Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Healthier Than Traditional Alfredo Pasta
- One Skillet Meal
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients
This Spaghetti Squash with Basil and Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce recipe is a winner for two reasons, both of which you will love!
Not only is this meal gluten-free by using healthy spaghetti squash in place of traditional pasta, but it also replaces traditional alfredo sauce with a smooth, creamy and flavorful alfredo-style sauce made with cauliflower.
Making clean sauces like this Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce is so easy using a Vitamix...it's ready in just minutes using healthy and nutrient-dense ingredients.
This healthier version is made with clean, whole food ingredients and is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free and paleo-friendly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is This Healthier Than Regular Alfredo Pasta?
In my opinion, yes!
Here's what the ingredient list looks like for a popular store-bought brand of alfredo sauce:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Ragu's "Classic Alfredo Sauce Ingredients: Water, Soybean Oil, Cream, Parmesan Cheese (Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes) Modified Corn Starch, Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, Whey, Salt, Romano Cheese (Pasteurized Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Disodium Phosphate, Garlic Powder, Spice, Natural Flavor.
It's a highly processed "food" that contains GMO ingredients (soybean oil and modified corn starch), GMO dairy (cream, part-skim milk, whey protein concentrate), eggs, MSG, and unknown "natural" flavors.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Tip #1: The first time I made this, I didn't sauté the veggies first and just mixed them in with the spaghetti squash and cauliflower sauce. It was still good, but it is much, much better with the original recipe instructions of sauteing them first. I showed those directions in the recipe.
Tip #2: You can also use regular pasta (or your favorite gluten-free) pasta with this recipe. I've made it for my family with regular pasta and they loved it!
Tip #3: The garlic...if you don't like a strong garlic flavor, just start with 1 clove, taste and see how you like it and then add one at a time until you get it to your preference. I find that with fewer garlic cloves, it doesn't really have much of a flavor, but too many can make it really strong. So just add them individually to get the flavor just right.
Tip #4: I like a little extra cayenne pepper in mine but start with just a little and add more as you'd like.
Spaghetti Squash with Basil and Creamy Cauliflower Afredo Sauce
Ingredients
For the veggie saute':
- 1 large organic red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 cup organic mushrooms (diced)
- 1 small organic onion (diced)
- ¼ cup organic fresh basil leaves (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon 100% pure avocado oil
For the spaghetti squash pasta:
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 teaspoons 100% pure avocado oil
For the alfredo sauce:
- 1 large organic cauliflower (cut into floret pieces)
- 2 cups homemade almond milk
- 5 cloves organic garlic (freshly crushed)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1 pinch organic cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then set aside.
Prepare the spaghetti squash pasta:
- Prepare spaghetti squash by cutting the spaghetti squash in half, then scraping out all the seeds from the inside.
- Rub or brush the avocado oil on the inside and outer rim of the spaghetti squash.
- Place the spaghetti squash on the prepared cookie sheet and bake face down at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 45-50 minutes.
- Use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash out to use as "pasta".
Prepare the alfredo sauce:
- While the spaghetti squash is baking, begin preparing the alfredo sauce by adding the cauliflower floret pieces to a large pot filled with filtered/purified water, boil for approximately 15 minutes or until tender, then strain.
- Add the boiled cauliflower pieces and the remaining ingredients for the alfredo sauce to a Vitamix and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference, then set aside.
Prepare vegetables:
- Dice the red bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, then chop the fresh basil.
- Add the veggies to a non-toxic skillet with the avocado oil and 1-2 pinches of Himalayan pink salt and pepper, then gently saute' until they are soft and tender.
Assembly:
- Once the spaghetti squash is finished baking, use a fork to scrape out the inside of the squash to use as "pasta", then add it to the skillet with the vegetables.
- Pour the alfredo sauce over the top of the squash and veggies and gently toss until the sauce is evenly distributed.
- Lightly warm it on the stovetop and garnish with fresh chopped basil before serving.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Vegan Meal and Entree Recipes?
Check out these:
- Gluten-Free Vegan Basil and Artichoke Shirataki Fettuccine Pasta
- Vegan Basil and Artichoke Shirataki Fettucine Pasta
- Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
- or my Clean Eating Cookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating recipes just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Jackie says
Can I use coconut milk instead of almond for the sauce?
Karielyn says
Hi Jackie! I've never made it with coconut milk but if I were to use a substitute for almond milk in this recipe, coconut milk would be my first choice and think it would be fine.
Thanks for your question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Carina says
This sounds amazing! I'm going to try it tomorrow for dinner. I think I'm going to boil the garlic with the cauliflower to take that powerful punch out of it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE garlic, but I made a salad dressing recently that called for fresh garlic and I put quite a bit in and boy was it potent. So I think cooking it will help calm it down. Also, I will try adding a pinch of nutmeg to it, because I love a good alfredo sauce with nutmeg. Excited to try it and let you know how it goes!
