This Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta with Broccolini is a healthy take on traditional alfredo pasta that tastes creamy and decadent without the extra calories.
I cannot tell you how obsessed I am with this cauliflower alfredo! It is so creamy, so decadent and you will have NO IDEA this sauce is made from cauliflower. It is seriously crazy how good this stuff is.
This recipe does require a couple of steps, but I promise you they are worth it and you will have people licking their plates clean after you make this.
How to Make this Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta with Broccolini
The first thing you want to do is boil your cauliflower. Easy enough.
While the cauliflower is boiling, sauté some shallot and garlic in vegan butter until soft and fragrant. Drain the cauliflower and add it to a blender with the cooked shallot/garlic, non-dairy milk, broth, salt & pepper. Blend away until smooth and creamy.
TSV TIP: I used my favorite vegan chicken broth. You can get it at Whole Foods or online here.
Next, start cooking some pasta and steam your broccolini. I decided to steam my broccolini in a vegan butter/white wine combo that is totally amazing. Set aside your cooked veggies, then add your blended sauce to the pan.
Add some lemon zest and juice to the sauce and taste to adjust the salt & pepper. And now you're pretty much done.
Toss the cooked pasta in the sauce and add some fresh basil. Serve your pasta with the cooked broccolini and prepare to enter pasta heaven.
You could easily make the sauce ahead of time and just steam veggies and cook pasta when you are ready to eat.
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta with Broccolini
Ingredients
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER SAUCE
- 1 head cauliflower cut in florets
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 shallot diced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- ½ cup non-dairy milk unsweetened
- ½ cup broth*
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 lemon zested & juiced
FOR THE BROCCOLINI
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ cup white wine
- 8 oz broccolini hard stems trimmed
FOR THE PASTA
- 8 oz linguine dry
- fresh basil chopped
Instructions
PREPARE THE CAULIFLOWER SAUCE
- Add cauliflower to a large pot and fill with water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and lower heat to a simmer. Cook cauliflower until fork tender (approx. 10 minutes). Drain and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is cooking melt the vegan butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté until tender (approx. 5 minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To a blender, add the cooked cauliflower, non-dairy milk, broth, a healthy pinch of salt & pepper and the cooked shallot/garlic mixture. Blend until smooth and set aside.
PREPARE THE PASTA & BROCCOLINI
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
- Prepare the broccolini by melting the vegan butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt & pepper and stir to combine. Add the white wine to the pan and allow it to cook down for 2 minutes. Add the broccolini to the pan and cover with a lid for 5 minutes to allow it to steam. Remove the broccolini from the pan and set aside.
- Add the cauliflower sauce to the same pan you steamed the broccolini in. Add the lemon zest and the juice from ½ of the lemon and stir to combine. Taste the sauce and add salt & pepper as needed.
- Toss the drained pasta with the sauce and top with fresh basil. If your broccolini has cooled down too much add it back to the pan to reheat. Serve the pasta with more fresh basil and black pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Connie
This was really tasty! I loved the lemon in it and it was nice and lite. The only thing is that the cauliflower only needs to be cooked for 3-4 minutes. Scrumptious!!
Thank you for the recipe!!
Rene
Hi Connie - so glad you liked it!
Lindsay
This was so good. It completely fooled my dairy-eating husband and he loved it. I hope that it heats up well, I made extra for lunch tomorrow.
Rene
So glad you both liked it. And you can always add a splash of non-dairy milk or olive oil to loosen up the sauce if needed.
Michelle Jones
Haven’t made this yet but plan to. Does anyone know how well it freezes? Many Thanks
Joanna
This is by far our favorite vegan alfredo. It's simple, yet so tasty!
Rene
Yes! So glad you love it!
Molly
I made this just as the recipe said, and use a food processor. My sauce was lumpy even after five minutes of blending. Any ideas?
Rene
Hi Molly, it sounds like your cauliflower may not have been cooked enough. It should blend pretty easily if cooked through. Sorry you had issues!
Stephanie Milligan
Made this for dinner tonight and it is absolutely delicious. The sauce is so good and is not heavy like the traditional Alfredo with the heavy cream and cheese. My husband could not believe there wasn't any cheese ad the sauce was made with cauliflower. Definitely a keeper!
Rene
Right?!? It is crazy what you can do with veggies. So glad it was hit with you and the hubby!
LA
This looks & sounds lovely, what could I substitute the white wine for when cooking the broccolini, veg stock? Wine isn't for me whether its drinking or cooking ?
Rene
Yep, veggie stock would work perfectly!
Hannah
This recipe is AMAZING!
I've never made a cauliflower alfredo before, so I was honestly a bit nervous.
It turned out to be super flavorful! I modified the recipe a bit, and sort of combined this with the TSV Cajun stuffed shells recipe.
Added 1tbsp tomato paste to the garlic/shallot mixture, then added creole seasoning and cayenne to the finished sauce. I also used ripple half and half, instead of milk. Then, I added some sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms, to amp up the veggie content.
SO GOOD! My husband and i couldn't get enough.
Rene
Yum! Those all sounds like awesome additions - especially the Creole seasoning. Can't get enough of that stuff 🙂
Paige
Making this tonight! How many cups of Frozen cauli rice would you substitute for the head?
Rene
I would say a 16 oz bag would be about right 🙂