Cauliflower Cheese Casserole

This delicious cauliflower cheese casserole is amazingly creamy, simple to make, and an impressive vegetarian side dish!

Table of Contents

• 🛒 Ingredients
• 👩‍🍳 Visual Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🫙 Storage & Reheating Instructions
• 🥦 More Vegetable Side Dishes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Vegetarian cauliflower cheese casserole is a popular vegetable side dish that goes along with practically anything! The flavor of tender cauliflower florets with a bubbly cheese sauce turns this simple recipe into an impressive cauliflower dish.

It is cheesy, creamy, delicious, healthy, low-carb, rich in vitamins, and stress-free to prepare.

And since it’s loaded with cheese and covered in béchamel sauce, your kids might even love this creamy side dish! 😉

Serve it with baked potatoes, green salad, or vegetable patties to turn it into a full vegetarian meal.

Good To Know: It’s made without heavy cream and uses less cheese and butter than other recipes. Thus, it’s a slightly healthier cheesy cauliflower casserole recipe than most!

🛒 Ingredients

See recipe card for quantities.

• Cauliflower → Use fresh cauliflower or frozen cauliflower florets.
• Cheese → For the golden brown bubbly cheese layer! Use either grated parmesan cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, fontina, or a cheese of your choice.
• Béchamel Sauce → Makes the cauliflower casserole extra creamy. For this you need: Olive Oil (or butter), flour, unsweetened dairy-free milk, cauliflower cooking water, salt, pepper, and nutmeg! If you like, season the creamy sauce with a pinch of garlic powder or onion powder.

Prefer a vegan cauliflower casserole? Use a dairy-free cheese alternative or omit the cheese altogether.

Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free flour!

👩‍🍳 Visual Step-by-Step Instructions

This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a cooking beginner! 😉 → Watch the recipe video to see how easy it is to make at home! 🤓

• Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C).
• Béchamel Sauce: Melt oil or butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute.
• Pour in dairy-free milk and cauliflower cooking water, bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Reduce heat and let it simmer for approximately 5 minutes until thickened.
• Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

• Wash cauliflower and cut it into florets. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add cauliflower florets, and cook for 5 minute until fork tender. Drain over a sieve. → Don’t forget to set ¼ cup of the cooking water aside for the sauce.
• Arrange cooked cauliflower in a casserole or baking dish.
• Pour the béchamel sauce over the cauliflower, then sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven.

Hint: Top the cheesy cauliflower casserole with chopped parsley, chives, or green onions before serving.

🫙 Storage & Reheating Instructions

Store leftovers directly in the casserole (e.g. covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil – easiest to reheat later) or in an airtight in the refrigerator. Stays fresh for 3-4 days.

Reheat for 20 minutes in the oven, preheated to 390°F (200°C).

Prepare casserole (but do not bake) up to one day in advance and store it wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Bake per recipe timings when you are ready!

🥦 More Vegetable Side Dishes

• Cauliflower Salad
• Eggplant Parmesan
• Green Beans Almondine

📖 Recipe