Try this creamy, cauliflower alfredo sauce for an easy, healthy meal everyone will love! It’s easy-to-make with real ingredients.
This sauce is easily made dairy-free! Check out all my tips in this blog post.
It seems like cauliflower can do anything these days. It has become the new kale of trendy vegetables. It can be anything from pizza crust or tater tots, to rice and Alfredo sauce!
I have tried several dairy-free cheese sauces over the years and have never really loved them. They always end up tasting too much like cashews or nutritional yeast to me.
This sauce, however, blew me away with the first bite! My dairy-eating husband couldn’t believe how delicious it was either. It is smooth, flavorful, and creamy just like you’d expect from traditional Alfredo sauce!
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy-to-make
- Made with real, wholesome ingredients
- Creamy and delicious
- Can use in so many ways!
You also might like these recipes for dairy-free mac and cheese, dairy-free lasagna, dairy-free potato soup, dairy-free artichoke dip, gluten-free lasagna and gluten-free alfredo sauce.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken stock: Chicken stock is the base of this cauliflower sauce. You can add more to thin the sauce as needed. You can also use vegetable broth to make this sauce vegan.
- Cauliflower: You can buy pre-chopped, bagged cauliflower florets or even cauliflower rice to save time with this recipe, if you prefer!
- Cashews: Soaked cashews make a creamy, vegan Alfredo sauce. It’s the best substitute for heavy cream of any non-dairy milk, in my opinion.
- Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms have much better flavor than white mushrooms. I recommend them for this healthy Alfredo sauce! You can buy sliced to save time.
- Parmesan cheese: You can buy a Parmesan cheese wedge and grate your own cheese, or buy pre-shredded cheese, if you prefer.
- Shallots: Shallots have a milder, sweeter flavor than regular onions, making them perfect for sauces and dressings. You can use yellow onions if you can’t find shallots.
- Garlic: I prefer using freshly minced garlic for this recipe, but you can used minced garlic from a jar, too. For extra flavor, try using roasted garlic.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is used to saute the shallots and mushrooms before blending into the creamy sauce.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce adds umami flavor to this Alfredo sauce recipe! If you want the recipe to be gluten-free be sure to use tamari instead of soy sauce.
How to Make Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
- In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the raw garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower and chicken stock.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce it to a simmer then cover. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender.
- Place the cashew in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave for 3 minutes on high to soften. Drain and rinse the cashews.
- Place the cashews in a high-speed blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of water (or you can use 1/2 cup chicken stock). Blend until completely smooth.
- When the cauliflower is cooked, pour the vegetable mixture into the blender. Carefully blend on low until the mixture is totally smooth.
- Pour back into the pan and add the soy sauce and Parmesan cheese into the creamy cauliflower sauce, if using. Season to taste with more sea salt if needed and plenty of freshly cracked pepper. Serve the cauliflower alfredo sauce over your favorite pasta and enjoy!
Storage/Serving Instructions
TO STORE: Store leftover sauce in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
TO FREEZE: This cauliflower alfredo sauce freezes very well. I like to double the recipe and freeze half for a quick meal later. I’ve also become a fan of freezing sauces and soups in individual sizes in a silicone muffin pan. After the sauce is frozen, just pop the rounds into a freezer bag. Then you can defrost the amount you need and toss it with a single serving of pasta.
SERVING: I like serving it with my favorite gluten-free noodles and tossing it with sliced grilled chicken and sauteed broccoli and mushrooms. It also makes a great mac and cheese stand-in for kids. You can serve it with any pasta you like! It would also be delicious for dipping these gluten-free breadsticks.
FAQs
Cauliflower sauce is made from steamed cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic, and shallots or onions. Dairy-free cauliflower sauce is made with soaked raw cashews for a creamy taste without dairy. Tamari soy sauce can be added for an umami flavor.
You can enhance the flavor of Alfredo sauce by adding spices like garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, or onion powder. You can also add shallots, cremini mushrooms, parmesan cheese, or tamari to add more depth of the flavor.
Alfredo sauce can be thickened using parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can also add blended and steamed cauliflower to thicken your sauce and add extra nutrients. You can also use a flour and butter roux to thicken your sauce.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Be sure to soak the cashews before blending! This is an essential step that makes for a creamier cheese sauce and silkier texture.
- Parmesan and soy sauce/tamari are definitely optional, but they do enhance the flavor of this creamy white sauce. I recommend using the Parmesan if the recipe doesn’t need to be dairy-free.
