Cauliflower Gratin Recipe with Buttery Ritz Topping
Inspired by the classic British comfort food dish Cauliflower Cheese, this Cauliflower Gratin recipe features cauliflower in a rich, creamy savory cheese sauce with a buttery crunchy Ritz cracker topping.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray the inside of a 1.5-quart casserole dish with olive oil spray.
Cook the cauliflower florets in boiling water for 3 minutes, and then drain well.
Whisk together the cream cheese, milk, Frank’s RedHot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and black pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the shredded cheese a handful at a time until the sauce is smooth.
Add the Ritz crackers to a zip-top plastic bag and crush. Add the thyme, black pepper, and butter, seal the bag, and shake it around to mix.
Stir together the cauliflower and cheese sauce. Pour it into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the cracker topping evenly on top.
Bake until the casserole is bubbling outside and the topping is golden, about 15 minutes.
Notes
Make Ahead: To make this ahead of time, you can make the cauliflower and cheese sauce up to 5 days in advance. Just hold off on adding the Ritz topping and baking it until the day you want to eat it.
To Make This Keto: For the keto version of this recipe, omit the buttery Ritz topping. Bake it as-is without a topping, or you can sprinkle on a little more cheese, such as grated Parmesan if desired. If you omit the topping, the macros are as follows for each serving: 196kcals, 7g total carbs, 1g fiber, 6g net carbs, 15g fat, 10g protein.
Serving Tip: If you let this gratin sit for 10 to 15 minutes after baking before you serve it, the sauce will thicken up perfectly.
Substitute for Pre-Shredded Mac and Cheese Blend: If you prefer, use 4 ounces of shredded gruyere and 4 ounces of shredded white cheddar instead of the shredded cheese blend.