An ultra creamy, cheesy, and secretly healthy cauliflower mac and cheese recipe, perfect for feeding a crowd!
Easy Cauliflower Mac And Cheese
This super healthy baked cauliflower mac & cheese is the ultimate lightened-up comfort food – with just 7 ingredients!
Even people who normally go for regular mac and cheese and have no interest in healthy eating whatsoever give it their passionate stamp of approval.
The recipe is a huge crowd pleaser!
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Above – watch the video of how to make cauliflower mac and cheese
Healthy Cauliflower Macaroni Casserole
The idea for this homemade cauliflower mac and cheese came from a party I attended about a year ago.
One of the guests had brought a traditional macaroni and cheese casserole dish made with cauliflower, and people at the party could not stop raving about it or asking for the recipe.
So I asked for the recipe too, with the hope of recreating my own vegan and healthy version.
It took a few tries, and when I finally got it right, it was time to put the recipe to the ultimate test: serving the cauliflower mac & cheese to others, without mentioning that it was low fat and healthier… and watching to see the reception.
I did what I often do with recipes, which is to make it for a large gathering of people and quietly set the dish down, not telling anyone it was mine, to ensure their unbiased reactions.
I was so excited when—just like they had with my friend’s traditional mac & cheese—people went completely crazy for the lower-calorie cauliflower version!
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I haven’t tried it, but for a keto and low carb cauliflower mac and cheese with no pasta you might try simply replacing the macaroni noodles with additional cauliflower and using almond meal instead of the flour. Be sure to report back if you try it that way!
Use your favorite vegan cheese for a totally vegan cauliflower mac and cheese, and the recipe can also be gluten free if you use gf pasta and flour.
The casserole is Weight Watchers friendly and makes about six servings as written. Or it can easily be doubled to fit a 9×13 pan and feed a larger crowd.
The concept of cauliflower macaroni and cheese actually dates back to at least 2011, when Kraft debuted their box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cauliflower.
I’ve never tried the Kraft version, but homemade is always better anyway, not to mention healthier! If you try this recipe, be sure to rate it or leave a comment below.
Cauliflower Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped small
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 3 tbsp spelt, white, or sorghum flour
- optional 2 tbsp buttery spread
- 1/2 tsp salt, and dash pepper if desired
- 2 cups Cheddar shreds (such as fyh vegan)
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs, gf if desired
- 2 tsp oil, butter, or oil spray
- optional nutritional yeast as desired
Instructions
- Boil the water in a large pot. Add cauliflower and macaroni; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes or until macaroni is al dente. Drain; return to saucepan, and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8 pan. In a medium pot, stir milk, flour, optional butter spread, and salt with a whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Combine sauce and pasta mixture, stirring and breaking up any large cauliflower pieces. Taste, and season as desired. I like to add a little extra salt and a pinch of nutmeg, but it’s optional. Smooth into the 8×8 pan. Toss breadcrumbs with the 2 tsp buttery spread or spray with oil. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the pan. Bake on the center rack for 30-40 minutes or until edges are bubbly and breadcrumbs are golden.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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I just did this with sweet potatoes instead of macaroni!
Here it got colder all of a sudden, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a “comforting” dish on the table. I had wanted to try this for long, and reading closely the ingredients list it reminded me of a French specialty my mother excels at: cauliflower and potatoes gratin. So I swapped the regular potatoes for sweet potatoes and otherwise followed your recipe, using oat flour, and no buttery spread (because no idea where I could find this!), and used wholewheat crumbs. I also threw in some remaining broccoli flowers (just like my mother did), and everything turned out amazing!
I highly recommend you try this!
Oh wow, that sounds like scalloped potatoes I often had growing up. Thanks for sharing your brilliance with the rest of us. I need to try it!
Jason
Hi Audrey,
Did you bake the sweet potatoes separately before including them in the dish?
Love your recipes, but printing out the recipes are a problem. The first page will be the title of it and the recipe is on the second page. Changing from portrait to landscape does not help at all. Can you have your webmaster correct this problem ?
5/5 for sure! I’ve made this dish for my family at least once a week since stumbling across it a month ago. It’s even better with broccoli but amazing exactly as written!
Great recipe! Loved it. Made it the first time with real cheese. But added a full 4 cups of cauliflower to it, and it was great. I’m going to try it again with the bean and nutritional yeast cheese sauce from your other Mac n cheese.
This is awesome. I made it with vegan mozzarella but I admit I put cow’s milk in it as well. It was so delicious.
I was going to try this with frozen, rather than fresh, cauliflower. Do you think I would need to alter the recipe and/or instructions? I was wondering if I should still add the cauliflower at the same time as the uncooked pasta or wait a few minutes so it doesn’t get too mushy. Thanks!
Can’t wait to try it!!
Do you think I could use bobs red mill gluten free all purpose flour?
Yes, any flour or starch will work to thicken the sauce. I usually through in whatever is closest to the front of the cupboard!
Made this today for dinner for my family tonight! Loved how quick and easy it was but still is a great comfort food. I did double the cauliflower and noodles since I figured we could have leftovers. I have to admit I used cow’s milk, almond flour and just regular cheese in the sauce (half mozzarella, half blend), still turned out amazing. I also made the cauliflower pizza crust the other day and it turned out delicious as well, no surprise. Thanks for the nutrient dense recipes, Katie!
Finally made this (as written) and LOVED it! Could not stop thinking about it until we could have it again the next night. Served with gardein chik strips and Bitchin’ Sauce chipotle dip. Very good meal, we both loved, and will definitely make again! Used other half of cauliflower to make the ‘hot wings’. Incredible! Best Use of Cauliflower EVER. Thank you!
Made the cauliflower Mac & cheese for my picky husband & we both loved it! Will definitely make it again!