you! Hooray! It’s honestly one of my fav recipes and I’ve used it, and variations of it, so many times for dinner.
I came here through a link from a Facebook group of What Vegan Children Eat. Recipe looks yummy. It also looks similar to a creamy vegan mushroom soup recipe that uses cauliflower as the base. I’m sure simply adding some cooked mushrooms to the sauce would make a fantastic soup!
You could definitely add mushrooms!
Have you tried my Magic Mushroom Sauce recipe? It’s made with a cashew base and so is super creamy and dairy-free. It’s one of my favourite recipes on the blog. 🙂
https://www.theendlessmeal.com/magic-mushroom-sauce/
Mine turns out like mashed potatoes both times I made it. I cook the cauliflower in the broth longer because it was not soft enough for my hand blender to make creamy. I did not have the garlic nor the nutritional yeast and used coconut aminos since I am allergic to soy and am on a paleo lifestyle. It still turns out with an amazing flavor. I serve it over roasted summer squash noodles. It has become my favorite comfort food.
So happy to hear you like the recipe!
If you want it more alfredo-like rather than mashed potato-like you can add a little extra broth next time. That will do the trick. 🙂
Followed you recipe true to recipe. Had the same issue with the mash potato texture and increased the veg broth to about 1.5-2 cups. Still not as creamy as in your pictures. ?
It may have been because of your blender. I have a Vitamix, which is a real power horse. Unfortunately I don’t have a regular blender to test to see if this is the reason why it turned out thicker than mine does. 🙁
Question – can the sauce be made, stored and reheated?
I’ve saved it before as leftovers and it’s still great the next day. The cauliflower flavour will be a little more pronounced though. 🙂
Mmmm! So delicious! I gobbled up spoonfuls as ‘soup’ while the pasta was cooking.
That’s so awesome!!!
This was so good! Thank you for posting it.
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy you like it!!
How important is the nutritional yeast? What if I can’t find it?
The yeast does give the alfredo a lot of flavour. If you eat cheese, parmesan is a great substitute. If you eat a plant-based diet and can’t find any nutritional yeast you could try to add a little more soy to boost the flavour. It won’t be quite the same though without the yeast or parmesan cheese.
This sounds yummy. Thanks so much for being here with great food. I do have a question on this recipe though. Is the sodium correct? It seems reall high. Thank you again
I’m so happy you pointed this out! The info was written for 1/2 the recipe, not a 1/2 cup serving. I’ve changed that now.
It also includes 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
Thank you again for catching that!
Can’t wait to try this, thank you! My twin sister and I have been vegan for two weeks. I am constantly looking for ways to re-create well-known recipes since I am still making meals for my kids/husband (who still very much love meat/dairy). That way I am not stuck making two separate dishes each meal.
Very excited! If you have any suggestions for me on how to be successful in the new endeavor, I’m all ears!
My guy’s teenage daughter is vegan so I totally understand the struggle of not wanting to make two separate meals at dinner!
Have you checked out the other vegan recipes here on TEM? There are quite a few that are great for vegans and carnivores. I find that big pots of chili or curries always go over well for both.
Another trick we’ll often do is make one meal but swap out the protein. Baked potatoes and salad with a steak for us and a grilled portobello mushroom or some tofu for her.
Hope that helps!
Thank you! This is very helpful! I’m new to this site, but am eager to dig through the recipes!
It sounds like our handsome men are the same!
Thank you for the congrats. 🙂
Great minds cook alike!!!
Totally going to try this soon!! I love being creative with veggies since I tend to not get enough of them in my diet. This looks just like the ‘real’ thing! 🙂
It’s so great sneaking veggies into your diet, isn’t it? 🙂