Cauliflower Casserole

Comforting Cauliflower Casserole that’s creamy, cheesy, and will be sure to satisfy everyone at the table. This side dish is made with cauliflower, bacon, cheesy sauce mixture, and topped with a bacon bread crumb topping.

Cauliflower Casserole

I am crazy about cauliflower in every way, shape, or form. Be it roasted, mashed, as a pizza crust, or ever raw.

When cauliflower is combined with cheesy sauce and bacon, then it’s mouthful of comfort. This cheesy cauliflower side dish would make a beautiful addition to the holiday table.

There are a couple of variations you can make to this dish. You can use half broccoli and half cauliflower to make a broccoli cauliflower casserole. Try adding a little ham or chicken and make it a complete meal.

You can also try substituting different flavorful cheeses, like Asiago, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, or cheddar. (Be careful about the combination though.)

How to make cauliflower Casserole:

Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease an 8×8 casserole dish.

Cut cauliflower florets off of the stem. Discard the stem.

Blanch cauliflower first: In a large pot, bring water to boil and blanch the cauliflower florets for about 5-7 minutes. Drain and set them onto the paper towel to dry off the excess water.

In the same pot (empty pot), melt butter, add shallots, and bacon. Cook until bacon is fully cooked and take out the bacon halves leaving the shallots and bacon grease in the pot. Place the bacon strips on the paper towel, pat dry, dice, and set aside.

Sprinkle flour over the shallots and cook for about a minute, whisking constantly. SLOWLY, add the milk, Dijon mustard, and stock, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until thick sauce is formed.

Add shredded cheddar, shredded Swiss, and Blue cheeses, whisk until all melted and smooth.

Add salt, pepper, and cauliflower florets. Mix all well and transfer to the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, combine the bacon bits, bread crumbs, and butter. Mix very well and spread the mixture over the casserole evenly.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbly.

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Some more cauliflower recipes:

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Cauliflower Parmesan Crisps

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

Cauliflower Tortillas

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Cauliflower Cheese Casserole

This side dish is made with cauliflower, bacon, cheesy sauce mixture, and topped with a bacon bread crumb topping.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword casserole, cauliflower, sided dish

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 41 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 399 kcal

Author Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower large
• 2 tbsp butter
• 5 medium shallots peeled and minced
• 5 thick strips of bacon cut in half
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 2/3 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 4 tbs crumbled Blue Cheese
• salt
• fresh cracked pepper

Topping:

• *Bacon bits from above
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease an 8×8 casserole dish.

2. Cut cauliflower florets off of the stem. Discard the stem. Blanch cauliflower first: In a large pot, bring water to boil and blanch the cauliflower florets for about 5-7 minutes. Drain and set them onto the paper towel to dry off the excess water.

3. In the same pot (empty pot), melt butter, add shallots, and bacon. Cook until bacon is fully cooked and take out the bacon halves leaving the shallots and bacon grease in the pot. Place the bacon strips on the paper towel, pat dry, dice, and set aside.

4. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and cook for about a minute, whisking constantly. SLOWLY, add the milk, Dijon mustard and stock, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until thick sauce is formed.

5. Add shredded cheddar, shredded Swiss, and Blue cheeses, whisk until all melted and smooth.

6. Add salt, pepper, and cauliflower florets. Mix all well and transfer to the casserole dish.

7. In a small bowl, combine the bacon bits, bread crumbs, and butter. Mix very well and spread the mixture over the casserole evenly.

8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbly.

Recipe Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition Facts

Cauliflower Cheese Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 399 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 73mg24%

Sodium 533mg23%

Potassium 322mg9%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 16g32%

Vitamin A 700IU14%

Vitamin C 10.2mg12%

Calcium 378mg38%

Iron 1.1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on November 19, 2012.