This pasta-less mac and cheese is loaded with cauliflower florets and baked in a rich cheese sauce with chunks of bacon!
This post is sponsored by Cabot Cheese. Tampering with mac and cheese may be frowned upon in some places, but I see the traditional pasta dish as a base for so many other recipes. There's not much that doesn't taste amazing after being baked in a rich cheese sauce! For this particular version of mac, I used cauliflower florets and a lot of smoked bacon. If you're a die hard mac and cheese fan and just cringe at the thought of switching out elbow macaroni for cauliflower, I dare you to try this and then rethink your choice! The recipe is still cooked exactly the same way and has the same thick cheesy sauce that macaroni needs and loves! If there were any changes to mention, I'd say that the cauliflower releases a little amount of water as it bakes. But after leaving the dish to cool for 5 minutes after coming from the oven, the sauce becomes nice and thick.
Important Things to Know About Mac and Cheese!
The cheese is probably the most critical ingredient in mac and cheese, and as popular traditional orange cheddar is. I recommend experimenting with other kinds of cheese. Don't worry too much about messing up your recipe because I don't even think its possible to mess up mac and cheese. My favorite way to make it is with extra sharp cheddar, I love the flavor and how tangy the cheese sauce turns out. Cabot Cheese has so many varieties of cheddar cheese but this Seriously Sharp Cheddar is exactly that, it's sharp and loaded with flavor and makes the ultimate mac and cheese! Creating a good base for the cheese sauce is also important and that's why knowing how to make a great béchamel sauce is important. Check out my tutorial on how to make béchamel sauce and be ready to use it for lots of other recipes like lasagna and creamed spinach or creamed kale.
Can This Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Be Made Ahead?
It can but after you add the cheese sauce and bacon I'd recommend covering it with plastic wrap and storing it in the fridge until you need to bake it. Hot bubbling fresh cheese is always better!
How To Reheat Your Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Using a microwave is always possible and will be the quickest method, though I recommend using the oven to keep the texture of the mac and cheese how it should be. Try a 400 degree oven with the cauliflower mac and cheese in an oven safe dish and lightly covered with aluminum foil. It should take about 15 minutes.
