Creamy Gouda Cheesy Cauliflower Bake
This Creamy Gouda Cheesy Cauliflower Bake is a delicious and easy side dish for any time of year! It’s so creamy and flavourful.
It’s Cheese of the Month time again! I’m really enjoying sharing delicious Canadian cheeses and creating new dishes each month, and I hope you are too! Since I began my partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Canada, I’ve had the chance to feature a wide variety of delicious, award winning Canadian cheeses, and have created desserts, lunches, side dishes, snacks and appetizers with all different types of cheese. So much yum.
A cheesy side dish recipe!
This month I wanted to create a comforting and cheesy side dish recipe that you can serve at holiday dinners, or any time of year too! And because I think cauliflower and cheese were made to go together, I created this Creamy Gouda Cheesy Cauliflower Bake with Sylvan Star Cheese’s Grizzly Gouda, an extra-aged Canadian Gouda.
Gouda + Cauliflower = Delicious
The sharp bite of the Grizzly Gouda tastes amazing in the cream based sauce. It’s a perfect compliment to the subtle flavour of the cauliflower. Adding cheese is the best way to eat your veggies 😉
Then put it in the oven and let the magic happen…the end result is a creamy, delicious side dish that pairs perfectly with prime rib, steak, roasted turkey, roast chicken or baked ham.
Double to feed a crowd.
You can double the recipe if you are feeding crowd. You can even make this cheesy cauliflower bake a day ahead, then reheat it when you’re ready to serve!
Cheesy Cauliflower Bake Recipe Tips:
- Baking Dish: Use an 8″ casserole/baking dish.
- Cauliflower: Use 1 large head of fresh cauliflower cut into bite sized cauliflower florets. I don’t recommend using frozen cauliflower as it can be too wet.
- Cheese: We like to use gouda cheese for this bake, but you can use your favourite cheeses like a sharp cheddar cheese, and mix in some parmesan cheese.
- Milk: This recipe calls for whole milk, but if you want it extra creamy you can use half + half or heavy cream. You could also use a mixture of milk and sour cream (1 cup milk plus 3/4 milk).
- Leftovers: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just reheat in the microwave.
- Tip! Cauliflower has a lot of water in it, and sometimes that can affect this dish. No worries! If after baking you find the dish a bit watery, but just give it a good stir before serving and it will be nice and creamy. Or you can drain it off.
Creamy Gouda Cheesy Cauliflower Bake
This Creamy Gouda Cheesy Cauliflower Bake is a delicious and easy side dish for any time of year! It’s so creamy and flavourful.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 6 people 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (cut into bite sized pieces)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 1/2 cup grated gouda cheese
- 1/2 cup extra grated gouda cheese for the top
- chopped green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- First cook the cauliflower. In a pot of boiling water, boil the cauliflower pieces for about 3 minutes…you don’t want them to cook fully, just until slightly tender. Drain well, and set aside.
- Then make the roux: In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter then stir in the flour. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the whole milk, and stir until thickened. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and the dry mustard. Mix well.
- Stir in the grated cheese until melted.
- Add the cooked cauliflower pieces to a casserole dish, then pour on the cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle the extra cheese over the top.
- Bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
- When done baking you may find the dish a bit watery, but just give it a good stir before serving and it will be nice and creamy.
- Sprinkle on some chopped green onion, and serve.
- Enjoy!
Keywords: cheesy cauliflower bake, cheesy cauliflower casserole
About Sylvan Star Cheese’s Grizzly Gouda:
- Type: An extra-aged Canadian Gouda.
- Tasting Notes: Smooth and creamy texture, with rich, nutty flavours. This cheese has a waxed rind.
- Location: Produced in Red Deer, Alberta. Made with milk from the Schalkwyk family’s own Holstein dairy cows that live on the same property where the cheese is created.
- Pairing: Pairs well with fortified cider, white beers, fruity red wines, and even green tea.
- Fun Fact! This cheese is named ‘Grizzly’ because of its bite and power!
PIN IT to make later!
Have a delicious day!
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada. I will be working with Dairy Farmers of Canada over the next year to bring you some delicious recipe ideas that I have created! This recipe, all pictures and words are my own. I love cheese. ?
Greetings Jo-Anna:
Thanks greatly for posting your delicious recipe using aged gouda cheese!
Kind Regards,
vesta orion
(being Italian, I found it necessary to saute a little garlic and a splash of white wine
with the creamy sauce!)
before making the creamy sauce
★★★★★
Hi Vesta! I think your addition of garlic and white wine is perfect…I’m going to try it too!
Can I substitute almond flour for flour and creamy oat milk for whole milk?
I’m not sure…I’ve never tried this so I don’t know how it would turn out. My main concern would that it wouldn’t be creamy, and could be quite liquidy in texture.
In my Opinion you can never go wrong with cauliflower and cheese! I followed the recipe to almost a perfect T. I added a dash or two of onion powder which to me actually helped to deepen the flavors and was light enough that onion taste was almost nonexistent/noticeable. My go to for cream sauces is fresh garlic or even powder but I felt that would’ve replaced the flavor. Absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Marcy!
This is a delicious side dish!
★★★★★
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Nancy!