• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Christmas ⭐️
      • Starters
      • Mains
      • Sides: Warm & Hearty
      • Sides: Light & Fresh
      • Desserts
      • Breads
      • Christmas Leftovers
    • Iconic + cult classics
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish recipes
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Salads & veg
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Candy
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
    • Cookbook recipes
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Vegetarian

Cauliflower Cheese

By:Nagi
Published:19 Apr '21Updated:16 Aug '23
224 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Cauliflower Cheese is a British dish that is served as a side or even as a main (vegetarian!) It’s a cauliflower bake, smothered in a creamy cheese sauce that’s popped in the oven until bubbly and golden. While perhaps not the lightest dish in my repertoire, it is however hands down the most delicious cauliflower recipe I know!

Cauliflower Cheese in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven ready to be served

Cauliflower Cheese

A really great Cauliflower Cheese recipe has been on my radar ever since I experienced a great example at a well-known steakhouse in Sydney some years ago!

There’s plenty of recipes out there that tell you to just boil up some cauliflower, cover it in a béchamel sauce, throw in some cheese, and bake it. While that’s totally fine, you do end up with that distinctly sulphurous, boiled cauliflower flavour (not my favourite taste in the world) and run the risk of patches of watery sauce.

The better way to make Cauliflower Cheese? Roast the cauliflower. It’s got better flavour and avoids the pitfalls of a watery sauce. Second tip: Umm … don’t hold back on the cheese! Be bold and true to the name – Cauliflower CHEESE!!

Cauliflower Cheese in a bowl, ready to be eaten
Don’t just think of Cauliflower Cheese as a side. That bowl pictured above was my lunch!

What goes in Cauliflower Cheese

Here’s what you need to make Cauliflower Cheese:

1. Roasted cauliflower

As mentioned above, I really believe it’s better to roast rather than boil or steam the cauliflower like most recipes do. Roasting coaxes out more flavour instead of boiling it all away!

To roast cauliflower, we just need salt, pepper and a little olive oil. And a cauliflower. 😂 A big one! We need 1kg / 2lb of florets after removing from the main stem. This equates to around a 1.25kg / 2.5lb whole cauliflower head (or 2 small, or 1 1/2 medium).

Ingredients in Cauliflower Cheese

2. Cheese sauce for Cauliflower Cheese

Here’s what you need for the cheese sauce. This is called a Mornay sauce, and is nothing more than béchamel sauce (white sauce) with cheese added!

Ingredients in Cauliflower Cheese
  • Flour and butter – Melted butter cooked with flour is called a roux and this is what thickens the Mornay sauce;

  • Milk and cream – The liquids for this cheese sauce. Cream is optional. It enriches the sauce for an extra-luxurious finish and I highly recommend it if you’re making this for company. But for everyday purposes, just using milk is fine!

  • Cheeses – I like to use two different cheeses in the recipe. Specifically:

    • Red Leicester – A sharp English cheddar-like cheese which packs a good flavour wallop, and adds a distinct orange-y tinge to the sauce. Easy sub for US: Your orange cheddar. It has the same colour and similar flavour. Other subs: Any cheddar cheese;

    • Gruyère – A semi-hard Swiss cheese with the most gorgeously nutty flavour and superior melting qualities. It is not the cheapest cheese here in Australia, so reserve this for when you want the best of the best. For other times, use Swiss cheese (which is a mass-produced cheese in the style of gruyère and similar Alpine cheeses), Jarlsberg, more cheddar, Colby or other melting cheese of choice;

  • Nutmeg – A classic inclusion for béchamel-based sauces, which lifts the creamy flavour. But it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have it! Use freshly grated nutmeg if you can. Whole nutmeg for grating are inexpensive and last “forever”, and the flavour really is so much better!

🇦🇺 PRO CHEESE TIP for fellow Australians: Give Tasty cheese a miss for cream sauces like that for Cauliflower Cheese. It has a tendency to split and the melting qualities are not always the best.


