Pasta Shells with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
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You’ve probably seen cauliflower alfredo sauce recipes all over the internet. It seems to be all the rage now, or it has been and I’m just now noticing. Anywho my point is, I got curious and I wanted to see what all the rage is about, so I decided to take a stab at this special cauliflower alfredo sauce and make my own, maybe a little bit different to make it my own, because that’s what I love to do.
Now classic alfredo sauce is basically just butter and Parmesan cheese, so obviously the reason for using cauliflower in this sauce is to make this dish healthier. There are many different variations to this cauliflower alfredo sauce, but for my sauce I decided to keep it simple with simple ingredients you probably already have in your house.
As far as complexity for this sauce there is none, super simple to make. You boil some cauliflower then you blend it in a blender with some milk, salt, pepper, garlic, lots of garlic and just because I love Parmesan cheese I added a bit of Parmesan cheese to mine. Surprisingly the sauce is so delicious, you will not miss the fat here. I love it, I’ll probably never make regular alfredo sauce again. So give it a try, you might like it and save a few calories.
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Pasta Shells with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower cleaned and cut into florets
- 8 oz pasta shells or your favorite pasta cooked according to package instructions
- about 6 to 8 cups of water
- 1 head of garlic about 10 cloves, the more the better, minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley or basil chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Place the cauliflower florets in a pot with the 6 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Turn the heat down to medium to maintain a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is nice and tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat.
- In a blender add the cooked cauliflower florets (no water), the milk, cheese, salt, pepper and the garlic and carefully puree everything until nice and smooth. If the puree is too thick add additional skim milk until desired consistency. Pour the cauliflower puree in the skillet and cook for a couple more minutes until heated through.
- Pour over the cooked pasta and toss.
- Serve garnished with parsley or basil.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 186kcal (9%)Fat: 4.8g (7%)
Enjoy!
Jo, this is another great one! You’re very talented. No one would know it’s made out of cauliflower.
For my family 10 cloves of garlic was about 5 too many, burned our mouths! It is a great idea though and with some minor adjustments it will be a regular on our menu.
I am making this tonight. Two of my favorite things.
You’ve just convinced me to add cauliflower to my shopping list and give Caulifredo Sauced Pasta a try – without mentioning the change to other diners aboard.
This is a great idea. I’ll definitely be making this for my kids.