Hello, wonderful readers! Today I have a tasty morsel to share with you: Cheesy Cauliflower Bake. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that there’s nothing else on my blog that features cauliflower, and here’s why – I don’t like it. I don’t hate it, but in general, it’s definitely one of my least favorite veggies. BUT, today’s recipe is something that even I loved. That’s right, not liked – loved. I think I loved it so much because it tasted to me like a cross between mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, except unlike those dishes, this is low carb!!! You know I’m all about the lower carb stuff lately.

This was a seriously simple dish, and it was great for packing for lunch all week. Here’s all you need to make it happen…

Print Cheesy Cauliflower Bake Yield: 11 Servings Serving Size: 1/2 cup Ingredients: 2 (1 lb) bags of frozen cauliflower florets

1/2 cup Feta cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used reduced fat)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used reduced fat)

1 cup 1% cottage cheese

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried mustard

1 dash of paprika

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a casserole dish (or you can be cool and use a pie dish like I did...) with non-stick spray. Put the cauliflower florets in a large saucepan and cover with water. Heat over high heat to boil for about 10 minutes. Once the cauliflower is tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, drain the water off, return the cauliflower to the pan, and use a fork or a potato masher to get the cauliflower all mashed up. I like more texture in my food, so I didn't go to town at this point, but if you really like uniform textures, you can feel free to mash the heck out the cauliflower so that it's all smooth. Add in the feta, mozzarella, cheddar, cottage cheese, and spices and mix well. Transfer mixture to the casserole dish. Sprinkle shredded Parmesan on top and bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, and then broil for about 5 minutes to get the top nice and crusty. Notes Macros: kcal = 100 FAT = 4 grams CHO = 5 grams PRO = 9 grams Fiber = 1 gram 3.1 http://www.healthyvittlesandbits.com/2014/03/26/cheesy-cauliflower-bake/

Doesn’t that just look delicious? I’m getting hungry just looking at it.

And of course, all that cheesy goodness is just begging for a healthy dollop of ketchup….

Even the most stubborn cauliflower haters will enjoy this dish. Side note: ketchup often is a hidden source of sugar in our diets (it usually has high fructose corn syrup in it), so if you’re keeping to a low carb lifestyle, it’s a good idea to look for a lower sugar ketchup (Heinz makes one as do other companies like Walden Farms). Orrrrrr…. you could go one step further and mash up some fresh tomatoes to top this dish. Man, that is a good idea. Next time I make this I’ll have to do a variation that includes sliced grape tomatoes and fresh basil……

For anyone who likes to count and keep track, here’s the macros (for nutrient analysis, I used reduced fat cheeses for feta, mozzarella, and cheddar):

Yield: 11 servings

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

kcal = 100

FAT = 4 grams

CHO = 5 grams

PRO = 9 grams

Fiber = 1 gram

So there you have it! You could eat a full cup of this stuff for only 200 kcal, and get almost 20 grams of protein from all that cheese. You can’t beat that!!!

So what do you guys think? Do you like cauliflower?

Even if you don’t, would you be willing to try this?

I hope so. Because this was really delicious what with all that ooey, gooey, melty cheese (very technical terminology here…). It’s a great way to satisfy a mac and cheese craving while still keeping things undeniably healthy 🙂

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