Who can resist cauliflower covered in a cheese sauce? This Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin has cauliflower covered in a creamy cheese sauce then sprinkled with breadcrumbs and baked for a veggie side dish everyone will love.
For more cauliflower recipes, try this Broccoli Cauliflower Salad or this Cauliflower Soup with Ham and Cheese.
Originally posted November 3, 2007 – I have a lot of really great recipes that are often overshadowed by a really awful photo. This was one of those recipes. The original photo was so unappetizing, and I knew that this post needed to be brought back to life. I updated the photos a few months ago, but was thinking that this Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin would make a great Easter side dish, so I decided to spotlight it today. This is such a delicious side dish – I’m so glad you can all see that now and that the original photo has been banished! 😉
I rarely make side dishes. I know, I am probably a bad menu planner/cook because of this, but it seems like when we eat dinner, we really are never hungry enough for the main dish plus side dishes. This kind of strikes me as weird, because as I type that, I realize that whenever we go out, we almost always get an appetizer. Maybe that is why we always bring home so much in a to-go container!!
I have been trying to branch out a bit and try different side dishes – sometimes it is nice to have more than 1 thing on your plate!
On this particular night, we hadn’t planned for dinner, so upon digging through the freezer, we found some chicken thighs and some sausages that my husband could cook on the grill. I used this opportunity to make a side dish.
I remembered a cauliflower dish that I saw on Leslie’s blog, so I decided to do it. The recipe originally comes from Epicurious. It is a cauliflower gratin that has a horseradish crumb on top. Well, I didn’t have the horseradish, so I decided to do what Leslie did and I substituted the horseradish crumbs with seasoned bread crumbs. Leslie’s looks a lot prettier because she served hers in individual ramekins, but it still tasted very good even though it didn’t look as good!!
It made me realize that most side dishes can be thrown together with minimal effort, and they really do compliment the meal. I’m going to try to make more of an effort now to put a complete dinner on the table!!
More Side Dish Recipes
Glazed Carrots
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Scalloped Corn and Broccoli
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Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 lb cauliflower cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch florets
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 6 oz Sharp Cheddar grated
- 1/2 cup finely chopped scallion greens
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons seasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then salt generously. Add the cauliflower and boil until tender, 6-8 minutes. Drain well, then transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour to the butter and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese, scallion greens, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and stir gently to combine.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the top and bake until the topping is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Theresa says
I’m not a big fan of cauliflower but I’ve made this twice and love it!
Kim says
This is one of my fav recipes and I make it for Thanksgiving. Sometimes though it can get watery after cooking, do you have any suggestions on how to avoid that?
Deborah says
I will have to make this again to retest, but I would suggest really letting the cauliflower drain well before adding the cheese sauce. Maybe even letting it sit in a colander for 30-45 minutes will help any excess water to drain off.
April says
I made this but substituted Greek yogurt for milk and garlic for scallions. I also used reduced fat cheese blend from Trader Joe’s in place of whole fat cheddar. It was delicious! My 9 year old even gobbled it down.
Kristi says
My sister in law asked me to make a veggie casserole for Easter dinner but wanted something ‘different’. (No pressure there, haha!) I found this recipe and thought it looked good and different from the green bean casserole but not ‘way out there’ different. And it fit the bill perfectly! Everyone really liked it. My sister in law said it was really good and even asked me how I made it. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Hugo A L Rohland says
Hi Deborah. Always looking to prepare Cauliflower differently, and this look yummy. Have a great and blessed Thanksgiving this season.
Deborah says
Thanks, Hugo – Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!
Brittany says
I cannot wait to try this! I see that 2 Tbsp. of butter are used to make the cheese sauce, but where do the other 2 Tbsp. of butter get added in? Thanks for any help!
Deborah says
Thanks for catching that! It should have just been the 2 tablespoons of butter. I have updated the recipe.
sylvie says
Cauliflower gratin is just irresistible! I always add some powdered nutmeg to give it a particular flavor.
Renee says
This looks amazing! Yumming it for later.
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
This sounds awesome! I made a cauliflower gratin before and it was a total flop so I can’t wait to try this one!