Quick & Easy Meals · Side Dishes

Cauliflower “Macaroni and Cheese”

Robin at Haphazard Homemaker

This recipe is by far my favorite Keto recipe. Even if you aren’t doing Keto, this dish is amazing! I would choose it over regular mac and cheese every single time. In all of it’s cheesy goodness, it tastes just like a good mac and cheese should taste. Starting with frozen cauliflower florets, makes it quick to put together.

This is one of those recipes that once you make it a time or two, you can probably make it without looking at the recipe and maybe not even having to measure the ingredients.

Although making the following substitutions makes this not Keto-friendly, I have used regular milk in place of the heavy cream, and bread crumbs for the pork rinds.

Sometimes I use a shredded cheese blend, instead of the cheddar and the mozzarella. If I have shredded or grated Parmesan, I’ll add some to the top.

Sometimes I’ll change up the flavor and add Italian seasoning, or a bit of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Bacon bits are really yummy, too!

I usually just use half of the cauliflower and make a half recipe to serve 4 instead of 8.

Cauliflower “Macaroni and Cheese”

print recipe

Total time 30-35 minutes Serves 8

Ingredients

  • two 12 oz bags of frozen cauliflower (or 1 lg head of cauliflower, cut into florets)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 oz cream cheese (sliced or small cubes)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: 1/4 cup crushed pork rinds for topping

NOTE: I like to make my cheese sauce in an ovenproof skillet, so I can stir the partially cooked cauliflower into the skillet, skipping the baking dish and saving dirtying an extra dish.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Boil or steam cauliflower 5 or 6 minutes, until tender and crisp
  3. Strain cauliflower, then pour into a greased baking dish (see NOTE above)
  4. In a skillet over medium heat, bring 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to a simmer
  5. Stir in cream cheese, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese, then stir until thick and smooth
  6. Stir in garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, plus salt and pepper to taste
  7. Pour cheese sauce over cauliflower and stir lightly until well-coated
  8. Sprinkle optional crushed pork rinds on top, if desired
  9. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned bubbly.

Thanks for visiting,

Robin

26 thoughts on “Cauliflower “Macaroni and Cheese””

      1. I nominated you for Liebster Award! I’m not sure if I notified you already or not?🤔🤷🏾😁

        Like

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