This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This cheesy Cauliflower casserole Bake is a cheesy delicious vegetarian side dish recipe that will impress your family and friends. Loaded with flavor, and a low-carb alternative to the classic cheesy potato bake. Easy to make, and the perfect side dish to serve for a crowd.
Our cheesy cauliflower bake recipe will be sure to wow your guests and family. Everyone is going to want to go for seconds and a great way to have your kids eating more vegetables. Made with cauliflower florets, cheddar, and Parmesan Cheese, Garlic, milk, herbs, and olive oil. This is a low-carb oven-baked cauliflower side dish recipe and to make it keto-friendly, you may skip the flour and use unsweetened almond or coconut milk. Loaded with flavor, this crispy and healthy baked cauliflower with cheese will be one of your all-time favorite side dish recipes.
Why you will love this Recipe
- Loaded with fiber: A great way to have more veggies and load up on the fiber.
- Keto-friendly: This cheesy cauliflower bake low in carbs and great if you are on the keto diet.
- So Tasty: Once you make this cauliflower recipe, you will see how delicious it is. No doubt, it will become a family favorite.
Ingredients you will need
- 2 medium Heads Cauliflower (about 3 pounds total) or 1 large
- Grated White Cheddar Cheese or sharp yellow cheddar cheese (light or fat-free): we tested this with smoked white shredded cheddar cheese as well and it was great.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: Grate your own. It will taste so much better
- Milk (dairy or non-dairy): we used 2% milk
- Garlic Cloves: use fresh garlic unless you are pressed you can garlic powder
- Nutmeg or ground nutmeg
- Gluten-Free Flour: or flour of your choice
- Olive Oil: or avocado oil.
- Kosher Salt: use enough to your liking
- Freshly ground black pepper divided
- Chili Flakes optional: to garnish
- Freshly Chopped Parsley: to Garnish
- Cooking Oil Spray
How to make cheesy cauliflower Bake
- Preheat the oven to medium broil and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Grease a 9×13-inch or other 3-quart baking dish with some oil and set aside.
- Thoroughly wash the cauliflower and pat the excess moisture with a paper towel. Trim the stem off the cauliflower and cut into florets.
- Arrange the cauliflower florets in the prepared baking tray, spray with cooking oil and season with some salt and pepper, toss to coat well. Broil for 12-15 minutes, or until charred and tender-crisp.
- While the cauliflower cooks, prepare the cheesy sauce. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium heat.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add flour and whisk quickly until a white froth begins to appear on the top.
- Carefully and slowly pour the milk; continue whisking until the mixture starts to bubbles.
- Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is thick and creamy remove from the heat, stir in the cheddar cheese, grated nutmeg and mix thoroughly, until cheese is completely melted. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and carefully transfer it into the prepared baking casserole dish. Pour the hot bubbling sauce on top; mix until well combined. Top with parmesan cheese.
- Change the oven settings to 375°F fan-assisted. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly or until fork tender.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and chili flakes if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Pick fresh and firm cauliflower without any bruising or black spots on it.
- Thoroughly wash the cauliflower and cut them into equal sizes so they cook evenly. Dry them well using a paper or kitchen towel.
- You may use any type of melty cheese of your choice. It does not have to be white cheddar cheese.
- Don’t worry about overbaking the cauliflower, the longer the better. Unless the cheesy sauce dries too much. Keep an eye on it.
- Don’t forget the seasoning! Use your favorite seasonings. Cauliflower is versatile and many different seasonings work well with it.
- Great for those who are on the keto and low-carb diet. They are also gluten-free.
Storing and Reheating
- Storing: Place leftover cheesy baked cauliflower in a container with a lid and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. You may freeze your cheesy cauliflower for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: You can either reheat your leftover cauliflower in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until they are heated through or place it in a preheated oven at 350F for 6-8 minutes.
What To serve with cauliflower Bake
- Creamy Tuscan Salmon
- Lemon Garlic Baked Cod
- Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Pesto Chicken Recipe
- Salmon Piccata Recipe
- Creamy Tuscan Salmon
- Balsamic and Pesto Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Kafta
Frequently asked questions
It all depends on whether you are baking a whole cauliflower or using cauliflower florets. A whole cauliflower will need 40 minutes or so to bake fully until it is fork-tender. Cauliflower florets need 25-30 minutes of baking in a 375-400 F preheated oven. It is always best to use your fork to check for doneness. Also, it cut down on baking time, consider steaming the cauliflower for a few minutes in some boiling water before adding it to the oven. This is certainly an option and not necessary.
Place leftover baked cauliflower in a tightly sealed container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. We do not recommend freezing this cheesy baked cauliflower because it will be a bit watery and soggy. But if you must, they last up to 3 months in the freezer, thaw in the fridge the night before reheating in the microwave, and enjoy.
