Creamy Cauliflower Cheese… with No Cheese!

Creamy comfort food, with a cheeky healthy twist? Yes please.

Give this recipe a try! It comes with plenty of notes for variations as I have made it so many times myself now and it’s never the same twice!

Bonus... it’s quick to whip up, the sauce uses two basic cheap ingredients and it freezes well if you need to. 

Cauliflower ‘cheese’ (vegan style)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the sauce 

2 small fist sized white potatoes- chopped on to smallish pieces (approx 350g)

1 heaped cup chopped carrot (approx 150g)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup nutritional yeast*

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tbs cashew butter (optional but it adds a boost of extra creaminess)

*Do not skip or substitute the nutritional yeast, this is what gives the sauce it's cheesy flavour

Other ingredients: (or vary as you desire)

1 head of cauliflower

1 courgette

1 can white beans (or beans of choice or peas)

Method:

1. Boil the chopped carrots and the potato for 15 to 20 minutes until soft. (I used a food processor for the carrots and potatoes and then only cooked them for five minutes or so).

2. Meanwhile mix the rest of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

3. Chop the cauliflower and courgette into smallish pieces and lay evenly in a medium sized glass oven dish.

4. Once the carrot and potato have cooked, transfer to a blender/food processor and add the remaining ingredients. I found the veg retained some cooking water, so add only a little extra water to start with as you do not want the sauce to be too runny, add extra if needed.

5.  Pour the sauce into the oven dish to fully coat the veggies. Bake at 180C for about 20 minutes until the top is golden and the veg cooked through.. Serve immediately with a side salad if desired.

Now for a few ideas to change thing up depending on what you have to hand…

You can swap the potato and carrot for approx. 3 cups pumpkin (I had soooo much pumpkin donated by a friend after Halloween and this worked so well)

You can swap the cauliflower for broccoli, or use a bit of both.  

You can swap the cannellini beans for any alternative type or use peas.

To save time, instead of baking it you can simply use the cooked sauce as a pouring sauce over steamed or roasted veggies, or as part of a cheesy pasta style dish.

Jo is the health and mindset coach who works with the ‘square pegs’ trying to force themselves into ‘round holes’. Her passion was born from a personal journey of plant-based nutrition being the gateway to stepping away from convention and conformity into a deeper connection with her true sense of self. When she’s not whipping up incredible dishes in the kitchen, you can find her sharing her recipes and words of wisdom over at www.includingcake.com and on Instagram @johodson

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