- Serve this creamy cauliflower Alfredo sauce with your favorite pasta dish, or with spaghetti squash. I like to cook up al dente gluten-free pasta using Jovial Foods Gluten-Free Egg Noodle Pasta. I often add sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, and grilled chicken.
- You can double the sauce and freeze half for later. It reheats very well.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY
I hope you love this cauliflower alfredo sauce as much as we do! If you try this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Easy, Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 1/2 cup chopped cremini mushrooms optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 head cauliflower chopped roughly into 2-inch pieces
- 2 cups chicken stock plus more to thin if needed
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce) optional for more flavor
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese optional, dairy-free if needed!
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan or dutch oven, heat the butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower and chicken stock.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer then cover. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes, until the cauliflower is very soft.
- Place the cashew in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave for 3 minutes on high to soften. Drain and rinse the cashews.
- Place the cashews in a high-speed blender with 1/2 cup of water (or you can use 1/2 cup chicken stock). Blend until completely smooth.
- When the cauliflower is cooked, pour the vegetable mixture into the blender. Carefully blend on low until the mixture is totally smooth.
- Pour back into the pan and add the soy sauce and Parmesan cheese, if using. Season to taste with more salt if needed and plenty of freshly cracked pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to soak the cashews before blending! This is an essential step that makes for a creamier cheese sauce and silkier texture.
- Parmesan and soy sauce/tamari are definitely optional, but they do enhance the flavor of this creamy white sauce. I recommend using the Parmesan if the recipe doesn’t need to be dairy-free.
- Serve this creamy cauliflower Alfredo sauce with your favorite pasta dish, or with spaghetti squash. I like to cook up al dente gluten-free pasta using Jovial Foods Gluten-Free Egg Noodle Pasta. I often add sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, and grilled chicken.
- You can double the sauce and freeze half for later. It reheats very well.
You were so right about the soy sauce! It’s really completes it.
I am allergic to nuts, is there a sub for the cashews or can I leave it out
Hi Erin,
I have tried a few of your recipes this past year while re-learning baking and cooking with gluten free flour. About this recipe, I wondered if it would be okay to use almond milk for the sauce?
Almond milk can have kind of an off flavor in this so I don’t like it as much! You could just leave out the milk component altogether if you like!
The texture of this sauce was great. My head of cauliflower was large so I used a little more of most of the other ingredients, and added a little dry white wine, mock (dairy-free) parmesan and white pepper. I love the idea of adding a little bacon for extra flavor and will try that next time. Thank you so much for this recipe! It adds some variety to my gluten free/dairy free diet, which I really needed.
How do you freeze the sauce? Is it once you combine it with the pasta? Do you freeze it as ice cubes, baggie or something like a tupperware container? How long will it keep?
I freeze it in ice cubes or baby food molds. Then I transfer the cubes to a ziploc. It should keep for up to 6 weeks!
I tried this recipe last night and it was amazing! I can’t wait to make it again.
So glad it turned out for you!
So I tried your recipe and it was really tasty. I dabbled just a little and used a cup of brown onions instead of 1/2 cup of shallots, one cup of mushrooms instead of 1/2, used three cups of stock instead of two and because I wanted a completely dairy free sauce the Parmesan was omitted, however, next time I will add a little bacon to give it that kick and possibly increase cashew amount to one cup. To substitute the pasta I made noodles out of carrots and for protein I added shredded chicken from last nights roast chicken dinner. Thank you for sharing.’
Sounds so delicious! Glad it worked for you!
This looks amazing and I’m definitely going to try it asap!! Just one note though, if you’re using soy sauce it’s not gluten free. Try tamari sauce instead which IS gluten free.
We love all your pictures and recipes and would love to have you share your pictures with us at foodieportal.com.
I have made Alfredo Cauliflower sauce, but not with cahews. I love the taste od the sauce, way more healthy than normal Alfredo sauce.
I just love the versatility of cauliflower too.. but never have I made a dairy free pasta sauce out of it before! This is definitely something delicious I need to try.. it look so creamy!
Looks like the real deal and sounds delicious! I’m usually wary of lightened up alfredo’s, but I think you’re right about the cauliflower – makes a great substitute! I wonder what it would be like to roast the cauliflower first? Would you still get the same consistency with the sauce? Hmmm…. 🙂
This sounds delicious! If I use the 1/2 cup milk, do I still use the cashews? Can those be substituted with all milk?
Thanks!
Hi Vicky! Thanks for clarifying. If you use regular milk you can omit the cashews and 1/2 cup broth for blending the cashews. I hope you like it!