Thanksgiving is probably going to look a little different for a lot of us this year, but we can still celebrate, enjoy good food and each other’s company in new and creative ways. Since a lot of Thanksgiving gatherings will be a bit smaller this year, I’m going to take advantage of cooking less volume by adding a little more flair. Maybe go for that fancy cheese. Add that extra topping. Cook a sauce from scratch. It’s all easier and more affordable when you’re cooking for a smaller crowd. So that’s what I did with this super cheesy, Loaded Cauliflower Casserole. It’s a rich and indulgent side dish with tons of fun toppings and a smaller batch size, fit for a smaller 2020 Thanksgiving feast.
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Adding that extra flair is also more affordable thanks to the awesome selection at my local ALDI store. They have everything I need for a traditional Thanksgiving feast, plus those fun specialty ingredients that can take your meal to the next level, all for unbeatable prices. And their cheese selection? Ah-maz-ing. So, I had a little fun with the cheese in this dish and used two different varieties of cheddar. #noregrets
What Kind of Cheese is Best?
Cheddar is definitely the best choice for this Cheesy Loaded Cauliflower Casserole because it melts smoothly and has a rich and creamy flavor. But you can play around with different flavors of cheddar to give the dish more flair. I used Emporium Selection Vintage Selection White Cheddar from ALDI for the cheese sauce, and their classic Happy Farms Mild Cheddar for the topping. If you want to try something more fun, they have tons of seasonal flavored cheddars like smoked cheddar, hatch pepper cheddar, or Cajun spice cheddar, all of which would all be incredible in this casserole.
Use the ALDI store finder here to find a store near you, then tell me in the comments below what kind of cheese you tried, so I can go try it too. ;)
What Else Can I Add?
If you want to add even more to your already “loaded” cauliflower casserole, I have some ideas. I tend to like things spicy, so a few thinly sliced jalapeños would be awesome, especially if coupled with a few small dollops of cooling sour cream. Slices of avocado might also be nice. Or, if you want to take this a different direction, a light drizzle of sweet and tangy BBQ sauce would be an amazing compliment to the creamy, cheesy sauce.
Want to turn it into a meal casserole? Add some shredded chicken or browned Italian sausage before drenching the cauliflower with sauce.
What is the Serving Size?
While I could probably easily eat half of this myself, I don’t think that would be a reasonable serving size, considering how rich this casserole is. This recipe makes about six smaller Thanksgiving sized servings (serving sizes tend to shrink when you’re trying to fit more items on one plate), or maybe four regular weeknight-dinner-sized side dish servings. It all depends on how many other items you’re serving with your meal.
Can the Recipe be Doubled?
Yes, absolutely! I purposely made this a smaller batch size recipe, but if you do have more mouths to feed this recipe is easily doubled. As long as you use a 9×13″ casserole dish so that everything is still evenly spread out, the cook times should all remain the same.
Cheesy Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
Servings 6 about ¾ cup eachIngredients
- 4 oz. Appleton Farms Hickory Bacon ($1.63)
- 1 head cauliflower ($2.29)
- 3 Tbsp Countryside Creamery Salted Butter (0.42)
- 3 Tbsp Baker's Corner All-Purpose Flour ($0.03)
- 2 cups Simply Nature Organic Whole Milk ($0.75)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp Simply Nature Organic Garlic Powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp Stonemill Black Pepper ($0.02)
- 6 oz. Emporium Selection Vintage Cheddar, shredded ($3.16)
- 2 oz. Happy Farms Mild Cheddar, shredded ($0.42)
- 1/4 cup Chef's Cupboard French Fried Onions ($0.16)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.11)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the grease in the pan and let it drain on a paper towel lined plate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the leaves and stem from the cauliflower, then cut it into small florets. Add the cauliflower florets to a pot and cover with water. Place a lid on the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Let the cauliflower boil for about 5 minutes, or until it is fork tender. Drain the cauliflower well in a colander.
- While the cauliflower is draining, prepare the cheese sauce. Add the butter and flour to a sauce pot. Melt the butter over medium heat, then continue to cook and stir the flour and butter for about two minutes more.
- Whisk the milk into the flour and butter until it is fully dissolved, and no lumps remain. Continue to heat and stir over medium until the milk reaches a gentle simmer, at which point it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream.
- Season the white sauce with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat, then begin adding the shredded vintage cheddar, one handful at a time, making sure it has fully melted in before adding the next handful. If the sauce becomes too cold to melt the cheese, place it over low heat only until all the cheese has melted into the sauce.
- Place the boiled and drained cauliflower in a 2-quart casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower, making sure it is fully covered. Top with the remaining 2 oz. shredded mild cheddar and the French Fried onions.
- Bake the cauliflower for only ten minutes, then switch the oven from bake to broil and broil for 3-5 minutes, or just until the top is slightly browned (broiling is optional). Do not over bake the casserole, or the cheese sauce will split.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and top with the cooked bacon and sliced green onions. Serve hot.