Karielyn says
Hi there Carina! That actually sounds like a great idea! Someone else had suggested cooking the garlic before adding it for the same reason. I ~love~ raw garlic, but not everyone does, or, maybe not the amount in this recipe so cooking it down is a good option.
I bet the nutmeg will be good in it too, I'll have to try that next time!
Thanks for the tips and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Molly says
i tried this for the first time and it did have an overpowering garlic flavor. I think the problem is that it does not call for the garlic to be cooked very much. I am going to try it with roasted garlic or I am going to cook the garlic with the veggies not add it to the sauce. I think it will be perfect then!
Karielyn says
Hi there Molly! Thanks for the feedback and sharing the tip about roasting the garlic...I think that is a great idea!
Thanks for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed it, I really appreciate it 🙂
Kathy says
Hi. Can you tell me what brand of Nutritional Yeast you prefer?
Thank you!
Karielyn says
Hi there Kathy! I've always purchased my nutritional yeast from the bulk food bins at Whole Foods, so I'm not really sure what brand it is. I'm thinking it might be Bob's Red Mill for some reason, but am not 100% sure.
Thanks for your question! 🙂
Rahul says
Hi Karielyn,
This recipe sounds amazing, and I want to make it tonight for me and two others. How many servings does this recipe yield? Is it for just one person (one spaghetti squash per person)?
Thank you!
Rahul
Rahul says
Never mind, I made this tonight, using one big spaghetti squash, and it was perfect. I used 2lb of frozen cauliflower, and followed the rest of the recipe, and it yielded 8 servings. I used 4 cloves of garlic, and it was a tad bit too much for my taste, but everything else was perfect.
Amazing recipe!! Thank you so much.
Karielyn says
Hi there Rahul! I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you in time 🙁 But I'm glad to hear it worked out and that it made enough for everyone.
I'm going to add a note to the recipe about adjusting the garlic, because it's either just right for some and too much for others.
Thank you for trying out the recipe and for letting me know how it turned out, I really appreciate it 😉
Teresa Firek says
What is "nutritional yeast"?
sorry. . . health newbie!!!
Karielyn says
Hi there Teresa! Nutritional yeast is used as vegan substitute when you want a "cheesy" flavor. It's really good, I can eat it by the spoonful!
It is a yellow flake-type seasoning and you can find it in the bulk section at Whole Foods, or order online from Amazon or Vitacost and it's not very expensive.
If you don't need the recipe to be vegan, you can just substitute (the same amount) with Parmesan cheese.
Thanks for your question and I hope that helped 😉
Leah says
Delish! I loved the garlicky taste and wasn't put off by it at all. My husband and I aren't huge fans of mushrooms (I keep trying them to trick myself into liking them, but it's a texture thing) so I skipped those, but added a 1/2 bag of baby spinach/arugula at the end when I put it all together. SO GOOD! Definitely going into the regular rotation. Oh, and I microwaved a 1-lb bag of frozen cauliflower instead of having to chop up and steam a head, and it worked out perfectly.
Karielyn says
Hi Leah! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I love the idea of adding the baby spinach at the end...that would be a great substitute for the basil.
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you tried it that it turned out well 😉
Diana says
Can I just bake the cauliflower along with the squash? One less pot to clean. 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi Diana! That's actually a great idea! Although I haven't tried it, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I probably wouldn't leave the cauliflower in as long as the squash though.
You just want it to get soft so I would leave it in for only 15 - 30 minutes instead of the 45 - 50 needed to bake the squash.
I hope that works out...I'm a strong supporter of taking shortcuts and cleaning less dishes lol 😉
Caitlin says
I made this tonight but the sauce came out very very garlicky. Are you sure you meant 5 cloves of garlic. It's very strong. Any idea on how to make it tastes less garlicky and less cauliflowery. I added more salt and some nutritional yeast but no difference. Thanks !
Karielyn says
Hi Caitlin! Sorry it didn't work out for you 🙁
Let's see...I double-checked and the original recipe called for "5 cloves of garlic". I think the garlic is there to just add flavor so you could reduce that amount if it was too strong and that would help.
With the cauliflower, the original recipe called for "3 lbs or 1 large head or 2 small heads of cauliflower. I used less than that (I actually used a 1 lb bag of frozen cauliflower) because that's all I had at the time. Even though I could detect a slight cauliflower taste, it didn't really bother me and I am ~not~ a big cauliflower fan. I would suggest reducing the amount of cauliflower (a 1 lb frozen bag worked fine for me) and that should help.
Also, the original recipe suggested going heavy on pepper to give it a more authentic alfredo taste. I don't use black pepper so I used cayenne pepper. Maybe increasing the pepper amount would help too.
I hope these suggestions help and that you decide to give it another try 😉
Peter @ Feed Your Soul Too says
I did a post on healthy recipes and really liked this recipe. I featured it on my Friday Five - Healthy addition over @ Feed Your Soul Too
Karielyn says
Hi Peter! Wow..thank you so much for sharing my recipe and including it on your Friday Five list (which was an awesome list, by the way), I really appreciate it!
That just made my day 😉