I’ve really really been trying to curb my pasta dependency (addiction?) lately. One of the easiest ways to do that is to just swap vegetables for the pasta, but I’m not really into spiralizing or zoodles, so I’m exploring other ideas. (You may have noticed my Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce last week, same idea.) This week I was craving mac and cheese and I know a lot of people do cauliflower mac, but I decided to take it up a notch and roast my cauliflower with a spicy and smoky blend of spices first. OMG WIN. This Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce is the 💣.
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Adjust the Heat
If you don’t want spicy, simply leave the cayenne pepper out of the spice mix and you’ll still have a deliciously smoky and garlicky cauliflower that will go really well with the cheese sauce. 👍
No-Roux Cheese Sauce
I made a “quick” cheese sauce for this, which uses evaporated milk to emulsify the cheese instead of a flour and butter roux. If you don’t want to go that route, you can make my 5-Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce instead. My only regret with this quick cheese sauce is that because I made such a small amount I have 2/3 of a can of evaporated milk leftover, which I now I have to find a use for. Any ideas??
Evaporated Milk is a MUST.
And no, sadly, you can not use almond, coconut, cashew, or even plain milk for this. Evaporated milk is needed to get the correct emulsification action. If you’re looking for a vegan cheese sauce, this one from Minimalist Baker looks good, although I haven’t tried it. She’s really good about testing, re-testing, and testing recipes again until they are 💯, though.
Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
Servings 2Ingredients
Spicy Roasted Cauliflower
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
- 1 lb. frozen cauliflower florets ($1.59)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
Quick Cheese Sauce
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 4 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded ($0.90)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
- Spread the frozen cauliflower florets out onto a baking sheet (no need to thaw first), then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the spices over top. Toss the cauliflower in the oil and spices until they are fairly evenly coated.
- Transfer the seasoned cauliflower to the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once half way through.
- About half way through the roasting time, begin the cheese sauce. Add the evaporated milk and butter to a small sauce pot. Heat over medium, while stirring, until the butter has melted and the evaporated milk is hot. This should only take a couple of minutes.
- Turn the heat under the evaporated milk to LOW and begin whisking in the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, making sure the cheese is fully melted before adding the next handful. Once all the cheese is melted into the evaporated milk the sauce will thicken. If it’s still very liquidy, keep the sauce over low heat and whisk constantly until it thickens. Often the cheese appears to be completely melted, but it has not yet totally emulsified. Remove the cheese sauce from the heat until ready to serve.*
- Once the cauliflower has finished roasting, divide it into bowls or place it in a serving platter, then pour the cheese sauce over top. Serve immediately.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl combine 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Place a pound of frozen cauliflower florets (no need to thaw) on a baking sheet and drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over top. Sprinkle spices onto the cauliflower and then toss them until they are coated in oil and spices. Roast for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring once halfway through.
Toward the end of the roasting time, begin the cheese sauce. This sauce is SO FAST and easy, but it does get a little grainy as it cools, so make sure to make it just before serving. It does smooth out again if gently heated and whisked, though.
Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup evaporated milk to a small sauce pot. Heat and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the evaporated milk is hot. Once hot, turn the heat down to low and whisk in 4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar, one handful at a time, making sure the cheese is fully melted before adding the next handful. Once all the cheese is melted in and the sauce is hot, it will thicken like the photo above. If the sauce gets too thick, simply whisk in another splash of the evaporated milk.
When the cauliflower is finished roasting, plate it up and pour the cheese sauce over top. Serve immediately. If the cheese sauce has cooled too much to pour before the cauliflower is finished, it can be smoothed out again by whisking over low heat.
DIG IN! Seriously so delish. Oh, and these servings are pretty big. If you are doing this as a side it would be more like 3 or 4 servings.
Looks delicious and I love that it uses frozen cauliflower.
Love simple roasted cauliflower. Just olive oil, salt & pepper.
Fresh cauliflower is 1.19 / lb here in Vancouver Canada at my produce store.
I just cut steak size slabs about 1/2 inch thick. If it breaks apart, no problem.
Less prep time.
Put all ingredients in a big bowl, mix and spread on parchment lined baking pan.
