Cauliflower Cheese with Cornflour Sauce
Cauliflower Cheese with cornflour sauce is an easy version of a classic British side dish. There’s no tricky bechamel roux to master but you can still enjoy delicious cauliflower florets combined with a rich cheese sauce and baked until bubbling in the oven.
Why should I make Cauliflower Cheese with cornflour sauce?
Do you find that your cheese sauce goes lumpy? It’s not that difficult to make a bechamel using a roux of butter and flour, but it is much more likely to go lumpy than using the cornflour method.
And if you don’t often make sauces then it can be a bit daunting. Making a cornflour sauce is just like making custard with custard powder. It’s much easier to avoid lumps and I think you have a bit more control over the thickness of your sauce.
When I left home to go to university, one of the things my mother packed for me was a a pudding basin, a wooden spoon and a packet of cornflour! She also taught me how to make all kinds of sweet and savoury sauces using cornflour and its never let me down.
What ingredients do I need for Cauliflower Cheese?
There are no unusual ingredients needed for this recipe. They are standard ingredients most of which you will probably already have in your larder or fridge. Here is what you need:
- Cauliflower
- Milk
- Salt
- Cornflour
- Mustard powder
- Butter
- Cheese
Scroll to the end of this article to find the full recipe and all quantities of ingredients, with step-by-step photo instructions.
What is cauliflower?
Cauliflower is a vegetable that’s closely related to cabbages, broccoli and kale. Although you can eat the whole cauliflower including the stem and green leaves, however, the part that is most commonly eaten is white round head.
The head is actually composed of the undeveloped flower buds known as the curd. The curd can be broken into florets which can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted or pureed.
What kind of milk should I use?
I like to use full fat milk for this sauce as it makes the sauce richer. However, you can use semi-skimmed or skimmed milk if you prefer.
Can I use plant milk to make the sauce?
Although I have not tried plant milk in this recipe, there is no reason why it should not work just as well as dairy milk. I recommend that you try out different milk to find your own favourite as the flavour and richness of the milk will influence the taste of the scones.
What is cornflour?
Cornflour, known as cornstarch in the USA, is a fine, white powder that is extraced from corn (maize) kernels. It is naturally gluten free, virtually tasteless and widely used to thicken sauces, gravy, custards and soups creating a glossy, smooth texture.
What kind of mustard should I use?
I use Colman’s English Mustard Powder in my cheese sauces. You won’t taste the mustard but it enhances the cheesiness of the sauce.
What can I substitute for English Mustard powder?
You can substiute ready made English mustard for the powder But if you substitute another type of mustard then you need to take into account that English mustard is a very hot spicy mustard, so you will need to adjust the amount to suit the type of mustard you are using.
What kind of cheese should I use for Cauliflower Cheese with Cornflour sauce?
You want to use a cheese that has a lot of flavour, a mature cheddar would be ideal. Although it’s not necessary to use a coloured cheese like Scottish cheddar or Red Leicester, I like the warm colour that this brings to the sauce.
Can I use ready grated cheese?
You can use ready grated cheese in the sauce. I used a three cheese ready grated mix to make the cauliflower cheese for the photographs in this post.
However, I don’t recommend using the ready grated cheese to scatter on top of the sauce before baking. I have found that the coating on the grated cheese that keeps it flowing in the pack forms a kind of cap on the top of the sauce and is prone to over cooking rather than melting.
Can I make Cauliflower Cheese with cornflour sauce ahead of time?
Yes, you can get ahead with this dish preparing it then letting it cool. You can refrigerate it overnight, top with extra cheese and bake in the oven. It will take a little longer to come up to temperature after being in the fridge so bear that in mind.
Can I freeze cauliflower cheese?
I don’t recommend that you freeze this dish. The sauce tends to separate once defrosted and the cauliflower will lose a lot of texture.
Can I make the sauce in a saucepan rather than a microwave?
Yes, you can make this cheese sauce in a saucepan, when I started cooking there were no home microwaves. Simply heat the milk in a saucepan, add to the cornflour mixture and then return to the pan and heat until the sauce thickens. Then follow the rest of the recipe. I’ve put these instructions in the notes in the recipe card.
Vegetarian
Cauliflower Cheese with cornflour sauce is suitable for vegetarians if you check that the cheese has been made with a vegetarian rennet.
Gluten Free
This recipe is gluten free. However, I recommend that you check any packaged ingredients such as mustard and even cornflour and avoid using ready grated cheese.
