Bake this creamy cauliflower cheese recipe for your next BBQ or dinner! This classic cheesy veggie bake is the ultimate Aussie side dish – super easy to make with only 6 ingredients.
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
This amazing cauliflower cheese is a family favourite recipe perfected by Laura’s mum! Just like Sarah’s mum’s potato bake, it’s a comforting side dish alongside a Sunday roast, at BBQs or family gatherings.
This is the best home-style cheesy cauliflower you find on many Australian tables, especially at Christmas time.
As always, feel free to adapt the recipe to suit your tastes or even use up other veggies from the fridge. Keep it basic as per mum’s original recipe below, or use our epic variation ideas to amp it up and really make it your own!
Related: Tuna Mornay / Greek Moussaka / Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake
4 Common White Sauce Issues and How to Fix Them
This recipe includes our quick and easy homemade bechamel sauce – aka white sauce. It can seem tricky when you’re making it for the first time, but don’t stress, we’ve got your back!
Once you’ve added your milk to the butter and cornstarch mix, it should thicken quite quickly. You’re looking for a white sauce that’s thick, but still easy to pour over your cauliflower.
Here’s some common issues that may occur, which are super easy to fix:
Sauce is too thick: Add more milk, and whisk, whisk, whisk it in to achieve your desired texture.
Sauce is too thin: Add another 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch at a time, whisking thoroughly on low heat and waiting a minute, until it thickens to where you want it.
Sauce is lumpy: Take it off the heat and make sure you’re using a whisk. Whisk it quite fast, making sure to scrape the edges and bottom of the pan! In no time, you should be back to an ultra smooth sauce. It may also be too thick – if so, add a splash of milk!
Sauce is burnt on the bottom: Get it off the heat, it was too high! It may still be salvageable. Have a quick taste, and if it doesn’t taste burnt, go ahead and pour over the cauliflower and just try not to touch the bottom with your whisk or scraper to avoid any burnt bits.
What is Cauliflower Cheese?
This homely veggie bake goes by quite a few names depending on where you live. In Australia, it’s most commonly known as cauliflower cheese, but in other countries it’s known as cauliflower bake, cauliflower casserole or cauliflower gratin.
It consists of boiled or roasted cauliflower florets baked in a cheesy white sauce (a simplified, no fuss béchamel or roux).
Cauliflower cheese is a common side dish in Australia, often served up alongside roast beef chicken, at a BBQ alongside sausages or rissoles, or as a beloved part of our Sunday night family dinners.
We’re so excited to be sharing Laura’s mum’s recipe with you today. She’s been cooking it ever since Laura can remember, and to this day all the kids still squabble over the leftovers. Even more than for her other classic recipe for pumpkin soup!
What You’ll Need
- Cauliflower – The star of this recipe. We usually make this with all cauliflower, but you might like to use half cauliflower half broccoli for extra colour and nutrition.
- Cheese – The real star of the show! You’ll need plenty of shredded cheese / grated cheddar cheese in the sauce and to garnish over the top before baking. For a more intense cheese flavour, use extra sharp cheddar cheese varieties, Parmesan, gruyere, Jarlsberg or raclette!
- Butter – We love salted butter for this recipe. It also works well with regular butter, margarine or Nuttelex if you prefer.
- Cornstarch / Cornflour – This helps to thicken the sauce while keeping it deliciously smooth. If you’re planning on making this recipe gluten-free, check the package to make sure your brand isn’t made from wheat. (Confusing, we know!)
- Milk – We use full cream milk but you can use skim milk if you like. Add a splash of cream if you feel like lashing out for an extra creamy cheese sauce!
- Spices – We love adding nutmeg and optional salt and freshly ground black pepper.
How to make Home Style Cauliflower Cheese Bake:
- Place cauliflower florets in a large saucepan and cover with around 1.5 L / 3 pints of water. Bring to the boil and boil for 15-20 mins or until cauliflower is soft and tender but still holds its shape (test with a fork). Drain well and transfer to a baking dish.