I roast at 400 F for about 40 min. and turn the pieces 1/2 way through.
I don’t need cheese sauce or extra spices.
It is the best cauiflower you will ever taste.
A small head of cauliflower costs about $2.25 and there are rarely any leftovers.
I can easily eat the whole thing.
Sooooo good!!!!!!!!!!
Is this really 28 carbs per serving, thought it would be much less!
I just re-ran the ingredients through the nutrition calculator (we used to have a Dietitian calculate them by hand) and it still came out to 20g carbs per serving, most of which come from the cauliflower and evaporated milk. It’s showing 1 lb. of cauliflower florets as having 23g carb, and ½ cup evaporated milk at 13g. Other ingredients had a gram or two here and there.
I did use coconut milk, also added some jalapeño jack to make up the creaminess. Came out delicious!
I plan to try because it looks so good. Regarding uses for leftover canned evaporated milk, I use it in my coffee, baking and cooking. I don’t like to drink it straight though.
You can freeze leftover evaporated milk! It can sometimes get a little grainy, but I use it in quiche and other heated dishes without any issue.
Love this recipe. I can only find 12 oz bags of frozen cauliflower, so I used two bags and we still ate it all lol. I don’t like dealing with a partially open can of evaporated milk, so I halved the “5 minute nacho cheese sauce” recipe and it worked great.
This is delicious! The flavor on the cauliflower is amazing. I absolutely love smoked paprika and it really adds great flavor to this dish. I didn’t have the evaporated milk to make the sauce so just shredded some cheddar cheese on top and let it melt. I will make this again and again!
#1 best recipe on your site ever. This cauliflower is even good without the sauce. The flavoring blend is just right, and the cauliflower is a whole different creation once it roasts. The touch of cayenne is a must. I made my sauce more like a regular white sauce with reduced amount of fat (used oil, too) but am sure the evaporated milk/butter/cheese mixture is very good.
Thank you for this. We have cut way back on our pasta consumption, but I am always looking for delicious substitutes for side dishes. This looks soooooooo good.
If you can’t do the evaporated milk, look up sodium citrate. It basically does the same thing. I use it for all of my cheese sauces.
I make this quite frequently! I love to add rice and or vegan chicken. So Delicious!
I don’t usually like cheese vegetables but this was so DELICIOUS
I used fresh cauliflower and I didn’t have the hot spices so I used a tablespoon or two of sriracha chili sauce (not the hot sauce, the other one)
I cooked it the same amount of time with fresh cali
It was yummy. I did change the cheese sauce; I made a roux with 1/2 T butter and 1/2 T oil, added 1/2 c fat free half and half and 1/2 c milk; simmer and stir until bubbly, added the cheese. It was delicious. Will try the evap milk version next time. I used fresh cauliflower b/c that is what I had. Frozen would be much cheaper.
Fantastic recipe. The cheese sauce was perfect. And love how the Smokey cauliflower tasted with it. I also added in some peas and crumbled impossible meat- just the vegetable heavy, mac and cheese replacement I was looking for.
I had broccoli and cauliflower so did both.m on one big tray. Works great!
Easy and delicious! I love budget bytes and tell everyone about it
Yum!! I was a bit skeptical since I’ve been underwhelmed by roasted cauliflower in the past, but this was great. The spices and cheese combined to be greater than the sum of their parts!
The cauliflower was AMAZING! My 6 yr old, who loves all veggies EXCEPT cauliflower, ate 3 helpings of this!
I will say, however, that no one enjoyed the cheese sauce :(
My hubs who hates vegetables actually likes oven roasted cauliflower. This is a nice variation with the cheese sauce! No leftovers here!
YUM. Made this with fresh cauliflower and subbed paprika (I was out) for chili powder. Delicious! Curious to see how the leftovers will hold over
For the cheese sauce, you can substitute evaporated milk for butter, heavy cream, and almond milk. Comes out just beautifully.
My only regret with this quick cheese sauce is that because I made such a small amount I have 2/3 of a can of evaporated milk leftover, which I now I have to find a use for. Any ideas??
Brazilian Lemonade
You could freeze it in an ice cube tray to use another time.
