Cauliflower Gratin — tender cauliflower smothered in a creamy, cheesy sauce. This luscious cheesy cauliflower is easy to make and loved by anyone lucky enough to take a bite.
Whether you know it as Cauliflower Gratin, Cauliflower Cheese, Cheesy Cauliflower, Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce or Cauliflower Casserole this delectable veggie side dish is always a hit when it’s served.
We all know that cauliflower is good for us and loaded with antioxidants. It’s one of many cruciferous vegetables that should be a regular part of our diets.
While I understand that smothering food in creamy sauces and cheese may not be the healthiest everyday option, it’s an excellent gateway to learning to enjoy the flavor of vegetables that can eventually be prepared more simply.
The good news is that making my easy homemade cheese sauce is healthier than you may have expected.
My Cauliflower Gratin (Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce) is comforting and homey. It’s bound to become a fast family favorite. I can’t wait for you to try the easy recipe!
The Ingredients
- Raw Cauliflower
- Butter
- All Purpose Flour (or one-to-one gluten-free flour blend)
- Whole Milk
- Cheddar Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Stone Ground Mustard
- salt and pepper
Cheesy Cauliflower MY Way
The method for this recipe will definitely not be traditional for you.
If you’ve been reading here for very long, you already know I have a problem with soggy, mushy vegetables. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy them cooked, just not disintegrated.
After cooking, vegetables should have a vibrant color, firm but tender texture and enhanced flavor from the heat concentrating their natural sugars.
They should NOT be water-logged, mushy and flavorless from boiling them in water.
That type of cooking not only pulls out flavor, but also nutrients, which get poured away when the boiled vegetables are drained.
So, while the method in my easy recipe is not traditional, I think you will experience cheesy cauliflower that you’ll want to eat again and again.
Updating the Cauliflower Gratin Method
I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s — the age of casseroles. Every potluck and even an occasional family dinner could be expected to boast at least one vegetable casserole with cheese.
These casseroles often relied on “cream of” soups for the saucy creaminess and the cheese was melted on top. And I’m casting NO aspersions on “cream of” soup. There are always a few cans handy in my pantry.
Who could resist the comfort of a classic casserole like that? The saucy, cheesy factor always won over tastebuds that normally wouldn’t consider vegetables.
But, I do think that “cream of” soups are often too heavy for vegetable dishes. The flavor comes only from the sauce and the vegetable flavor is mostly missing.
My biggest issue was that the vegetables rarely resembled their original flavor, color or texture. That’s because they were often boiled before mixing them with their cheesy sauce.
And then, to add insult to texture, they were cooked again in the oven to create the casserole.
Boiling cauliflower, while making it soft (and often mushy) leaves it water-logged, soggy and nearly flavorless.
I wanted my Cauliflower Gratin to retain the flavor and texture of cauliflower that I already loved while becoming a creamy, cheesy and comforting hug on a plate.
So, here’s what I changed.
Why Use Raw Cauliflower in Cauliflower Cheese?
This recipe began as an experiment to see if raw cauliflower would cook in just homemade cheese sauce. It was so successful, I had to share it with you.
I regularly roast raw cauliflower without liquid in the oven and air fryer, so it seemed like baking it in the sauce without additional liquid should be possible. I just knew I didn’t want to boil it.
Here’s what I also knew: The cauliflower was going to release its own water as it cooked—water that should steam the florets and still contain all the vegetable nutrients, if used properly. I could utilize that released moisture by simply covering my dish and trapping it inside for most of the baking time.
That extra moisture would temporarily “thin” my sauce, but taking the lid off during the last ten minutes of cooking would evaporate the water from my Cauliflower Gratin, leaving those precious nutrients behind in the dish and returning my cheese sauce to its delectably creamy consistency.
You guys! It worked so well! I’ll never do it any other way.
I think you’re gonna love this scrumptious Cauliflower Gratin recipe! It’s easy. The cauliflower tastes like cauliflower, and the texture is tender but still firm.
The homemade cheese sauce enrobes the cauliflower florets and makes each bite a creamy, comfort food experience that everyone around the table will love.
What to Serve with Cauliflower Gratin
Combine cauliflower casserole with a protein and a green veggie for a spectacular meal option. Cheesy Cauliflower is perfect in lots of meal plans. Check out these great meal ideas to get you started!
- Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf (Slow Cooker Meatloaf)
- Cheesy Cauliflower
- Shirazi Salad (Persian Cucumber Salad)
- Best Easy Sloppy Joes
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Air Fryer Green Beans with Garlic Butter Sauce
- Best Crock Pot Ham Recipe, 3-Ingredient Simple
- Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce
- Bell Pepper Salad, Easy Delicious and Crunchy
- Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fried, Pan-Fried or Baked)
- Cauliflower Gratin
- House Salad Recipe, a Quick and Easy Favorite
Possible Recipe Variations
Topping
Cauliflower Gratin is often baked with a breadcrumb topping. Toss bread crumbs in melted butter. Add herbs and/or Parmesan cheese. When you remove the lid or aluminum foil for the last ten minutes of cooking, sprinkle your prepared topping over the gratin to get it toasty and crisp.
Add Protein
Use up leftovers and turn your Cauliflower in cheese sauce into a main dish. Diced chicken or ham are delicious! Go vegetarian and use beans or tofu. You may want to make additional sauce if you add more than 1 cup of small diced ingredients of any kind.
Jalapeno Bacon Cheesy Cauliflower
Spice up you cauliflower gratin with some minced jalapeno and crumbled bacon. Stir them in when you add the cheese sauce and enjoy a mouthwatering comfort food main with a spicy kick!
FAQs
Yes. There are a couple of reasons not to have big chunks. First of all, bite-sized pieces are simply more pleasant to eat. They create more surface area for the cheese sauce to cling to. But most importantly, you want the cauliflower to cook evenly in the amount of time the recipe indicates. The small pieces ensure that you will have a good result.
Yes. Substitute a one-to-one gluten-free flour blend for the all-purpose flour in the recipe. Keep in mind that different gluten-free blends use different thickening/binding ingredients. You may need to whisk in an extra splash of milk if your gluten-free cheese sauce seems too thick.
My guess is that it’s possible, but I have never done it. You would need to substitute non-dairy milk and vegan cheeses. I don’t work with those very often, so I can’t speak to their creaminess in this dish.
If you have leftovers, they will keep up to four days in the refrigerator. Keep them sealed in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing leftovers, as cheese sauce can separate in the freezer and be watery after thawing.
Absolutely! Prepare the recipe up to the point of baking. Instead of baking, cover it tightly and refrigerate up to two days before baking. Allow to set out on the counter for one hour prior to baking to let the temperature get closer to room temperature. Bake as instructed. A few minutes extra baking time may be necessary if the ingredients are still cold in the refrigerator.
How to Make Cauliflower Gratin
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Break the cauliflower into bite-sized florets and grate the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.
- Place the raw cauliflower florets into a baking dish or casserole dish. (David got me this clear glass baking dish with a lid [affiliate link] for Christmas and I’m loving it!
- Make the cheese sauce and pour it over the raw cauliflower. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle the top with grated Cheddar cheese.
- Cover the dish with a lid or foil.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
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Cauliflower Gratin (Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Creamy, cheesy and delicious! Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin is going to be your new favorite way to eat cauliflower. Perfect texture and flavor from a new cooking method. You’ll love this easy recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (3 lbs.), broken into bite-sized florets
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 1/4 cups Extra Sharp Cheddar, grated and divided
- 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
- 2 teaspoons Stone Ground Mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Break the cauliflower into bite-sized florets and add the raw cauliflower to a casserole dish. There are a couple of reasons to keep them small instead of in big chunks. First, they’re more enjoyable to eat, and second and more importantly, they will cook more quickly and evenly.
- Grate the Cheddar and Parmesan and set aside 1/4 cup of the Cheddar.
- Make the cheese sauce by creating a basic white sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the flour. Whisk the flour into the butter until a smooth, thin paste forms. Continue cooking and whisking over medium heat for one to two minutes to cook out the flour taste. This is a roux.
- Slowly begin whisking the milk into your roux. Continue whisking over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and silky. It will be lightly bubbling and slightly thickened.
- Turn off the heat under your white sauce and add the mustard, 1 cup of Cheddar and the Parmesan. Continue whisking until the cheese is melted and all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Taste the cheese sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the warm cheese sauce over the raw cauliflower florets that you placed in the casserole dish.
- Stir to coat the cauliflower pieces in cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of Cheddar over the top of the gratin.
- Cover the baking dish with a tight fitting lid or aluminum foil.
- Bake at 425° for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite main dishes.When the cauliflower is fork-tender, the cheese sauce is bubbly, and the dish begins to have golden brown caramelization on some of the cauliflower pieces, it is done.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Side Dish, Vegetables
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
About Glenda
I believe cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated and that YOU can do it. My simple recipes, tutorials, and cooking tips will help you get weeknight dinners on the table with less stress. Forget takeout or the drive-thru. Let me show you how to make homemade easy. Read more...
