Mashed Cauliflower au Gratin Recipe
Perfect For Those That Don’t Like Potatoes
I have two children that don’t really like potatoes, especially mashed. I have two that love them, so seeing the contempt on the two children’s faces that don’t like mashed potatoes, every time I make them for the other two… is heartwarming. Anyway, I thought I would try mashed cauliflower in a dish I would normally use potatoes on, which led me to making this mashed cauliflower au gratin recipe for Thanksgiving!
What You Will Need
- cauliflower
- cheese (I use mozzarella and parm but see the note section below)
- butter
- Montreal steak seasoning
- bread crumbs
Let’ Get Cooking
- Gather everything and preheat your oven to 350℉
- Wash and chop your cauliflower.
- Place cauliflower into a pot and bring to boil, then, allow to simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until soft.
- Strain the cauliflower and place into bowl, then mash with a fork or a potato masher
- Add your cheese, 6 tbsps of butter, and Montreal steak seasoning, mix until combined
- Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Pour cauliflower mixture into the dish evenly. Set aside
- Melt 2 tbsps of butter and mix bread crumbs into it. Sprinkle over the cauliflower dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or until it gets golden on top. Serve warm.
Notes:
- Use whatever cheese you want or experiment. I use 1½ cups of parmesan and 1½ cup of mozzarella, however, you could use swiss or Colby or even cheddar. It really depends on what you like, how sharp you like your cheese, or what you even have on hand.
- If you don’t have Montreal Steak Seasoning, no worry, you can make it… and it won’t have the unnecessary preservatives likely to be in the premade seasonings from the store. Here is a recipe for it from Culinary Hill
- Unless you are low carb dieting, I would consider doubling the bread crumbs and butter at the end. I always say I am going to do this and then always forget.
- My son loves to put barbeque sauce on this and after having a bit… it is so good. This would be a great dish with something from the grill or smoker.
Low Carb Diets
I made this to see if my children that don’t like mashed potatoes would be able to eat this… and they love it… as do the other two, so this is something they ALL four will eat. MIRICLE!
We didn’t make this to be low carb, but it actually kinda is. A serving of about ¾ cup has approximately 14 carbs, with 4 of those being fiber carbs. So, for those watching carbs, this could be something you could have. Of course, there are low carb bread crumbs too, so that would help even more, but as cheese, butter, and cauliflower are low carb items… this could be a great alternative!
A Dish For Anytime
We first made this dish for Thanksgiving, which was actually overlapped with our family’s first Harry Potter Weekend. I tried to find different dishes, we all would eat, that could also be plausibly something you could fine at Hogwarts. So, this is sort of Harry Potter inspired food, not that it is at all mentioned, it just seemed like it could be something served there on a cold, fall evening.
We paired it that first year with a Fruited Pork Roast Recipe, which is cooked with cranberries and raisins, in apple juice. It seemed Thanksgiving appropriate and also seemed like something you’d find on the tables of the Great Hall.
We have had this mashed cauliflower au gratin dish a few times since the first, but next time we make it, I think we might try to make in on the smoker! I really think being a warm cheesy dish, makes it perfect for fall, but with how tasty it was with bbq sauce and the fresh cauliflower of the summer, I think this would be a great side dish at any summer gathering!
This is something that works at several occasions or just as a side dish to any dinner !If you make this, I would love to hear about them! Comment below or head over to Instagram or Facebook, share your pics, and tag me @bemandfam… I’d love to see them!
Don’t forget to pin this for later and if you like Pinterest, I am there too!
Also for those that are like… wait… what is this Harry Potter Weekend all about?… I plan on writing some posts about our years with this tradition, but until then, check out the food we’ve made for our Harry Potter Weekends!
Thanks for stopping by!
BEM and Fam 🙂 
PS. This post has some affiliate links, read more about those here.
- cauliflower 2 large or 3 medium
- 3 cups cheese I use half mozz and half parm, but you can do what you like... even all the same
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1 tbsp Montreal Seasoning or honestly, you could add your favorite seasonings
- 1 cup bread crumbs like panko
- 2 tbsp butter melted
-
Gather everything and preheat your oven to 350℉
-
Wash and chop your cauliflower. Place cauliflower into a pot and bring to boil, then, allow to simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until soft.
-
Strain the cauliflower and place into bowl, then mash with a fork or a potato masher
-
Add your cheese, 6 tbsps of butter, and Montreal steak seasoning, mix until combined
-
Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Pour cauliflower mixture into the dish evenly. Set aside
-
Melt 2 tbsps of butter and mix bread crumbs into it. Sprinkle over the cauliflower dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or until it gets golden on top. Serve warm.
- Use whatever cheese you want or experiment. I use 1½ cups of parmesan and 1½ cup of mozzarella, however, you could use swiss or Colby or even cheddar. It really depends on what you like, how sharp you like your cheese, or what you even have on hand.
- Unless you are low carb dieting, I would consider doubling the bread crumbs and butter at the end. I always say I am going to do this and then always forget.
- My son loves to put barbeque sauce on this and after having a bit… it is so good. This would be a great dish with something from the grill or smoker.
