We all adore cauliflower; we can eat it raw as a snack, roasted or steamed, mashed as a potato substitute, or added to a salad. However, a creamy casserole with layers of intriguing flavor is a terrific way to make dinnertime more exciting.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 50 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 serving olive oil cooking spray
- 1 link sweet apple chicken sausage (such as Trader Joes®), cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- ½ (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 6 ounces shredded pepper Jack cheese
- 4 slices bacon
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and add sausage. Cook over medium heat until sausage are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the prepared slow cooker. Add cauliflower, cream cheese, butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes; stir to combine.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on Low until cauliflower is fork tender, about 2 hours. Stir in pepper Jack cheese and cook for 30 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and crumble once cool enough to handle. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over finished casserole.
- Feel free to substitute other flavors of chicken sausage. Slow cookers vary greatly in their temperatures, so I’d suggest you start checking the cauliflower for doneness at about 1 to 1/2 hours because you don’t want your cauliflower to cook to mush.
- If you have an Instant Pot(R), you can use the Saute function to brown your sausage right in the pot, and then move to the Slow Cook function.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 323 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 858 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this for a side dish. It has great flavor. The problem is that, as written, the cook time is not nearly enough. Slow cookers vary but I would add another 1 1/2 hours. Also I chopped a jalapeno, seeded, instead of the red pepper flakes.
Great recipe! Easy to make!
It’s rare when you see folks going back for seconds when it’s cauliflower. Love it.