This is the best cauliflower Alfredo sauce recipe. It's so rich and creamy and surprisingly easy to make. This sneaky veggie sauce can be used in so many ways and is also dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, Whole30, and paleo.
Sneaky veggie recipes like my cherry cheesecake smoothie, and cauliflower cheese sauce are some of my favourite to create, which is why I can't wait for you to try this sneaky veggie cauliflower sauce!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this sauce:
- The flavour! This sauce is so rich and creamy and even though it's made with cauliflower you can't actually taste it!
- It's quick and easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.
- This sauce is dairy-free, healthy, sugar free, gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 compliant, plant based and vegan.
- This sauce can be used in so many ways including as a topping for pasta, as a sauce for casseroles and more!
- Even kids love it!
If you love cauliflower recipes you also need to try my cauliflower fried rice, and vegan cauliflower soup recipe.
Ingredients:
For the exact measurements refer to the recipe card later in this post.
Jump to the Recipe
- Cauliflower: you can use either fresh cauliflower or frozen cauliflower to make this sauce.
- Coconut milk: I recommend using full fat coconut milk rather than low fat coconut milk.
- Nutritional yeast: this helps give the sauce a cheesy flavour.
- Vegetable broth: you can either use homemade or store bought.
- Raw cashews: be sure to use raw cashews and not roasted cashews.
- Herbs and spices: Italian seasoning, sea salt, fresh garlic, and ground black pepper. If you don't tolerate fresh garlic you could add garlic infused olive oil instead.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- If you can't have cashews I recommend using pine nuts instead.
- If you can't have coconut milk I would recommend using unsweetened cashew milk instead.
- To make this cauliflower Alfredo sauce nut free and AIP compliant: omit the cashews.
- To lower the carb count of this cauliflower sauce use half the cashews or omit them altogether.
- For a different flavour you can use roasted cauliflower to make this sauce.
How to make cauliflower Alfredo sauce:
- Step 1: Steam the cauliflower florets until they are tender.
- Step 2: When the cauliflower is finished cooking, transfer it to your Vitamix blender (or other high speed blender) and add the remaining ingredients.
- Step 3: Blend everything well until it's smooth.
- Step 4: Serve and enjoy!
Top Tips:
- To make this sauce even easier you can buy pre-cut cauliflower florets.
- This recipe makes a very large batch of cauliflower Alfredo sauce so you could easily cut it in half if you are only serving a few people.
- If you don't have a high speed blender you can blend this sauce in a food processor instead.
- Serving ideas: Alfredo sauce is classically served over pasta but you can also use this sauce to make chicken Alfredo, casseroles, for topping broccoli, as a dip for nachos, or as a pizza sauce.
- Storage: store any leftover cauliflower Alfredo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. This cauliflower sauce also freezes really well for up to 3 months.
Cauliflower Alfredo sauce FAQs:
As written this sauce has 14 grams of net carbs, but you can easily lower the carb count by decreasing the cashews or omitting them.
Instead of cream, to make Alfredo sauce you can use coconut milk to give it a similar rich and creamy flavour.
While both Alfredo sauce and white sauce are white in color, they are different. Alfredo sauce is an Italian sauce traditionally made with heavy cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. White sauce on the other hand is a French sauce otherwise known as Béchamel sauce. It is made up of a roux with flour and butter plus cream.
Yes, it will just take longer to steam than fresh cauliflower.
No! Even though this sauce is loaded with cauliflower, it doesn't taste like it.
Other vegetable recipes you will love:
Recipe
Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (approximately 500 grams of cauliflower florets)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup broth (you can use vegetable broth, chicken broth or bone broth)
- 1 cup raw cashews (omit for AIP and for nut free)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (omit for AIP)
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and steam them until they are tender.
- Once the cauliflower is finished cooking, transfer it to your blender and add the remaining ingredients.
- Blend everything well until it's smooth.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you are on the AIP diet or can't have nuts, omit the cashews.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Sharon
I’m new to coconut milk. Is there a brand of coconut milk that tastes best? My daughter loves Alfredo sauce. In fact she sounds exactly like you were about it. She is newly having to get off of cheese and dairy and is really missing this sauce. So I’m hoping to make it and have it be a replacement so that won’t hurt her body. Thanks.
Erin Carter
Hey! This is the one I use and really like:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZW8WFP6/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pureandsimp07-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07ZW8WFP6&linkId=24ab4e4adf7cf3831b606ffee698c56c
Sharon
Thank you so much! Ordered! Can’t wait to try your recipes!
Traci
How much sauce does this make? Enough for 4 people served over grain free noodles I hope? 🙂
Can’t wait to try this and report back:)
Erin Carter
It's been a while since I made it but yes it should be enough for 4 people! Enjoy!
Charla
I totally botched the recipe due to mom brain and poured an entire can of coconut milk and a random amount of broth and used hand beaters to blend it. Despite all my errors the recipe was still very delicious but next time I make the recipe I’ll be following the recipe! I made it with Cajun chicken and spaghetti squash! Sooo good!
Fitoru Fitness
Thank you!I will definitely try these.We are working on eating better for our kids.
Erin Carter
I hope you all love it!
Kristie
So good!!