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How to Make Cheesy Loaded Cauliflower Casserole – Step by Step Photos
Cook about 4oz. bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove it from the grease in the pan and let it drain on a paper towel lined plate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the leaves and stem from one head cauliflower, then cut it into florets. Add the florets to a large pot, cover with water, place a lid on top, then bring it up to a boil over high heat. Let the cauliflower boil until fork tender (about 5 minutes). Drain the cauliflower in colander.
Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a pot over medium heat (I used the same pot from the cauliflower to avoid dirtying another pot). Add 3 Tbsp flour and continue to cook and stir for about two minutes.
Whisk two cups of milk into the butter and flour mixture until it is fully dissolved, and no lumps remain. Continue to cook and stir the milk over medium heat until it comes to a gentle simmer, at which point it will thicken to about the same consistency as heavy cream.
Season the sauce with ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp pepper, and ¼ tsp salt.
Remove the sauce from the heat and begin adding the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, making sure it is fully melted in before adding more. If the sauce becomes too cold to continue melting the cheese, place it over low heat only as you melt in the rest of the cheese.
When all of the cheese has been melted into the sauce it will be thick and cheesy.
Place the cooked and drained cauliflower in a 2-quart casserole dish, then pour the cheese sauce over top, making sure to fully cover the cauliflower.
Add the final 2oz. shredded mild cheddar and ¼ cup French fried onions on top. Bake the casserole for ten minutes, then switch the setting on the oven from bake to broil. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or just until you get some slightly browning on top.
After baking, add the final toppings: cooked bacon and sliced green onions. Serve hot and enjoy the creamy, cheesy goodness!
This recipe has been my go-to for pot-lucks and family gatherings. It’s a holiday favorite. Seriously, thank you. I add some pepperjack for a little spice too.
I loved the way this came out. I wanted to make this a main meal so I increased it to serve 8 and added more stuff, like mushrooms and farro. I also added more seasonings, like garlic powder, paprika and an all-purpose seasoning. Also used broccoli as it has more fiber and cauliflower gives me gas. I didn’t do the broiler but I cooked it for 20 minutes. Thanks so much for sharing. So tasty. Will definitely make this over and over again.
Would this work with broccoli instead of cauliflower? I need green for a Thanksgiving side.
Yes, it should work similarly, although I haven’t tested it to know if there are any quirks!
Would I be able to put this together Thanksgiving morning, place in the refrigerator and bake once I get to the host’s house?
I don’t see why not! Just make sure that you place plastic film directly on the top surface so condensation can’t form. You should also verify if the host will be using the oven and, if they are, what temp it will be at. XOXO -Monti
I looked through the comments to see if anyone had asked if broccoli would be a good substitute, and there was one that asked if, when doubling the recipe, you could use cauliflower and broccoli… to which you had replied yes.
I happened upon a great sale on fresh broccoli the other day and picked up a bunch, with no plan as to how I intend to use it. I rarely do this because then I find I either don’t use the item and it goes bad, or I’ll make a new recipe and end up having to buy even more ingredients to incorporate it into my menu plan. Since I use a LOT of frozen broccoli, I figured I could work it in somewhere.
Sorry, long post to get to the actual question… do you think broccoli would be a good substitute for the cauliflower? I’m thinking with slightly less cooking time, perhaps?
Broccoli would make a great substitute. Since its florets aren’t as dense as cauliflower, I would reduce the cooking time. XOXO -Monti
This recipe tasted great, and was very filling, but the baking phase came out with a lot of extra water in the pan, even after only boiling the cauliflower for 5 minutes, and draining it. I’m not sure if part of the problem is because I used Campbells cheese soup thinned with a bit of milk to cheat on the sauce, but it seems I constantly have the issue of too much water coming out of my cauliflower. Other than that issue, I really enjoyed this recipe.
Try adding broccoli with the cauliflower and continue with the rest of the recipe
I made the cheese sauce in the same pan that I fried the bacon in, seemed like a waste of bacon flavor and too many pans. I only added 2 tbsp of butter though.
I wish I would have baked this in an shallower/wider pan rather than a small square dish like the photos. The fried onions on top were amazing.
I served this on its own for dinner and got 4 servings. I think it would be a little over complicated for making a whole thanksgiving dinner. I’d only make it for that if I was bringing one thing to someone else’s event.
The prep time is wrong on this recipe. I’ve made it before and it’s great, but cooking bacon and boiling cauliflower deffo takes more than 5 minutes. Love your site, thank you so much for keeping my family fed.
Cooking bacon and boiling the cauliflower are part of the cooking time. Prep time is anything that is done before or after cooking. :)
This looks amazing and I’d love to make it more of a full meal – do you think this would be good with chopped pre-cooked chicken added in before baking?
Yes, that would probably be great!
My family like vegetables anyway – but practically SWOONED over this recipe last night! My 16-year old sighed “where has this BEEN all my life”? LOL! Delicious – thank you!
Have you tried starting it in an instant pot and then under broiler to brown top?
No, I haven’t tried that.