How to make Cauliflower Cheese

Here’s how to make Cauliflower Cheese:

How to make Cauliflower Cheese
  1. Prepare to roast – Break/cut cauliflower into bite-size florets. Toss in oil, salt and pepper then spread on a large tray. Don’t make them too small otherwise they will cook too quickly and become overly soft which can lead to a watery sauce (overcooked cauliflower leaches water);

  2. Roast for just 20 minutes at 220°C / 430°F (200°C). The cauliflower will be mostly cooked but still be a bit firm inside and will have a bit of colour on it. It will finish cooking in the sauce;

  3. Heat milk and cream using your method of choice, either in a saucepan or a jug in the microwave. Heating the milk helps to ensure the sauce is silky smooth with less whisking effort;

  4. Make sauce – Using a large saucepan or small pot (big enough to hold the cauliflower added later), cook melted butter and flour for 3 minutes over medium-low heat. This step is to cook out the rawness from the flour.

    Make sure it’s on a low heat so the mixture doesn’t brown. We want a white sauce! Now slowly pour the hot milk in while whisking continuously to ensure your sauce will be lump-free. Keep stirring the sauce over the heat for about 1 minute and you’ll notice it thickens quite quickly;

  5. Add cheese – Stir in the cheese. This thickens the sauce considerably, which is why we don’t need to cook the sauce to thicken it as long as we do in other recipes made with béchamel sauce;

  6. Coat cauliflower – Add cauliflower and mix to coat in the cheesy sauce;

  7. Transfer to baking dish – Pour the mixture in a baking dish and top with shredded cheese; and

  8. Bake 30 minutes until it’s bubbly, golden and fabulous. That moment when you pull it out of the oven … *faints*!!!

.

Dish of freshly baked Cauliflower Cheese

Isn’t the golden colour of the sauce amazing?? That’s the Red Leicester at work. It’s worth hunting down for this dish! As I mentioned above, those of you in the States can just use your everyday cheddar for the same colour effect and very similar flavour. 🙂

Close up of Cauliflower Cheese

What to serve with Cauliflower Cheese

This is a cauliflower side dish that’s unapologetically indulgent, intended to replicate the luxury you’d expect from sides offered at high end steakhouses or a particularly lavish Sunday roast.

So with that in mind, some mains that come to mind that will go exceptionally well with this include:

  • Steaks – Cooked using a cheffy technique of basting the steak with garlic and thyme-infused butter;

  • Prime Rib – the creme de la creme of all beef roasts! Got an economical or lean roast beef joint instead? Marinate it!

  • Roast Chicken – Slathered in herb and garlic butter. Else try a brined one, use your slow cooker, or make Crispy Herb Roasted Chicken pieces instead;

  • Roast Pork – With a crispy crackling to die for!

  • Roast Lamb – Either a leg, Slow-roasted Lamb Shoulder, or Lamb Rack (crumbed or rosemary and garlic-marinated).

Beef Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib) medium rare with slice cut, showing the inside
Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)
Close up of spoon drizzling browned garlic thyme butter sauce over steak
How to Cook Steak – like a chef!
Overhead photo of golden Roast Chicken with crispy skin, fresh out of the oven, bathed in garlic-herb-lemon butter.
Roast Chicken
Overhead photo of Grilled chops on a plate with potato rosti and salad, made using amade using a great Pork Chop Marinade
A Great Pork Chop Marinade
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder in a baking pan, fresh out of the one
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
Close up of Pork Roast with Crispy Crackling
Pork Roast with Crispy Crackling
Pouring gravy over roast chicken
CRISPY Herb Baked Chicken with Gravy (easy roast chicken!)
Slow Roasted Pork with Crispy Crackling
Roasts

Or for something a little speedier, try:

  • Juicy pan-seared marinated Pork Chops;

  • Quick, crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs;

  • Crispy Pan-fried Fish Fillets;

  • Garlic Prawns/Shrimp <–- YES!!

