Description
Baked cauliflower mac and cheese is a comfort food casserole that’s gluten free and low carb, with a vegan recipe option. Perfect holiday side dish!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
*See notes for vegan ingredient substitutions
- 800g (2 small heads) raw cauliflower, cut into florets (3 cups florets)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the pan
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter or vegan butter
- 6 oz (1/2 cup) cream cheese *
- 1/ 2 cup cream + 1/3 cup non dairy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup salsa (optional)
- 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese *
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese *
- 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Toss the raw cauliflower florets in oil, garlic powder, and pepper. Bake on a sheet pan for 15 minutes. Once baked, cut each floret into smaller pieces, about the size of a quarter. Set aside.
- In a large pot, bring the cream and milk to a soft boil. Then, whisk in the butter and cream cheese together and reduce to medium heat. Add the cheddar and stir until combined. Stir in the paprika and optional tomato sauce or salsa. Stir until combined.
- Next, add the cauliflower to the cheese roux and mix evenly with cheese sauce on medium heat, about 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the grated parmesan and almond flour.
Add 1/2 of the parmesan and almond flour mixture (reserve other half for topping), and salt/pepper to the pot with the cheese and cauliflower. Mix again. Feel free to add in any cooked veggies or raw spinach or kale here. - Spoon into an 8×11 inch casserole dish, then top with remaining almond flour and parmesan mixture. If you’re using a large oven-safe skillet to coat the cauliflower, you can bake in the same pan.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden and batter is cooked through. To create a crispy topping, place the pan under a broiler for the final minute.
- Remove pan from oven and allow the dish to cool for 5 minutes, then serve with topping of choice.
Notes
1:1 Vegan ingredient substitutions
- Soy free vegan butter to substitute unsalted butter
- Hummus or non dairy cream cheese to substitute the cream cheese
- Coconut cream or unsweetened non dairy creamer to substitute heavy cream
- Shredded vegan cheese to substitute shredded cheddar
- Nutritional yeast flakes to substitute parmesan cheese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: sides
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 342
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 660.9 mg
- Fat: 24.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.5 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 16.5 g
- Cholesterol: 69.5 mg
