Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheese
This Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheese is the ultimate comfort food! Creamy, smooth and super cheesy! Serve as a side dish or as a main in its own right. Dairy free option available too.
Servings: 4 -6 as a side dish.
Calories: 290kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower chopped into medium florets.
- 500 ml (17 fl oz) full fat milk can be substituted for dairy free milk.
- 50 g (1.7 oz) gluten free plain flour
- 50 g (1.7 oz) butter can be substituted for dairy free butter.
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 50 g (1.7 oz) gluten free breadcrumbs
- 190 g cheese can be substituted for dairy free cheese.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C / 180˚Fan / 400˚F.
Prepare cauliflower.
- Chop the cauliflower into medium sized florets with a knife.
- Steam or boil the cauliflower in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Drain the cauliflower and let it steam dry.
Make the cheese sauce.
- Make a roux. To do this, melt the butter in a hot saucepan, add the flour and whisk together until it forms a thick paste.
- Next add the milk slowly, whisking the whole time, adding some more milk once the sauce has started to thicken. Once you have added all the milk, keep whisking for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from the heat and add the grated cheese (leaving a bit to sprinkle over the top) and mustard, then stir until all the cheese has melted through the sauce.
Assemble and bake.
- Put the cooked cauliflower florets in an ovenproof casserole dish and pour over the cheese sauce.
- Top with the remaining grated cheese and gluten free breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Notes
Top Tips
- Pour in the milk gradually. Adding it all at once might result in a lumpy sauce and it can be a bit tricky to smooth out those lumps later on.
- Avoid overcooking the cauliflower. When initially boiling or steaming it, keep the cooking time under 5 minutes. Over boiling can lead to excess water absorption, which may later result in a watery sauce or mushy cauliflower when it bakes in the oven with the sauce.
- Sprinkle over some parmesan before baking for an extra cheesy flavour.
- Allow the cauliflower cheese to rest for a few minutes before serving. This will help the sauce thicken slightly and make it easier to serve.
- Dairy Free! - To make this recipe dairy free, simply swap the butter for a dairy free spread or margarine and the milk for a neutral tasting plant based milk like soya or oat (if you don’t need the recipe to be gluten free)
- Mix Up The Veg! - Although its called cauliflower cheese, you can substitute half of the cauliflower for broccoli for a nice variation or throw in some cooked Brussel sprouts for a festive twist.
- Spice it Up! - Like a bit of heat? Why not sprinkle some chilli flakes through the sauce for a fiery hit.
Nutrition
Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 393mg | Potassium: 423mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 714IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 0.4mg