Cauliflower Gratin With Bacon
Rich, creamy, and loaded with irresistible bacon and sharp cheddar, this easy Cauliflower Gratin with Bacon is the perfect dish to serve at cozy gatherings, holiday potlucks, or even a weeknight meal.
Few can resist this homey Cauliflower Au Gratin with Bacon recipe, and it is always gobbled up whenever I put it out for friends and family. I love that I can make this dish ahead of time and just pop it into the oven to get all perfectly bubbly and hot.
Bake it in a cute dish so it can go from the oven to the table, or if you’re setting up a buffet of tasty dishes, it’ll sit there and keep nice and hot in a pretty dish. Any oven-safe 9 x 13 (or similarly sized) casserole dish will work. Just set this delicious side dish out and watch it disappear!
Why I love this recipe
- It’s a low-carb cauliflower bacon gratin recipe, which appeals to anyone watching their carbs.
- I love potatoes au gratin or Potato Gratin Muffin Stacks, which are similar.
- This dish is super easy to make; partially cook the cauliflower, and add in the bacon and cheesy homemade sauce. Then, just bake and serve!
- Don’t forget to watch the video below for a step-by-step demonstration on how to make it.
Perfect for potlucks and larger groups
This recipe makes a fair bit – you’ll get 10 side dish sized portions from this recipe, so it’s a great dish for larger gatherings. I often serve this dish around the holidays because it is so pretty! If you use white cheddar, the sauce is snowy white with the red bacon peeking through. Top it with green parsley or chives, and you’ve got the perfect festive dish!
Gather these ingredients
- Bacon – Cooked and chopped.
- Cauliflower – Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Milk
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- Breadcrumbs
- Fresh parsley – Chopped
How to make cauliflower gratin with bacon
- Cook the bacon until crispy and browned, then drain it on a paper towel until needed.
- Heat a large pot of salted water on high until boiling. Add the cauliflower and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the same pot, then whisk in the flour, stirring constantly. Stir in the milk, and constantly stir until thick and creamy.
- Add the cheese, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the cauliflower and bacon to the cheese mixture and toss to combine.
- Transfer the cauliflower and cheese sauce into an oven-safe baking dish and top with bread crumbs and a sprinkle of cheese.
- Bake at 375F until bubbly and golden.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
What’s the best cheese for Cauliflower Gratin with Bacon?
You really want the cheese flavor to come through, so an extra sharp cheddar (also called old cheddar or mature cheddar around the world) works well. You can find this aged cheese in most large supermarkets or ask at the deli counter.
Tips & Substitutions
- Use good quality bacon for this cauliflower gratin recipe, and keep it in sizeable chunks, so you really get a bite of bacon flavor.
- Fresh cauliflower works best in this recipe. Frozen and thawed cauliflower will give off too much water and will dilute your sauce.
- Heat the milk before adding it to the flour and butter to get a smooth sauce.
- You can use white or yellow cheese in this recipe.
- I love Tillamook’s Extra Sharp cheddar in this recipe, but any brand is fine.
- 1% milk is what I use for the sauce, but you can use cream if you want a richer dish.
- For extra crunch, use Panko breadcrumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs.
Serving suggestions
This delicious Cauliflower au Gratin with Bacon recipe pairs so well with so many other dishes. Some of my favorites pairings with this side dish recipe include:
- Marinated Cornish Game Hens
- Roasted Balsamic Whole ChickenCrusted
- Crusted Pepper Prime Rib
- And even seafood.
Storage
Any leftover Cauliflower Gratin with Bacon should be packaged in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Check out these awesome cauliflower recipes while you’re here
Cauliflower White Cheddar Cheese Soup
Whole Roasted Spiced Cauliflower
Oven Baked Buffalo Cauliflower
Perfect Oven Roasted Cauliflower
Get the Recipe:
Cauliflower Gratin with Bacon
Ingredients
- 10 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
- 8 cups of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 Tbsp. flour
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 4 cups 1 % milk, thicker sauce, use light whipping cream
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, I use Tillamook’s Extra Sharp plus a little more for topping
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- Salt & pepper
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy and browned. Set aside on paper towel.
- Heat a large pot of salted water on high until boiling. Add the cauliflower and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In the same pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly. Stir in the milk, and stir constantly until thick and creamy. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Add the cauliflower and bacon to the cheese mixture and toss to combine. Pour into an 9×13 baking dish and top with bread crumbs and a sprinkle of cheese.
- Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
This post is updated from March 2018.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Excellent. This can be a side dish or the main meal–it has enough cheese and bacon to cover the protein. It did take quite a bit longer to prepare than the recipe estimate.
could you replace with broccoli?
Hi Trisha. Good question, I’ve never tried broccoli, but I would think yes, it would work! Give it a try and come back and let us know!
Where’s the video?
The video is in the post – we just looked and we see it. Scroll down!
Looks yummy and I have a huge bag of cauliflower. Will the leftovers freeze well?
I have never froze it, Joan.
Oh wow! This was delicious! We cut the recipe in half since it’s just my husband and me and still had waaaay too much. If we do it again it’ll be for a big family meal, add more cauliflower, a bit more bacon, and less cheese on top (I think my husband went overboard with the cheese and bread crumbs on top for our first try). Overall-WOW. We also added a hint of gruyere which added to the smoky bacon. Definitely making this next holiday!
Can you use whole wheat flour?
I haven’t tried it, Jessica, but I bet you could!!
Love Bob Goff.
Me, too :)
Can you use frozen cauliflower?
I have never tried frozen cauliflower for this recipe Chris. Let me know if you try it!
Could you use arrowroot powder in place of the flour? I am on keto so I cannot have the flour or breadcrumbs.
Thank you!
I have not tried this, so if you do, come back and let us know! :)
I’m very happy with the way the cheese sauce came together, and I added 2 cups of broccoli for greenery and color to the 6 cups of cauliflower. So good! Thank you for a great vegetable recipe.
This looks delicious, however, it’s not low carb.
Easy fix!! Use heavy cream instead of milk, almond flour instead of regular and omit breadcrumbs or use pork rinds blended in the food processor. That’s what I’m going to do!
Just when I was looking for a veggie-based dish for the weekend, yay!
I think this would taste good with broccoli, too.
Thank you so much!!!!!! Will be divine!!
Thanks also for the inspirational words!!xoxoxo
I would love to take this to a thanksgiving pot luck. It’s an hour an 10 min away. Could I make it and put in a crockpot on warm? Would it be mushy?
I am making this for an Easter side dish. I was curious if I can make this Saturday, leave it in the fridge overnight and bake on Sunday? Would that make the cauliflower too mushy or not turn out the same?
Sorry, I didn’t get back with you on this. Did you try to make it up ahead of time? I think it would be fine, as long as you bake it fresh!
Does this dish re-heat well? I wanted to make it a day ahead of time. Mostly concerned that the cauliflower could end up mushy. If no worries, any suggestions on time and temperature to re-heat it?
I have not tried this, but I think you could make it up ahead of time, and then bake right before serving!
I’m going to try this but as my hubby is following a ketosis diet I’ll substitute Almond milk in place of the regular and use crushed pork rinds in place of the bread crumbs.
I made this last night and it was really, really good. I used it as a main dish with a green salad as a side (lemon vinaigrette–acidity to cut the richness of the main dish). I will say that I originally tried the proportions you listed to make the bechamel sauce, even though I thought they might be a bit off, and indeed, the flour/ butter turned into a dough. So, I threw that out and started over using the bechamel proportions I’ve used in the past–5 tbs butter, 4 tbs flour, 4 c half and half, and about 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg. (For others reading this who have never made bechamel: melt the butter over medium-low heat, add flour while whisking, and allow it to become a sandy/ golden brown. You may need to turn the heat to medium for this. Then, add in the half and half a cup at a time and turn the heat up to almost boiling while you whisk it. It should take about 7-10 minutes for it to get thick.) Anyways, it could’ve just been me who had that experience with the dough forming, but I wanted to offer the suggestion, should others encounter it. Hope you don’t mind! I also garnished with chives, like you had in the pictures. The end result was quite delicious. I gave some to my mother, who says she hates cauliflower, and she even loved it. Thanks for the great recipe! :)
Thanks for your input Meredith. I had several friends make it for Easter this year who told me they loved the recipe! :)
Great, Sandy! Then the issue was likely just a fluke! :) I just defrosted some leftovers for dinner. Yummy!
I am absolutely, positively going to make this. We love every ingredient listed. :)