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You are here: Home / holidays / White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

October 28, 2015 by Taylor 6 Comments

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White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

I hate to bring up the “T” word already since it’s not even Halloween. BUT in case you haven’t noticed, Thanksgiving is FOUR weeks away!  That’s only four weeks to plan your meal, revise your meal plan five times (or maybe that’s just me), make multiple grocery (and liquor store) store runs, and cook a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.

While the turkey, stuffing, and sweet potato dishes are no-brainers for me, I like to switch things up when it comes to veggie sides.  Enter: White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin.

I made this for a dinner with friends where I was testing Thanksgiving recipes.  I think it’s safe to say this White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin was the star of the show.  Well, aside from the pie. I mean, you can’t compete with pie.  But this gratin.  This cheesy, creamy, crunchy topped gratin.  It gives vegetables a chance against pie.

Going into creating this White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin, I knew I wanted three main things: a buttery breadcrumb topping, a creamy but not greasy cheese sauce, and non-mushy cauliflower.

White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

How To Make The Perfect White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

The breadcrumb topping?  Easy.  Butter + breadcrumbs + Parmesan cheese = heaven.

Creamy but not greasy cheese sauce? Half cream and half milk with (gasp!) not too much cheese.

Non-mushy cauliflower?  Now that part was a bit trickier.  I felt that if I attempted to par-boil the cauliflower before baking it with the cheese sauce, I ran the risk of over-cooking it too easily.  So I roasted it for just 20 minutes it before mixing it with the cheese sauce and it worked out beautifully.  Perfectly softened and not overcooked cauliflower with a depth of flavor from roasting.

All together?  Perfection.  So while it might be early to start thinking about Thanksgiving, it’s not *too* early to start thinking about it.  This is one dish you’re going to want on that menu!

White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

White Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin

Print Pin Rate
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower florets cut from stalk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 shallots finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted
  • Extra sage leaves for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Toss cauliflower florets in olive oil and place on baking sheet.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Roast in oven for 20 minutes.
  • In medium skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
  • Add shallots and cook for 5-7 minutes, until softened.
  • Add garlic and cook another minute.
  • Add flour, and stir well with shallots and garlic.
  • Cook 1 minute.
  • Slowly add cream followed by milk, stirring constantly.
  • Season with sage, nutmeg and salt and stir well to combine.
  • Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 20 minutes, until thickened.
  • Remove from heat and stir in cheese, stirring until melted.
  • Place roasted cauliflower in 9" baking dish. I used a 9" cast-iron skillet, but any similar size will work.
  • Pour cheese sauce over cauliflower evenly.
  • Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and butter, then sprinkle over baking dish.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden.
  • Optional: fry the sage leaves in oil. Do this by heating ~2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sage leaves and fry for 15-20 seconds, until they turn dark green. Remove from skillet immediately.
  • Top gratin with fried sage.
Tried this recipe?Mention @greensnchocolate to let me know!
Need more ideas?Find all of my recipe pins @greenschocolate

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Healthy Weekly Meal Plan
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Filed Under: holidays, recipe, side dish, vegetarian Tagged With: cauliflower, cauliflower gratin, cauliflower side dish, cheese gratin, side dish, thanksgiving, thanksgiving side dish, vegetarian, white cheddar

Previous Post: « Tomato Basil Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa Casserole
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. annie says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:59 am

    Cheesy creamy crunchy….you are speakin’ my language. I need more white cheddar in my life.

    Reply
    • Taylor says

      November 2, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      I definitely do too! Thanks Annie 🙂

      Reply
  2. Chelsea @ Delipsch says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:32 am

    Is it bad that I can imagine myself devouring the entire pan 🙂 looks perfect!

    Reply
  3. Lauren Gaskill | Making Life Sweet says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    YUM! I will definitely be making this on one of my “cheat” days, where I have cheese. 😉

    Reply
  4. Ashley says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:46 pm

    haha no need to apologize for bringing up turkey day! I’m already planning my feast! This gratin looks awesome – love the white cheddar and sage!

    Reply
  5. Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says

    October 30, 2015 at 10:57 am

    Love the white cheddar sage combo! What a great Thanksgiving side dish!

    Reply

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Hi! Welcome to greens & chocolate, where healthy cooking meets sinful indulgence. I'm Taylor, a Minnesota girl who loves eating healthy, a daily chocolate indulgence, and running, yoga, and chasing after my sons to balance it all out. I'm so happy you stopped by, and hope you enjoy the recipes I have to share!

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Welcome to greens & chocolate! I'm Taylor and am so excited that you stopped by! I'm a Minnesota girl in my 20's who's loving life with my husband Marc, our son Lars, and our Golden Retriever Maddie. I love cooking healthy meals, but it's essential that I have my dessert. All after a hot yoga class or a run, though! It's all about moderation here at greens & chocolate.

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