Recipe: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep cauliflower cheese from getting watery? ›

Drain well

Make sure you drain the cauliflower really well after it's boiled up and before you add it to the dish, otherwise it will end up too watery.

Cauliflower Cheese is a British dish that is served as a side or even as a main (vegetarian!) It's a cauliflower bake, smothered in a creamy cheese sauce that's popped in the oven until bubbly and golden.

Cut back on cream

A lot of heavy cream can create too thick of a sauce that doesn't contain enough water content to keep everything saucy. Make sure to use primarily whole milk for your cheese sauce, and if you do use cream, use it sparingly.

Cauliflower cheese can go watery if the cauliflower is overcooked. Overcooked cauliflower releases water, which will seep into the rest of the dish. So even if your sauce was thick when it went in the oven, if its in there too long, the water from the cauliflower will cause it to go watery.

The trick with cauliflower is: Don't cook it till is too soft. just 4 or 5 minutes but taste to be sure. then drain into a colander, (sieve with big holes) and leave to drain for a few minutes, asking every minute. tap dry with a little kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.

Every part of a cauliflower is edible, even the tough outer skin. However, we do recommend peeling this part before cooking as it's a bit tough to chew.

At a minimum, include cruciferous vegetables as part of your diet 2-3 times per week, and make the serving size at least 1-1/2 cups. Even better from a health standpoint, enjoy cauliflower and other vegetables from the cruciferous vegetable group 4-5 times per week, and increase your serving size to 2 cups.

While everyone's tolerance is different, too much cauliflower can create G.I. distress, like excess gas and bloating. “Make sure to drink enough water to move it through your system,” suggests Lincoln.

Add more milk if you haven't already. More milk leads to less dry mac and cheese. If that doesn't work and you've already tried, use a different type of cheese. Velveeta works well.

Can you put too much cheese in mac and cheese? ›

Too much cheese will result in a dish that is heavy and greasy. Should I bake my mac and cheese covered or uncovered? Macaroni and cheese is generally baked uncovered so the topping browns and crisps.

You can thicken cheese sauce further by adding more flour or even using a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch or flour with a cup of water. The cold water will create a slurry. Stir the slurry into the cheese sauce over medium heat, and let the sauce boil and thicken.

You don't have to make a roux for mac and cheese. Many mac and cheese recipes call for a combination of butter and flour, known as a roux, to thicken the cheese sauce. While this maneuver works particularly well for baked mac and cheese, it just isn't always required.

Use cornstarch or all-purpose flour.

You can thicken cheese sauce further by adding more flour or even using a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch.

Our top recommendation is cheese paper. Cheese paper is the waxy paper your cheese often comes in when you get it from your local cheesemonger. Coated in both wax and a porous layer of plastic on the inside, cheese paper allows your cheese to breathe without being totally exposed and losing its precious moisture.

You can keep it warm enough that it won't return to its solid state (like keeping ice cold enough that it doesn't melt into water). Unfortunately, if you keep it warm for too long, it will lose that perfect, just-melted quality.

A: Always wrap a soft cheese in parchment or waxed paper; rewrap it with a new piece after each use to prolong freshness. These breathable materials prevent mold-causing moisture from collecting on the surface without drying it out. Only after it's wrapped should you put the cheese in a plastic bag or plastic wrap.