A traditional, comforting English dish eaten as a side for four people or as a main with potatoes or toast for two people.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅔ cups milk
- 3 ½ ounces grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- salt and ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower; cover the saucepan with a lid and steam cauliflower until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk flour into melted butter; cook, stirring constantly until raw flour taste cooks off and mixture darkens, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Gradually whisk milk into butter mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 8 minutes. Remove pot from heat; stir in Cheddar cheese. Season sauce with salt and white pepper.
- Stir steamed cauliflower into cheese sauce; season with salt and white pepper.
- For a richer dish, replace 2 tablespoons of the milk with heavy whipping cream. Breadcrumbs mixed with more grated cheese put on top of the dish and grilled until crispy makes this more of a treat.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 634 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 37 g |
| Cholesterol | 129 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 28 g |
| Sodium | 719 mg |
| Sugars | 17 g |
| Fat | 44 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I loved this recipe. I started cooking my sauce in too small a pot, so instead of mixing in all the florets at the end I simply spooned the sauce over the cauliflower on my plate and enjoyed. I can’t wait to consume the leftovers – which are properly mixed up with the sauce and put into Tupperware.
This is an easy side dish (Thanksgiving worthy). I added 2 T of mustard in with the milk – and substituted about 1/3 of the milk with some leftover half and half. I copied someone else’s tip and added pretzel breadcrumbs on the top and broiled it for a few minutes at the end. Delicious! Will be making it again soon.
Yummy, but there was more cheese sauce than I needed. I am going to use the rest make mac & cheese!
Simply a great cauliflower classic!
Just an all around great side dish. Really enjoyed it!
We enjoyed it more than plain cauliflower for sure!
I made this and was very good except next time make hall of the sauce. Was to much for one head of cauliflower.
Add the Panko bread crumbs and put under the broiler to brown. Absolutely delicious!
I grew up eating CC in the UK, and I occasionally get a hankering for it. This recipe is just ok imo. I found the sauce to be a little on the thick side, and not nearly cheesy enough. Also, there really wasn’t enough of it to smother a decent-sized head of cauli. I added more milk and extra sharp Cheddar, and also a bit of Coleman’s mustard. Didn’t have a lot of breadcrumbs so I made up the difference with Panko – worked well. Served it with British-style sausages. Fab!
This resulted in a really thick and rather flavorless cheese sauce. Next time I will add extra cheese and thin a bit with milk. A good base for cheese sauce.