Incredible Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
This recipe for Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is like a mashup between cauliflower au gratin and the best mac n cheese. It's a gooey and cheesy macaroni and cheese with a buttery, crunchy top, but also has an entire head of cauliflower inside! This vegetarian cauliflower bake is a major crowd pleaser that can feed up to 12 people so it's great for entertaining!
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I wouldn't exactly call my Cauliflower Mac and Cheese healthy or low cal, but it's a few steps better than the traditional version because it replaces half of the pasta with cauliflower. If you're looking for a 100% cauliflower recipe, check out my Cauliflower Gratin instead!
Why this recipe works
- Replaces HALF of the pasta with low carb cauliflower but you can barely even tell.
- Extra saucy, insanely cheesy and has a buttery, crunchy breadcrumb topping.
- Can be made up to 48 hours in advance.
- Feeds a crowd with 12 servings and only ½ lb of pasta!
- Adapted from Martha Stewart's iconic Macaroni and Cheese.
Essential Ingredients
- Pasta or Macaroni - You can opt for a traditional shape like elbow macaroni or pasta shells. I love Cavatappi for cauliflower Mac n cheese, but there are many other shapes that would work well. Just stick to a short shape and avoid long pastas like linguini or fettuccini.
- Cheese - You'll need plenty of good sharp cheddar (white or yellow), aged Gruyere and Pecorino Romano for this recipe. It's important to make sure that each cheese is good quality and fresh. If Gruyere is hard to find or out of your price range, use Emmental, Jarlsberg or good quality Swiss cheese.
- Cauliflower - This recipe calls for using a whole head of fresh cauliflower, but frozen cauliflower can be used as well. Substitute about 2 lbs or 5 heaping cups of frozen cauliflower florets.
- Milk - Use only whole milk only here. For best results, don't use low fat milk or non dairy milk.
Step by step instructions
Make the Topping
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and stir around for about 30 seconds, then add the breadcrumbs and continuously stir and toss around until evenly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
- Once cool, stir in the pecorino Romano and parsley and set aside.
For the Mac and Cheese
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 9x13 inch (3 quart) casserole dish.
- Fill a large pasta pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Heat the milk either in the microwave or on the stove.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the flour and stir for about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the hot milk while vigorously whisking. Continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and all but 2 cups of cheese (a mixture of all 3).
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for exactly 6 minutes (set a timer).
- Add the cauliflower to the boiling water with the pasta, stir, and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and cauliflower well, then combine with the cheese sauce and pour it into the prepared casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of cheese, then scatter the breadcrumbs on top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling on top. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips for success
- Read the recipe all the way through and prep all ingredients before starting.
- Make sure the milk is hot before adding it to the roux or it will cause the sauce to be lumpy.
Faq
Yes! Cauliflower Mac and Cheese can be made up to 2 days. Prepare but don't bake, then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Bring to room temperature for at least 30 minute before baking. Baking in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top.
This is a rich dish, so I suggest serving it as an entree with a simple green salad on the side. It can also be part of a larger buffet or be served as a side dish.
Sure, but I highly recommend grating the cheese yourself from a block for best results. For one, block cheeses tend to be of higher quality, but pre grated cheeses are packaged with anti caking agents, starches and other additives, which prevent it from melting as well and can give the Mac and cheese an off flavor or texture.
Yes, just use 2 ½ heads instead of 1. You will need extra cauliflower to make up for the pasta's expansion. You can also try my Cauliflower Gratin recipe for something a little bit lighter.
Related Recipes
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Incredible Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic grated or finely minced
- ½ cup finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh parsley
For the Mac and Cheese
- 5 ½ cups milk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for buttering the dish
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more for pasta water
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 16 ounces grated extra sharp cheddar about 4 cups
- 8 ounces grated Gruyere about 2 cups
- 2 ounces grated pecorino Romano about ½ cup
- ½ pound short-shaped pasta like shells elbow macaroni or cavatappi
- 1 medium-large head cauliflower cut into florets*
Instructions
Make the Topping
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and stir around for about 30 seconds, then add the breadcrumbs and continuously stir and toss around until evenly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
- Once cool, stir in the pecorino Romano and parsley and set aside.
