This 6-ingredient Vegan Cauliflower Cheese is irresistible and made with roasted cauliflower, not boiled. The florets are smothered and baked with simple cheese sauce, giving you an indulgent and cheesy casserole.
Looking for more cozy casserole dishes for a Sunday family dinner or your holiday table? Be sure to give my Vegan Tater Tot Casserole, Vegan Scalloped Potatoes, Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese and Broccoli Rice Casserole a try!
What do you get when roasted cauliflower and cashew cheese sauce get together? This indulgent and easy Vegan Cauliflower Cheese recipe!
Cauliflower Cheese is a British dish that is served as a side or vegetarian main. Usually the cauliflower is lightly boiled, then baked in a simple milk-based cheese sauce. I decided to roast the cauliflower first, and of course make it dairy free with an easy but delicious cashew sauce.
This cauliflower cheese bake is essentially vegan baked mac and cheese but without the “mac”. It takes roasted cauliflower and vegan cheese sauce, then bakes them together until you’re left with a golden, bubbly, and cheesy casserole the whole family will adore. Better yet, it only takes 1 hour to put together!
Why I love this cauliflower cheese bake
- It’s like mac and cheese, but without the noodles – I’ll never turn down a bowl of gooey vegan mac and cheese but this cauliflower version is just as crave-worthy as the classic.
- Ridiculously easy – All you have to do is roast the cauliflower, make the cheese sauce, then bake the two together!
- Comforting and cheesy – Roasted cauliflower that’s smothered and baked with cashew cheese is an indulgent meal that’s perfect for holidays or weeknight dinners. You won’t even notice that it’s dairy free!
How to make cauliflower cheese
Lay the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and toss them in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven until they’re lightly golden brown.
Meanwhile, soak the cashews by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over top. They can soak for 5 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Drain the cashews and transfer them to a blender along with the vegetable broth, milk, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blend until very smooth.
Tip: Make the cashew cheese sauce in a high-powered blender if you can! My Vitamix is a pro at making completely smooth and pourable vegan cheese sauce in less than 2 minutes.
Transfer the roasted cauliflower to a baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over top and gently toss to coat.
Bake the cauliflower casserole until the cheese sauce has thickened and is bubbly and golden.
Optional: Finish the cauliflower mac and cheese under the broiler for a few minutes to give the top a deeper brown color.
Garnish with parsley, then enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
This casserole would be delicious with the addition of roasted broccoli florets, green peas, sliced vegan chicken, or leafy greens. You can even give it a crispy crunch by topping it with a seasoned and buttered breadcrumb topping (regular or gluten free), just like in my classic Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe.
Either use the same amount of raw blanched almonds or sunflower seeds instead or use one batch of my Nut Free Vegan Cheese Sauce.
I prefer cauliflower cheese with fresh cauliflower because I think it has the best texture and flavor. If you only have frozen cauliflower at home, feel free to use it instead. Season the frozen florets and roast them as normal (don’t thaw them ahead of time) before assembling and baking the casserole.
You can make the cashew cheese sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to cook. To save extra time, chop the cauliflower head into florets and keep them in the fridge until it’s time to season and roast them. You do want to serve it hot from the oven though, it just tastes better.
Cover the cooled cauliflower cheese bake and store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. To reheat, simply pop it in a 350ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s heated through. Leftovers are good, but if serving for a holiday I recommend serving it right after baking for best results.
I don’t recommend freezing the leftovers because the cauliflower becomes soggy after thawing.
Vegan Cauliflower Cheese
Ingredients
Roasted cauliflower
- 2 pounds cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- few shakes ground black pepper
Cheese sauce
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened plant milk I used soy
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and lightly grease a large rimmed pan (or line with parchment paper).
- Place the cauliflower on the prepared pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss gently in the pan.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown. Once it's finished roasting, lower the heat to 350 degrees F.
- While the cauliflower roasts, soak the cashews – Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil (I use my tea kettle). Pour the hot water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes or up to an hour.
- Drain the cashews, discard the soaking water and add to a high powered blender along with the vegetable broth, milk, nutritional yeast and salt. Blend until very smooth.
- Once the cauliflower has roasted, transfer it to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and gently toss to coat.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, until the cheese sauce has thickened and is bubbly and golden. Place under broiler for a few minutes if desired for a deeper brown on top.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve warm.
Notes
-
Nut Free Option: Use 1 Recipe of my Nut Free Vegan Cheese Sauce instead of the cashew cheese. Or sub raw slivered almonds or sunflower seeds for the cashews.
- Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend freezing it as the cauliflower will be quite soggy.
