Yes, you read that right. This is Cauliflower Mac and Cheese and it is so cheesy that you can say goodbye to bland cauliflower forever!
When I was coming up with this Cauliflower mac and cheese, I was poking around other recipes and I noticed a trend of bland cauliflower even though it was coated in cheesy goodness. I couldn’t have any of that so I set out to make my creamy bacony cauliflower mac and cheese extra flavorful…and I think I succeeded!
This cheese sauce coats every nook and cranny of the cauliflower so there is no bland cauliflower here!
I love to serve this cauliflower mac and cheese with my Baked Chicken Thighs, Crock Pot Pork Roast, or Pork Rind Chicken Nuggets!
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One of my favorite foods in the whole world is mac and cheese. The cheesier, the better. I love it so much so that I still sneak bites of my kids mac and cheese every now and then because it just has this hold on my taste buds. I just cannot resist that cheesy, creaminess!
What is it about creamy cheesy dishes that are so comforting to our souls? It’s like this deep down craving that we acquire from childhood and it never leaves us.
Then you add bacon to the mix and OMG, it’s a match made in cheesy heaven. Of course, anything with bacon added to it is amazing. I have a love affair with bacon, if you haven’t noticed.
I do believe this cheesy cauliflower has a leg up over traditional macaroni and cheese in the re-heating department. I think we can all agree that macaroni and cheese doesn’t re-heat in the microwave very well. It gets dried out pretty fast. Well, I can attest that my cauliflower mac and cheese heats in the microwave beautifully because I am enjoying a bowl as we speak.
HOW TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER MAC AND CHEESE VIDEO:
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 Large head of cauliflower
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 2 oz Cream cheese
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 Tbsp Mustard Powder (More if desired)
- 1 Cup Mild Cheddar Cheese , Freshly shredded (not pre-shredded) plus more for sprinkling
- 8 Slices Thick cut bacon , Diced
- Salt to taste
- Chopped Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cut your cauliflower florets from the stem. You want to make each floret small, no bigger than 1 inch in diameter.
- Add the florets to a medium saucepan with 1/2 tbsp of salt. Add enough water to come half way up the cauliflower
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer until cauliflower is just tender, about 5 minutes
- drain cauliflower and keep it draining for at least 5 minutes
- Saute diced bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels
- For the cheese sauce, in a small saucepan, melt the cream cheese with the heavy cream over medium low heat, add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and whisk until melted.
- In a medium bowl, add cauliflower and bacon, pour cheese sauce on top and stir to combine
- Salt to taste
- garnish with extra cheese and chopped parsley
Notes
- Make the florets small so the cheese sauce coats every nook and cranny.
- I put 1/2 tbsp of mustard powder in the recipe but I added 1 tbsp to my own dish. It gave it a nice kick!
- Make sure you shred your own cheese. Pre shredded cheese in this will make you sad.
Nutrition
⭐ Did you make this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe? Tag me on Instagram so I can see! @lowcarbwithjennifer
Can I use this with frizen cauliflower rice since I have it on hand?
Yes! I love that idea!
First, I had just run out of cream, so used condensed milk instead. Second, the cheese sauce was too thick even when I added more milk-maybe causepart of cheese was shredded? I still put it over the cauliflower and liked it enough to try with better ingredients!
Family doesn’t like cauliflower, so I keep looking for recipes they’ll eat. Although they ate this, they still weren’t thrilled.
I’ll update this rating when I get it right!
Yes! Yes! Yes! My kids said they could eat this every time they come for a visit. I am going to try making it with Greek yogurt as one is lactose unfriendly. Is 2 oz. cream cheese about 2 tbsp.? This low carb recipe is very valuable to me as I am diabetic.
Thanks for the review, Viv! 2 ounces of cream cheese is about 2 tablespoons.
What a great alternative to Cauliflower rice, which honestly, I’ve never really liked and wasn’t going to make anymore after throwing most of the last batch out. This is delicious and I actually had to hold myself back from eating double portions. I added salt at the end and won’t next time, as it really didn’t need more. I made it with the crispy chicken thighs and both are great. Glad I found this blog.
I’m glad you found my blog too, Angela!
Delicious… I will be making this a staple in my recipe reportiore!!!
So, has anyone tried using frozen cauliflower? Have a bag on hand!
You definitely could! You would just skip the boiling part and cook the cauliflower via the instructions on the bag
yes and it was great we loved it. I did use shredded cheese and mine was still d
elic.
OH MY GOD
Are you freaking kidding me?
I wasn’t quite sure if I’d like this. I only made half the recipe. I want to eat it all. I didn’t read ahead and used pre-shredded cheese. It wasn’t all that bad. I had to add more cream to smooth it out. Now I can’t wait to make it the way intended!
😂 it is quite addicting!
hello, can you please advise the nutritional info? thx
I figured it out per serving to be;
286 cal
15.4 g protein
6.1 g net carbs
21 g fat
OH MY GOODNESS! And lots of it!! I didn’t have cauliflower but I did have broccoli so I used that and it was sooooo good!! I will be making this with either of those veggies again! Thank you so much!
I have now made this 3 times since Thanksgiving. This is so delicious!! I did add the mustard powder. I added a tiny bit of nutmeg and it gave it amazing taste! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! <3
I’m so glad you like it!
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