This Whole30 Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo is Paleo, Keto, nut-free, egg-free, and freezer-friendly! Plus, there is a vegan option if you need a delicious, easy plant-based recipe. Comes together in 30 minutes making it an excellent weeknight dinner option. 

Why We Love This Whole30 Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo

I adore getting veggies into a delicious sauce. It’s such an easy way to give a meal a veggie boost, in a creamy little package. Steamed cauliflower is also an excellent thickener for sauces. With a good high-powered blender (mine is a Vitamix), this sauce gets silky smooth. No one noticed it was loaded with veggies! It passed the boy test x5 – and they don’t like cauliflower!

I love that there are so many fresh and frozen veggie noodle options that you can serve with it for a quick meal. My favorite “noodles” are carrot (pictured) or sweet potato noodles. The frozen steam-in-a-bag carrot noodles I can find locally at my Walmart or Winco were a really simple option for this!

Don’t have chicken? It’s also delicious with sliced cooked sausage stirred in as well. 

Or, need a vegan option? Leave out the chicken and serve over chickpea pasta (Banza is my favorite!) for a protein boost. So many options for this sauce!

Ingredients

• Avocado or Olive oil
• Boneless, skinless chicken breast – Use whatever quality here is accessible to you! Leave out if you need a plant-based or vegan option. 
• Salt – Traditional table salt works great!
• Pepper – Whenever I reference pepper in my recipes, I mean just basic black ground pepper.
• Sweet onion
• Minced fresh garlic – You can buy whole garlic cloves and mince them with a knife or a garlic press, Alternatively, they have jars of fresh garlic already minced in the product department which saves a step!
• Fresh or frozen riced cauliflower – Since the cauliflower will be cooked and then blended, either works well here. 
• Nutritional Yeast – Nutritional Yeast is not the same as baker’s yeast. Though it’s derived from baker’s yeast, it’s been deactivated and cannot make things rise. Instead, it’s commonly used for a cheesy dairy-free flavor. Don’t leave it out of this sauce – it’s essential to the flavor! I get mine at Walmart or Trader Joe’s.

• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Full-fat canned coconut milk – Full-fat canned coconut milk is rich and thick, the most similar to cream. I highly recommend it if possible! If you are allergic or can’t find it, you can use another dairy-free milk. The result just won’t be as creamy and rich.
• “Noodles” or spiralized veggies of choice – Zoodles, spiralized carrots, or sweet potatoes for a Whole30 option. Or, if your family is not on a Whole30, you can use whatever gluten-free pasta you prefer to top this sauce with!
• Optional: Steamed broccoli – I use steam-in-a-bag frozen broccoli for this, steamed in the microwave to keep this meal quick and easy! 

Whole30 Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo

Autumn @wholefoodfor7

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup olive or avocado oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 3 cups fresh or frozen riced cauliflower
• 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk or other dairy-free milk of choice
• 4 cups of cooked noodles of choice zoodles, spiralized carrots or sweet potatoes for Whole30, or other GF pasta if not on Whole30
• Optional: 1 pound steamed broccoli I use steam in a bag freezer broccoli for this.

Instructions

 

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cut chicken breast and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Cook chicken until lightly browned on the outside and no longer pink in the middle, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, set aside.
• In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
• Add the riced cauliflower to the saucepan and sprinkle with yeast, basil, remaining 1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper, and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 8-9 minutes.
• Transfer the onion cauliflower mixture to a blender, add coconut milk, and blend at a high speed until very smooth. This works best in a high powered blender to get this nice and silky smooth.
• Combine cooked chicken and sauce, stirring in steamed broccoli if desired, and serve over hot noodles of choice.