Elevate your dinner this week with creamy, delicious cauliflower pasta sauce with sun-dried tomatoes. It’s completely vegan, getting its luxuriously texture by blending together cauliflower, roasted garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.
This recipe was originally published on February 23, 2020. It was updated on April 30, 2025 with new photos and helpful step-by-step instructions.
You’ll love the layers of flavors in this dish! The sun-dried tomatoes add sweetness balancing out the creamy cauliflower, while the roasted garlic adds depth of flavor with just a hint of caramelization. Use this sauce on pasta, pizza and more! This elevated vegetarian dinner is sure to be a hit!
Since the garlic and sun-dred tomato sauce is creamy, I recommend pairing it with an acidic counterpart such as lemon roasted asparagus. This dish also goes well with air fryer garlic knots and broccoli and lentil salad.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Sneak in those veggies! The cauliflower acts as a hidden veggie and takes on the flavors of the other elements in the sauce.
- You can roast garlic in an air fryer if you have one! This will reduce the overall cooking time.
- This is the perfect elegant, yet wholesome dinner to impress your guests.
Ingredient Notes
- Garlic - roasting an entire head of garlic in the oven (or air fryer) develops depth of flavor with a hint of caramelization.
- Cauliflower - you will need a small head of cauliflower for this recipe.
- Yellow onion - the sauteed onion gets blended into the sauce helping balance out the flavors.
- White wine - any white wine will work. This adds subtle flavor while deglazing the pan.
- Nutritional yeast - also known as nooch, adds a naturally “cheese” flavor to the sauce.
- Sun-dried tomatoes - use the ones packed in oil, they are the right texture and consistency. Tomatoes add sweetness to the dish.
- Almond milk - keeps the recipe dairy-free while creating a blendable sauce.
- Spices - salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, basil and oregano contribute to the flavors of the sauce.
Substitutions and Variations
- Garlic - feel free to use 3 cloves of regular minced garlic instead of roasting the garlic if you need to save some time.
- Milk - use your go-to milk choice. Regular milk will work well, along with oat milk, soy milk or even coconut milk!
- Wine - swap in veggie broth or water in place of the wine.
Step by Step Instructions
Wrap the head of garlic in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and roast it in the oven for 40 minutes.
Boil the cauliflower florets in water for 8-10 minutes until fork-tender. Strain and set aside. Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions.
Saute the onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes, the spices and ½ cup of wine. Allow the wine to cook off and scrap and browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the roasted garlic, cauliflower, nutritional yeast and almond milk.
Blend the cauliflower sauce using an immersion blender or regular blender.
Mix the pasta and sauce together. Serve and enjoy.
Hint: add as much or as little sauce as you want to the pasta when mixing together. Leave any remaining sauce in a bowl with a spoon so guests can add more as they desire.
Top Tips
- Boil the cauliflower and use a slotted spoon to scoop it out when finished. Leave the water boiling and cook your pasta in the same water. This will save time and resources!
- To save time try roasting the garlic in the air fryer, it only takes 20 minutes! Roasting garlic transforms the bitey taste into an aromatic, mellow, smooth flavor
- The oil from the sun-dried tomatoes is infused with flavors. Use the infused oil when sautéing for maximum flavor!
Storing and Freezing
Cauliflower pasta sauce is best consumed within 3 days. The cauliflower will start to develop a strong smell after a few days which can be off putting. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
The sauce should be okay to freeze for up to 3 months. You will need to mix it well when it is thawed before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
Add a splash of milk, broth or water and continue to blend until the desired texture is reached. This may cause you to end up with extra sauce, but you can always store it and freeze it for later use.
No, you can simply add 3 cloves of minced garlic to the onions when they are sauteeing instead of roasting a head of garlic. This will help cut back on overall cook time.
Cauliflower Pasta Sauce with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 small head of cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil chopped
- 2 tablespoon reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes (or olive oil)
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 ½ cups almond milk (or the milk of your choosing)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 lb pasta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the garlic by peeling away as much of the papery skin as possible, while keeping the cloves intact. Slice about ¼ of an inch off the top of the garlic head.
- Place the head of garlic on a piece of foil and drizzle the garlic with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil. Bake it for 40 minutes, or air fry for 20 minutes (see notes).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the cauliflower for 8-10 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork. Remove the cauliflower with a slotted spoon, but keep the water boiling.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions in the boiling water. Strain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5-8 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of the sun-dried tomatoes (saving the other ¼ cup to add later on), basil, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir and sauté until fragrant (1-2 minutes).
- Add the wine, let it simmer and reduce for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk, cauliflower, nutritional yeast and roasted garlic, squeezing the cloves out of their papery skin.
- Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend the sauce together until it becomes creamy. You may have to add a splash more of plant-based milk until you get the right consistency.
- Mix the pasta, remaining ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes and sauce together. Garnish with fresh basil if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Try air frying the garlic for 20 minutes instead of using the oven. It will save you time!
- You can use frozen, microwave-friendly cauliflower, cooking it a bit longer in the microwave so it becomes soft and easy to blend.
- You can also use regular minced garlic and sauté it with the onion, instead of using roasted garlic to save time.
Pat Winne says
The cauliflower, roasted garlic & sun dried tomato pasta was amazing! Roasting the garlic is really worth the extra effort. It adds a delicious flavor to the sauce. Also I used extra creamy oat milk and it blended beautifully with the dish. I’ll definitely make it again!
Emily Toshiko says
Thank you so much Mrs Winne! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I love the roasted garlic too... I can't get enough of it! Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. 🙂