Cauliflower “mac” and cheese with a rich and creamy sauce. A healthy, no pasta version that’s low carb and keto friendly.
Recipe Overview
This comforting dish is perfect for anyone who loves their cheese sauces. Rich and thick, the sauce is made with heavy cream, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese, and does a great job of coating the cauliflower florets. The sauce is also slightly spicy thanks to the cayenne.
You can make this dish in about 30 minutes. While the cauliflower florets are roasting on a foil lined baking sheet in the oven, you can assemble and heat the cheese sauce on the stovetop. Once the cauliflower is done, toss with the sauce and season with black pepper and parmesan cheese before serving.
Making The Cheese Sauce
The cheese sauce is straightforward to make — dump all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk over medium heat until melted and smooth.
Since stovetops vary, you may need to adjust the flame as it’s cooking. The sauce mixture should be hot enough to nearly bring it to a simmer, so that the ingredients can be easily combined. But it shouldn’t be hot enough to burn the cheese.
If the mixture is starting to simmer, decrease the heat level and vigorously whisk to cool it down.
Don’t forget to cut the cream cheese into small pieces, as pictured above, so that they melt rapidly.
Roasting Cauliflower Separately
I’ve tried making cauliflower mac and cheese by roasting cauliflower florets in the sauce, like in a casserole pan. I’m not a fan of this method, because the cauliflower will exude liquid as it cooks, which thins out the sauce. And you end up with soggy cauliflower that tastes more like steamed rather than roasted cauliflower.
I much prefer baking the cauliflower florets by themselves, spreading them out on a baking sheet. The sauce is prepared separately on the stovetop. When the cauliflower florets are done, I toss them with the cheese sauce and serve.
Cauliflower Roasting Time
Depending on the size of your cauliflower florets and how tender you prefer them, you’ll want to bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes at 400 F.
I usually roast them closer to 20 minutes because I like mine extra tender. If you like yours on the crisper side, then 15 minutes is probably better. Watch the florets as they bake, and take them out of the oven when cooked to your preference.
Cauliflower “Mac” And Cheese (Keto, Low Carb)
Cauliflower "mac" and cheese with a rich and creamy sauce. A healthy, no pasta version that's low carb and keto friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower florets
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces (about 1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 ounces cream cheese cut into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 F.
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If any cauliflower florets are on the larger side (> 2 inches), cut them into smaller florets.
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Prepare a baking sheet lined with foil. Add olive oil and cauliflower florets to the baking sheet, mixing to coat the florets with oil and then spreading them out in a single layer.
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Bake at 400 F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. While waiting for the cauliflower to bake, proceed to the next step to make the sauce.
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In a small saucepan, add all sauce ingredients. Heat for about 5 minutes over medium heat until melted and smooth, whisking frequently. Adjust the flame as needed, so that it doesn’t get hot enough to simmer. Keep warm over low heat while you wait for the cauliflower to bake.
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In a mixing bowl, toss roasted cauliflower with the sauce until well-coated.
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Serve in bowls. Evenly sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Nutrition Info
This recipe yields 4 g net carbs per serving (1 side serving or 1/4 of the recipe).
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 350 | |
| Total Fat 31g | 47% |
| Saturated Fat 16g | 78% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 76mg | 25% |
| Sodium 610mg | 25% |
| Potassium 10mg | 0% |
| Total Carb 7g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 3g | 11% |
| Sugars 3.5g | |
| Protein 12g |
I pan-fried frozen broccoli (didn’t have cauliflower) and used sour cream in place of the cream cheese. It was probably a little runnier with the sour cream, but it was SO GOOD. We loved it. Nice, flexible, fast recipe. Thank you!
This is the best cauliflower recipe I had ever found and low carb! after I made this, I sure the extra cauliflower! I’m always gonna bake them from now on! More tastier than boiled! The cheese is very good on this cauliflower! My family don’t like the cayenne seasoning, didn’t have the garlic powder, so I used Mrs. Dash seasoning. The very little of the left over tasted great!
This recipe was amazing! I also added 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika to the sauce. Next time I will cut the salt in half and make that 1/4 tsp also. The amount of sauce was more than enough for a large head of cauliflower (which was 2 lbs on the grocery receipt). I also cooked in the oven (separate from cauliflower, on cooling rack) one piece of good quality bacon, and crumbled that on the top before serving.
Hi,
I’ve made this recipe several times and played with different infused oils. My favorite so far is the truffle infused olive oil. However I do have a question it says 3oz of cheese who’s is about 1cup but 8oz is a cup. Do you mean 1 cup or a half of cup of cheese?
Hi Bea, the 3oz refers to WEIGHT and 1 cup refers to VOLUME. You’re thinking of fluid ounces which is a unit of VOLUME, which is indeed 8 fl oz = 1 cup.
Yum! I added a tablespoon of swerve, but next time I’ll probably cut the swerve and cayenne in half. But it’s still very delicious!
Are you referring to Swerve, the sweetener?
How many blocks of cream cheese is 2 ounces?
If you’re using 8oz bricks (it should say on your product’s packaging), then 2oz is one-quarter of a brick.
This was sooooo delicious! Thank you for this fantastic recipe! It really hit to spot! I followed another commentor’s suggestion and added smoked paprika which was delicious. Thanks!
Made it tonight. It’s BETTER than boxed mac n cheese….for sure. I added way more cheese & subbed out smoked paprika for the cayenne. Loved the garlic flavor.
Thank u for the recipe!!
This was delicious!!! I did roast the cauliflower with Old Bay seasoning vs adding paprika into the sauce, but it worked out beautifully! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
to say this is Great is an understatement!
OMG!! this was awesome.
I ended up roasting my cauliflower about 25 minutes.. Whole family loved it! Thanks for sharing.
This was great. I make it once a week.
Try grabbing the Birds Eye SteamFresh Ranch Cauliflower. Soooo good. While a sauce like this is great, when it’s been a crazy day I just zap the cauliflower, sprinkle some cheese and microwave 30 seconds more to melt the cheese a bit more. 6 minutes to a great comfort meal!
THIS IS A HOMERUN!
Absolutely amazing!! Easy creamy smooth perfection! Thank you ☺️
If I make this the day before I want to serve it, will it reheat
okay?
I haven’t reheated this before. If you do, I recommend reheating it on the stovetop, not in the microwave, for best results.
For anyone else reading this and wondering about reheating, I reheated a leftover portion in the microwave with no problem. When I made the dish, I slightly undercooked my cauliflower, and after I mixed it with the cheese sauce, I poured it into a casserole dish and topped it with a mixture of pork rinds and cheese that I blitzed in my food processor. The topping got crunchy and cheesy-gooey under the broiler. When I reheated it two days later in the microwave, the sauce held together without breaking, and the pork rind/cheese topping didn’t get greasy or soggy. This… Read more »
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback! I really appreciate it 🙂
Very cheesy and super yummy. Satisfied my Mac and cheese craving without having the starchy carbs of a traditional Mac and cheese dish.
I’m glad you enjoyed this, Lisa!
Excellent recipe! I made the sauce with cream cheese and shredded cheese as noted, but then used unsweetened almond milk and a splash of regular milk, and then paprika instead of the other spices. Tasted great this way too and had the desired orangish color!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your feedback. Hope you get a chance to make this again soon!
If you can’t have heavy cream is there something else I sub instead? Thanks!
Can you use half-and-half? That might be the closest substitution to heavy whipping cream.