For the Mac and Cheese
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 9x13 inch (3 quart) casserole dish.
- Fill a large pasta pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Heat the milk either in the microwave or on the stove.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the flour and stir for about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the hot milk while vigorously whisking. Continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and all but 2 cups of cheese (a mixture of all 3).
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for exactly 6 minutes (set a timer).
- Add the cauliflower to the boiling water with the pasta, stir, and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and cauliflower well, then combine with the cheese sauce and pour it into the prepared casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of cheese, then scatter the breadcrumbs on top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling on top. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- *Substitute about 2 lbs or 5 heaping cups of frozen cauliflower florets.
- Read the recipe all the way through and prep all ingredients before starting.
- Make sure the milk is hot before adding it to the roux or it will cause the sauce to be lumpy.
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese can be made up to 2 days in advance. Prepare but don't bake, then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Bring to room temperature for at least 30 minute before baking. Baking in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top.
This recipe was absolutely fantastic! My husband likes this even better than regular homemade mac & cheese. For calories sake I used 1% milk and not as much milk, less cheese and no elbow macaroni and it was perfect. I imagine could be even better if I followed the recipe exactly:)
I'm so glad you love the recipe! Thanks for rating and reviewing!
OMG SO GOOD!!!! I got so many compliments and people kept asking me for the recipe. This ones a keeper!
SO glad to hear that!!
I've been making this the past few years for Thanksgiving and its a perfect side / good for vegetarians and people who don't like turkey. Takes a bit of work but its worth it
So glad to hear that Trish!
Slammin’
Thanks Jaimee!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I made an addition of bacon and peas which had my daughter and husband asking for seconds!
Yum!! That sounds great! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, it's a family favorite for sure!
One of my favorite dishes to bring to a holiday party or pot luck. It’s always a hit with any group.
Thank you Mary Alice,I LOVE your blog and can't wait to go back for more inspiration. As you can see, I'm just getitng started with decorating our weekend home and have a long way to go see you soonEmily
I knew Coley would never go for some vegan/gluten-free "mac 'n cheez"! Healthier, but still lots of good cheese and crispy breadcrumbs! mmm. I love cauliflower and it has been a while, so I will be eating this soon.
Haha, totally! This is more like a mac n' cheese / cauliflower au gratin hybrid. It's SO good!
This looks delicious, Emily. Definitely going to give it a try. I made a roaestd broccoli dish for the first time at Christmas and it was a huge hit.Thanks for stopping by. I'm delighted to be a new follower.Mary Alice
OH.... MY!!! I LOVE that you cut down the pasta with cauliflower. I think I may to sneak out of work this afternoon to get some cauliflower and Gruyere... I don't think I can wait until tomorrow to make this! Thanks, Coley... for another WINNER!!
I know you'll love this one!! 🙂
I just made this for my chosen sister's annual Christmas party... I can't tell you how many compliments I got from this dish (I didn't change a thing - SO unlike me!). The only thing I did (or didn't) do was accidentally NOT spread the extra 2 cups of cheese on top before putting the bread crumbs on (my bad). I totally spaced about the extra cheeses that I had on the side (was making Steak on a Stick at the same time and my kitchen was a little crazy at the moment. I put the cheese on top of the bread crumbs so when it started to cool out of the oven, the top got hard... but people loved that, too! Who was I to tell them otherwise?! I told them to go to your site to get other wonderful recipes, too, Coley. Wonderful dish... even if you mess it up!
Yay! This makes me SO happy to hear. I love when my recipes are big hits! As for the cheese debacle - I can't tell you how many times I forget to put 2 cups of cheese aside for the top and mix it all in with the sauce - it still comes out fantastic. This particular time, I did exactly what you did kept two cups to the side, but then forgot to put it on top before the breadcrumbs. I realized right as I was about to put it in the oven, so I pulled off as many bread crumbs as I could, laid on the cheese, and then piled the crumbs back on top. You can sort of see in the pictures, but I actually like how it let the melty, gooey cheese shine through!
this looks amazing! I bet you can't taste the cauliflower either!
You really can't! Last Christmas I had everyone fooled 🙂