Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

When it comes to weekday dinners, I always go for light and simple dishes. Zucchini pasta paired with a creamy, smooth cauliflower sauce? Doesn’t get any lighter than this!

I finally, FINALLY got myself a veggie spiralizer. As soon as it came in the mail I made a ribbon cucumber salad and a zucchini pasta/noodles. I topped my pasta with an organic, low-sodium tomato sauce and it was absolutely delicious, easy, AND guilt-free. I searched for different dairy-free options for a sauce and I noticed that there are a whole lot of recipes for an Alfredo-like sauce, made using.. a cauliflower. I love cauliflower, but to be honest I was a bit skeptical about the idea of making a cauliflower sauce. I decided to try Lindsay’s recipe for a Creamy Cauliflower Sauce and I was hooked. I modified it a bit to make it completely dairy-free and it still tasted so creamy that it was hard to believe it didn’t contain any butter or cream.

Okay, so maybe I lied. This did contain butter, but a vegan one. Does that count? Now, as you guys know, I’m not REALLY a vegan, but I mostly eat a vegan diet; I try to avoid animal-derived products and ingredients as much as I can. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll finally be ready to make the complete switch. So yesterday after work I stopped by a supermarket to get some groceries and while I was exploring the vegan aisle, I saw that someone left a bloody steak in the vegan-product-fridge (strategically placed right next to tofurki, hehe), and I couldn’t help, but wonder if it was done intentionally. Intentional or not, I found it a little funny (no offense to our vegan friends).

Okay, back to zucchini pasta! If you want to check out Lindsay’s original recipe (or just explore her amazing blog) click here. Here’s my take on it.

Creamy Cauliflower Sauce*

6 cups cauliflower florets
9 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of butter (I used vegan butter, as mentioned above)
6 cups of water
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 cup of almond milk
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes (this will add a great cheesy flavor, if you’d like, you could also use Parmesan instead)

First, saute the garlic and butter on low heat and cook for a few minutes until fragrant, set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the cauliflower and cook until tender. Without draining the cauliflower, transfer the florets into a blender, following with 1 cup of the liquid the cauliflower cooked in. Add the garlic and butter mixture, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder and the yeast. Blend until smooth. If your sauce comes out a bit thick adjust it to your liking by adding more water or milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve while still hot.

This sauce will also go great with “regular” pasta. For my pasta, I spiralized four small zucchini and came out with four servings. I topped the zucchini pasta with a large serving spoon of the Cauliflower Sauce, more black pepper and some scallions. Next time I really want to try incorporating mushroom into this dish! The zucchini pasta doesn’t taste much different from the “regular” one. It’s almost flavor-less with a little crunchiness to it.

Did you guys try a zucchini pasta/noodles before? I highly recommend it!

*adapted from Pinch of Yum