I’ve fallen in love with this amazingly easy cauliflower sauce and I know you’re going to love it too. It’s super simple to make and there are tons of recipes you can use it in.
My favorite way to enjoy it is in lieu of cream of chicken soup or over pasta as a healthy and creamy alfredo sauce. It’s also perfect with rice in a casserole or even as the sauce on a pizza. (As you can see there are a ton of uses.) This sauce is dairy free and has no cheese…unless you want to add some parmesan to the alfredo version.
The first time I made this awesome sauce I was blown away at how easy it was to make. Making sure it really was easy to make was the first test, and the second test was just as difficult.
Trent was my test subject and I didn’t let him know I had switched out the canned alfredo sauce for this creamy cauliflower sauce. He had no idea and couldn’t tell a difference. (You know I watched him very carefully as he took each bite. HA!) When I told him afterwards he was pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, we haven’t gone back to the canned version and no longer buy cream of soups.
Besides this sauce being amazingly healthy for us and easy to make, I also love it because it freezes well. I generally double the recipe, use one for dinner and put the rest in the freezer.
Amazingly Easy Cauliflower Sauce
1 head Cauliflower 1 1/2-2 cups Water 1 1/2-2 cups Chicken Broth 1 tablespoon Butter 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic 1 tablespoon Olive Oil 1 teaspoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon Pepper 1/4 cup Almond Milk Additional seasoning (see below) Cream of Chicken Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning Alfredo Sauce Variation Add 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg and 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- As your water and chicken stock are coming to a boil, chop your cauliflower. Add to water/chicken stock mixture and boil for about 15 minutes, or until your cauliflower is soft. (You can test it by seeing if a fork will easily poke through.)
- Meanwhile, melt your butter in a skillet and add the minced garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked cauliflower and 2 cups of the cooking liquid to your blender. Blend for a few minutes. Add additional ingredients and continue blending. Add more milk until it’s smooth and creamy.
Note: Depending on the size of your cauliflower you may need to blend it in batches. Yields: 2-3 16 oz mason jars, depending on the size of your cauliflower
The sky really is the limit on all of the different uses and variations of this cauliflower sauce. I’d love to know how you’ll use it!
Just made this. I used cauliflower rice and just enough chicken broth to not quite cover cauliflower. Also added some parmesan cheese and basil. Flavor is great but it is quite thin. Any ideas on how to thicken?
Thanks!
Therese, although I haven’t tried this myself I’ve read that arrowroot and tapioca are thickeners that only require a cold water slurry.
Of course, if you’re starting afresh I would not add as much broth at the beginning.
Hope this helps!
Hi Theresa, try steaming the cauliflower instead of boiling it.
I want to make this, but in a vegan mode! What do you recommend as a substitute for chicken broth?
thank you!
It may change the flavor profile a bit but you could definitely try vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth.
Use vegetable stock..
It just as goood..
Yum! Thanks for letting me know!
Do you think this could be frozen?
Yes, I make up big batches and freeze in mason jars. (The sauce will seem super runny when you pour it out but it thickens as it warms up.)
I tried this for the first time tonight, I halved everything to make a smaller batch & absolutely loved it. It was so full of flavour, yes it was a little runny but that was my fault as I used a cup each of the water & chicken broth. Next time I’ll cut the water back to 3/4 cup, I also didn’t add the almond milk as it was runny enough without it. But I know my mistakes so next time should be spot on😄 Thank u for sharing the recipe
Wonderful, Amanda! Thanks for letting me know.
What kind of dairy free butter are you using for this recipe? Thanks
I’ve used various kinds of butter in this recipe. Earth Balance offers a dairy and soy-free option that I’ve used and works well.
My daughter is allergic to dairy and I miss Alfredo sauce. Do you know if anyone has tried using nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese? This is by far the easiest recipe I have seen so far for Alfredo sauce.
I have not, but that that sounds like a fabulous idea. If you try it please let us know how it works out!
Making this as a sauce for gnocchi and adding some diced asparagus and sun dried tomatoes for flavour, the sprinkled with Parmesan or maybe savoury yeast 😊
Sounds absolutely heavenly!
I use instead of cream in pasta sauces, for variety add pesto rosso and some Trader Joe’s eggplant or eggplant and red pepper spread. Ahh-maxing flavor. You don’t really miss the cream, which is increasingly giving me ajada. I also use in bisque soups and with some tweaking can achieve the same same thickness and “creaminess” without the calories or after-effects of heavy cream. I ♥️ Cauliflower substitutes!
Wonderful ideas! Thanks for sharing Caro!