  • Lamb Chops with Rosemary Gravy;

And as I mentioned in the introduction, while most people think of this as a side dish, it’s certainly also main-worthy. Vegetarians in particular have good reason to go bonkers. But no one at all in their right mind would ever turn down a big bowl of this!! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Cauliflower Cheese

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr
Side
British, Western
4.99 from 70 votes
Servings5 – 6 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Most people think of this British classic as a side dish, but as far as I'm concerned, it's equally worthy as a main!
Most recipes will have you just boil the cauliflower, but it's honestly so much tastier roasted. As for the cheese? I've gone with my favourite combination of Red Leicester and gruyere! Excellent melting qualities for a silky smooth sauce with a gorgeous golden colour and wonderful flavour. But any melting cheese will work a treat here. See the post for details!

Ingredients

Roasted cauliflower:

  • 1kg / 2 lb cauliflower florets (1 very large, 1 1/2 medium or 2 small cauliflower heads, Note 1)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Cheese sauce (Mornay sauce):

  • 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3½ tbsp flour , plain / all-purpose
  • 1 cup milk (full fat best)
  • 1 cup cream (or more milk)
  • 1/2 tsp cooking salt (kosher salt)
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (freshly grated is best)
  • 1 cup Red Leicester cheese (or cheddar), grated (Note 2)
  • 1/2 cup gruyère cheese , grated (or other melting cheese of choice, Note 2)

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup Red Leicester cheese (or cheddar), grated (Note 2)
  • 1/2 cup gruyère cheese , grated (or other melting cheese of choice, Note 2)

Instructions

Roasted cauliflower:

  • Preheat oven to 220°C / 430°F (200°C fan).
  • Toss cauliflower in oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a large tray.
  • Roast 20 minutes (don't turn). Cauliflower should still be a bit firm, but with some colour on them. Remove from oven.
  • Turn oven down to 180°C/350°F.

Cheese sauce (Mornay sauce):

  • Heat milk: Heat milk and cream until hot – either on the stove or in microwave.
  • Make roux: Melt butter in a large saucepan or small pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring regularly, for 3 minutes.
  • Add milk: While stirring, pour in half the milk. Once the roux is dissolved into the milk (mixture will thicken), stir in remaining milk. Stir on the heat for 1 minute – mixture should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon.
  • Add cheese: Turn the stove off, but leave the pot on the turned off stove. Stir in salt, nutmeg and both cheeses. The cheese will thicken the mixture so it's like a thick sauce.
  • Mix in cauliflower: Add cauliflower and toss to coat in the sauce.

Bake:

  • Fill baking dish: Transfer mixture to a 2L / 2qt baking dish (30 x 20 x 5cm / 12 x 8 x 2").
  • Top with cheese: Sprinkle over gruyère followed Red Leicester cheese.
  • Bake at 180°C/350°F for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted, and cauliflower is bubbly and golden.
  • Serve: Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Stand 5 minutes then serve!

Recipe Notes:

1. Cauliflower – You’ll need a large one ~ 1.25kg / 1.5lb to get 1 kg / 2lb florets. Pro tip: See here for how I cut cauliflower into florets with minimal mess.
2. Cheese – It’s always best to grate your own rather than buying pre-shredded stuff, which contains anti-caking agents that can make sauces powdery. If using cups instead of weight measures, grate then pack the cheese tightly into the cup to measure.
  • Red Leicester – An orange coloured, sharp English cheddar-like cheese. Used for its excellent flavour and colour. US: Sub with your cheddar, it’s virtually the same. Others: Sub Swiss cheese (which is mass-produced gruyère-like cheese), Jarslberg, Colby, cheddar, or any other cheese. (For Australia, I do not recommend Tasty cheese, it doesn’t melt so well in this type of sauce);
  • Gruyère –  A type of Swiss cheese with a gorgeous nutty flavour and superior melting qualities. Sub with any of the above listed, or other type of Alpine cheese (emmental, comte).
3. Storage – Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Freezer not recommended.
Make ahead: Cool cauliflower fully then toss in sauce. Store in a container. When ready to cook, heat mixture slightly so you can toss the cauliflower in the sauce. Transfer to baking dish, top with cheese, bake per recipe.
4. Nutrition per serving. This recipe as written is unapologetically indulgent, replicating the luxury you’d get at high end steakhouses with the cream and best cheeses for this dish. If you switch the cream for more milk, it decreases to 460 calories per serving. And you’ll cut 40 calories per serving for every ½ cup / 50g of cheese you cut out of the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 604cal (30%)Carbohydrates: 19g (6%)Protein: 20g (40%)Fat: 52g (80%)Saturated Fat: 30g (188%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mg (49%)Sodium: 876mg (38%)Potassium: 758mg (22%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 1580IU (32%)Vitamin C: 97mg (118%)Calcium: 495mg (50%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: cauliflower bake, cauliflower cheese, cauliflower gratin
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

More baked and roasted vegetable goodness!

Roast Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts on a plate, freshly made
Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts
Close up of stack of parmesan baked zucchini
Quick & Easy Baked Zucchini
Close up overhead photo of Magic Broccoli - the best roasted broccoli ever, fresh out of the oven
Magic Broccoli
Close up of Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Tray of Roasted Carrots
Great Roasted Carrots
Baked Mushroom Rice - buttery, garlicky, golden brown juicy mushrooms and fluffy rice, all baked in one pan! recipetineats.com
Baked Mushroom Rice
Close up of Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower on a sheet pan, fresh out of the oven
Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower
Close up of Oven Roasted Eggplant with caramelised edges
Oven Roasted Eggplant (aubergine)
Close up of spoon serving Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole
Browned Butter Savoury Sweet Potato Casserole
Crudités Vegetables Platter with Hummus recipetineats.com
All Vegetable & Salad Sides

Life of Dozer

Action shot of Dozer captured by Kevin from Unleashed Northern Beaches Dog Photography at Bayview beach on the weekend!

Dozer running Bayview - photo by Unleased Northern Beaches
Previous Post
Baked Ratatouille With Beans
Next Post
Whole Baked Fish – Snapper with Garlic & Dill Butter Sauce

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Spicy Asian Zucchini

Roasted sweet potato steaks on a plate with whipped tahini yogurt sauce

Sweet potato steaks

Pot of Sweet potato soup ready to serve

Sweet Potato Soup – simple but great!

More Vegetarian

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




224 Comments

  1. Linda says

    November 24, 2023 at 12:08 pm

    4 stars
    Made this today for Thanksgiving. The roasted cauliflower was amazing and the sauce would have been good but it didn’t end up thick at all after baking and seemed to be a bit oily and was way over the top too salty. I can’t imagine why as it only has 1 tsp salt total which isn’t much. I used hand grated Swiss and store bought shredded sharp cheddar. I wonder if the cheddar might have added the extra. Being in the US about the only way to get Red Leicester is online but I may try that along with gruyere another time.

    Reply
  2. Diana says

    September 4, 2023 at 2:26 pm

    I’m confused in the make ahead instructions, it says to cool the cauli, toss sauce, then heat the sauce when ready to bake so you can stir in the cauli..but the cauli is already in the sauce

    Reply
    • Paula says

      October 23, 2023 at 8:04 am

      5 stars
      I toss mine in the sauce and then refrigerate. Heat all of it up when ready to cook so I can toss it again in the cheese sauce that has settled in the bottom of the container. Just love this recipe!

      Reply
  3. Tracie says

    September 4, 2023 at 6:54 am

    5 stars
    Every time I make this my family can’t get enough! Tastes so good!

    Reply
  4. Gail Eagen says

    August 30, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    We loved this recipe. We added panko in melted butter on top. We did half the recipe since there are just the two of us. Great heated up as leftovers. We will make again!

    Reply
  5. Gail says

    August 28, 2023 at 9:37 am

    5 stars
    This was excellent. Made half the recipe because there are just the two of us. I put panko crumbs in melted butter on top. So glad we have leftovers for tomorrow night! Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Elise says

    June 24, 2023 at 3:19 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe. I pair it with sausages and peas, my toddler absolutely demolishes it!

