Vegan cauliflower cheese

Vegan cauliflower cheese

Cauliflower cheese has to be one of the all-time comfort food dishes that’s full of flavour and cheesy goodness. So, we asked our friends at Boxxfresh to help us curate a vegan version, so that everyone can enjoy!

There’s even fresh garlic and tenderstem broccoli added into the sauce, for that extra punchy flavour and of course, to up the veg count!

This recipe serves four – and is perfect when served with some crusty bread, salad or when used as a side dish to a veg packed sunday roast!

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Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp vegan butter

Grated vegan cheese – as much or as little as you’d like!

2 tbsp plain flour

3/4 litre of plant-based milk – we used oat milk to get an extra creamy sauce!

A handful of tenderstem broccoli – roughly chopped*

1-2 heaped tsp of mustard – we used wholegrain but dijon also works great!

1 cauliflower – with the outer leaves removed and broken into pieces

2 sprigs of fresh thyme – rosemary or sage also pairs well

A handful of flaked almonds or chopped nuts (optional)

Olive oil

A pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Start by preheating your oven to 180*C/350*F/gas 4

Grab a saucepan and start to warm it over medium heat.

Add your grated garlic cloves, along with a good tablespoon of vegan butter. Allow the butter to melt and the garlic gently sizzle for a minute. Stir to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Add your flour and stir into the butter for a minute to make a paste. Then, little by little, add your plant-based milk of choice, whisking thoroughly after every splash until you’ve used up all the milk and you have a lovely smooth sauce.

Next, add your broccoli and simmer for around 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly to that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

One the broccoli is cooked through and starts to break down, mash it into the sauce, or give it a blitz with a hand mixer. Add an extra splash of milk if you like the sauce a little looser.

Then, stir in your mustard of choice, followed by the vegan cheese before seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Give everything a really good mix to make sure everything is blended well into the sauce.

Arrange the cauliflower pieces into a baking dish, so that they’re nice and snug. Then pour over the cheesy sauce. You can also crumble up some breadcrumbs too add on top, but we choice to sprinkle some flaked almonds for the crunch!

Pop the dish into the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, just until it’s all golden and bubbly. Serve hot and enjoy!