Comforting and Vegan Baked Cauliflower and Cheeze

Mac and cheese comes in all shapes and sizes: from Kraft to Amy’s, dairy-free to gluten-free, there seems to be a lot of options out there for all kinds of dietary restrictions.

But if we’re being honest, probably the main reason we like mac and cheese so much is the cheese. Or, in the case of vegans, cheeze.

So I’ll present an obvious answer for an obvious question: how do you make mac and cheese a bit lighter without compromising the cheesy flavor? Replace the mac!

You can keep the lusciousness of the cheese sauce and the comfort of enjoying it, and all you have to do is get rid of the carby pasta and replace it with a vegetable.

Imagine that: eating mac and cheese and vegetables at the same time. Apparently that’s possible!

This “mac” and cheeze is:

• cheesy and creamy
• warm and comforting
• vegan and dairy-free
• 10/10 delicious

Note: I would absolutely recommend making your own breadcrumbs for this (and not just because it’s hard to find premade ones that don’t have eggs/milk in them–honestly what the heck). They come out so flavorful, not to mention you get to control the seasonings you put in them.

Here’s a link to the breadcrumb recipe I used (it made just enough for this recipe, too!)

Comforting and Vegan Baked Cauliflower and Cheeze

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 27 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 7 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets made about 6-7 cups of florets
• 1/4 cup vegan butter
• 3 tbsp wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk, unsweetened such as coconut or almond
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cups vegan cheddar shreds such as Follow Your Heart or Daiya
• 3/4 cup vegan breadcrumbs (optional: make your own using link in notes)
• olive oil spray as needed

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange cauliflower florets in a single layer on a baking dish and spray or drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until just slightly soft and tops begin to turn golden. Set aside and turn off oven for now.
• Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat, then add and melt the vegan butter. Whisk in flour and continue whisking for about 5 minutes, until thickened slightly and beginning to bubble. Whisk in the non-dairy milk until thoroughly combined. Whisk occasionally for another 5-10 minutes, until thickened and starting to bubble. Whisk in the nutritional yeast, then the vegan cheddar shreds until melted together. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Add the roasted cauliflower to the cheeze sauce and toss to coat well. Transfer the coated cauliflower to a casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then spray with a bit of olive oil spray.
• Bake at 350F for 25 minutes, then broil on high for 1-2 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden and cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!

Notes

Note: making my own breadcrumbs from scratch was not only easy, but I think made the dish overall more flavorful (not to mention it makes the perfect amount for this recipe). Here is the link to the recipe I followed: https://onedishkitchen.com/breadcrumbs-recipe. If you can find vegan breadcrumbs in the store, by all means use them if you’re shorter on time.

Keyword cauliflower, cheesy, dairy-free, main course, side dish, snack, vegan

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