Cauliflower Cream Pasta Bake

Here is another great way to prepare a creamy sauce out of cauliflower that will leave everyone guessing how you made such a cheesy and creamy sauce without cheese or cream! I prepared this with mushrooms, but you could use pretty much any vegetable you prefer. Zucchini, peppers, or carrots would be great substitutes. There are also three topping options you can choose from depending on how you are feeling. You can either make a cheeze sauce, which is what is pictured, or add sauteed onions or make some bread crumbs for a crispy topping. Or you could even go crazy and try all three together!

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Cauliflower Cream Pasta Bake Recipe
vegan, gluten-free, plant-based, refined sugar-free

Bake ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 12-16 oz. pasta (I used brown rice pasta to keep it gluten-free)
• 16 oz mushrooms, sliced (can substitute any vegetable you have on hand)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup plant-based milk (or 3 Tbsp raw nuts with 3/4 cup water)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried sage (or 1 Tbsp fresh sage)
• 1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme)
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 2-3 leaves fresh sage for garnish

3 Topping options: 
Cheeze sauce:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup raw nuts
• 3 Tbsp tapioca or arrowroot flour
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

*blend all cheeze ingredients until smooth and heat over medium heat with stirring until the cheeze sauce thickens (5-10 min).

Onions:

• Slice 1 onion and saute over medium heat (5-10 min).

Bread crumbs:

• Add 2-3 slices of bread of choice to a food processor or blender and blend to form crumbs.
• Can add 1-2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy flavor if desired.

Instructions: 

1. Heat oven to 375°F and bake cauliflower florets for 20-25 min or until cooked through (you can also boil the cauliflower for 10-15 min if preferred).
2. While cauliflower is baking also roast the cloves of garlic for 15 min in the oven. 
3. In a large pot cook pasta for 5 min less than instructions on the box, they should still be hard so they do not over cook later in the process. Then drain and rinse and leave in colander.
4. In the same pot that you cooked the pasta, add the sliced mushrooms and saute with the sage and thyme for 15 min. Then add the cooked pasta back to this pot with the sauteed mushrooms.
5. Once the cauliflower and garlic are cooked, add these to a blender with the rest of the "Bake ingredients", except the sage for garnish. Blend until smooth and mix together with the pasta and mushrooms. 
6. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
7. Prepare the topping of choice (cheeze sauce, onions, or bread crumbs) and add to the top.
8. Bake 15 min at 400°F, garnish with sliced sage leaves, let cool for about 10 min and serve.