Pasta With Cauliflower

This Sicilian recipe for Pasta With Cauliflower is a simple, healthy, dish that’s packed full of flavor and ready in just 30 minutes.

Pin This Recipe For Later!

I am known for this dish! My friends absolutely love it and it’s one of my most requested dishes when they come to my house for lunch – some of them don’t even like cauliflower!

My Sicilian Grandmother made this for me all the time when I was growing up.  She always made it with pasta shells because they would fill up with the flavorful sauce and I absolutely adored it.

This simple dish does not lack in flavor – Garlicky cauliflower cooked in stock with fresh herbs and topped with grated cheese. It’s an easy, light, meal that’s perfect for when you want Italian comfort that’s not heavy or rich.

Cauliflower Buying Guide

Cauliflower heads should always be firm and closed tight. The color should be pale with no browning or dark spots. Avoid buying heads that are soft or showing signs of spoilage.

This is definitely not a dish where the cauliflower retains any firmness. Many Italian dishes are made with vegetables that are cooked until they’re quite soft. Here the cauliflower is cooked until it’s tender enough to mash into the stock to make a sauce for the pasta.  

Ingredient Notes

• Cauliflower – Use fresh or frozen cauliflower. They both work equally well, although fresh cauliflower will take longer to cook.
• Garlic – Use fresh garlic for this dish. It’s the one ingredient that adds the most flavor.
• Basil – I’ve used both dried and fresh basil for this dish. I feel fresh has the best flavor. If you need to substitute you can use fresh parsley or dried oregano.
• Chicken Stock – For the best possible flavor, use homemade stock or good quality store-bought.

Step by Step Instructions

Brown the garlic in a large stockpot

I use this garlic slicer. It’s amazing!  Just fill it with peeled garlic, twist and perfectly thin sliced garlic come out!  Click this link to get one on Amazon.  (#paidlink).

Add the stock, basil, and cauliflower.  Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer until the cauliflower is soft enough to mash.  Using a potato masher, mash the cauliflower into the stock to form the sauce.

Top the pasta and serve with plenty of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese.

Stay Updated

Receive new recipes & dinner ideas straight to your inbox!

SUBSCRIBE

Let’s Make Pasta With Cauliflower

A hearty, rustic pasta dish, ready for the table in 30 minutes – serve with a good helping of fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

4.65 from 31 votes

Prep5 minutes minutes

Cook25 minutes minutes

Total30 minutes minutes

Serves: 6 servings

Print

• Pinterest

Rate Share

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic chopped
• ▢ 16 ounces frozen cauliflower
• ▢ 2½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 pound pasta
• ▢ freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan to serve

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Brown the garlic in a large saucepan with the olive oil or fry. As soon as it starts to brown, add about a cup of the chicken stock so the garlic doesn’t burn.
• Add cauliflower, basil, salt & pepper and then add just enough stock to cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Once it comes to a rapid boil, lower the heat to medium heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft enough to mash with a potato masher.
• If it seems too thick, add a bit more stock little by little until it’s the desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.
• Serve over pasta topped with grated Parmesan or pecorino romano.

Tips + Notes

• Cook the garlic until fragrant. If it browns too much and burns, it will become bitter, so be ready with the stock.
• You can easily make this pasta sauce vegetarian, simply swap the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
• Add white beans for a filling option that works really well with this dish.
• Use dried herbs if you don’t have any fresh on hand.
• Finish the sauce with a splash of white wine vinegar before adding to pasta to elevate the flavors.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 382 (19%)| Carbohydrates: 62g (21%)| Protein: 14g (28%)| Fat: 7g (11%)| Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)| Cholesterol: 4mg (1%)| Sodium: 233mg (10%)| Potassium: 344mg (10%)| Fiber: 2g (8%)| Sugar: 4g (4%)| Vitamin A: 20IU| Vitamin C: 0.9mg (1%)| Calcium: 24mg (2%)| Iron: 1.4mg (8%)

Nutritional Data Disclaimer

Erren’s Kitchen is written and produced for informational intentions only. We are not certified nutritionists, and the nutritional information found on this site has not been assessed or authorized by a nutritionist or the FDA. The nutritional information found in our recipes is offered as an estimate and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. The estimated data is provided as a courtesy and calculated through a third-party online nutritional calculator, spoonacular API. Although we do our best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered rough estimates. Many factors, such as brands or products purchased and the nutritional fluctuations that naturally occur in fresh produce, can alter the effectiveness of the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, various online calculators provide different results depending on their particular algorithms and nutrition fact sources. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Author:Erren Hart

Course:Dinner

Cuisine:Italian

Keyword:cauliflower pasta sauce, pasta, pasta sauce

Follow Me on SocialMention @ErrensKitchen or tag #ErrensKitchen on Instagram