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!
THANK YOU. This sauce tastes SO DELICIOUS! After I made the sauce, I cooked down some spinach with some gluten free hearts of palm angel hair pasta (no boiling…YAY). What an incredible meal. I may also toast some sourdough bread and add oregano and garlic. With some ginger beer? I’m simply going to float away. Thank you again, this was simple and so so easy to follow which I greatly appreciate.
This made me smile — I love your whole plan here! 😊 That sounds like such a delicious meal, and I’m especially into the spinach + hearts of palm pasta combo (no boiling is always a win). And toasted sourdough with oregano and garlic on the side? Yes please.
I’m so glad you found it easy to follow and that you loved the sauce. Thanks so much for sharing — enjoy every bite! 💛
Very tasty! I added some peas along with a good amount of chopped parsley. It was terriffic.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 😊 Adding peas and plenty of chopped parsley sounds delicious — I love that fresh little twist. Thanks so much for sharing and for leaving such a kind note!
This is so good. Creamy, flavorful and fairly simple.
Aw, I’m so happy you loved it! Creamy, flavorful, *and* simple is exactly what I was going for. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a note — it means a lot. ✨
I just stumbled across this recipe today and thought it looked delish. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I had all the ingredients in the house. This is just wonderful! I’m going to put it on rotation.
Sounds like it was meant to be!!
Can this sauce sit in the refrigerator for a couple of days or does it need to used right away or put in the freezer?
Hi Richard! This sauce will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
I am scanning the comments, but don’t see it mentioned. What about using riced cauliflower? I am guessing it would not work as well but it’s what’s in hand
I think it would work just fine! Use the weight measurement (12 ounces) as the volume of riced cauliflower vs chopped will be quite different.
WOW…I followed this recipe exactly as written (and added the small amount of vegan butter at the end) and it is incredible. I made it for someone with no restrictions and is used to a traditional Alfredo as a favorite meal, and he LOVED IT. It blew his mind that it is mostly cauliflower. Absolutely will keep on repeat, thank you SO much!!
I’m so happy that you love the recipe!!
I’m sorry you may have answered this already but it’s hard to scroll through so many reviews on my phone 😆 Does this freeze well?
I love it so much that I make huge batches and if I could freeze it, I’d have enough for a while 🥰
You can definitely freeze this! I find that the cauliflower flavor becomes a bit stronger after it’s frozen, and you may want to blend it again as it can separate a little. But if you’re ok with that, then you can go ahead and freeze it!
Very good, easy to make. I’ll try half cashews next time just for grins.
I thought it was nice & creamy, but wish I would have left out the lemon & nutritional yeast. Lemon was over-powering. I served it over spaghetti squash noodles.
Nutritional Yeast is not the same as Brewer’s yeast and it’s hard to get a cheesy-adjacent chase without it.
I have been making this recipe for years now- it is a huge favourite of mine. I put it on pasta, lasagna, pizza, potatoes, veggies…the options are endless. My favourite right now is pouring it over gnocchi with sautéed spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. I have shared it with so many people and everyone always loves it!
After 2 1/2 years I’m still making this sauce, right now as a matter of fact. Still just steaming the cauliflower, onions and garlic till soft but sometimes I add almond milk to the blender for added creaminess instead of water or veggie broth. Using this sauce for the base of mac and cheese is still my favorite. Nutritional yeast is a must with the lemon juice and soy sauce. Keep extra in my freezer at all times. I give this recipe to everyone at the farmers market who want to know what I’m going to do with all the cauliflower I buy. How could anyone not LOVE this recipe?
I’m so happy to hear you love the recipe!
Can I use frozen cauli?
I find that frozen cauliflower is too cauliflower-y tasting for my liking. But if you enjoy the flavor, then it will definitely work to make the sauce!
Unfortunately, it is really bland and was not a pleasant experience. It would be nice cauliflower soup individually but not over pasta. I’m really lucky I didn’t mix all sauce with pasta, so can eat it sepreatly as a soup.
Seriously so good, exceeded all expectations. It is now my husband’s favorite dinner! That you for a wonderful recipe!
I just made this! It turned out great; slightly salty for me, even with just the 1 tsp of salt, but I should have started with less knowing I dont need much (and then plus the coco aminos, its def enough). I made it with no oil (sauteed in veg broth) and mixed all the ingredients in the pot before adding it to the blender. I got a vitamix recently so I figured it was powerful enough to blend everything at once. The texture of the sauce was perfect! No need to add more liquid. Excited to add it to pasta with mushrooms.