Lemon Alfredo Spaghetti Squash (paleo, GF)
I can remember the first time that I had lemon alfredo sauce like it was yesterday. I was in a restaurant tucked away from the busy Via del Corso in Rome. I had already ordered several other spaghetti dishes from this place and loved them so much that I didn’t want to try anything else. And yet, the foodie in me did.
I was intrigued with the idea of lemon alfredo…cream and lemon? I imagined that the sauce may not turn out quite right, but the waiter at Spaghetteria L’Archetto insisted that it was delicious.
He was right. It was more than delicious, it was phenomenal. The lemon turned a normally heavy meal into something refreshing. And I’ve kind of been obsessed ever since.
I had not thought about this sauce for a while. In fact, I only thought about it because of wedding planning.
To explain, my fiance and I were discussing potential food options for our wedding.
We started discussing our ideal “if money wasn’t an issue” wedding meal and I blurted out “Archettos would cater!”
Then I went through my favorite pasta sauces that they make (pumpkin alfredo, the meat and cream “rosa”, the lobster and brandy “chanel”) and how we would have a buffet with ALL of them.
One can dream. 🙂
Anyways, thinking about all of these sauces made me miss lemon alfredo and so I decided to come up with a healthier Paleo version of lemon alfredo sauce.
I made spaghetti squash to pair with it.
And it turned out really great.
This Paleo Lemon Alfredo is satisfyingly creamy and yet refreshing at the same time.
You can either top the spaghetti squash, or whatever you choose, with the sauce.
And maybe add some chicken on top?
Or you can mix the lemon alfredo into the spaghetti squash, which is my preference, and add some grilled rosemary chicken and call it a meal. 🙂
One thing worth noting is that if you want this sauce to turn out. Make sure to a coconut cream without preservatives (no guargum or anything else in the ingredient list).
From personal experience and from many emails and comments, it has proven to make ALL the difference.
Lemon Alfredo Sauce (paleo, GF, dairy-free)
Ingredients
- one 3 pound spaghetti squash
- 1 head of cauliflower , cut into small florets
- 4 Tbs + 3 Tbs all natural chicken stock , divided (make sure there is no sugar in the ingredient list)
- 1/2 cup minced white onion (1/4-1/2 of a yellow onion)
- 1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic (this was 6 small cloves for me)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup canned coconut cream ( I like Savoy because it’s made of only coconut and water)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3 Tbs lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Boil some water in a large pot and put the cauliflower florets into it. Let the cauliflower cook for 11 minutes, strain, and set aside.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the mushy core with a spoon. Then cover the surface with some olive oil and evenly “paint it on” with a silicone basting brush.
- Lay the squash face down on the aluminum paper.
- Cook the spaghetti squash for 35 minutes and then remove it from the oven and let cool.
- While the spaghetti squash is cooking, put the cooked cauliflower into a food processor with 4 Tbs of chicken stock. Puree the cauliflower in the food processor and then set the mashed cauliflower aside.
- Put 2 tsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Put the minced onion and garlic into the pan and mix into the olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes, while mixing often.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and add the coconut cream, pureed cauliflower, 3 Tbs of lemon juice, and 3 Tbs of chicken stock to the pan and mix. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, mix and then let the mixture cook for 10-15 minutes, until you have the desired consistency.
- By this point, the spaghetti squash should be cool. Using two forks, “rake” against the inside of the squash until the insides looked like “spaghetti”. You should be able to rake them until you almost reach the skin of the squash.
- Then, put all of the spaghetti squash into a large bowl.
- Now either put the alfredo on top of the spaghetti squash on individual plates or mix all the sauce into the spaghetti squash. Serve and Enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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22 Comments on “Lemon Alfredo Spaghetti Squash (paleo, GF)”
What does the guar gum do to the taste?
To me, it just tastes chemically. It’s hard to explain. I know some people don’t notice it, but I find that I dislike using coconut milks and creams with it in my recipes.
I made the alfredo sauce and served it over brown rice fettucine. I pureed the cooked onion with the cauliflower because I wanted it perfectly smooth. Seasoned up a bit with Italian seasoning and some red pepper. It was really fantastic.
