Cauliflower cream is a popular substitute for milk or heavy cream. It’s super healthy, dairy free and nut free – a true plant-based alternative! Plus bonus points for the extra serving of veggies I can sneak into my kids’ meals.
Who doesn’t love a good cream sauce? That silky richness that coats whatever it touches. Pasta all’Alfredo, case in point! But all that heavy cream in the sauce poured over noodles can cause some real discomfort to your (aka my) insides.
I am one of many who suffer from the negative effects caused by too much gluten and dairy in my diet. At first, I decided it was just easier to cut out dishes containing these ingredients. It was really tough though. So many of my favourite meals were now off limits. There had to be a way to enjoy creamy sauces.
I took the time to weigh the pros and cons of all the options out there, and believe me, there are a lot. A quick Google search will show you what I mean.
There were a lot of good ones out there like cashew cream. So yum but the down side was that I couldn’t use this in anything I cooked for my kids. I feared that their lunch (usually leftovers from dinner) would be hiding nuts, which is a BIG NO NO for the nut-free school environment. After a lot of reading and recipes, I found a substitute that made me so happy.
Cauliflower!
It is plant-based, nut-free, and dairy-free and has a subtle rich taste that closely resembles whipping cream. I absolutely love cream of cauliflower so dousing it with white wine, garlic and cheese before pouring it over fresh fettuccini noodles was definitely something I wanted to try.
Cauliflower cream is simply puréed cauliflower with a light helping of aromatics and seasoning. The idea is to have the cauliflower cream highlight the taste of the cauliflower. It has a mildly rich taste that shines when not bombarded with competing flavours. Since this will be used as a substitute for cream, it is important to lightly season the purée. It is further seasoned once added to a recipe, so not to worry.
Check out the steps below on how to make cauliflower cream.
- You need the following to start. Clean and prep the items as directed below:
- 1 cauliflower head, cut into same-sized pieces
- 1 medium cooking onion, cut into large pieces
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled and cracked
- 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp. of vegan butter
- 2 cups of oat milk (any plant-based milk will do)
- Melt butter over high heat and add in the onions. Sweat until translucent, then add the garlic and cauliflower. Cover with water and bring pot to a boil. Add in the bay leaf, and reduce to medium heat. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the veg is tender. Strain the cauliflower and reserve the cooking liquid.
- Take the bowl of cooked veg and blend using a hand mixer. Start by pouring in 2 cups of plant-based milk (such as soy, oat or almond). Mix together and slowly add reserved liquid, a ladle at a time to thin out the purée to the desired consistency.
- I like to keep it a little on the thicker side because it is easier to thin out than to further cook to reduce and thicken. Lightly season the cauliflower cream. Portion into usable amounts and store.
