WHITE BEAN & CAULIFLOWER ALFREDO (VEGAN + HEALTHY)
White Bean & Cauliflower Alfredo featuring high protein white beans and cauliflower, blended into a creamy vegan Alfredo sauce that is just an all around awesome sauce!
Cauliflower alfredo sauce is not the high saturated fat and high calorie Alfredo sauce that you may be used too. Nope, this creamy vegan Alfredo style sauce is a much better, healthier and in my opinion tastes better!
Toss all this non-dairy goodness with a whole grain or gluten free pasta and this meal is as healthy as it can get. I paired this my pasta with a mix of sauteed mushrooms, kale and sun-dried tomatoes.
All together, this pasta dish is high in protein and fiber with wonderful flavors to match!
White Bean & Cauliflower Alfredo Ingredients
- cannellini beans
- cauliflower
- unsweetened non-dairy milk
- olive oil
- shallot
- nutmeg
- salt & pepper
- nutritional yeast
- pasta of choice (or use spiralized zucchini noodles)
Gather your ingredients and let’s make a delicious creamy vegan Alfredo sauce!
How To Make White Bean & Cauliflower Vegan Alfredo:
- Remove leaves and bottom core, cut cauliflower into large florets and place in pot of boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes, or until soft, drain.
- While cauliflower is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in saute pan over medium to medium high heat, add shallots and cook until soft and lightly browned.
- Place cooked cauliflower in blender/food processor along with beans, milk, shallots and nutmeg.
- Blend until creamy. Taste for flavor adding salt, pepper and any other spice you might like. Also, if sauce is too thick add a splash or so more milk (or water) as needed, blend again.
- Cook the pasta, add the sauce with this cooked pasta and serve.
And that’s it, vegan Alfredo sauce made with cauliflower and white beans made healthy and easy! Recipe is ready in about 35 minutes.
How To Store Leftover Alfredo Sauce
Store leftover cauliflower Alfredo in the refrigerator for up to 6 – 7 days. To reheat, warm on the stovetop with a splash of non-dairy milk to bring back creaminess.
This High-Protein Alfredo Sauce is:
- Quick and easy to make
- Full of protein and fiber
- Made with simple, everyday ingredients
- Low fat
- & So delicious!
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re into pasta dishes, be sure to check out my easy:
- Spinach and Ricotta Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Creamy Broccoli and Pasta
- One Pot Penne with Mushrooms & Sausage
- or see all vegan pasta recipes on TSV!
If you try this White Bean & Cauliflower Alfredo recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintWHITE BEAN & CAULIFLOWER ALFREDO (VEGAN + HEALTHY )
This is a great vegan cream sauce for your pasta of choice or simply drizzle it over a plate of veggies if you like. Makes for a filling and healthy meal! Recipe inspired by Cupcakes and Kale.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 - 6 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce (makes approx. 4 cups)
- 1 can cannellini beans (15 oz), drained and rinsed
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large shallot or 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- mineral salt & pepper to taste
- 1 or 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional (I didn’t use any)
- 16 oz. pasta, any type (I used penne)
optional side of veggies
- 5 – 6 kale leaves, stem removed and chopped
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- generous pinch red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
Alfredo Sauce: Remove any leaves and core the bottom of the cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into large florets and place in pot of boiling water. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft, drain. While cauliflower is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in saute pan over medium to medium high heat, add shallots and cook until soft and lightly browned.
Place cooked cauliflower in blender/food processor along with beans, milk, shallots and nutmeg. Blend until creamy. Taste for flavor adding salt, pepper and any other spice you might like. Also, if sauce is too thick add a splash or so more milk (or water) as needed, blend again.
Veggies: In same saute pan you cooked the shallots, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, kale, sun-dried tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Saute kale until it has sweated down, approx 5 min. You could use a cover to help. Turn off heat when done.
Pasta: Cook according to package instructions.
