Skinny Alfredo Sauce made with Cauliflower
Posted: 03/04/2015
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Trade out your beloved calorie-laden Alfredo sauce for this skinny Alfredo sauce made with cauliflower. You’ll barely be able to tell the difference!
Alfredo. Along with anything marsala, Alfredo is another one of my husband’s favorites. Fettuccine, chicken, shrimp, these are all minor details.
It’s all about the CREAM, BUTTER AND PARMESAN.
Of course, Ben is super health-conscious. It’s a little annoying sometimes. I mean, dude, put some mayo on your sandwich. Some sour cream on your taco. Some ranch on your salad. Some freakin’ brownie in your mouth. Life gets better with these things.
He’s got the self-control I wish I had. He could make a package of Oreos last months (I KNOW!).
My point is, he loves the Alfredo, but he doesn’t often order it at restaurants because you know, 29,050,329,023 calories per serving.
So what do I do? Make a skinny Alfredo sauce. Made with cauliflower and blended until it is super smooth (that’s an important step!), it’s almost a perfect mimic of the Alfredo we all know and love.
It still has some goodies in it — starting with the garlic sautéed in butter and olive oil (gotta have a little of the good stuff here!). The pureed cauliflower is blended together with milk, Parmesan cheese, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg to compliment all that creamy goodness.
The result? A sauce that looks, smells, and tastes like Alfredo sauce. Except without the 248,395,289,253 calories.
Used in this recipe:
- large skillet
- large pot
- blender (I have this one)
Healthier pastas and sauces:
Looking for more pasta and sauces that won’t set you back millions of calories? Try:
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
+ cups
Trade out your beloved calorie-laden alfredo sauce for this skinny alfredo sauce made with cauliflower. You’ll barely be able to tell the difference!
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 small heads of cauliflower (about 7-8 cups cauliflower florets)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
- 1 ½ cups skim milk (more to achieve desired consistency)
- pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley for serving
- cooked pasta for serving
Instructions
- Sauté the minced garlic with the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for several minutes or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Be careful not to brown the garlic. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower, cover, and cook until cauliflower is tender when you stick a fork in it (about 8-10 minutes). Drain.
- Transfer the cauliflower to the blender. Add milk, sautéed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and milk. Blend or puree for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is silky and smooth. Stir in Parmesan cheese. You can add more milk if it seems too thick. Toss with your favorite cooked pasta and serve immediately topped with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
- Serving size: 1/2 cup.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1/2 cup, Calories: 184kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 442mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Husband’s take: Truthfully, the 4 garlic clove version of this sauce was a bit too garlicky for him (he’s not a huge fan of garlic). If you have garlic haters in your house, consider reducing the amount of garlic. My neighbor and her family loved this sauce though and had no problem finishing it off for us.
Changes I would make: Less garlic for my hubby but other than that, none.
Difficulty: Easy.
Evan says
Sounds like you added Cauliflower to simple Alfredo Sauce….. Is the skinny part just using Skim Milk instead of cream? I am not knocking it, it sounds delicious!
Rachel Gurk says
Yes, it uses far less heavy cream thanks to the creaminess of the cauliflower, as well as the skim milk to thin it down. Plus you get the added bonus of some hidden veggies. I hope you like it. :)
Tally Wegiel says
Tastes nothing like alfredo sauce not to say that it was bad. It just wasnt great. Almost overflowed my blender. Maybe would have been a better idea to make it in a food processor. I also used almond milk and earth ballance dairy free butter. Had to add a little more milk and butter.
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks for the feedback! Your adaptations probably altered the taste as well, since alfredo sauce is made with real dairy products. Did you put the cheese in?
pat says
I had around 1 cup of cauliflower cut up from a recipe a few days ago. So i steamed it (if i’m not going to use it for soup stock soon, i’ll drink the little water that’s left after steaming). While that steamed, i sauteed a small clove of garlic in a little olive oil with some raw cashew pieces and a little salt. And cut up some snow peas. Dumped the steamed cauliflower with the garlic and cashew pieces, a smallish pour of soy milk and pinch of nutmeg into my blender. While that “blended” i boiled up some edamane and mung bean fettuccine (“Explore Cuisine” – tastes better than it sounds and it packs 24 grams protein in a serving and only 20 g of carbs!) while steaming the snow peas in the pan i steamed the cauliflower. In minutes it was all done so i mixed the peapods with the sauce and plopped it onto servings of pasta. Delicious! I didn’t miss the cheese. So it was also vegan and nutritious!
Thank you Rachel!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment! My kids have nut allergies so cashews aren’t an option for my family, but I bet that was so creamy and delicious!
katie says
Im planning on making this this week but it seems that this recipe yields way more than needed. Any idea on how long this stays good in the fridge? Or can it be easily frozen and defrosted without losing any qualities? Thanks in advance!
Rachel Gurk says
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I think that would probably work great! There is a possibility that it might separate slightly when it thaws. I’m sure you could also halve the recipe. And it should keep for at least a few days in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Terri Simonds says
What is a serving size? I want to try this and counting calories.
Rachel Gurk says
Serving size is 1/2 cup.
Elizabeth Priddle says
Just made this for dinner. Absolutely delicious. Tastes just like regular Alfredo sauce, very rich and creamy. Delicious! Everyone in the family loved it.
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Elizabeth! I’m so glad you all liked this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Justin says
Just a little FYI. Not that anyone would forget to add it, but you do not have the Grated Parm(the cheese that makes this alfredo!!) listed in your cooking instructions. See step 3.
Rachel Gurk says
Sure enough! Thank you so much for letting me know….forgetting the cheese would be a tragedy! :)
Katelyn Mack says
Do you think you could substitute almond milk in for the skim milk? Has anyone tried this?
Rachel Gurk says
I think that would absolutely work! Unsweetened and unflavored, of course. ;)
Michelle says
I”d like to ask if it’s possible to sub out the milk and butter and insert vegan options such as coconut milk, or nut mylks and vegan butter and vegan cheese to make this a vegan option?
I’m not vegan by choice, but I have a dairy allergy.
I also know that when it comes to recipes, it’s all about the chemistry of the ingredients. From a chemical structure standpoint, is it possible to achieve this creamy alfredo-sauce without all of the dairy?
PS. I gave up dairy almost 2 years ago, so if this works, I’d be happy to put this on my health and wellness blog. Just saying!
Rachel Gurk says
I’ve never tried it with a dairy milk alternative but I think it would work! Let me know if you try it!
Laura Dembowski says
I make a sauce like this all the time and just can’t get enough. I add Shirataki noodles to save more calories. It’s the bomb, even without cheese.
Andrea says
OH MY GOD! I made this last night. It was beyond incredible! My husband and I both loved it! I swear if you didn’t tell anyone they’d never know it was cauliflower in there. And it wasn’t 29,050,329,023 calories! Thank you!!! It was so easy to make too!
Rachel Gurk says
This comment totally made my day — thank you!!! So glad you guys liked it.