Healthy Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

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So, you know those days when you come home after an exhausting day and all you can think about is devouring a giant bowl of mac and cheese? Does that happen to anyone else?

Mac and cheese is probably my favorite food. That, and chocolate.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of fat in mac and cheese. And not a lot of vegetables. Let’s be real, there are NO veggies in mac and cheese.

Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with a cheesey-packed meal every once and awhile – but if I can satisfy that cheesy craving in a healthier way, I want in!

Enter our friend the cauliflower:

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Healthy Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

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Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. uncooked fettuccine noodles
• 1 head cauliflower
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup starchy boiling water from pasta pot

Instructions

 

• Chop the cauliflower into pieces about the size of broccoli. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over medium high heat and add the cauliflower. Cook the cauliflower for about 15 minutes, until the it is soft (the softer it is, the smoother the sauce!)
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes until fragrant. Don’t burn it!
• As the garlic and cauliflower are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine according to directions on package, keeping 1/2 a cup of the starchy water for the sauce.
• Transfer the cauliflower to a blender with about 1 cup of the broth. You will need to do this in batches if you’re blender is as old school as mine…
• Add the sautéed garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper and puree until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is uniform, add the olive oil into the blender. Add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick to move through the blender.
• When the puree is very smooth, pour it back into the butter/garlic skillet.
• Add the cream and cook over low heat. Add the starchy pasta water.
• Combine the noodles and sauce and serve immediately.

Notes

I reduced the portions significantly since this made 3 full tubs of sauce and I couldn’t eat it all!

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Vegetables making a creamy, healthy sauce? Yes please! Despite tasting nothing like alfredo (the name of the recipe got my hopes up,) it was the texture that I really fell in love with.

It’s creamy. But only has 1/4 a cup of cream in it. (Two thumbs up!)