Cauliflower Gratin
Here cauliflower is covered with a rich and creamy cheddar cheese sauce, sprinkled with crispy Panko bread crumbs, then it’s baked to perfection and crowned with salty crispy bacon and some fresh parsley for color. It’s a whole lot of goodness and it’s a dish people won’t forget! This isn’t just for holidays and parties. It’s easily something you can make as a side dish for dinner. It’s such a warm and cozy dish for cool fall days and cold winter evenings. I just served it with roasted chicken, because 90% of the time that’s what we’re having anyway is chicken for dinner.
Ingredients Needed for This Cauliflower Recipe
Fresh cauliflower Salt and pepper Unsalted butter Yellow onion Garlic Flour Milk Nutmeg Sharp white cheddar and Parmesan cheese Panko bread crumbs Olive oil cooking spray Bacon Fresh parsley
Scroll below for full printable recipe.
How to Make Cauliflower Gratin
Preheat oven. Par boil cauliflower. Saute onions and garlic in butter, then cook flour with butter. Pour in milk and nutmeg, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/4 cups cheddar and the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour 1/3 of the cheese sauce in baking dish, top with cauliflower then pour in remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle with remaining white cheddar and panko. Spritz panko with olive oil spray. Bake 20 minutes then broil briefly for 1 – 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon and parsley and serve warm.
What Does it Taste Like?
To me the flavor is similar to scalloped potatoes or even mac and cheese – but it’s made with cauliflower instead. Cauliflower is a great base for this recipe, it has such a neutral flavor so so it really lets that cheddar flavor shine.
The Perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas Side Dish
I highly recommend trying this recipe for the holidays. It’s likely something most people haven’t tried and it’s always nice to have something new on the menu. So, like I’ve said before make it for dinner this week to do your trial run then make it again on Thanksgiving. Always my excuse to make something that looks good twice :). That pie – I just HAD to make it once before to be certain it would taste amazing and be worthy of the holiday.
More Side Dish Recipes You Might Like
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Honey Lemon Butter Green Beans with Cranberries Walnuts and Feta Cinnamon Honey Butter Roasted Sweet Potatoes