For the cheese sauce:
- Melt the butter in the same saucepan you used to cook the cauliflower, on medium-high. Add cornstarch / cornflour and stir well with a whisk for about 1 minute to make sure it’s cooked through. This will stop it tasting like flour in the final sauce. Tip: Aim for a lemon curd consistency here – if it’s too thin, add another ½ tbsp cornstarch / cornflour and mix well.
- Turn off the heat to pour in the milk (this will stop the sauce becoming lumpy). Whisk through quickly, then pop back onto low heat and keep whisking until thickened, around 1 minute. Tip: If the sauce becomes too thick at this stage, add a little more milk to loosen.
- Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir to melt it through the sauce. Tip: You can increase heat slightly to help the cheese melt if needed.
- Season with nutmeg, and optional salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Tip: If the sauce is too thick to pour, add a little more milk once again to loosen.
To Bake:
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower florets, making sure each piece is well coated.
- Top generously with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake for around 20 minutes or until the cheesy top is bubbly and golden brown.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Avoid Watery Sauce – Make sure to drain the cauliflower really well so you don’t end up with extra liquid in your baking dish.
- Sauce Texture – If your sauce is too thick, add another splash of milk and stir to loosen.
- Melting the Cheese – If your cheese is stubbornly refusing to melt, don’t worry! You can increase the heat slightly and keep stirring – it will melt eventually!
- Storage – Leftovers will last for 2-3 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. possibly longer. You can freeze it (though we almost never do) for around 3-4 months, but the longer you leave it, the more the quality will deteriorate. So ideally try to use it up within a month or two.
FAQs
Cauliflower cheese is the ultimate side dish, although when you love it as much as we do, you might even want to eat it on its own as a main meal!
Serve it up alongside roast chicken (or lamb, beef or pork), teriyaki chicken, beef rissoles or sausages, with some crisp salads like shopska salad or Greek salad on the side to lighten it up.
Yes you can. Boil the cauliflower, drain well and cool completely, then pop in an airtight container. Make the sauce and allow it to cool, then make sure it’s sealed and pop it in the refrigerator as well.
On the day you plan to serve it, transfer the cauliflower to a baking dish. Heat the sauce slowly on the stove to loosen and make it pourable again, then pour it over the cauliflower. Top with cheese and bake as usual.
This recipe works well in a large (29 cm / 11 in) rectangle glass baking dish. We’ve also cooked it in a slightly smaller, deeper dish and it’s worked just as well. If you have an even larger dish, why not double the recipe to make it go even further and really feed a crowd!
Don’t panic, your sauce will still be perfect with a little tweaking.
If it’s too thin – add a little extra cornstarch / cornflour, or another handful of cheese to thicken it up.
If it’s too thick – add another splash of milk and mix well to loosen.
Cauliflower cheese is easily made gluten free as long as you use cornstarch / cornflour that is actually made from ground corn grains.
Aussie readers, be sure to check your package labels as some brands of “cornflour” in Australia are actually made from wheat!
Variations
- Toppings – Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, panko or seasoned stuffing mix for extra texture and flavour on that decadent cheese topping!
- Roast Instead of Boil – Mum always boils her cauliflower, but you can use roasted cauliflower if you prefer. Pop on a lined baking tray and roast at 200˚C / 400˚F for around 20 mins until softened and lightly golden on the edges.
- Easier Sauce – Instead of making the mornay cheese sauce, top the cooked cauliflower with thickened cream / heavy cream and cheese, just like we do in Sarah’s mum’s beloved potato bake.
- Extra Veggies – Try it with finely chopped garlic, sliced onions, capsicum / bell pepper or mushrooms stirred through the cauliflower.
- Extra Flavour – Add a sprinkling of mustard powder, garlic powder or onion powder while making the sauce.
