Dreamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
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 … 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.
Full recipe in the recipe card below.
What does cauliflower alfredo sauce taste like?
Since we're eat-everything-arians, we're pretty picky when it comes to 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. 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 ‘base recipe”. 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
This can happen if too much stock evaporates while cooking the cauliflower. If needed, add a little extra stock or water to the blender.
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.
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:
- Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry
- Cashew Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Curried Vegan Shepherd's Pie with Coconut Sweet Potato Topping
- Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes
- Deliciously Rich Lentil Bolognese
Dreamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
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Prep Time: 5 mins
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Cook Time: 10 mins
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Total Time: 15 minutes
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Yield: 2 cups 1x
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Category: Sauce
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Method: Stovetop
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Cuisine: North American
Description
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!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, 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 (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.
- 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.
- Either use the cauliflower alfredo right away or pour it into a pan to keep warm until you are ready to use it.
Notes
Nutritional yeast can be bought from some major grocery stores and most health food stores. You can also purchase it online through Amazon.
If the alfredo is too thick (this can happen if too much stock evaporated while steaming the cauliflower) simply add a little extra water or stock.
Find it online: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/dreamy-vegan-cauliflower-alfredo/
This was so delicious. Non vegan family and friends loved it. I also cannot believe how easy and simple this recipe is. It is way healthier and lower in calories than your regular Alfredo yet it tastes just as delicious. I can eat a whole bowl or two and not feel like crap. I will never miss non-vegan Alfredo with this recipe. It’ll definitely be a staple from now on. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
★★★★★
I seem to be the only
Person who thought this was awful. I had to redo dinner because I refused to feed this to my family.
I’m sorry to hear that the recipe wasn’t a hit!
This was so good! I couldn’t believe it. So creamy and rich. I don’t even like regular Alfredo sauce that much, but this was awesome.
★★★★★
I’m so surprised by how good this tastes. I’m on a very limited diet before an operation so this was a great recipe to come across. I put it on zucchini noodles and it was delicious. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
I had two heads of cauliflower. One, for this recipe. The other I had intended to roast in the oven for later. But this sauce turned out SO amazing that I immediately used the other cauliflower to make a second batch. Lunch tomorrow is going to be such a treat!
★★★★★
Good, though I’d not mistake it for either alfredo or bechamel sauce. Maybe some miso instead lemon juice, to sub for parmesan?
★★★★
This sauce was so easy to make and really delicious. I skipped the oil and optional butter and it was still so good. I used the 2 tsp of salt as suggested and was a little worried when I tasted the sauce on its own that it might be too salty but when I put over pasta and veggies it was seasoned perfectly. I didn’t have to add any additional seasoning to my plate. Thank you for such a great recipe.
★★★★★
You’re very welcome!!
Do you blend the cauliflower with the stock or do you drain the stock off
Add both the cauliflower and the stock to the blender. 🙂
Okay, I don’t think I have ever reviewed a recipe before, but I HAD to review this one. This was amazing. I in no way expected this to taste anything like alfredo sauce. My expectations were for a rich cauliflower sauce that tasted good, but only slightly resembled alfredo sauce. But this sauce was so good and tasted so much like alfredo sauce!!! I think the soy sauce/coconut aminos were just as important as the nutritional yeast. I would not skip it. Thanks for sharing. ♥️♥️♥️
★★★★★
Why add soy sauce?
For flavor. 🙂
I LOVE this recipe. It’s a great ‘base’ recipe that can be used in so many ways. I use it to replace any white sauce or cream in soups.
★★★★★
I was pleasantly surprised by how good this tasted!
I served it cold with pasta and my family and I loved it. It’s such a versatile recipe so I’ll be making it again and adapting it for other recipes!
★★★★
I’ve been looking for a non-dairy sub for white sauce and omg I was so surprised at how good this turned out! The only sub I made was that I used chicken stock instead of vegetable. It was so good! I could just eat a whole bowl of this.
★★★★★
Love it!!!
Wow! So easy and good my mom who isn’t vegan even loved it!
★★★★★
That’s so great to hear, Deb! Thank you for the comment!
Can you freeze this?
Yes you can. 🙂
We followed the directions as written. I doubled the recipe for a bunch of hungry young adults. Everyone enjoyed it and most went back for seconds. They agreed that it was yummy but not really an alfredo. I wonder if I did something wrong. They loved the texture but thought it could use some more flavor. I’m planning on roasting some garlic to add to the leftover sauce to see if they think that puts it over the top. Thanks for the inspiration. These kids are tough to please and they devoured it.
★★★★
I think that roasted garlic would be an amazing addition!
This sauce was very tasty. Although it slightly resembled cheese sauce it was still a great tasting sauce. I had it on steamed broccoli and it was delicious. I ended up adding 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast
★★★★★
Happy that you like it!
I really don’t like cauliflower, I have tried it in a myriad of ways bc as a vegan I like to keep my options as open as possible. Cut to making this recipe and it was AMAZING. I finally found a way to not only eat it but LOVE IT.
I do have a question! How well does this recipe freeze? I’d like to premix a huge batch and freeze it for later, but I also didn’t want to go in blind in case it doesn’t go well 🙂 thanks!
★★★★★
Horray! That is the best news!!
Several readers have commented that they’ve had success freezing this sauce so it should work well for you, too!
Lovely – a total hit with my family! Worked so well. Wanted a bit of colour, so added in finely chopped spinach and parsley to the sauce. Served with bean salad, green salad, sliced jalapenos and smokey coconut chips.
I bet that it was so pretty with the parsley!
I made the sauce few minutes ago but it was so good that I just kept eating it out of the blender. Hardly any left to use at dinner. One substitution I made was add 1 1/2 Tbls. of Mocha Mix (non-dairy creamer) instead of water to thin the sauce down a little. That made the sauce even creamier and luscious.
I might have to make a little more sauce for dessert. 😉
★★★★★
Love it! And good call on the creamer!
Loved this recipe! I’ve made my fair share of cauliflower Alfredo sauces and this one is my favourite by far! I followed the recipe exactly, only adding in 1 tbsp of the nutritional yeast. I’ll definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
Love hearing that, Melanie!
This is my go-to creamy white sauce now that I’m doing my best to eat WFPB (whole food plant based). Now that I have the basic recipe down pat, I’ve been adding different flavors and experimenting. It’s amazing. Tonight I added roasted red peppers and had it with pasta and diced veggies. I made a white vegetable lasagna with it for my daughter-in-law’s birthday last week and it was a big hit as well. Good stuff. Make it ASAP (you won’t regret it). Oh and my omnivore hubs laps it up every time I serve it. That should tell you how good it is!
★★★★★
I definitely need to try your red pepper version. That sounds amazing!
Made this last night and WOW, amazing. It will be a staple from here on out. Thank you!
I’m really happy that you loved this recipe!