Very happy to hear it! I love this sauce 🙂 Love the idea of adding red pepper 🙂
I’ve tried several sauce recipes using cauliflower and didn’t like them at all! This one was perfect! You still know it’s cauliflower but the closest to real Alfredo sauce yet! Thanks!
So so happy to hear it!! I love this sauce. 🙂 🙂
Is there a substitute for the coconut cream?
You could use heavy cream or thick coconut milk from a can (but this would be more similar to coconut cream 🙂 ).
Just gave this recipe a shot. While I was cooking the sauce, I was reading the comments here about it potentially being too soupy so I added some corn starch here and there to thicken. Whole thing came out great! Would make again.
I’m happy to hear it! Thanks for letting me (and everyone else) know about the corn starch tip. 🙂
Do you think this recipe could be made ahead like a casserole and frozen?
I think it could be fine to freeze. I’m a little hesitant on what that would do to the coconut milk/cream. I haven’t tried it myself, but sometimes coconut cream/milk separates when it’s cold and I’d be worried that the sauce would have a grainy texture. Let me know if you do freeze it, and how it turns out. 🙂
Not good. I’m sure I didn’t use the right kind of coconut cream, but it just tasted like coconut squash soup. Not a bad taste, but definitely not what I was going for. I added chicken hoping that would help, but with no luck. Maybe next time!
Ah sorry to hear that! Based on the feedback I’ve heard from the comment section and friends that have tried this recipe, I think the type of coconut cream ( one with no preservatives!) really does make a difference! 🙂
I’m so so happy to hear it! Adding both chicken and shrimp to this recipe sounds deeeeelish, that will definitely be on my to-do list! I’m so glad to hear that your son was able to taste alfredo for the first time 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
HOW COULD I USE COCONUT MILK and have the sauce come out thick? Tapiocca starch, maybe? or Corn starch added to the coconut milk. Do the cans you recommend taste as much like coconut as coconut milk in the large cartons (in the regular milk, soy milk, etc. section in the cooler) does?? I really don’t love the taste of coconut milk in savory things/dishes.
Thanks!
I’ve found that canned coconut milk with no preservatives in it tends to be very creamy. (I don’t think the sauce would work well or taste as good with any typed of coconut milk with preservatives in it). The cans that I have used in the past are very different than coconut milk from the cartons, they have a bit more coconut flavor, but the texture is just different and results in more of an alfredo-like texture. I didn’t end up finding it to taste overly coconutty.
I made this last night and loved it! I made it using all the ingredients that you suggested (including the Savoy brand coconut cream!). At first I was skeptical about the coconut cream, because when I added it to the pot it made the dish smell sweet and coconut-y, and I was even more skeptical after adding the nutmeg. But I was shocked when I took a spoonful of the finished sauce and tasted a deliciously savory Alfredo! I was amazed! I still can’t believe it was dairy-free! Thanks for the recipe! I’ll be making this again, for sure.
Oh good! Thanks for letting me know!I’m glad you used that coconut cream too… it makes suuch a difference flavor-wise to use one without preservatives.:)
I found the 44 mouthwatering spaghetti squash recipes because I had a squash and no good ideas for what to do with it. I’m not a Paleo person, but not opposed to it, either. So there was a lot that appealed to me in the Lemon Alfredo Spaghetti Squash recipe and I ran out and bought the ingredients. I don’t normally use coconut cream, so I just grabbed the only brand available in my supermarket, grateful to have found it. Rushed home, did all the prep and followed the recipe (it looked good!), took a taste of the finished Alfredo and was shocked that it was SWEET!! I didn’t know that coconut cream may be sweetened. The recipe comment recommended a brand because it was only coconut and water. I just thought that other coconut creams probably had preservatives or something. It would’ve been nice if the recipe had specified to buy unsweetened coconut cream. All that work, and we all (yes, I had guests) tried to eat it, but it was not good and most of it went right into the garbage. Be warned!
Was there sugar in the ingredient list of the coconut cream?? If you used a brand that has preservatives, that could have been the flavor too. I’m sorry it didn’t work out! Reading labels for the most natural variety of all ingredients is a must. I’ll have to re-test this recipe out to see what I could change or if it is just a coconut cream brand issue. Thanks for the comment!
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