Cauliflower Au Gratin
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Trust me, anytime you make anything au gratin it is just phenomenal. This cauliflower au gratin I made with bechamel sauce to which I added some mozzarella cheese and topped it off with some grated Parmesan cheese. Now, if you’re not a cauliflower fan, I understand, my husband isn’t one. But if you are, you will love this dish.
Cauliflower Au Gratin
- Great For Busy Weeknights
- Delicious Flavors
- Simple To Make
- Classic Side Dish
Full of cheesy goodness and amazing flavor, this Cauliflower au Gratin dish is one of the most satisfying meals to make. In just under an hour you get it all prepped and cooked, ready to be served on your dinner table. There’s something about the breadcrumbs combined with melted cheese that just blows away your taste buds. So, let’s give this a try!
Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower – Cleaned and cut into florets.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter but regular salted butter works well too.
- Flour – All-purpose flour to make a bechamel sauce with the butter and milk.
- Milk – Any regular 2% brand works well with this recipe.
- Nutmeg – Ground nutmeg to flavor out bechamel sauce.
- Cheese – I used a mix of shredded gruyere and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Breadcrumbs – I prefer to use Panko breadcrumbs because they’re extra crispy.
How To Make Cauliflower Au Gratin
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook the cauliflower: Cook the cauliflower in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until tender but still firm. Drain.
- Make the cheese sauce: In a saucepan, melt the 4 tbsp of butter. Add the flour and whisk, cook for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the roux and stir until smooth. Let it come to a boil, whisking continuously until thickened, another minute after it comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 cup of the gruyere cheese and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Assemble the gratin: In a 9×13-inch casserole dish, pour about ⅓ of the cheese sauce, then place all the cauliflower on top. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the remaining gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese over the casserole.
- Make the breadcrumb topping: Combine the melted butter with the panko breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the cauliflower.
- Bake: Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned.
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
FAQ’s
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Au Gratin mean?
Gratin is a French word, and it is a culinary technique in which an ingredient is topped with breadcrumbs, cheese or butter and it is baked under a broiler to obtain a brown crust.
Why is my cauliflower au gratin watery?
The reason around this is the main ingredient: cauliflower. The dish may get watery if the cauliflower is overcooked – that’s when the florets release more water – or if you haven’t drained the florets well after steaming/boiling them. Make sure the florets are properly drained and that you stick to the exact instructions from the recipe.
What is bechamel sauce?
The bechamel is a traditional French sauce, with a creamy texture used in many French cuisine recipes. If you’re looking to make your own homemade sauce, here is my recipe for Bechamel sauce.
Expert Tips
- If you are looking for a gluten-free option to this recipe, you can switch up the all-purpose flour with any preferred gluten-free flour such as almond flour, buckwheat flour or amaranth flour.
- While nutmeg is one of the main ingredients to get that delicious flavor, if you do end up wanting to leave it out, you can substitute it with a couple of drops of hot sauce or a pinch of ground paprika to boost up the flavors.
- As some of you may enjoy a more meaty add-on, you can mix in some bacon bits with the cauliflower, then cover everything with the last cheesy topping and let everything cook together.
Leftovers
If you end up having any leftovers, let them cool down at room temperature, then store in an airtight container in your fridge. This dish holds well for about 2 days. To reheat, bring to room temperature then place it in the oven at 425°F for 8 – 10 minutes or until hot.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
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Cauliflower Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (cut into florets and cleaned)
- 4 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk (hot)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1½ cup gruyere cheese (grated)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 2 tablespoon butter (melted)
- ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook the cauliflower: Cook the cauliflower in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until tender but still firm. Drain.
- Make the cheese sauce: In a saucepan, melt the 4 tbsp of butter. Add the flour and whisk, cook for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the roux and stir until smooth. Let it come to a boil, whisking continuously until thickened, another minute after it comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 cup of the gruyere cheese and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Assemble the gratin: In a 9×13-inch casserole dish, pour about ⅓ of the cheese sauce, then place all the cauliflower on top. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the remaining gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese over the casserole.
- Make the breadcrumb topping: Combine the melted butter with the panko breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the cauliflower.
- Bake: Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned.
Equipment
Notes
- If you are looking for a gluten-free option to this recipe, you can switch up the all-purpose flour with any preferred gluten-free flour such as almond flour, buckwheat flour or amaranth flour.
- While nutmeg is one of the main ingredients to get that delicious flavor, if you do end up wanting to leave it out, you can substitute it with a couple of drops of hot sauce or a pinch of ground paprika to boost up the flavors.
- As some of you may enjoy a more meaty add-on, you can mix in some bacon bits with the cauliflower, then cover everything with the last cheesy topping and let everything cook together.
- If you end up having any leftovers, let them cool down at room temperature, then store in an airtight container in your fridge. This dish holds well for about 2 days. To reheat, bring to room temperature then place it in the oven at 425°F for 8 – 10 minutes or until hot.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This was absolutely delicious!! The only change I made to the recipe was roasting the cauliflower, rather than boiling it. It adds an additional depth of flavor!
Jo, I love your recipes and find myself making ones from you almost exclusively. One request would be to add make ahead instructions alongside the reheating ones for your recipes.
Thank you so much!
Thanks, Paul! Happy to hear you’re enjoying my recipes. You’ll find that some recipes where I think make ahead is a good idea, there will be instructions for them.
This was so good. My family raved about it so much that I made it for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I cooked the cauliflower a day ahead of time, which made it easier to finish on a busy day.
This sounds wonderful, and I have everything but the cauliflower!! I’ll have to remedy that soon.
In the intro, you mention adding mozzarella to the dish, but it’s not in the ingredients. Did you mean gruyere? Or is the gruyere listed in the ingredients supposed to be mozzarella?
Hi Beth,
You can definitely use Gruyere or substitute that with more Parmesan or Provolone cheese.
I would like to substitute with a. Different cheese- more common. Can I use cheddar or provolone,or colby?
You can either add more Parmesan or substitute the Gruyere cheese with Provolone. Let us know how it turns out!
I have not make this Cauliflower casserole yet, BUT, I want to. Seeing cauliflower comes in various sizes, what size/weight do you suggest. It’s always helpful when a recipe gives weight/cups etc. What may be a small, medium or large cauliflower to you may be different to the next person, that’s why giving a weight of an item, or instead of 1 celery rib, also give a measure in ounces, grams or cups. Thankyou, for all your recipes, and the work you put into them.
Thanks for the input John. In one of the photos where we present the ingredients you will be able to see a large bowl filled with the cauliflower florets to give the readers an idea of the amount. Since cauliflowers come in various sizes, mostly large I would suggest using one large head of cauliflower.
Let us know how this recipe turns out for you!
I cant get enough of cauliflower recipes! One of my fave veggies!!