Cauliflower Pasta Bake

Serving of cauliflower bake on plate with fork on bench top with baking dish in background.

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5 from 1 vote

An easy family dinner, cauliflower cheese and creamy pasta all baked in one dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 30

Course: Family Dinner Ideas

Cuisine: New Zealand

Keyword: Cauliflower Pasta, Cauliflower Pasta Bake

Servings: servings

Calories: 681kcal

Author: Stacey

Ingredients

½ head cauliflower 600 grams
1 large onion diced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups dry pasta 300 grams
3 cups cheese grated 300 grams
6 cups milk
2 teaspoons corn flour
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (360 F)
Roughly chop the cauliflower into florets and dice the onion. Place this into the bottom of a baking dish or casserole that will be large enough to eventually hold all of the ingredients.
Drizzle over the oil and toss the vegetables so they are coated. Bake the cauliflower and onion for 20 minutes (or until the cauliflower is tender and a little caramelised) stirring halfway through.
In a large mixing bowl or jug combine ½ a cup of the milk with the corn flour to make a slurry.
Whisk in the remaining milk, nutmeg and mustard.
Once the cauliflower is cooked, remove it from the oven and add the dry pasta and grated cheese to the dish, then mix to combine.
Carefully pour over the milk mixture.
Return the pasta bake to the oven and bake for one hour. After this time the cheese should be golden on top, the sauce thickened and the pasta tender.
Enjoy!

Video

Notes

When you are using the no-boil technique the ratio of liquid to pasta is critical. Be sure to weigh your pasta and measure out your milk.
When it comes to cauliflower cheese I personally find the stronger the cheese you use the better. I love a hard crumbly cheddar or even parmesan cheese. You can use a combination of cheese varieties if you prefer.
Bacon can be a really nice addition to the Cauliflower Pasta. I add a couple of rashers to the baking dish when I roast the cauliflower, and then cut it up once cooked and stir through with the pasta and cheese.
Cauliflower: In winter when cauliflower is in season I use fresh cauliflower but this recipe also works well with frozen cauliflower florets. I roast them from frozen.
Dry pasta: I typically use a short pastas for this recipe such as spirals, penne, macaroni or rigatoni. I have successfully made this recipe with gluten-free pasta as well.
Cheese: When I make this recipe I use Tasty Cheese which is a strong sharp cheddar. You can choose to use a milder cheese such as edam or Colby if you prefer.
Milk: I use cows milk when making this recipe. I have not tested the recipe with dairy free milk, however as long as the ratio of milk to pasta remains the same it should work fine, the final flavour will just be different depending on the milk you choose to use.
Cornflour: In some countries this may be called corn starch.
Dijon Mustard: Mustard goes well with cauliflower and cheese and adds depth of flavour.
Nutmeg: Always a lovely flavour enhancer in cheese sauces.
Salt and Pepper: I find this recipe does benefit from a good bit of seasoning.

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