Raise your hand if your favorite pasta dish as a child was creamy fettuccine alfredo. Did your house exclusively refer to fettucine alfredo as "Sarah's favorite pasta" like mine? I'd order it every time I found it featured on a dinner menu and I'd throw in some shrimp for good measure. And when I grew up a bit, things got fancier and I'd toss a pre-made jar of alfredo sauce with some boxed fettuccine for a comforting meal. What with that and the boxes of fruit roll ups and otter pops I consumed, if I still ate the way I wanted to eat as a child (and a college student, for that matter), I'd most definitely have all sorts of health problems.
I distinctly remember setting out to make fettuccine alfredo from scratch and realizing it was filled with loads of butter, cream, and parmesan cheese. That's when alfredo and I broke up. We've rekindled our relationship today with this recipe that allows you to indulge in your favorite creamy pasta without all the heavy cream: gluten-free shrimp and veggie fettuccine with cauliflower alfredo.
This alfredo gets its creaminess from puréed cauliflower mixed with garlic, chicken broth, and only a tiny bit of milk and parmesan. And because as an adult I'm no longer afraid of finding vegetables in my pasta, I threw in some spinach and mushrooms alongside the shrimp for a wholesome meal. With half the calories of a traditional fettuccine alfredo, you'll be shocked by how remarkably close to the real deal this cauliflower alfredo recipe tastes. Close enough to make you put that old recipe back on the shelf for good.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus (optional) more for serving
- ½ pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups spinach
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- ¾ pound gluten-free fettuccine
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large pot, steam the cauliflower for about 8 minutes, until soft when pierced with a fork.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until just fragrant.
- Combine the steamed cauliflower, cooked garlic, vegetable broth, milk, and parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In the same pan you cooked the garlic in, add the shrimp and sauté for 2 minutes over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and spinach and continue cooking until the spinach melts, and the shrimp is cooked completely through.
- Add the sauce to the pan with the shrimp and veggies and cook until heated through, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Toss the sauce with the cooked fettuccine and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on the side.
Veronica -
I bet Lucas loves this recipe! Fettuccini Alfredo is one of his favorite dishes! I love your recipe!
Jennifer Garcia -
This recipe is AMAZING!!! My sister and I are YouTubers, and last night we did a recipe video for this recipe. It turned out so good!!! Not only was it SUPER tasty, it was soooo easy to make. I would have NEVER tried cauliflower for the Alfredo base. Thank you so much!!
Recipe Video Link: https://youtu.be/6tHnlHDGp4s
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you so much for coming back to tell me and for sharing the link! It was so much fun to watch other people cook my recipe. I'm so glad you loved the recipe and that your mama loved it too;)
Anna -
I am looking for a black bean pasta recipe that is grain/gluten free. Would you have one ? My daughters have gone grain/gluten free to see if it will help their horrible cramps during their monthly cycle. They have done extensive research that says it will help dramatically! We are also organic eaters, which makes grocery shopping expensive already. So, I'm trying to make as much as I can at home. Black bean, garbanzo and red lentil pastas are their favorite. Please help if you can, because I'm hitting a dead end on the web search! Thanks
Sarah Menanix -
Hi Anna! I do have one black bean pasta recipe on my blog - Southwestern Black Bean Spaghetti. That's really interesting! I've not noticed in a difference in my cramps (ugh - I get terrible cramps!), so I'd be really interested to know if it ends up working (my sis-in-law and I were JUST talking about our terrible cramps last night!). What I've noticed is that black bean spaghetti doesn't have tons of flavor on its own, so it'd be a great substitute for other regular spaghetti recipes - or even things like shrimp scampi would be great with black bean pasta I think!