Riced cauliflower and white beans are the base for this vegan creamy pasta sauce. It makes a creamy, rich texture that works so well on pasta and is such an amazing substitute for a dairy-based cream sauce.
This sauce is based on the creamy sauce on the Arbonne 30 day detox. When I first made it, I was sure that my meat and potatoes-eating husband would not like it. But he promised that he would try everything on the detox menu and to my surprise he did like it!
The recipe needs just 6 ingredients and very little in the way of cooking skills to make this sauce. If you can chop and heat up some shallot and garlic for just one minute you can make this sauce. It’s a great base for any flavor, so feel free to add in your favorite herbs or spices, fresh veggies and more.
I am dairy-free (except for the occasional parm cheese and butter) so this vegan pasta sauce is perfect when I have a craving for something creamy. With just garlic and shallot as the flavoring, I can turn this sauce towards Italian, Latin, Indian and so many more possibilities.
Vegan Sauce Ingredients
The base of this creamy sauce is riced cauliflower (available in most markets either frozen or fresh). If you can’t find it, roughly chop a half head of cauliflower and pulse it in the blender or food processor to “rice” it.
White beans give the sauce good body and creaminess and garlic and shallot give it a nice flavor. Be sure to use low-sodium broth (vegan Imagine No-Chicken broth is my favorite) so that you can control the salt level in this sauce. With just a quick sauté of the garlic and shallot, the blender does the rest of the work for you.
Sauce Variations
Serve this vegan creamy pasta sauce over your favorite gluten-free pasta, spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, anything!
- Top with fresh chopped tomato and basil
- Add vegan cheese (Violife Wedge Just Like Parmesan) substitute or nutritional yeast to the mixture to give it a cheesy flavor
- Top with pesto (dairy-free and vegan options) and balsamic glaze
- Stir in some fresh chopped sage and sausage for carnivores
Vegan Creamy Pasta Sauce
Recommended Products
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag riced cauliflower either frozen or fresh or half head of fresh cauliflower
- 1 c canned white beans
- 2 Tbsp sliced shallot
- 1-3 cloves garlic depending on your preference for garlic
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1¼-1¾ cup low-sodium vegan broth Imagine No-Chicken Broth recommended
- salt
- ½ c finely grated vegan parmesan optional OR
- ¼ c nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- Smash the garlic cloves, peel and chop into a few pieces. Slice the shallot. The blender will soon be doing the work of pureeing the sauce so it is not necessary to chop the garlic or shallot very much.
- Place the cauliflower in a glass bowl and microwave for 3 minutes on high.
- Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat for a minute or two,
- Sauté the garlic and sliced shallot heat for 1 minute. Both will burn easily and turn bitter so take it easy on the heat. As soon as the one minute is up, remove from the pan so that the residual heat does not burn the garlic and shallot.
- Add the beans, cauliflower, garlic & shallot to the blender with 1¼ cup broth. If using, add the vegan cheese sub or nutritional yeast.
- Blend on high for 2 minutes. Check the consistency. If it’s too thick, add more broth 1/4 c at a time until it is a pourable sauce.
- Depending on the brand of broth and beans you use, the amount of salt needed will vary. So add a little, stir and taste. I recommend starting with ¼ tsp. If needed, add more salt a pinch or two at a time until you like the flavor.
- I like this sauce with fresh chopped tomato and basil, pesto, oregano or sage. Serve it over your favorite gluten-free pasta, spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, anything!
Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe