You'll never miss the "mac" in this delicious mac and cheese dish made with cauliflower instead of pasta. Cheesy, buttery, ooey, gooey, and comforting, this recipe is a great way to get a serving of veggies in without sacrificing flavor.
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 45 minutesminutes
Servings:6servings
Ingredients
6-8 cupscauliflower, chopped into 1-inch pieces (I used 1 1/2 heads of cauliflower)
2tablespoonsbutter
3tablespoonsflour
2cupswhole milk
1 ½teaspoonssalt
¼teaspooncracked black pepper
½teaspoongarlic powder
2cupsshredded sharp cheddar cheese, 8 ounces, see note
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 1 inch of water. Add cauliflower to the bowl and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Drain and set cauliflower aside.
In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
Stir in flour for about 3 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until completely incorporated and mixture is thick and smooth.
Remove from heat, salt, pepper, stir in garlic powder, and shredded cheese until melted and completely incorporated and smooth.
Stir in cauliflower. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
BAKE for 25 minutes until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown. Switch to BROIL for 2-4 minutes to brown the top a bit more.
Dish will be hot! Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
For the cheese: DO NOT use pre-shredded cheese! I know it's tempting for the sake of convenience but please shred the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has a special coating to keep it from all clumping together in the package and this coating keeps it from melting properly in the sauce, it will end up grainy.
You can swap out some or all of the cheese for another kind. I have made this with white cheddar cheese and it is delicious. Try half white cheddar, half pepper jack for a bit of a kick!