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 healthy and delicious vegan can be!
This recipe was originally published back in 2016. We've spruced it up with some new photos and more information. It's been one of our favorite healthy hacks for years now. If you haven't tried it yet, we hope that you treat yourself to it tonight!
Cauliflower alfredo sauce
This cauliflower alfredo sauce is EVERYTHING! Seriously, it's a game-changer. Even though we're all on the get-healthy-in-January train right now (all aboard!), this cauliflower alfredo sauce is going to see us through the whole year.
When we ditch the kale smoothies and salads in favor of chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies, this vegan cauliflower alfredo sauce will remain stay strong.
Regular alfredo sauce, with all its cream, butter, and cheese, is pretty darn awesome. For our mouths. Not so much for our bellies. Jeans are feeling a little tighter just thinking about it!
This alfredo sauce is something different. It's 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 little nutritional yeast ā¦ that weirdly awesome flaky stuff that tastes a little like parmesan cheese.
This sauce has been a lifesaver. Whip up a batch in all of 15 minutes then slather it on everything from spaghetti squash to pumpkin alfredo noodles to casserole. It's a total timesaver/ healthy hack.
How to make vegan alfredo sauce
Making this vegan alfredo sauce is super easy. Here's what you're going to do:
- Saute some onions and garlic.
- Add the cauliflower and some stock to the pot and steam the cauliflower until it's nice and soft.
- Transfer all the good things in the pot to your blender. Now add the remaining ingredients and blend until you've made a deliciously creamy sauce.
What does cauliflower alfredo sauce taste like?
Since we're eat-everything-arians, we're pretty picky when it comes to imitations of āreal' 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. And the flavor is mild with a touch of garlic and a little cheesiness thanks to some nutritional yeast.
What to serve with cauliflower alfredo sauce
Pasta is the obvious choice here. Linguini, fettuccini, or even penne or fusilli all go well with this sauce.
And you can add extras like spinach, steamed broccoli, peppers, peas or any other veggie that you like.
This is also a great ābase recipeā. You can use it to build a special (and healthy!) 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!
How long does cauliflower alfredo last?
Cauliflower alfredo sauce will keep well for at least 5 days in your fridge.
Does this recipe freeze well?
Yes! This vegan cauliflower alfredo sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Troubleshooting cauliflower alfredo sauce
The sauce is too thick.
This can happen if too much stock evaporates while cooking the cauliflower. 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 very strong. 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
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Easy Vegan Dinner Recipes:
Dreamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Ā½ 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
- Ā½ teaspoon soy sauce (gluten-free or coco aminos, as needed)
- 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, Ā½ 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, Ā½ 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.
For more inspiration, check out all of our vegan recipes!
This has become one of my go-to recipes over the last couple years. I make it so often and everyone Iāve made it for loves it! So so good, def recommend!
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!
Hi, i was wondering why was there cholesterol in the nutritional composition? I thought the recipe was vegan?
Good question! We use a program that allows us to choose from a number of different ingredients to calculate the nutritional information. It’s not an exact science, but we try to always get it as close as we can. It is possible that the ingredient butter was chosen over vegan butter. That’s my best guess!
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. š
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. š
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. š
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. š
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 nutritional 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 nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese.
This sounds yummy. Thanks so much for being here with great healthy 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 nutritional info was written for 1/2 the recipe, not a 1/2 cup serving. I’ve changed that now.
Also, the sodium count 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 healthy 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.
https://www.theendlessmeal.com/category/vegan-recipes/
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!
Hey Kristen,
I absolutely love cauliflower alfredo — we have it on a weekly basis. And I make it a thousand and one different ways. And my Mr. Handsome always says “this would be delicious if it had some cheese in it!” lol. Your version looks beautiful!
And a massive congrats on the new course system! Great idea ā„ā„ā„
It sounds like our handsome men are the same!
Thank you for the congrats. š
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! š
It’s so great sneaking veggies into your diet, isn’t it? š
How I make mine too! So so yummy and so healthy and…well…when has cauliflower ever let us down? Never!!
Great minds cook alike!!!