Healthy fettuccine alfredo with shrimp & mushrooms. Made with cauliflower sauce, this creamy pasta is a healthier version of a regular fettuccine alfredo.
After I made a healthier version of classic alfredo sauce 2 months ago, I had dreams at night (or you can call them nightmares) of how I was making different variations of that recipe, torturing myself with endless combinations of ingredients I could combine with that amazing cauliflower-based alfredo sauce. And, what do you think, did I come up with a super original recipe after all those sleepless nights? Not at all. I came up with something pretty basic but yet so delicious in its simplicity that I definitely call it another win in a "healthy food department": healthy fettuccine alfredo with shrimp and mushrooms in a creamy cauliflower sauce.
Because shrimp and sauteed mushrooms usually go so well with the original alfredo sauce, I just combined all these wonderful ingredients together in one healthy dish: shrimp, mushrooms, sweet peas, pasta - all coated in a creamy cauliflower sauce! Yum! Definitely worth trying!
This shrimp fettuccine alfredo is rich only in flavor, but not at all in calories! In fact, a whole pan of this sauce uses only ¼ cup heavy cream and ½ cup Parmesan cheese, everything else being replaced by very finely mashed cauliflower, mixed with sauteed shallots and garlic for more flavor and fragrance.
Loaded with mushroom flavor, this healthy fettuccine alfredo with shrimp and mushrooms will leave you fully satisfied, yet you will not feel like you just ate a heavy meal loaded with heavy cream or cheese.
Please enjoy this healthier version of alfredo sauce, made even better by adding shrimp, sauteed mushrooms, and sweet peas!
Healthy fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower sauce, shrimp, mushrooms, and sweet peas
Ingredients
How to make cauliflower sauce:
- 1 cauliflower floret
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 shallots minced, or 2 tablespoons of minced onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt or more, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups fresh peas (shelled) or use frozen
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Shrimp:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb shrimp , peeled and deveined
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
How to make cauliflower sauce:
- Clean the cauliflower head from green leaves, and chop it into reasonably large but manageable pieces. Place it in the big sauce pan with water, bring to boil and boil for 30-40 minutes until cauliflower is really soft. Remove from heat and drain cauliflower from water. Do reserve some cooking water.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot (or 2 tablespoons of minced regular onion) and minced garlic and saute until tender. Add heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and bring to a boil. Cook just for a minute, stirring, until cheese melts. Remove from the heat.
- In a food processor, combine cauliflower from step 1 and creamy sauce from step 2. Process really well, until a very creamy sauce forms. Feel free to add more heavy cream or cooking water (using ¼ measuring cup) from step 1 to thin the sauce if it is too thick. Transfer sauce into a large sauce pan and keep it warm on the stove top. Season with salt and pepper, and nutmeg, to taste.
Prepare pasta:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
- Cook the peas in boiling water for about 5 minutes, or according to instructions if using frozen peas. You can also add peas to pasta during the last 5 minutes of cooking instead of cooking them separately.
- In a large, separate skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the cauliflower sauce, cooked shelled peas, and pasta cooked al dente in the skillet with mushrooms. Toss to combine thoroughly – over medium heat. Stir the sauce constantly. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with parsley, if desired.
Cook shrimp:
- Mix salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cumin, and chili powder in a medium size bowl. Add shrimp to the bowl with spices and mix and toss to coat shrimp with spices.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Add shrimp, coated with spices, and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until shrimp becomes red in color on each side. Remove pan from heat.
- Add cooked shrimp to fettuccine alfredo.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Tash
Oh this looks delicious and I'm all for losing calories and fat where possible (something I'm now acutely aware of!). I was watching Ellie Krieger's show on TV the other day and she replaced some mashed potatoes with cauliflower to lighten the calories (and boost nutrition), which I thought was a good idea at the time and now you've demonstrated another way to do it!
I used to be really wary of prawns (shrimp) as anyone trying to avoid cholesterol in their diets were advised to avoid them (and avacados) as they are naturally high in cholesterol, but apparently it isn't ingesting cholesterol that puts yours up but eating saturated fats, so prawns are now back on the menu! Hooray!
Laura Dembowski
I'm always looking for healthy ways to reinvent the cauliflower alfredo too. It's so yummy! I make it without cheese and cream and still love it. Fresh peas are an awesome addition, and I love asparagus in it too.
Deb
I never say no to the classics! After all there is a good reason the recipes have lasted over time. And a lighter version of Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and mushrooms is so scrumptious! A tempting dinner recipe!
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com
Love this recipe - thanks so much for sharing!
Great post
marcie@flavorthemoments
I'm not the only one who dreams about recipes, I see! This pasta dish sounds amazing, and your photos are stunning. I love all of the ingredients in this dish and will have to try it!
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
Gosh, Julia! You made me want to eat pasta for breakfast. This looks seriously delish!!!
Monique
Julia..you even photo mushrooms well:)
I love lightened dishes and the thing about alfredo..I always found it too rich..and always loved a J DiStasio recipe w/ cauliflower..it's such a great thickener..and tasty..thank you for this reminder of your initial post..
Will try soon.
Rosa
Healthy and mighty scrumptious! A wonderful dish which I'd eat anytime.
Cheers,
Rosa
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen
Pinning! Looks delicious and I've been wanting to try a cauliflower sauce!
Ashley
Love the addition of the mushrooms and peas! I've been on a mushroom kick lately - I can't get enough of them.
zerrin
I know that kind of nightmares! Could this be a kind of disease of us, food bloggers?
I love how healthy this fettucine is! No need for lots of heavy cream, great!
zerrin
I know that kind of nightmares! Could this be a kind of disease of us, food bloggers? I love how healthy this fettucine is! No need for lots of heavy cream, great!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
This is so creamy, delicious and healthy! I have to try this healthy version of creamy cauliflower sauce.
Krista
This is absolutely gorgeous and sounds so nutritious and savory. 🙂 I'm not able to have dairy at the moment, but I'd like to experiment a bit with coconut cream and oil instead of the butter and oil. I think that would work! 🙂
Alla
oh yum!!! you know it's funny just yesterday I made fetuccine with shrimp and peas.
We had some men over so I man-lyed it up with bacon. Cauliflower however has been
on my mind lately so maybe I'll make this sauce to pour over something else! mnommmm!
Steve Biederman
You shouldn't specify a number of "shrimp" of unspecified size. 22 16-20 per pounds, or 22 51-60 per pounds, or what?
Or specify the total weight of shrimp wanted.