This Cauliflower Cream Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Tomatoes is an easy and healthy weeknight dinner! With a creamy cauliflower sauce that is made right in the blender, it’s rich and comforting.

This Cauliflower Cream Pasta or Cauliflower Bechamel Sauce recipe has homemade garlic and herb filled Ground Italian chicken sausage with bright and fresh cherry tomatoes in a rich and creamy non-dairy cauliflower cream sauce – YUM! You could just eat it with a spoon…maybe right out of the pan…I’m just sayin’. However, to make it more civilized, the recipe suggests to mix it with light and airy, thin rice noodles that soak up every last bit of the sauce for the perfect bite!
Italian Sausage Cauli-Cream Noodles brings together two of my recent recipes into one new amazing creation!
- It includes homemade Ground Chicken Italian Sausage that I first posted in my Chicago Style Pizza recipe. The chicken Italian sausage tastes amazing and very close the traditional pork sausage with garlic, fresh parsley, and fennel seed.
- It has cauliflower cream. A couple weeks back I posted Green Cauliflower Cream Fettuccine, which was vegetarian, but meat lovers can enjoy this creamy dairy-free delight too!
And so, I bring you my latest recipe, Italian Sausage Cauli-Cream Noodles!
Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps for Cauliflower Cream Pasta with Italian Sausage
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here is my recommendation for making dinner easier: make your own kits! On Sunday, prep all of the ingredients and components for 3 meals and store them in the fridge on meal-specific pans or bowls. Then on the night you cook, everything is ready to go! You will need 1 gallon bags and sandwich-size bags.
- Place the cauliflower florets in a medium sauce pot and fill with water to about ⅓ as high as the florets. Cover and turn the stove to medium heat. Water should come up to a boil and cook with cover on for 8-10 minutes.
- Test the florets with a fork to make sure they are fall-apart tender. Then strain out the water and transfer to a blender. Add 1 cup chicken broth and blend until smooth. Note: leave the center of the lip off and cover with a towel to let steam escape and avoid a cauli-explosion. Pour the cauliflower cream into a storage container.
Chop 4 Tablespoons Parsley. Place 1 tablespoon in a small baggie for garnish. The remaining 3 tablespoons will go into the chicken sausage.
Make the Ground Italian Chicken Sausage. Mince 2 cloves garlic. Add the Ground chicken to a large mixing bowl. To the chicken, add the minced garlic, 3 Tbls of the chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Mix to combine. Place the raw meat in a sealed bag.
- Make the rice noodles and store in a gallon bag.
- Place the raw chicken sausage, the cauliflower cream, cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, and rice noodles on a sheet pan or large bowl in the fridge so everything is kept together for the cooking night.
LET’S COOK:
First, rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut each in half. Set aside.
Cook the chicken sausage in a large pan. As the meat sears, break it up into bite-size pieces with a spatula or spoon.
Pour in the cauliflower cream sauce and stir to combine the flavors, scraping the bottom of the pan for all of the brown-goodness and mixing the sausage into the sauce.
Next add in the halved cherry tomatoes and stir gently to combine. You will only be slightly cooking the tomatoes as you want to retain that fresh burst of flavor in this dish.
Last, place the cooked noodles back in a strainer and rinse with warm water. Rice noodles tend to stick together when chilled, so you want to loosen them before adding them to the sauce so that you don’t break them into pieces as you mix. Once the noodles have regained life and are pliable, add them to the sauce in the skillet. Stir to combine.
Plate, garnish with parsley and enjoy!
😍Carrie
Italian Sausage Cauli-Cream Noodles
Ingredients
Cream Sauce
- 3 cups Cauliflower florets
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
Italian Sausage
- 1 pound Ground Chicken (or ground turkey)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seed
- 3 Tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped chopped
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Other
- 8-10 ounces Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
- 8 ounces Vermicelli Rice Noodles (or spaghetti or linguine)
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
Prep Ahead to make your Kit:
- Place the cauliflower florets in a medium sauce pot and fill with water to about ⅓ as high as the florets. Cover and turn the stove to medium heat. Water should come up to a boil and cook with cover on for 8-10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another few minutes.
- Test the florets with a fork to make sure they are fall-apart tender. Then strain out the water and transfer to a blender. Add 1 cup chicken broth and blend until smooth. Note: leave the center of the lip off and cover with a towel to let steam escape and avoid a cauli-explosion
- Add ½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper and test to see if additional salt is needed. The chicken broth will add a salty flavor, so it may not be required. Pour the cauliflower cream into a storage container or jar.
- Chop 4 Tbls Parsley. Place 1 tbls in a small baggie for garnish. The remaining 3 tbls will go into the turkey sausage.
- Mince 2 cloves garlic. Add the Ground chicken to a large mixing bowl. To the chicken, add the minced garlic, 3 Tbls of the chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Mix to combine. Store in a large (gallon) storage bag.
- Make the Rice Noodles in a very large pot for lots of room, as rice noodles are starchy and can stick together if the pot is too small. When you add the noodles to the boiling water, stir frequently until they start to soften to ensure the noodles do not stick. Store in a large (gallon) storage bag.
- Place the raw chicken sausage, the cauliflower cream, cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, and rice noodles on a sheet pan or large bowl in the fridge so everything is kept together for the cooking night.
Cook:
- Rinse and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Set aside.
- To a preheated pan, add 1 tbls extra virgin olive oil. Add the Italian Sausage chicken mixture. Break apart the meat and let it sear. Continue to break it up into bite-size pieces and let it brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total cooking time.
- Pour the cauliflower cream sauce over the cooked chicken sausage in the pan and stir to combine heat up the sauce again. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and stir to combine and heat. Note, the tomatoes will only lightly cook which keeps the bright, fresh, bursting flavor in this dish!
- Place the cooked noodles back in a strainer and rinse with warm water. Rice noodles tend to stick together when chilled, so you want to loosen them before adding them to the sauce so that you don’t break them into pieces as you mix. Once the noodles have regained life and are pliable, add them to the sauce in the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Plate the pasta, sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley. Enjoy!!
mimi rippee says
Anything paired with Italian sausage I’d most likely love, but this is a fabulous pasta dish!
Chef Mimi says
Yes yes yes!!!!!! I want this now.
Linger, Kristy Murray says
Oh my, just looking at your photos has me craving this dish. I love making a cream sauce with cauliflower and this recipe of yours with Italian sausage sounds fabulous. I must try it soon. As always, thanks for sharing Carrie.