Serve this at your Thanksgiving table to add a pop of color and something yummy for the kiddos to enjoy. This dish is vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and can be made soy-free. You can leave out the green onions if they won’t go over with the picky eaters. Otherwise, even the most picky of kids will be licking their plate (and you'll come back for nibbles, too).
Cheesy Cauliflower and Cheese Bake
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- 1 large head cauliflower cut into florets (570g)
- 2 1/4 cups cheese sauce, divided - see below (520g)
- 1/4 cup crushed gluten free crackers (20g)
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Sprinkle of sea salt
Note: make cheese sauce first!
Cheese sauce
Makes 3 cups (700g)
It's gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free if using soy-free Earth Balance buttery spread.
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (1 1/2 cups / 240g)
- 1 cup carrot, cut into 1/2 inch rounds (130g)
- 1/4 yellow onion, diced (1/2 cup / 65g)
- 2 cups water (475 ml)1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread (soy free if avoiding soy) (70g)1/2 cup
- nutritional yeast (40g)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt (6g)
- 3 tablespoons coconut milk (45 ml)
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Preparation
Place potato, carrot and onion in a pan with 2 cups of water and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. After 20 minutes, turn off heat and add Earth Balance, nutritional yeast, turmeric and salt. Stir to combine until melted. Pour mixture into a blender and blend until creamy, about one minute on medium.
You may need to scrape the sides down from the blender a couple of times for everything to get incorporated. Add coconut milk to the blender and continue to blend until mixture is creamy and smooth.
Now that the cheese sauce is done, preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Cut and simmer the cauliflower in 2 cups of water (475ml) for 10 minutes. Evenly spread 1/4 cup (60g) of cheese sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan.
Add the cauliflower and sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Pour two cups (460g) of cheese sauce over the cauliflower, stir to combine and evenly top with crackers and green onions. Bake for 20 minutes.
If you enjoyed this recipe, we have more for you here! And if you enjoy Asian food, check out our first cookbook, Bold Vegan: Food of South East Asia filled with vegan takes on street food from the 10 countries that make up South Asia.
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Molly Patrick is the co-founder of cleanfooddirtygirl.com. Molly's expertise used to be drinking red wine and is now on the Whole Food Plant Based diet. She guides people on their journey of changing what, how and why they eat in a way that sticks. Losing weight, getting off from medication and falling in love with life is just a taste of what Molly has to offer.