I plan to make this very soon but I do not like french fried onions. What could I substitute to still get the crunch? Any suggestions? Thanks! :0)
You could use buttered bread crumbs – kind of like a traditional mac n cheese
Can this be made a day ahead without breaking the sauce if I stopped at the end of step 6 and didn’t add the fried onions until baking?
I’m not going to suggest that because it will need too much time in the oven to heat back up and you’ll be in danger of the sauce separating. I made this recipe several times during the testing phase and if it’s in the oven much longer than 15 minutes the sauce breaks. When you make it fresh, the cauliflower and sauce are already hot when it goes in the oven, so all you really need is a few more minutes to melt the cheese on top. :)
Would almond milk work for this recipe?
I wouldn’t use almond milk because it’s not creamy enough.
The image isn’t transferring over to the recipe printable. Do I need to adjust something for this? Thank you
That’s an error that we’re trying to fix right now. It should be resolved soon. :)
Also check ‘flare’ vs ‘flair’ ……
Wow, that’s embarrassing! Thanks for catching that. 😬
Looks yummy! I’m not a huge cauliflower fan, but this gets my buy-in big time
I was literally just thinking about a cheesey veggie concoction to make for my dinners this week! Perfect! Do you think frozen veggies would work as well?
Yes, I think you could use frozen cauliflower for this. :) I would follow the same instructions, just boil for a shorter amount of time, since they are already par-boiled before freezing.
oh my gosh very fluffy and yummy. thanks for sharing. can you please suggest some top recipes for chicken for dinner? thanks,
This looks delicious, but I wonder what just happened to your amazing, beautiful, wonderful and full of guidance posts. I have followed your posts for years and now find myself with a bunch of specific brands and items you are touting. You have rarely done this in the past and this doesn’t feel like your calling card. I’m in Canada and though we don’t have the same standards of measurement or not nearly the same selection of products, I constantly tell friends and family about your blog. Please don’t go the sponsored route. Not sure that’s what’s happening here, but felt I needed to voice my opinion as a truly devoted fan. I literally search here daily for inspiration and many have turned into family favorites.
Sponsored posts help make it possible for me to provide this website to you. I’m extremely picky about the brands I work with and only participate when it’s a brand that I truly love and can recommend. If I’m already going to recommend a brand and support them (which I do for ALDI frequently), I’m going to accept their support right back. I typically only do 2-4 of these per year, despite getting requests from brands on a daily basis, so you can rest assured that this isn’t something I take lightly or plan to do on a frequent basis.
I made this dish tonight for my family (husband whom has gone kindof keto 🤷♀️, myself and two vegetable-avoidant children that are under 10). My family FOUGHT to have seconds until my husband claimed the rest for lunch tomorrow. So I’m going to have to double this recipe next time! Thank you! Because of you my family thinks I’m a magician in the kitchen multiple times a month.
On another note, I LOVE the sponsored posts! I love to check out what you undoubtedly use and it’s a great way to support this website which has saved me in the kitchen and the grocery store (especially this year) for FREE, more times than I can count.
Your website and recipes have guided us from the lowest budget imaginable to being able to not pay attention to price tags and everywhere in between for FREE. Thank you! ❤️
Thanks for the reply. I don’t mind a sponsored post now and then, I just didn’t want to see tons of recipes going forward full of products I don’t have access to. I’m looking forward to trying this dish with my family of cauliflower deniers. I plan to substitute with what I have available, in true budget bytes fashion.
Good to hear. :) Even when I do a sponsored post I make sure the ingredients are simple and accessible, so you can swap out non-branded items when needed! I’m all about my readers first.
That’s so funny – I skimmed the ingredients list and just saw the basics: ‘bacon, butter, cauliflower, cheeses, milk, flour, spices/salt/pepper’, etc … I didn’t even pay attention to the sponsored brand names … sorry, I glossed over that!
Our family just started a low-carb/keto plan and all I wanted to check was how well it could be adapted, which looks like is quite well.
I’m in Canada too, and long ago stopped worrying that I couldn’t match the specific brand given in a recipe. My local market has a great selection of international products, so I’ve found some brands you do recommend, but it’s never held me back from making many of your recipes over the years if the specific product isn’t exactly the same. And obviously I didn’t really notice. Since we don’t have “Appleton Farms Hickory Bacon” in Canada I’ll be using 4 oz. of Costco’s Kirkland pre-cooked crumbled bacon bits ‘cuz that’s all we ever keep in the house, and I know this will still turn out as scrumptious as it looks! Your mentioning of a sponsor’s brand, that pays your bills, doesn’t deter me from making a great dish, as long as whatever I have on hand works in the recipe. And this looks like it’ll be another 5-star regular rotation!
This is the reality of running a site like this. It costs money. A lot. I know – I used to work in web development and e-commerce. If you want a free recipe then the website owner has to generate revenue another way. That’s just the reality of this model.
Id doubled could you use both vaulidlower and broccoli?
You could probably do a mixture of broccoli and cauliflower, yes. :)
Sounds great