- Prep ahead of time: You can chop the cauliflower florets ahead of time, and make the cashew sauce. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before roasting the cauliflower and baking the casserole.
Nutrition
I stumbled upon this recipe and it was one of the easiest, most delicious side dishes I have made in a long time. It even tastes great as leftovers which is a bonus! I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Sabrina. I love leftovers, and you are right, this recipe makes great ones! Thanks for taking time to share your fabulous review and feedback! I am glad you loved the cauliflower cheese! Happy cooking!
This was delicious! I paired it with some seasoned soy curls to make a complete meal. I will be making this again and am so happy I found this recipe! Thanks, Nora!
Made this tonight with half cauliflower and half broccoli and a cup of cooked pasta thrown in for good measure. So delicious! Thanks!!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback!
Turned out absolutely amazing!! Love the flavor and simplicity of the recipe! My fiancé and I already dreaming of making it again! Thank you so much ❤
I’m considering your suggestion for add-ins such as roasted broccoli florets, green peas, sliced vegan chicken, or leafy greens. Yum! If we add any of these (or all) to the casserole, how much do you recommend?
It’s really up to you, but maybe around 1/2 cup or so of each ingredient, or more of certain ones if you want. It’s pretty flexible! You could also use less cauliflower if you want to use a lot of broccoli let’s say.
I made this tonight and it was delicious, the whole family loved it. It will definitely join the rotation. I’ve tried several of Nora’s recipes and at this point I always trust that they will be exceptional!
I’m thrilled the recipe was a hit with your family! Thank you for trusting my recipes, and for sharing your fabulous feedback!
Can you use frozen Cauliflower?
I prefer cauliflower cheese with fresh cauliflower because I think it has the best texture and flavor. If you only have frozen cauliflower at home, feel free to use it instead. Season the frozen florets and roast them as normal (don’t thaw them ahead of time) before assembling and baking the casserole. I hope this helps!
I’ve been cooking vegan food for many years and recently stumbled across this recipe. My husband said that it was the best thing I’ve ever made. He’s not wrong…it is SO good. I made it with a combination of cauli and broccoli and oh. my. word. Which leads me to this question: any thoughts about doubling the recipe? Could I use the same 9×13 baking dish? and would it change the cooking time?
Thank you, Nora!! I just made a double batch of your vegan parm cheese and look forward to making more of your recipes. 🙂
Thanks Rachel! I honestly love this recipe so much, it’s one of my favorites too! If you doubled it and used the same pan, you would need to increase the baking time quite a lot yes. I’ve never tried that. Or you could use two pans. I love the broccoli cauliflower combo, yum.
Can you do the roasted cauliflower step in the air fryer?
Yes, you can. Enjoy!
This is very tasty! I cut the recipe in half–although maybe I didn’t need to since I just ate half of the pan! It seemed like I had too much cheese sauce since the cauliflower cooks down a bit when roasting. But it was still quite good. I used almond milk. If I halve the recipe again, I might try 1.25 pounds of cauliflower. This recipe is a keeper! 🙂
Hi Amy! I’m so glad you loved the cheese sauce! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
How is the protein amount calculated? 9 grams per serving seems high given that cauliflower has very little protein, and the sauce can’t have much either.
But I will try it–looks good.
I use an online calculator for the nutrition estimate. That is correct, 2 pounds of cauliflower have about 17 grams protein, the soy milk adds 7-9 grams and the cashews have 35 grams of protein. It adds up! Hope you enjoy the recipe.
I wonder if almond milk would work.
Yes, almond milk will work just fine.
This was a great recipe! For others who have a picky protein eater, I grated a high protein tofu block and mixed it into the dish at the time of adding the cheese. I told my kids they were noodles. They absolutely loved the dish, and so did the adults. A win for the whole family! Thanks Nora for a healthy easy meal.
This recipe in incredible. So delicious! I have made it twice in one week. 10/10.
That’s fantastic! Thanks for your wonderful review, Alli 🙂
This recipe is a WOW 🤩
Easy, delicious comfort food.
Another winner, thanks Nora!
Oops, forgot to rate.
Made this the other day and it just blew me away. It tastes awesome. My 5 yr old grandson even ate some and he is an extremely fussy eater. Will be making again for sure. Thanks again Nora for another fab recipe.
Yum.
With such simple ingredients, I was surprised at how delicious this was! Definitely going into my “keeper” recipes. Thanks, Nora :).
I’m thrilled you loved the recipe, Mary! Thanks for your fantastic review and feedback!
Amazing again! I can’t believe how simple yet delicious this recipe is!
I love simple and delicious! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful review and feedback!
Easy peasy! Don’t let me eat this all myself…
That would be easy to do! Thanks for sharing your feedback!