This cheesy cauliflower casserole makes for a great side dish to a variety of main courses. Serve it with any grilled protein like chicken or salmon, and try it with roast beef, roasted whole chicken, shrimp, or kabobs.
More Cauliflower recipes
- Garlic Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Sweet and Spicy Baked Cauliflower
- Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- Chicken Cauliflower Rice Casserole
- Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
- Spicy Honey Baked Cauliflower
- Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Garlic Butter Cauliflower Mash
Recipes you may also like
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Sweet Potato Chili
- One-Pot Cheesy Creamed Corn
- Cabbage Roll Soup
- Hot German Potato Salad
Remember to subscribe to my NEWSLETTER for free and receive recipes like this Cheesy Baked Cauliflower Recipe delivered right to your inbox!
If you try a recipe and you like it, please use our hashtag #healthyfitnessmeals on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured! FOLLOW Healthy Fitness Meals on FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER for all of our latest blog posts and recipes.
Cheesy Cauliflower Bake
Ingredients
- 2 medium Heads Cauliflower, (about 3 pounds total)
- 1½ Cups Grated White Cheddar, or yellow cheddar cheese (light or fat-free)
- ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1½ Cup Milk, (dairy or non-dairy)
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ½ Tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg, or ground nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp Gluten-Free Flour
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ Tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ Tsp Freshly ground black pepper, divided
- ½ Tsp Chili Flakes, optional
- 1-2 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Parsley
- Cooking Oil Spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven on medium broil and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Grease a 9×13-inch or other 3-quart baking dish with some oil and set aside.
- Thoroughly wash the cauliflower and pat the excess moisture with a paper towel. Trim the stem off the cauliflower and cut into florets.
- Arrange the cauliflower florets in the prepared baking tray, spray with cooking oil and season with the suggested salt and pepper, toss to coat well.
- Broil for 12-15 minutes, or until charred and tender-crisp. While the cauliflower is baking prepare the cheesy sauce.
- In a heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add flour and whisk quickly until a white froth begins to appear on the top.
- Carefully and slowly pour the milk; continue whisking until the mixture starts to bubbles. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce is thick and creamy remove from the heat, stir in the cheddar cheese, grated nutmeg and mix thoroughly, until cheese is completely melted.
- Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and carefully transfer it into the prepared baking dish.
- Pour the hot bubbling sauce on top; mix until well combined. Top with parmesan cheese.
- Change the oven settings to 375°F fan-assisted. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and chili flakes if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- If you prefer to skip roasting the cauliflower first and save time by cooking everything in one dish, place the cauliflower first in the baking dish you will be using, then after it is cooking just pour in the prepared cheesy sauce.
- Cut the florets into smaller even sizes to ensure they all bake through,
- Any milk of choice works.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Rated it 4 stars because I revamped it. Used organic riced cauliflower and only cheese I used was smoked Gouda. Changed seasonings to onion powder, Cajun seasoning, Italian herbs, garlic powder, doubled chili pepper and garlic powder. Forgot to add tumeric but will next time. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Subtle but flavorful taste. Thank you for the framewirk your recipe provided!!
Hi! Can you use frozen cauliflower for this recipe?
Yes you can
This recipe was super yummy and my husband and I enjoyed it. However, there were some things I found in the recipe that were confusing and you might want to edit….
1. In #3 when it said to season with salt and pepper, I just put a random amount. However, later I realized that you had suggested amounts in the recipe! If #3 said “with THE salt and pepper,” we would know to look at the ingredient list.
2. In #7 when it says to stir in the cheese, I assumed that meant ALL the cheese, but then I saw in #9 that I was supposed to save the parmesan! To fix that, #7 should specific that it’s just the cheddar going in.
3. On a practical note, why does there have to be two separate baking dishes? Why can’t the cauliflower be baked in the baking dish from the beginning, and then the sauce added on top?
Again, thanks for the recipe! Hopefully the feedback is helpful 🙂
Hi Melinda. I can see where it is confusing about the cheese. I did fix it just now. Hope this helps.
Have made this this several times. Is always a hit. Can this be made ahead and cooked next day
Yes! We love it too
If you make ahead, which step do you save for the next day? Cook the cauliflower and add the sauce but bake the next day? Does that make it soggy?
yes. that would be ideal
I make it last night , everyone love it was delicious,
Thanks for the great delicious recipes
Thanks Grace
So good. I actually swapped out a few ingredients to make it vegan for my bub who has milk allergies and it still turned out perfect.
Glad you got this to work so hubby can have it too!
Tried this recipe yesterday for dinner. It was really really yumm
So glad you liked it.