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I have no doubt whatsoever that there aren’t many people in the world who LOVE cauliflower. I mean, yes we absolutely love pizza, ice cream, donuts, or dinner rolls, but cauliflower? Come on.
Well, if you’re in the club of cauliflower haters, and almost always skip it at lunch, this recipe could completely change your opinion about this veggie.
The recipe for this roasted cheesy cauliflower was created when mom gave me a 2 kg cauliflower from her garden. She was so proud and enthusiastic about it but I, on the other hand, had no clue what to do with it. Pretty bored with the idea of making a soup, I decided to make something different and not overly complicated.
I knew that cauliflower goes great with dairy products, so I decided to pair it with some cheese, milk, and cream and roast it in the oven. I didn’t feel like cooking the béchamel sauce, so I decided to cut a shortcut and use some breadcrumbs I had at home. Spiced it up a notch and it turned out so good that the recipe just had to find its way here on the blog!
Ingredients for Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
- Cauliflower – you’re going to need one large cauliflower, leaves and stem removed. So far I haven’t tried any other vegetables in this recipe, but I believe that broccoli or Romanesco broccoli could be used too.
- Milk – fresh, full fat.
- Cheese – I opted for light cheddar cheese here. There are many varieties of cheddar cheese available in the stores, so you can try some other options too.
- Sour and heavy cream – I use sour cream with 12% milk fat and unsweetened heavy cream.
- Breadcrumbs – Use the regular breadcrumbs or whole wheat breadcrumbs (these absorb more liquid so you will probably need to add more milk).
- Spices, herbs, and salt – I used a combination of dried rosemary, garlic powder, cumin, nutmeg, and black pepper. It works perfectly, please don’t skip any of them, and thank me later.
How to Make Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post. It has the exact amounts of ingredients and detailed recipe instructions!
1. STEP: Preparing the cauliflower
After you cut the cauliflower into approximately equal florets, put them into boiling water and cook until they soften a bit. Be careful not to overcook them.
2. STEP: Preparing the casserole dish
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F) and coat the casserole dish with some butter.
3. STEP: Mixing the ingredients for cheese sauce
In a bowl, mix milk, heavy, and sour cream together. Add grated cheese, spices, salt, and breadcrumbs and combine everything. The mixture will be pretty thick, but that’s ok. If it seems too thick, add a splash of milk.
4. STEP: Layering the ingredients
Arrange the cauliflower florets in one layer in the casserole dish, and pour over the cheese mixture. If you have some extra breadcrumbs and grated cheese, sprinkle some on top. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. STEP: Baking and serving
After the cheesy cauliflower is done, let it cool a little before serving, and eat while it is still warm. Dobar tek!
Tips and Tricks for the Best Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
- Don’t overcook the cauliflower florets and strain them well from water after cooking;
- If you think about using cooking cream instead of heavy cream, please, please don’t. It’s watery and just tastes bad;
- If the cheese sauce seems too thick, add a few tablespoons of milk or heavy cream;
- Spices and herbs are what take this dish to another level, don’t leave them;
- Although this dish is egg-free and meat-free, it’s very filling. That means that you can serve it as a main dish with some lovely seasonal salad but it can also be a rich side dish to a simple, good piece of meat.
If you try this or another recipe from the blog, be sure to leave a comment and/or rating on this post or tag @foodandmoodblog in your posts on Instagram. For video recipes, subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Cook with love,
Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
Equipment
- 1 ceramic casserole dish 23cm x 36cm x 6,5cm
Ingredients
- 850 g cauliflower florets 1 large cauliflower head, about 1,2 kg
- 250 g sour cream 12% milk fat
- 200 g heavy cream
- 200 ml milk full fat
- 130 g cheddar cheese grated
- 100 g bread crumbs
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp rosemary dried
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ⅓ tsp nutmeg powder
- ⅓ tsp ground black pepper
- butter only for coating the ceramic casserole dish
- more breadcrumbs + cheese for topping
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower head into equal pieces and cook in boiling water. Cook for 10-12 minutes (depending on how big the pieces of cauliflower are) and drain. Take care to not overcook the florets but they also shouldn't be too hard either.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F) and prepare the ceramic casserole dish by coating it with a thin layer of softened butter.
- In a bowl, mix milk, heavy, and sour cream together. Add grated cheese, spices, salt, and breadcrumbs and combine everything.
- Arrange the cauliflower in a casserole dish, in one layer, then pour the mixture over it.
- Sprinkle a little more breadcrumbs and cheese on top if you have any leftovers, then put it in the preheated oven. Bake for about 30 minutes.
- When the cheesy cauliflower is done, let it cool for about 10 minutes, and then serve with a seasonal salad or another dish of your choice.
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided is an estimate based on ingredients data and should be used for informational purposes only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on factors such as portion size, preparation methods and ingredients used.
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