Does it still count as mac and cheese without the macaroni?
On a continent where people eat between 15.5 and 19.8 pounds of pasta per person, per year (according to the National Pasta Association), it can be mighty tough to tackle a grain-free diet.
Pasta is a staple of multiple meals per week for the average American, and vegetables rank on the opposite end of the spectrum.
It can be like hostage negotiation to get kids to eat their vegetables, on that same continent where over 25% of kids’ daily veggie intake is actually French fries. (Does THAT really count?)
“Just open your mouth, let a bite in!” parents plead. “Try some!”
When I serve this cauliflower mac and cheese the children cheer, “Yay! Cauli-Mac!”
It’s the cheesy, gooey, delicious solution to both an easy grain-free dinner recipe and getting kids to eat their vegetables.
Google Didn’t Have What I was Searching For!
This winter when I Googled “cauliflower mac and cheese” I was hoping for a grain-free recipe with cauliflower in place of the pasta.
I found plenty of recipes, and before I lost patience I viewed dozens that included cauliflower pureed in the sauce or tossed together with the noodles, but not one that had no pasta at all (and most included breadcrumbs on top).
Huh.
Something tells me there’s an opening in the market for this recipe, which is the veggie-rich, pasta-free version of my mac and cheese from Better Than a Box.
My first attempt turned out soupy, a common problem when including veggies with a sauce in the oven, but I found two different ways to fix that right up for you.
My kids, who don’t eat steamed cauliflower if they can get away with it, go back for thirds and even take it cold in their lunches.
My mother-in-law, who would embrace pasta any day, also gave it her seal of approval.
Believe me when I say that “Cauli Mac” will be a hit in your house too!
Kids who haven’t filled up on pasta will have a much better chance of eating – and enjoying – their veggies at dinner, especially when presented in a familiar way.
And a lotta cheese never hurts the presentation, either. 
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe
- 2 medium heads cauliflower, chopped into 1" pieces (about 10 cups)
- 2 c. cottage cheese (all but ½ c. of a 20-oz tub)
- 1 c. sour cream (half of a 16-oz. tub)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. dry mustard
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- Steam the cauliflower at least 15 minutes (10 minutes for a half batch), until it's soft. No al dente here, because you want to be able to squeeze some water out so you don't have mac and cheese soup.
- Alternate method for those who plan ahead well: Use frozen cauliflower OR just cut and freeze at least one day before the meal. Thaw on the counter for at least an hour, preferably 2-3 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Tip the cauliflower into a tea towel or cheesecloth and twist the top to squeeze the excess water out of the vegetables. Don't be afraid to just squish down with all your might; breaking up the cauliflower is no big deal. It won't turn into a puree or anything. 😉 If no water comes out at all, you could either steam the cauliflower a few more minutes or just keep moving and understand that you'll have a little water at the bottom of your cauli-mac. (I pressed the water out right in the zippered bag when using the freezer method.)
- Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, egg and spices right in a 9x13 casserole dish to save dishes. If you'd rather mix quickly, use a deep bowl or even the pot you used to steam the cauliflower. (I like to save on dishes by simply rinsing a pot from steaming veggies and flipping it over on the stove to dry, immediately.)
- Stir in the squeezed cauliflower and shredded cheese. Optionally put some of the cheese right on top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated 350F oven. (Frozen version might need 40 minutes.) Optionally broil a few minutes to brown the top cheese.
Frozen or Steamed? The steamed version will be as soft or softer as you allow the steamed veggies to get. In 15 minutes, they are very soft. The frozen veggies remain a bit more "al dente" after baking, not crunchy but reminiscent of a crunch. I liked both, but especially as leftovers I preferred the steamed/softer version.
What if I don't like cottage cheese? The cottage cheese doesn't really come through in this dish other than as a "creamy" factor, especially if you bake it longer than half an hour to really let everything melt together.
Read the ingredients on the dairy! Many brands of cottage cheese and sour cream have umpteen ingredients. I recommend Daisy brand (milk, cream, salt, enzymes) or Aldi brand sour cream (I think their cottage cheese has other junk in it). I'm sure there are others, but they're not always easy to find.
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So Easy to Make!
- Steam
- Squeeze
- Mix in pan
- Bake!
Make Cauli-Mac a Meal
We like to have a super easy meal by grabbing some semi-compromise-but-not-so-bad sausages from Costco (see what else I buy there), slicing and frying them and serving like this:
Cauli Mac is great as a side dish, too – do you think your kiddos would eat vegetables better this way?
Christine says
I wonder if this can be used to make a freezer meal. It sounds delicious!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Christine,
Hmmm, I don’t know if the sour cream/cottage cheese mixture would freeze well – I think you’d end up with watery problems on baking. But it’s really easy to mix up, so not sure if it warrants being a freezer meal? 🙂 Katie
Diana says
Do yiu think this recipe would work if I browned the cauliflower in butter instead of steaming it?