    Reply
  7. Chels says

    June 17, 2023 at 8:51 pm

    5 stars
    What a dangerous cauli recipe! I made a little 2 person pan and am trying not to go back and eat the rest. I used what I had, tasty cheese and a ball of moz. Definitely adding to the sides rotation. Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  8. Chris says

    May 11, 2023 at 7:07 pm

    I used to think I made a pretty good cauliflower cheese – just steam some cauliflower, make a white sauce, stir through some grated cheddar and a spoonful of mustard, put the cauliflower in a dish, pour over the sauce, top it off with grated cheddar and put it in the oven. This recipe just shows how wrong I was! This is my cauliflower cheese from now on!

    Reply
  9. Christy says

    April 20, 2023 at 10:29 am

    5 stars
    Really delicious! Made it as written the first time and it’s a delight! Tonight, I steeped fresh thyme and a bay leaf in the milk and cream for 15 min., then sautéed a couple of leeks-absolute heaven!

    Reply
  10. Adi says

    April 7, 2023 at 7:50 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this and it was SO good!
    And I don’t usually like cauliflower!
    I added some chopped up salami and *chef’s kiss*

    Reply
  11. Bonnie says

    March 27, 2023 at 11:35 am

    5 stars
    This was awesome. I am making it agin for Easter. I used Costco Balderson Cheddar and Swiss . It proved to be a great taste combo. I will only roast the cauliflower for 10 min next time.🇨🇦. Nagi your recipes always work. Your Book is finally available March 28, here in Canada. I preordered and it said it will arrive March 28. 💥 Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. I have 8 grandchildren and I make your recipes with confidence. We love them all.

    Reply
  12. Danielle Steed says

    March 17, 2023 at 9:07 am

    5 stars
    Nutmeg was an excellent idea! Will make it again ❤️

    Reply
  13. scott Bolton says

    March 6, 2023 at 7:55 am

    5 stars
    Just WOW

    Reply
  14. Jane says

    February 17, 2023 at 5:25 pm

    5 stars
    Beautiful recipe

    Reply
  15. Phill says

    December 26, 2022 at 10:40 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for sharing! I made this for Christmas Day yesterday, it was delicious and everyone commented. I made it the night before in full and it came out really well. I struggled making the roux, new to me, it kept cooking/becoming solid when I added the milk. I nearly got it by the third attempt and added more milk/cream to thin it out and it was still great. Not sure what I was doing wrong.

    Reply
  16. Kate says

    December 25, 2022 at 11:58 pm

    5 stars
    Just cooked this for Christmas dinner & received multiple compliments
    Thank u Nagi ‘n

    Reply
  17. Elisa James says

    December 25, 2022 at 9:51 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for Christmas Day and it was everyone’s highlight of the day.

    Reply
  18. Suzi Lloyd says

    December 24, 2022 at 5:38 pm

    5 stars
    Just going to pop a cheeky 5 stars on all the recipes of yours I have used this Christmas! Thanks again Nagi you are a Wonder Woman and this website is my happy place.

    Reply
  19. Ann J says

    December 6, 2022 at 5:31 am

    5 stars
    I have been making cauliflower cheese for years and thought my recipe was pretty good but Nagi, yours is better. Roasting the cauliflower first makes all the difference. I added some breadcrumbs to the cheese in the final bake which makes a lovely crunchy topping to make it even more naughty. Delicious x

    Reply
  20. Jonathan Bryans says

    November 27, 2022 at 12:14 am

    5 stars
    This one rocks!!! I used Egyptian full fat Labneh instead of cream & stirred it in after the sauce thickened and the cheese melted….after baking it to a bubbling crispy lovliness….it was a taste from heaven!! Thanks.

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On
  • Goodfood
  • Food Network
  • Better Homes Gardens
  • Taste
  • Nine
  • Network 10
  • BuzzFeed
  • Daily Telegraph
  • Women's Day

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe to my newsletter and receive 3 FREE ebooks!

Subscribe
Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • By Category
  • Collections
About
  • About Nagi
  • About Dozer
  • RecipeTin Meals
Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Central
Help
  • Contact
  • Image Use Policy
© RecipeTin Eats 2023
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits
Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
All Rights Reserved

Subscribe to my newsletter

Sign up and receive 3 FREE EBOOKS!