Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

If you’re looking for an easy casserole that’s hearty, healthy and versatile, you’ll love this easy cauliflower mac and cheese recipe. Ready in just 35 minutes, it’s perfect for a busy weeknight dinner for the whole family. Simply roast some fresh cauliflower, then make a cream sauce with cheddar cheese, mozzarella and cream cheese. It’s also a keto-friendly option that’s light on carbs and packed with nutrients. If you want to bulk it up a bit more, you can easily add more vegetables or meat like cooked ground turkey.

This cauliflower mac and cheese recipe gets baked in the oven until it’s golden and crispy, and it pairs beautifully with barbecued meats or an entree like roast chicken or pot roast.

Ingredients for Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

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• Cauliflower: Versatile and mildly flavored, cauliflower is the perfect vegetable to incorporate into mac and cheese. It easily soaks up the rich and decadent flavors of the cheese, so you hardly even know you’re eating vegetables!
• Butter: To make this recipe extra versatile, we roast the cauliflower with some salty butter before tossing it with the other ingredients. Butter helps brown the cauliflower and infuses it with a deep, rich flavor.
• Cream cheese: Everybody loves thick, decadent macaroni and cheese, and cream cheese is our secret to making this version extra luxurious. It melts easily with butter and becomes the base for a thick and creamy cheese sauce.
• Cheddar cheese: Tangy, savory and packed with umami, cheddar cheese is an essential element of any macaroni and cheese recipe. Shredding the cheese in advance helps it melt more consistently and evenly into the cheese sauce.
• Mozzarella cheese: While cheddar cheese offers bold, tangy flavor, mozzarella helps balance it out with its mild and milky touch.
• Milk: Cream cheese is great for thickening the cheese sauce, but milk is great for thinning it out. Adding a bit of 2% milk to this cream sauce helps ensure that it’s the perfect consistency and it coats each piece of cauliflower without getting clumpy or dense.

Directions

Step 1: Roast the cauliflower

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Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the cauliflower on a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, and drizzle it over the cauliflower. Add the oil, and toss to coat. Roast until lightly browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Step 2: Make the cheese sauce

Alejandro Monfort for Taste of Home

In a large saucepan, melt the cream cheese and the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add 2 cups cheddar, 1 cup mozzarella and the milk. Cook and stir until the sauce begins to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Gently fold in the cauliflower. Transfer to a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1-1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Step 3: Bake until bubbly

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Bake, uncovered, until the dish is bubbly and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Alejandro Monfort for Taste of Home

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Variations

• Incorporate a smoky cheese: This cauliflower mac and cheese recipe is fairly standard, but you can easily step it up with a fun and funky cheese. Smoked Gouda is a fantastic way to add deeper flavor to any macaroni and cheese recipe like this one.
• Add a crunchy topping: One of the best parts of any baked macaroni and cheese recipe is the crunchy topping. If you want to make this easy cauliflower mac and cheese even crunchier, try topping it with some bread crumbs before placing the dish in the oven.

How to Store Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Cauliflower macaroni and cheese can easily be stored in the refrigerator. Once the dish has cooled, transfer it to a refrigerator-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator for three to four days. If the dish you baked it in is refrigerator-safe, you can also cover it with plastic wrap and place the covered dish directly in the refrigerator.

Can you make cauliflower mac and cheese in advance?

You can absolutely make this easy cauliflower mac and cheese recipe in advance. In fact, it’s a great dish to prepare the night before a party or big family dinner. Simply prepare the dish as instructed in the recipe, but instead of popping it in the oven, cover it and place it in the refrigerator instead. Bake it before you’re ready to serve.

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Tips

Can you add more vegetables to this cauliflower mac and cheese recipe?

You can definitely add more vegetables to this easy casserole recipe. Bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini are all great options. In fact, you can cut up the vegetables and lay them on the sheet tray to roast along with the cauliflower, then toss them with the rest of the ingredients as outlined in the recipe.

Can you use frozen cauliflower to make cauliflower mac and cheese?

If you don’t have access to fresh cauliflower, frozen cauliflower is a great alternative. However, frozen cauliflower holds a lot more moisture than the fresh stuff. If you decide to use frozen cauliflower, you can skip Step 1. Simply let the frozen cauliflower thaw at room temperature before incorporating it into the rest of the recipe.

How can you prevent cauliflower mac and cheese from getting watery?

Vegetables have natural water content, so making sure to cook that water out first is a great way to prevent this dish from getting too watery. As outlined in Step 1, make sure to roast the cauliflower until it’s golden and slightly crispy. Roasting the cauliflower ahead of time helps some of the moisture cook out, so the resulting mac and cheese will be thick, creamy and cheesy—rather than watery and soggy.