- Loaded Cauliflower Cheese – Stir in some lightly fried bacon or ham, and/or al dente macaroni before baking for a fusion cauliflower mac and cheese. OMG!
- Leftover Sauce? – Use it as a base for spinach cob loaf or cheese and bacon cob loaf.
More classic Aussie recipes to try next:
- Tuna Mornay – The perfect quick, easy and budget friendly dinner the family will love!
- Zucchini Slice – Another classic Aussie veggie bake that’s as good served up hot as it is eaten cold for lunch.
- Spinach & Cheese Triangles – Keep a batch in the freezer for when you need them most.
- Weetbix Cake – Morning Tea Loaf – So delicious and super easy to prepare!
- Spinach Cob Loaf Dip – Get the party started with this amazing retro dip.
- Oysters Kilpatrick – Classic entertaining recipe perfect for Christmas or Easter celebrations!
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 800 g cauliflower up to 1 kg will work, separated into chunky florets, with leaves removed and stem removed
- 4 tbsp butter 60 g / 2.1 oz
- 5 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour 60 g / 2.1 oz
- 1 ½ cups milk 375 ml / 12.7 fl oz
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese 165 g / 5.8 oz, shredded / grated
- ½ tsp nutmeg
Optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place cauliflower florets in a large saucepan and cover with around 1.5 L / 3 pints of water. Bring to the boil and boil for 15-20 mins or until cauliflower has softened (test with a fork). Drain and transfer to a baking dish.800 g cauliflower
For the cheese sauce:
- Melt the butter in the same saucepan you used to cook the cauliflower, on medium – high. Add cornstarch / cornflour and stir well with a whisk for about 1 minute to make sure it’s cooked through. This will stop it tasting like flour in the final sauce. Tip: Aim for a lemon curd consistency here – if it’s too thin, add another ½ tbsp cornstarch / cornflour and mix well.4 tbsp butter, 5 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour
- Turn off the heat to pour in milk (this will stop the sauce becoming lumpy). Whisk through quickly, then pop back onto low heat and keep whisking until thickened, around 1 minute. Tip: If the sauce becomes too thick at this stage, add a little more milk to loosen.1 ½ cups milk
- Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir to melt it through the sauce. Tip: You can increase heat slightly to help the cheese melt if needed.1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
- Season with nutmeg, and optional salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Tip: If the sauce is too thick to pour, add a little more milk once again to loosen.½ tsp nutmeg, salt and pepper
To bake:
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower florets, making sure each piece is well coated. Top generously with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake for around 20 minutes or until the cheesy top is bubbly and golden brown.1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
Video
Recipe Notes
- Avoid Watery Sauce – Make sure to drain the cauliflower really well so you don’t end up with extra liquid in your baking dish.
- Sauce Texture – If your sauce is too thick, add another splash of milk and stir to loosen.
- Melting the Cheese – If your cheese is stubbornly refusing to melt, don’t worry! You can increase the heat slight and keep stirring – it will melt eventually!
- Storage – Leftover cauliflower cheese will last for 2-3 days in the fridge, possibly longer, when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Topping – Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, panko or seasoned stuffing mix for extra texture and flavour on that decadent cheese topping!
- Cheese – Swap the cheddar for gruyere, Jarlsberg or raclette for extra bite!
- Roast Instead of Boil – Mum always boils her cauliflower, but you can also use roasted cauliflower if you prefer. Pop on a lined baking tray and roast at 200˚C / 400˚F for around 20 mins until softened and lightly golden on the edges.
- Easier Sauce – Instead of making the mornay cheese sauce, top the cooked cauliflower with thickened cream / heavy cream and cheese, similar to potato bake.
- Extra Veggies – Try it with finely chopped garlic, sliced onions, capsicum / bell pepper or mushrooms stirred through the cauliflower.
- Loaded Cauliflower Cheese – Stir in some lightly fried bacon and/or al dente macaroni before baking for a fusion cauliflower mac and cheese.
Nutrition
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