I love the taste of browned cauliflower… thank you!
Diana
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Diana,
I can’t imagine that it would work – and that sounds delicious! As long as the cooking gets a little water out of the cauli, it serves the purpose. 🙂 Katie
Anu says
I made this yesterday, and it was absolutely delicious ans so easy to make! I am looking forward to eating leftovers! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
That’s great to hear Anu! I even enjoyed our leftovers cold, but I’m weird like that. 🙂 Katie
LWA says
Thanks for the tip on squeezing out the water! My wife made a similar dish a couple of months ago and it was too soupy. I ate it for several days but squeezing the water out would have made all the difference in the world!
Teresa Mazzarella says
Very good, simple recipe! I made mine with half the ingredients, and I used fat free everything (fat free cottage cheese, fat free greek yogurt to sub for sour cream, and fat free mozzarella). It made two good sized portions that I used for lunch.
I think it would be creamier if I used regular cheese (cheddar would be better than mozzarella obviously :)), but still cheesy and tasty! I will definitely make this again.
Kristi says
I made this tonight! I added chopped ham, fresh spinach and kale mix, and used shredded mozzarella instead of cheddar. Very yummy!
Charlene says
I made this the other night and I must say it is really good.
Sarah L. says
I absolutely love this recipe! It is definitely a serious contender against the pasta version of mac n cheese. We’ve recently gone grain-free so my kids still request some of our old staples, but they actually ask for cauli-mac by name (ages 3 and 6, though the toddler would ask for it too, if he could talk). I’ve made it multiple times with various accidental tweaks (forgotten sour cream, extra eggs from extra helpers, etc) and it is always delicious. It’s a good hands-on recipe for little helpers as well. Even the non-veggie eating hubby enjoys it – score!
Theresa says
I’ve made this many times and we love it! For some reason I absolutely hate squeezing the water out of cauliflower, so I tried mixing all the cheese sauce ingredients in a saucepan and cooking until it was thickened and cheese was melted. Then I poured it over the veggies and mixed it up and served. Worked perfectly! You have to be ok with a few cottage cheese lumps, but if it saves me from squeezing out that cauliflower it’s a win! Faster too since you don’t have to do the extra steps of baking or squeezing the water out. Have I mentioned I hate doing that? 😉
Cecilia Marie Evans says
I’m planning on making this with some baked brined chicken thighs. My question is would cream cheese work instead of cottage cheese and sour cream? I’m not a fan of either and I don’t have them but I do have 8oz of cream cheese. How about greek yogurt?
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Hi Cecilia,
I’m probably far too late to help your dinner but wanted to answer anyway – I think Greek yogurt can almost always replace sour cream, and I would guess cream cheese would be yummy in place of cottage cheese. It won’t be the same result, of course, but it should still be creamy and yummy! 🙂 Katie
PS – if you tried these substitutions, I’d love to hear how it went!
Fleecefriend says
So thrilled to have just found your site. I am curious how you might modify this recipe for use with the Instant Pot? Just steam or use “manual” for one minute, then proceed as directed? Would it still be necessary to squeeze extra moisture out? Could you possibly do the bake time as “pot in pot” in the Ipot? Thanks for posting this recipe!
Anna says
I was wondering the same about steaming in the instant pot.
kirbjamm says
I would also love to know your suggestions on how to modify this recipe for the Instant Pot, thanks!
Katie Kimball says
Hey kirjamm – so sorry I lost track of this question! I answered above – ultimately not sure I could do the whole thing in the IP but you could certainly steam in it. 🙂 Katie
Katie Kimball says
Whoops, sorry I lost track of this question! Not sure how that happened, but as far as using the IP, certainly you could steam for 1 minute and move on with the recipe (although I don’t find that that’s ANY faster – and may be slower – than just steaming in a regular pot on the stovetop). I’m really not sure if the baking part could be done in the IP. I’d worry about the cheeses not being moist enough for the pressure cooker to get to pressure, and I wouldn’t want to add any water. “Pot in pot” isn’t something I’ve experimented with yet, so sorry! 🙂 Katie
Rachaelle M Reid says
Hi,
This recipe sounds yummy. Is there anything I can use in place of the egg.
Katie Kimball says
Hi Rachaelle,
You can just skip the egg entirely without much problem. Enjoy! 🙂 Katie
Deb says
Unfortunately, none of my vegetable haters went for this one, including my husband. 🙁 I liked it, which is good because I will be eating the whole pan that is left over.
Connie says
In the process of baking this right now… it smells amazing and licking the spatula even tasted amazing!!! I used about 1/2 C shredded sharp white cheddar just to use it up. I know this will taste delicious especially with the cottage cheese to add a creamy texture!!! Thank you so much for all your hard work into tweeking this to be just right 🙂 Love it!