Assemble: Place cooked pasta back to the same pot it was cooked in, add as much sauce as you like. Stir gently to coat. Add a tad more sauce if needed. Alternately, add the veggie mix to the pasta and mix. Turn heat to low and cook until warmed through adding a splash or so of milk if needed to keep from drying out. We want to keep it moist and creamy.
Pairs well with this Artisan Bread!
Store: Keep remaining sauce or any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Will last up to a week. When reheating, add more non-dairy milk to maintain creaminess if needed.
Updated: White Bean + Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce originally published September 2012 and has been updated March 2019 with new photos and helpful tips. Enjoy!
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Can I use riced cauliflower in place of the recommended florets?
Yes, that will work too. Skip the boiling of the cauliflower florets and saute the cauliflower rice instead. Do let us know how you liked it!
I made this today and it tastes so creamy, usually creamy sauces have so much fat but this one is light and delicious ❤
Made this tonight for my family. My dad is on a very strict diet right now for healing, but he’s a big man and likes filling food(he can’t live on kale salads and raw vegetables :P). Cauliflower Bean “alfredo” hit the “filling” spot! :)
This dish was really good with some tweaks. When I made it just as the recipe says, it was a little too bland for our taste.
These are my additions:
>added 1/4 cup vegan mayo(tangy and smooth)
>added 1/2Tbs of my homemade “all season” salt (Real Salt* All Season)
>4 cloves garlic
>used spinach and 8oz mushrooms
>topped with blackened shrimp
>nutritional yeast and cracked black pepper are a must for topping ;)
Now, this is IMPORTANT- do NOT let your mind be set on a real alfredo cheese and cream taste. It tastes NOTHING like it’s dairy laden friend. Think of it as it’s own unique pasta sauce, and I think you’ll really enjoy it! Especially if you can’t have dairy..it fills that creamy hole in your heart…I mean, stomach. ;)
Any idea of the calorie count or nutritional info
Recipe sounds great
What a delicious way to get your vegetables and protein! I did add some vegetable bouillon and topped it with dried dill. I think its important to include the nutrional yeast, with the dill I added it made the whole dish taste like onion crisps! :)
Just wondering why you left out the nutritional yeast? I would like to add it, would the flavor or tecture be altered?
Thanks.
You can add it if you like! The flavor may be altered a little but it will still be delicious and have an even better nutritional profile! Would love to know how it goes if you add any. Cheers :)
Julie,
I did make this meal last night and included the nutritional yeast. At first started with 1 tablespoon, but then added a second. I did taste before and after and found the yeast rounded out the flavor.The additional yeast required more liquid to be added, as it thickened up the sauce. In hindsight, I should have added more liquid as the sauce tended to thicken on the plate.
I also took the liberty of adding one clove of cooked garlic to the shallots and was quite pleased with the flavor.
As noted in an earlier post by you, this is not a spot on substitute for traditional "alfredo" sauce, but it is a very tasty sauce in its own right.
I made this tonight and hubby and I really enjoyed it. I sautéed some asparagus along with the mushrooms instead of the kale and added a bunch of garlic! How many servings would you say this would make? I made 1/2 the recipe and we almost ate it all… I'm feeling like maybe we over ate?!
Sounds so delicious! I'd say this serves about 4, so you ate just the right amount. :)
I don't have any non-dairy milk on hand and would really like to make this. Do you think I could use regular milk?
Thanks
Of course, you can use any milk you like. :)
Do you think this would work with kidney beans?
You could use kidney beans, or any beans you like, but keep in mind when using dark colored beans the color will reflect that. The flavor may be a bit different too since all beans slightly vary in taste. I say go ahead and try! Hope it works well for you! :)
Does this sauce freeze well? I'd love to make up a big batch and just pull some out as needed for a quick dinner.
I have yet to freeze this but would venture to say that it would freeze well. If you give it a try, I'd love to know how it went for you!