Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce

Name: Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 medium to large size head cauliflower (washed and cut into small florets); 6 cups water; 5-8 cloves of garlic (use 8 if your garlic cloves are small or closer to 5 if they’re quite large); 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil (butter, or Earth Balance); 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher or sea salt plus a pinch (separated); ½ - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Additional water (milk, or vegetable stock, if needed)

Shared by Rebecca on 1/5/17 97

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You have to taste Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce to believe that something so low in calories can taste so unbelievably indulgent and rich. This is a family favourite!

Have you ever stumbled on a recipe that made you holler because it was so good? And then you’re shocked to find out that it’s low in calories and fat?

Yeah. No.

Neither had I until just a couple of days ago.

I was chatting with my friend and fellow food blogger, Mary Younkin of Barefeet in the Kitchen. She isn’t really given to hyperbole about recipes.

She makes good food and is content to know and share it without promising the moon. She started raving about a recipe she had posted a while back.

When she does that, I’m going to listen. She was talking up a creamy cauliflower sauce that she promised was garlicky, thick, rich, and velvety smooth that “didn’t taste like cauliflower”.

She said her boys –none of whom love cauliflower- watched her make the sauce, tasted it, and proceeded to inhale a batch even though they weren’t into cauliflower. I was sold enough to try it.

I have to tell you, this is a SHAZAAM recipe, friends. It is knock your socks off good.

If I hadn’t made it myself, I never would’ve believed it had zero cream in it whatsoever. I would have sworn to you it had a sinful amount, in fact. How is this possible?

It’s really a simple process. Simmer the florets from a whole head of cauliflower until fork tender.

While that’s simmering, sauté a generous amount of chopped garlic in a small amount of butter or coconut or olive oil until tender and fragrant. And boy, is it fragrant.

Pop the garlic and whichever fat you used into your blender and transfer the softened cauliflower in on top with a bit of the cooking liquid. Blitzkrieg it with some salt and pepper until smooth and then prepare to be wowed.

Thankfully, the recipe yields quite a bit, and is very freezer friendly. I say ‘thankfully’ because you’re going to find yourself wanting this just about everywhere.

When Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce is warm, toss it with freshly cooked pasta for a rich, creamy, satisfying pasta dish that is quite literally unbelievably good for you. It’s also mind-bendingly delicious when you spoon the warm sauce over roast or pan-fried pork or chicken.

I have designs on pouring it over sausage biscuits, too, when the opportunity presents itself. Dip tortilla chips in it when it’s warm and you’d swear there’s cheese in there!

I ate an entire bag of tortilla chips and a whole jar of warm sauce that way. It was research.

Yeah. It was research. Hang on, though; it makes a great cold chip or vegetable tray dip, too.

If you think you can’t eat all of this up –and you may surprise yourself once you start nibbling- in three or so days, divide it into small, meal-sized servings (a cup will beautifully coat almost a pound of pasta once cooked and drained), label, and freeze for those inevitable moments when you crave it and your car is socked in by snow.

Hey. It’s winter. It could happen.

(Pssst. With the VERY tiny adjustment of using olive oil or Earth Balance instead of butter, this sauce is vegan making it a wonderful vegan stand in for Alfredo sauce or Carbonara. And bonus: it’s naturally gluten-free for those who have to worry about it!)

Cook’s Notes

There really isn’t a whole lot to this, just keep your cauliflower spears roughly the same size so they soften at the same rate.
Boil the cauliflower until it changes in color while the stems look semi translucent and a paring knife slides easily into a thick portion of stem.
I use a colander scoop to remove my cauliflower from the pan, but you can just as easily pour it into a colander positioned over another pan to catch the water. You’ll need to reserve 1 cup of the cooking water to rinse the goods from the pan you used to cook the garlic in olive oil or butter into the blender.
DO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN BLENDING! It will be hot. The safest way to do this is to remove the little vent top and place a folded towel over it. This will allow steam to escape and prevent hot Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce from exploding all over your kitchen.

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Use these to make Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Sauce

Are you crazy for cauliflower? Try these other great recipes using the pretty white brassica: Low Carb Cauliflower Croque Monsieur, Winter Vegetable Soup Recipe with Butternut Squash and Cauliflower, Cauliflower Crust Vegetarian Pizza, and Chili Lime Cauliflower Popcorn.

4.87 from 15 votes