This whole roasted cauliflower cheese was inspired by a dish my mum cooked over Easter (hi mum! I can hear your squeals of delight from here!). It's like your usual cauliflower cheese, but the cauliflower is roasted whole, rather than being chopped up into the sauce.
This is good for two main reasons.
Firstly, you need to use less cheese sauce. I know, I know, this sounds like a bad thing, but when you're trying to eat a bit more healthily, a plateful of cheese sauce with a couple of token bits of cauliflower floating in it isn't particularly acceptable, much as I would love it to be. This whole roasted cauliflower cheese has just enough cheese sauce that you feel like you've had something a bit naughty, without actually needing to entirely give up on your diet.
Secondly, you get the wonderful slightly-charred flavour of roasted cauliflower, rather than the cauliflower just boiling itself in the sauce. You know how obsessed with roasted cauliflower I am, so I love that the roasted flavour comes out in this recipe.
So basically, a whole roasted cauliflower is the best of both worlds: roasted cauliflower, and cauliflower cheese. It's neither, and it's both. And it's delicious.
I'll warn you now, the cauliflower does take a while to roast. You are sticking an entire vegetable in the oven, remember, so you can't expect it to be done in twenty minutes. But, most of the cooking time is hands-off time, so don't worry. Just pop it in an hour or two before your dinner needs to be served, and let it do its thing.
I actually went pretty easy on the cheese sauce this time, because I was desperate to use this little round baking dish, which fitted the cauliflower perfectly, but didn't leave a huge amount of room for sauce. Again, I was happy with this, because there was just enough sauce to be tasty but not too heavy - but if you're feeling indulgent, feel free to double the amount of sauce!
Whole roasted cauliflower cheese
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 125 ml milk ~½ cup
- 75 g cheddar cheese ~1 cup grated, grated
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower, and cut off the end of the thick stalk, until you’re left with just the white head. Wash the cauliflower thoroughly and, once mostly dry, rub it lightly with oil. Place in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for around 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a fairly low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring until smooth each time before adding more. Allow to cook over a fairly low heat for a couple more minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly, then add two thirds of the cheese, and mix until smooth. Season with a pinch of nutmeg and plenty of salt and black pepper.
- Remove the cauliflower from the baking dish, and drain away any liquid.
- Pour the cheese sauce into the baking dish, and replace the cauliflower on top. Add more salt and pepper if desired, then place in the oven, uncovered. Roast for a further 30 minutes, until slightly browned on top. Then, sprinkle over the remaining cheese, and return to the oven for 15 more minutes, until the cheese topping has melted and begun to crisp up.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Don't miss my low-carb cauliflower pizza - it's even more delicious than it looks!
Elizabeth R says
Yummy! I just made the traditional chopped up cauliflower and cheese baked dish earlier this week but will definitely try this next time I prepare it.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Cauliflower cheese isn't something I ever make really but now I'm wondering why, it's so good! :)
Kate says
That looks amazing!!
Crystal says
Okay, I am normally not a cauliflower fan...but these pictures make me want to try this! Looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I actually didn't like it until a year or two ago but now it's one of my favourites :) give it a second chance!!
Kat | curlsnchard.com says
I've never had roasted cauliflower with cheese before but this definitely sounds intriguing! I kind of always skip the cauliflower in the supermarket and go for the broccoli, I don't even know why - next time I see some nice fresh cauliflower I'm definitely going to change that :)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I only started buying cauliflower last year but now it's one of my favourites! You should definitely give it a chance :D
Frickingvikki says
It's always nice to have anew twist on a classic :) I love the look of your cauliflower pizza as well ast the bottom so will be reading that next!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
You definitely need to make the cauliflower pizza, it's SO good!
Helen @Fuss Free Flavours says
The only other person that I know that makes a whole cauliflower cheese is Ed's mother. It really surprised me when he produced a whole cauliflower cheese the other day.
Cutting down on the cheese seems very out of character for you Becca! ;-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Haha!! It does a bit doesn't it ;) but believe it or not I don't try to eat alllll the cheese, it just usually ends up that way!
Margot⚓Coffee & Vanilla says
Lovely!!! My girls would really like that, I don't think I have ever made cauliflower in whole for them and as a child we always used to have it this way, I remember fun of sharing it with my sister and trying to get the biggest portion of breadcrumbs ;)
Jan @GlugofOil says
Put me down for some of this - LOVE cauliflower cheese! Also liking the cauliflower pizza - YUM!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
The cauliflower pizza is SO good, and so easy, you must try it!
Kavey says
Love the look of a whole cauli done this way!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
The cauliflower looks wonderful! I don't know why I seem to miss buying cauliflower and I really love the taste. Thank you for the reminder and I'll be roasting one soon.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I never used to buy it but have been loving it lately! :)