This Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole is easy to make with frozen or fresh cauliflower, sour cream, and cheddar cheese in only 30 minutes.
It is a perfect side dish for potato lovers that fits well in gluten-free, keto, and low-carb diets.
Ingredients
Frozen cauliflower
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese
Green onions
Salt and black pepper
Baconโoptional
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Featured Comment by Sally :
"This is delicious and I make it a lot."
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This cheese cauliflower bake is a delicious vegetable side dish with tender mashed cauliflower in a flavorful cheesy sauce using all-natural products.
Easy to modify by using a different cheese or adding flavor with your favorite spices and herbs. This 30 minutes to complete and is easy enough for novice cooks.
๐จโ๐ณHow to Make Cheesy Cauliflower CasseroleโStep by Step
1. Preheat the oven to 375ยฐ convection or 400ยฐ conventional.
2. Use frozen cauliflower and cook 1 pound of cauliflower florets in the microwave. Follow the instructions on the package.
2b. For Fresh Cauliflower: One medium head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds) will trim out to about 1 pound of well-trimmed florets.
Place the fresh cauliflower florets in a large microwave-safe bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl loosely but not tightly. Cook on high until tender, 4 to 5 minutes, then drain.
3. Prepare a 6 by 9 baking dish or a 9 by 10 Corningware casserole dish with PAM cooking spray.
4. Slice 3 green onions.
5. Move cauliflower to the large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or forks. You could also use a mixer or food processor, but you are NOT trying to cream this. Add sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onion, salt, and black pepper. Bacon is optional.
6. Mix well and pour the mixture into a prepared baking pan. It may be refrigerated or cooked now.
7. Cook in the oven until the top is brownedโabout 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
Related recipes to try
If you are trying to follow a low-carb diet, check out these popular low-carb recipes. Start with super easy Low Carb Tortilla Pizza and add some crunch with Low Carb Parmesan-Sesame Crackers. And top it off with Splenda Lemonade by the glass.
Or try some other cauliflower recipes like Garlic Mashed Cauliflower and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower.
Making ahead
You can freeze cauliflower casserole after assembly but before cooking or freeze leftovers after cooking sealed airtight for three months.
To reheat or cook, thaw completely.
Storage of leftovers
Sealed airtight in the refrigerator for three days or feeze for 3 months. Reheating in the microwave, but we prefer the oven.
What cauliflower to use
This is a perfect frozen cauliflower recipeโno need to thaw the cauliflower. Just cook it according to the package instructions.
The recipe is for one pound of florets, but bags have gotten smaller. Now, most frozen cauliflower comes in 12 oz. bags. If you use 12 oz., please adjust other ingredients.
You can use fresh cauliflower. One medium head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds) will trim out to about 1 pound of well-trimmed florets.
You should precook the fresh cauliflower in a microwave or boil it.
For the Microwave: Place the cauliflower florets in a large microwave-safe bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl loosely but not tightly. Cook on high until tender, 4 to 5 minutes, and drain.
๐ Recipe
Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen cauliflower
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions - sliced thin
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยผ teaspoon black pepper - coarse ground
- 3 slices bacon - optional. Cooked and crumbled.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ยฐ convection or 400ยฐ conventional.
- Use frozen cauliflower and cook 1 pound of cauliflower florets in the microwave. Follow the instructions on the package. For Fresh Cauliflower: One medium head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds) will trim out to about 1 pound of well-trimmed florets.Place the fresh cauliflower florets in a large microwave-safe bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl loosely but not tightly. Cook on high until tender, 4 to 5 minutes, then drain.
- Prepare a 6 by 9 baking dish or a 9 by 10 Corningware casserole dish with PAM cooking spray.
- Slice 3 green onions.
- Move cauliflower to the large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or forks. You could also use a mixer or food processor, but you are NOT trying to cream this. Add sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onion, salt, and black pepper. Bacon is optional.
- Mix well and pour the mixture into aย prepared baking pan. It may be refrigerated or cooked now.ย
- Cook in the oven until the top is brownedโabout 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
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Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Make it "loaded" by adding 3 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon.
- It reheats well in a microwave, but we prefer the oven.
- Pan size. I usually use a 7 X 10 Corning Ware dish. A 6X9 or an 8 X 8 would be good, or anything in about that size range.
- Since this was originally published, many bags of frozen cauliflower have "shrunk" to 12 oz from 1 pound. The recipe will need to be decreased by 25% ย if that is what you have. Cooking time will be about the same.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
ยฉ 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
I was initially inspired by my Cheesy Potatoes with Real Potatoes when we wanted a smaller non-potato casserole side dish over ten years ago and repeated many times since.
Editor's Note: Originally Published February 25, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Jan M says
This was easy and quick to prepare; I also appreciated the note provided as to the point it could be prepared ahead of time and baked later. I halved the recipe and there was still enough for 4 servings. However, I'm sorry to say we did not enjoy the taste of the sour cream at all. The extra bacon and cheese I added did nothing to cover up the sour cream taste. Some day, I may try it with yogurt as others have suggested, or cream cheese, but as is it just did not work for us.
Sally says
This is delicious and I make it a lot. I often don't have green onions so I use yellow onion or dried shallots. Easy to make variations. Sometimes we eat it as a side dish and sometimes as a main dish. Tonight I added 2 cups of leftover chili and maybe 3/4 cup of leftover corn. Added extra cheese on the top.
Marla Williams says
This looks delicious. Can it be made and frozen. If it can be frozen, then should I bake it first or just mix together to bake later?
Thank you so much.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Maria,
Welcome to the blog.
You can freeze this either before or after cooking. It should do well frozen for 2-3 months either cooked or uncooked.
If frozen before cooking, thaw completely before baking.
Dan
Dee says
Tried this last night, I added extra bacon, and it was delicious. It tasted similar to mashed potatoes. Hubby loved it and so this will be on my recipe software. Thanks!