This Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole is easy to make with frozen or fresh cauliflower and loads of good things in only 30 minutes. Everybody will love it, but it's perfect for gluten-free, low-carb, and keto diets.
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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.
😊Why you will love this recipe
- A great vegetable side dish for potato lovers.
- It fits well in gluten-free, low-carb, and keto diets.
- It only takes 30 minutes to complete and is easy enough for novice cooks.
- It can be made ahead and stored.
- Easy to modify by using a different cheese or adding flavor with your favorite spices and herbs.
- Perfect for casual or fancy meals.
- The whole family, including the kids, will love this cauliflower casserole.
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.
👨🍳How to Make Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional.
- Cook cauliflower florets in the microwave.
- Slice green onions.
- Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher. A food processor can be used, but you want some texture, not creamy.
- Add cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onion, salt, and pepper. Add bacon if using. Stir well.
- Mix well and pour the mixture into a prepared baking dish.
- Bake until the top is browned—about 20 minutes.
- Let set for 5 minutes before serving.
The Cauliflower
This is a perfect frozen cauliflower recipe—no 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.
❓FAQs
Yes. 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.
Sealed airtight in the refrigerator for three days. Reheating in the microwave, but we prefer the oven.
📖 Low-Carb Recipes
Low Carb Parmesan-Sesame Crackers
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375° convection or 400° 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.
Slice 3 green onions.
Prepare a 6 by 9 baking dish or a 9 by 10 Corningware casserole dish with PAM cooking spray.
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 a prepared baking pan. It may be refrigerated or cooked now.
Cook in the oven until the top is browned—about 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen cauliflower
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions - sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper - coarse ground
- 3 slices bacon - optional. Cooked and crumbled.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° convection or 400° 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 a prepared baking pan. It may be refrigerated or cooked now.
- Cook in the oven until the top is browned—about 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Your Own Private Notes
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% if that is what you have. Cooking time will be about the same.
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
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Editor's Note: Originally Published February 25, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Jan M
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
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
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
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
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!
Susan Reed
I loved how tasty, quick and simple this recipe is! Thank you!
Sylvia
I just made it with frozen cauliflower, I didn’t squeeze out the water so it came out watery. The sour cream didn’t sit well with me so I might use Greek Yogurt and maybe cream cheese. I would definitely make this again with some tweaks to suit my taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Leah
I made it with fat free Greek yogurt replacing the sour cream and it came out well. I used an 8x8 Pyrex casserole dish and it needed to be baked at 375 for 40 min not 20 in order to brown. Totally crave-worthy!
Lisa
This was great! Used a little less cheese though.
Kate
These were so good! My husband hates cauliflower. I gave him a bite and he immediately went and grabbed a plate to get a serving! :)
Vicky
Tried this tonight and it was great left out sour cream for less calories and was still delicious
jen
What size pan did you use?
DrDan
I usually use a 7X10 (approx.) Corning dish but that is about equal to a 9 inch round cake pan. The size of the dish doesn't matter much.
DrDan
I have seen similar recipes with cream cheese but not my taste. A common substitute for sour cream is plain yogurt but I have not tried it here. If you try the yogurt, please post the results here. Inquiring minds want to know. I would give it a trial run soon and not depend on it working well for Thanksgiving without testing.
Michelle
This sounds great, thinking of taking for Thanksgiving! Is there anything I could use instead of sour cream?
Jen
This was awesome! I love funeral potatoes, but these were so similar. My husband isn't a big cauliflower fan and he loved them.
Mrs. Leeberg
This recipe is beyond delicious! It has become a staple side dish ever since we started eating low carb high fat. Sometimes I add a little bacon and/or Uncle Dan's ranch seasoning to it, just to change it up a bit. Thank you so much for sharing!
Jane
I was wondering if you knew the calories, etc. for a serving. I made it and my family loved it.
DrDan
1090 per recipe which is 272 per serving assuming 4 servings but those are large servings This is low carb not low fat. You can decrease that by about 20% if you use lower fat sour cream and cheese.
Thanks for the note and rating
DrDan
Karen Dwyer
It's even more delicious with lots of bacon crumbled into it!
Meredith Brasca
Very tasty! I was in a bit of a hurry, so I put in in the microwave for 5 minutes, stirred it, and then into the oven for 5 to brown the top. My dad - who does not like cauliflower, liked this. He likes a bit of crunch so I sprinkled some panko crumbs on top and hit broil for 1 more minute. Came out great.
jen
Love the panko crust idea! I'm trying this tonight
Chelsea
Do you think this could be made in a crock pot? If so, any suggestions on cooking times/temps?
DrDan
Most things "can" be cooking in a crock pot. Since nothing is raw except the onion (which doesn't matter much) it is safe. So you just need to get it hot enough to melt and combine ingredients. I will just guess 1 hour on high and then check it since it may take 2 hours. If you try it please post your results. We like the browned top so I won't be doing it.
DrDan
carolyn
yummm can't wait to try so easy. Thanks. I love CC