For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How should I serve Cauliflower Cheese with Cornflour Sauce?
You can serve cauliflower cheese as a stand alone supper dish with some crusty bread. It’s also a real favourite to serve with roast beef, pork, lamb or ham as part of a classic roast dinner.
How many people will the Cauliflower Cheese serve?
It’s difficult to give an exact number of people because it depends on how you serve it and you and your guests appetites. If you are serving the cauliflower cheese as a standalone supper dish, then I would suggest it will serve two to three.
If you are serving it with stuffing and a number of other vegetable side dishes such as then it can serve up to 8 people. If, for example, you are serving it as the only vegetable then it will serve 4 people.
I can thoroughly recommend making the full quantity even if there are only one or two of you. It reheats really well and you can also make Cauliflower Cheese Soup which is equally delicious!
Perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving
There’s no doubt that cauliflower cheese will be on the menu for the biggest feast of the year. This recipe is perfect to serve with turkey along side a range of other delicious sides. Here are some you might like to try:
- Brussels sprouts with bacon and mustard dressing
- Hasselback Carrots with Brown Sugar Glaze
- Easy Cranberry and red wine sauce
- Apricot and Sausagemeat Stuffing
- Cheesy Parsnip Gratin
- Air Fryer Roast Potatoes
Cauliflower Cheese with cornflour sauce
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- chopping board
- Large saucepan
- measuring jug
- medium bowl
- wooden spoon
- Measuring spoons
- cheese grater
- Ovenproof dish
Ingredients
- 600 grams (1½ lb) cauliflower
- 500 millilitres (1 pt) whole milk
- 2 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon English mustard powder
- 30 grams (2 tbsp) butter
- 150 grams (1¾ cups) cheddar cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the leaves and cut the 600 gram (1½ lb) cauliflower into even sized florets. You can save the leaves and stalk to add to soup if liked.
- Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5-8 minutes until they are tender but not mushy, then drain the water from the pan and set aside.
- Put 500 ml (1 pint) milk into a microwave proof jug and heat for 4 minutes until the milk is hot but not boiling.
- While the milk is heating, put 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch) into a medium sized bowl.
- Add two tablespoons of cold milk to the cornflour and mix together to remove any lumps.
- Add 1 teaspoon English mustard powder to the cornflour and milk and mix.
- Remove the jug of hot milk from the microwave and gradually add about half of it to the cornflour mixture, stirring.
- Pour the cornflour mix and milk back into the jug with the remaining milk and return to the microwave. Microwave it on HIGH for 30 seconds, remove and stir ensuring that you get right to the bottom of the jug.
- Return the sauce in the jug to the microwave and continue to cook in 30 second bursts, stirring each time, until the sauce will coat the back of your wooden spoon. This usually takes a total of 2 minutes.
- Add 120 grams (1½ cups) grated cheddar cheese to the sauce.
- Stir until the cheese has melted.
- Taste the sauce and season to taste. I used 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Put the cooked cauliflower florets into an oven proof dish
- Pour over the cheese sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 30 grams (¼ cup) grated cheddar cheese.
- Bake in the oven at 200℃/180℃ Fan/375℉ for 15-20 minutes until the the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If you are making this ahead of time and heating it from cold it will take 25-35 minutes to reheat thoroughly.
- Serve cauliflower cheese as a side dish with roast meats, roast potatoes and other vegetables. Or you can serve it on its own with crusty bread as a vegetarian supper.
The glorious sauce lived up to the glorious photo on this post – it was a cheesy feast in one tin!
Ha! yes a cheesy feast sums it up.
Cauliflower cheese is one of my favourite sides, this recipe was easy to make and a deliciously cheesy sauce which my family loved.
Thanks Jen, it is such an easy sauce to make.
Just made your delicious cauliflower cheese. Never made it with the cornflour sauce before which worked well and less calories! In the ingredients it states 30g of butter but I never found where to add it ? Have I missed something?
Have a very Happy Christmas up there in Bonny Scotland from down on the South Coast.
That’s good to hear, Judith. I’ll check the recipe again as I may have missed the butter, I add it to the sauce with the cheese. However it is optional just adds extra richness.
I make much the same sauce for not-very-Italian pizzas for a friend’s children, I splidge it on the base with tomato.
A flour-based sauce is unnecessary a lot of the time – I agree with your mother!
sounds good!