For anyone else wondering about the leftover evaporated milk. I’m using it for a mini portion of the Peach Balsamic ice cream from this site. :)
Just made this as a side for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Though, I think in the future I will at least double the batch to get some leftovers.
I did make a few changes: I omitted the cayenne (I’m a wimp when it comes to spice), I used fresh cauliflower (the cooking time was about 40 minutes), and I made the cheese sauce using butter and flour instead of the evaporated milk.
The fiancé and I tried this recipe tonight and wow, what a winner! I already knew roasted cauliflower is delicious, but that. Geese sauce: SO GOOD.
Looking forward to try out more of your recipes :)
Question. How do you all come up with the pricing of these meals?
I use my receipts to calculate the cost of the portion of the ingredient used (except I use a generous estimate for spices, since the quantities are so small). I wrote up a little guide on how to do it because I think it’s a really insightful practice, even if people only do it once: How to Calculate Recipe Costs.
Made this once as the recipe said and it was delicious! I had extra ingredients for the cheese sauce and happened to have frozen Brussels sprouts instead. The Brussels sprouts made an awesome version too!
I use evaporated milk for my smoothies when I run out of milk or the milk has gone bad, a good way to use up the rest of that can. Thanks for the great recipes! ☺️
I learned from one of Jenny Rosenstrach’s books that you can add the flour to milk to keep it from breaking in a sauce. I didn’t have evaporated milk so I tried that trick with regular milk and it worked great! I mixed in the 1 TBS of flour to the milk, then added that to the melted butter. It is perfectly smooth! Just wanted to share. :)
This is much better than the steamed cauliflower with cheese sauce I had planned on making!
Hi, this recipe looks great! But I was wondering if I could substitute the frozen cauliflower for fresh?
Yes, you definitely can. :) You may need to roast it slightly longer, though, since frozen cauli is blanched before freezing.
I must report – I made your Indian style creamed spinach a few days ago (YUM) and I was looking for what to do with the leftover evaporated milk for dinner tonight … this was perfect!! I had a bag of frozen cauliflower already in the freezer and used the rest of the evaporated milk I had left – love when that happens! You’re a lifesaver when I need dinner ideas Beth!
I never would have imagined that roasting ANY frozen veggie would ever work out as intended. I would think it’d turn into a mushy mess; I’m shocked to know I can use frozen. 😀😀😀
I eat this by itself with or without the cheese sauce, so so good
This looks yummy. I will sub out the cheese sauce for a vegan option with nutritional yeast cheesy sauce. Thank you so much for sharing.
This was easy and delicious. Didn’t add the cheese sauce. Yummy without it!
I love this recipe and it made an awesome meal paired with your curried chickpeas with spinach. Thank you so much!
This is mac & cheese without as much guilt. So good & affordable. It’s in the rotation. Thanks so much!
Evaporated milk is perfect in your morning coffee! Back when I was on WIC, we had a lot of it, so I actually made home made creamer with vanilla extract, a little sugar, and non-fat evaporated milk (but any evaporated milk works fine). Shake it up in a jar and it lasts a week in the fridge!
Do you have any recommendations for pairing with this? I really want to make this, but I also feel like I need a full meal…
I have made this a couple of times with shakshuka or eggs in purgatory as the main, with a salad on the side as well. Delicious!
Yum! I love this simple cheese sauce. Love. I am going to try this on spaghetti squash next. And try not to only eat this moving forward.
This was delish and so easy – my frozen cauli/broccoli mix shrunk quite a bit so I think you could almost double the veg for the amount of cheese sauce. But it was perfect other than that!
This is great. Thank you, Beth!
I’m staying at my grandmother’s and her spice collection is…less diverse than my own. She does have curry powder, though, so I tossed the cauliflower with garlic and curry powders and salt rather than the paprika and it turned out deliciously!
An idea on how to use your left over evaporated milk is to make a carbonara sauce with it. That’s how I made my carbonara sauce, or I did also once make some maple and walnut fudge with it, that went down very well =].
These roasted cauliflower are delicious! Thank you for providing a vegan cheese sauce suggestion! My favorite nacho cheese sauce is by hot for food, I have put my own spin on it and that’s what I used here. Perfection!
