Crockpot Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

by Michele Pesula Kuegler | January 11th, 2017 | Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegetarian
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fetchpriority=”high” decoding=”async” class=”alignleft size-large wp-image-162128″ src=”https://thinktasty1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-400×400.jpg” alt=”crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese” width=”400″ height=”400″ srcset=”https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-400×400.jpg 400w, https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-150×150.jpg 150w, https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-300×300.jpg 300w, https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-768×768.jpg 768w, https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-170×170.jpg 170w, https://www.thinktasty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/crockpot-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese.jpg 1561w” sizes=”(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px” />This recipe was a fine hybrid of my cooking. Within this dish I was able to combine the usage of a crockpot with carb replacement. Over the past year I have been using several different vegetables in lieu of pasta. I have tried and enjoyed zucchini in place of spaghetti and cauliflower for rice. Both of those have gone well.

For today’s recipe I wanted to try cauliflower in place of pasta in homemade mac and cheese. I knew that it wouldn’t have the same shape, but I did hope that it would have a similar feel. Pasta becomes fairly tender, as does cauliflower, so it didn’t seem like a ridiculous attempt.

I also wanted to cook the majority of the dish in the crockpot, as I wanted it to be as close to one-step cooking as possible. My regular mac and cheese bakes for about half an hour in the oven. I knew that the cauliflower would be raw after that small amount of baking time. I didn’t want to parboil the cauliflower, so as to save time and flavor. Cooking in the crockpot would allow this dish to simmer, soften the cauliflower, and infuse more flavor.

I really enjoyed this dish. While I wouldn’t call it a healthy dinner, as there is a good amount of cheese and some butter in it, it also isn’t horribly indulgent, as I use skim milk instead of whole milk or half-and-half.

Note: This isn’t a put it in your crockpot and go to work dish. It’ll need only a couple hours of cooking. It’s perfect for a lazy Sunday when you can start dinner in the late afternoon.

Crockpot Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Serves 2
A lower carb alternative to regular mac and cheese




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Prep Time
10 min

Cook Time
2 hr

Total Time
2 hr 10 min

Prep Time
10 min

Cook Time
2 hr

Total Time
2 hr 10 min

Ingredients
  1. 2 Tb. butter
  2. 2-1/2 Tb. flour
  3. 1 cup skim milk
  4. 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar
  5. 2 lb. (1 head) cauliflower
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in small pot over medium heat.
  2. Add flour, whisk until slightly golden, about 3 minutes.
  3. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly.
  4. Continue to whisk until thickened.
  5. Add cheese, stirring until blended.
  6. Remove sauce from heat.
  7. Cut cauliflower into 1-inch dice.
  8. Put cauliflower in large (5 quart) crockpot; top with cheese sauce.
  9. Stir; cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
  10. Serve with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, if desired.
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