Gluten Free Cauliflower Alfredo Baked Penne Carbonara

This easy baked penne carbonara uses cauliflower alfredo sauce to make it extra creamy! You’ll never believe it’s dairy and gluten free, low fat and packed with hidden veggies!

You know what someone told me?

“Pasta with REAL noodles is going to come back in style this year.”

Wait. WHAT.

!!!!!!!

When did a steaming hot pot of carby-delicious noodles covered in rich, creamy-dreamy sauce of love and general deliciousness ever go OUT OF STYLE? I mean, creamy pumpkin fettuccine basically RUNS THORUGH MY VEINS.

Clearly, I live under a rock. In this case, I am VRY VRY OKAY WIDDAT.

Also, I state “real” noodles, not because some faux-imposter-wanna-be-noodle has been parading itself around. I’m talking about “real” noodles that aren’t spiralized…which, let’s be clear, really are not noodles at all. No matter HOW MUCH you use your imagination.

No spiralized Vegan Coconut Curry with sweet potato noodles and definitely no Mexican zucchini lasagna, you hear?

No veggies. Just good ol’ down-home, country-lovin’ carbs.

Whatever that means.

What I’m really just trying to say is BRING ON THE SWEATPANTS.

You get it. And you feel the same way. Don’t lie.

Newsflash: I may have stated that the doom of wearing sweatpants is imminent in your life, this comfort-food-<3<3<3ing season, but I also sort of lied to you. This gluten free cauliflower Alfredo penne carbonara?

No sweat/stretchy/over-voluminous pants-wearing REQUIRED.

Aaaaand, it has vegetables. But they aren’t a faux-noodle, so I decided it doesn’t count. My bowl of comfort and love and creamy-pasta JOY. My rules.

The tradish version of a spaghetti carbonara is basically a pot of noodles+cheese+bacon+egg yolks. Which, is not really a bad thing to have inside your tummy at ANY POINT IN YOUR LIFE EVER but…it does require some wiggle room in the pants department, if your pickin’ up what I am puttin’ down.

So, In VRYVRYVRY predictable Taylor style, I de-cheese-and-dairy-fied it by using the one thing that I will continue to use forever and ever the end, even if it falls out of the ultra-trendy-hip category of food: cauliflower Alfredo.

Yes. We did just do this VERY same dance on Wednesday’s Cauliflower Alfredo Vegan Scalloped Sweet Potatoes.

But, creamy pureed cauliflower + sweet, tender peas + rich egg yolk s+ garlicky onions + salty pieces of crispy bacon?

Liiiiiiike, thassss what I am talkin’ ABOUT.

Also: real bacon friends. Don’t even think about doing a turkey bacon-secret swap. We’re already taking this carbonara from a 12 to a NONE on the scale of how-many-pairs-of-sweat-pants-do-I-need-to-purchase-in-order-to-eat-this-pasta-on-a-regular-basis.

Do it for the salty, crispy CRUNCH and the necessity of cooking the onion in bacon fat.

Is it just me or does that sentence bring music to your ears? I wanna bacon-fat-onion EVERY OTHER RECIPE that ever comes from my kitchen.

You’ll understand soon enough.

I have a feeling that MANY of you are somehow looking past the creamy-hidden-veggies that actually taste good, PAST the comforting-carbs-with-REAL-NUTRITION AND somehow even past the smoky chunks of salty bacon and all you can think about is EGG YOLK IN MY PASTA? NO THANK YOU. NOT COOL WIDDAT.

Which is why I baked it for you. Which, you really don’t NEED to do. When you whisk your luscious, velvety-smooth vibrant-yellow egg yolk into the warm noodles, it gets enough heat to be safe to eat.

But, if you’re still feeling bad-raw-egg juju coming on, I oven-ed (is that a verb?) it for you.

Comfy carbs. Tasty veggies. Bacon…AND preventing you from worrying about near-death-food-experiences?

I GOT YO BACK.

And Y-O-U get to check “healthy carb load” off your bucket list.

I know it was on there.

I also shared the Gluten Free Cauliflower Alfredo Penne Recipe on Food Fanatic, so be sure to check it out there!

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

• Large pot
• Large frying pan
• Sharp ceramic knives
• High powered blender

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 5  POINTS+: 6. OLD POINTS: 4

(based on 6 servings)

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS!

Want more cauliflower Alfredo?

Quinoa Casserole with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles and Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Cauliflower Alfredo Lox Bagel Breakfast Bowls

Cauliflower Alfredo from around the web:

Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce – Joyful Healthy Eats

Zucchini Noodle Fettuccine with Cauliflower Alfredo – Eating Bird Food

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