This recipe looks divine! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
We ate cauliflower cheese all the time when I was a kid, not asca substitute for mac and cheese, but as it’s own sude dish, like mashed potatoes. Not in the US though.
https://www.thespruce.com/evaporated-milk-995662
Uses for left over evaporated milk!
Thank you! :D
Made this tonight and ate the whole head of cauliflower myself! I loved the full flavor and the cheese sauce mellow out the spice a bit…used fresh cauliflower and added a little extra cheese-delish!
It looks SO indulgent but love that you get a daily dose of veggies underneath that cheese!!! I too like to create things with the are healthy with a side of splurge! Like My Cacio e Pepe Stuffed Spaghetti Squash :) (check it out at http://www.behindtheplates.com)
Made this last night and is was *excellent* – going into our regular rotation!
Any suggestions for a side to go along with this?
OMG this looks delicious xx
http://www.isabellazogheib.com
Looks so delicious – saving this for later!
xx,
Daeyz
http://www.daeyz.com
can you use fresh cauliflower
Yes, you can. :)
Serious Eats has a delicious from scratch for pasta-yes I know this was instead of pasta. Will use up your evaporated milk. For each serving—3 oz. pasta with just enough water to cover and cook until water is nearly gone, add 3 oz. evaporated milk and 3 oz. cheese.. Stir until creamy. You can adjust servings using that formula-and add whatever else you like to personalize to your taste.
Yum, thank you!
I saw the picture and immediately clicked on it because I’m a sucker for cheese……… then I read “cauliflower” and groaned hahaha. This looks AMAZING, though!!
You could always pour the cheese sauce over pasta! Haha :D
This looks amazing.
Does evaporated milk freeze well? You could use little 1/2 cup freezer containers and get 3 portions for future Mac n cheese!
Hmm, good idea! I’ll need to try freezing a small portion to find out!
YUM! I served it as a side using the nacho cheese sauce since I didn’t have any evaporated milk, and I personally would have been happy eating just this for dinner. Thanks for another great recipe Beth!
I use evaporated milk in frittatas or quiches!
This is happening! BTW, leftover evaporated milk=excellent creamed spinach.
Will using fresh cauliflower change the roasting time?
It may, just keep an eye on it and take them out when they begin to brown a bit.
This looks yummy, but I think I will try it with fresh cauliflower!
There is a sale on cauliflower this week, so I think I’ll try this, and pair it with the turkey loaves and see if that works.
this recipe looks and sounds so nice! will have to give this a try soon
Roasted AND covered in cheese? Sign me up. I love how versatile cauliflower can be.
I can’t survive low carb without heavy cream. A shot of cream and a bit of water makes a great emulsifier for the cheese sauce. Fewer carbs than canned milk and tastes better. Freeze extra evap milk in ice cube trays to pop out when you need it.
I’ll have to try that! Thanks for the tip!
This looks so tasty! As for the rest of the evaporated milk, may I suggest…MORE CHEESE SAUCE!
Beth! This is a great idea. I’m following a keto diet, so I appreciate that you didn’t use a roux. I’m going to try it this week. xoxo
Seriously! I’m following keto as well, and I really love all of the lower-carb recipes coming out. I’d still come visit for the beautiful process photos of pasta and beans, but this is even better! lol
This looks great thanks !
Love this recipe that uses 3/4 cup of evaporated milk.
https://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/11/pan-crisped-salmon-with-light-dijon-cream-and-garlic-butter-breadcrumbs/
Thank you!
Where are you finding 4 oz. of cheese for only 13 cents? Is that a typo?
I’d be lucky to find it for $1.13, and I’m a real bargain hound
From doing the math based on the total for the recipe- I’m thinking maybe its .89 for the 4 oz of cheese? That works out for me, I can get a 2.5 lb block of Tillamook sharp for about $9.00 at Costco. .225/oz
Can’t wait to try this!
Hahahah, that was totally a typo. Thanks for letting me know. 😅
I don’t have any evaporated milk on hand. Do you think I could use that other cheese sauce recipe you have for dipping chips?
Yep! That will work just fine. :)