I was browsing through the produce section at the grocery store the other day when I spotted beautifully vibrant purple and orange cauliflower. I practically swooned. I know, it’s a little weird that I get so excited about oddly coloured produce, but hey, that’s me. After staring at them for a while, like the crazy food-obsessed blogger that I am, treating the decision of selecting cauliflower as some major life-altering choice, I finally settled on the orange cauliflower. In hindsight, I should have grabbed a purple one, too, because the next time I went to the store, they had vanished (damn it!!). In any case, I had an orange cauliflower, and I found myself facing another painstaking decision — what should I do with such a special head of cauliflower?
It’s orange, and that made me think of cheese. Cauliflower and cheese are practically made for each other, so that was an obvious choice. I added some ground beef, and voila! Cauliflower. Cheeseburger. Casserole. It’s so simple, but often the simplest of meals are the best ones. I’d say that’s definitely true with this recipe.
It’s also low in carbs, if you care about that sort of thing. I pretend to sometimes.
Bennett and Ayla agreed with me — it was yummy! And I love how Ayla is peeking out from underneath the table in this photo; she never stays still.
Cole was undecided. He liked the cheese and cauliflower, but wasn’t sold on the ground beef. He thought it was a little too “beefy.” Fair enough!
All in all, it was a successful meal. I loved the orange cauliflower, but next time I see a purple cauliflower, I’m grabbing it! I’d like to see what this dish looks like with a violet hue. Whatever colour your cauliflower is, it’s going to be delicious in this casserole.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large head of cauliflower (orange, if you can find it)
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- seasoning salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until browned. Drain any excess fat.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets, and steam them for about 5 minutes, until tender on the outside but still crisp in the middle.
- In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk together.
- Slowly whisk in the milk, and continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
- Once thickened, remove sauce from heat and stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Add seasoning salt, to taste.
- Combine beef, cauliflower, and cheese sauce. Taste and add another pinch of seasoning salt, if desired.
- Pour mixture into a casserole dish, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
- Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
Looks yummy!!!
Thanks Minnie!
I tried this out tonight and it was delicious! Only thing we did was chop a red onion in with the beef; I think the extra flavor worked well. 🙂
That’s fantastic!
I just made this for my boyfriend and we both loved it! I used a bit of cream and unsweetened coconut milk in place of milk. Subbed cornstarch for flour. I also added green onion and some sautéed yellow onion and topped the whole ting with some parsley! SO DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Fantastic! thanks so much for sharing!
I just made this. Was great and filling. I added some garlic powder,and pepper,Also added some Parmesean cheese into the sauce and on top. Loved it. Can’t wait for left overs.
I also added corn.
Wonderful!
Really nice basic recipe! I cooked up some chopped onion and then cooked the ground beef with it. Our oldest felt it needed more spices, so next time I probably need to add more seasoned salt OR I even considered doing it like a chili-cauliflower and add chili powder and cumin and see how that works!
Thanks so much!
I added garlic to ground beef and sprinkled Feta cheese over it instead of cheddar. It’s baking now… It looks great!
Sounds good! I love reading everyone’s variations on this recipe!
DELISH!!!!!!! Made this tonight – my hubby and I both loved it!!! Just one question…is there nutrition info for this? Thanks for the recipe!!! Definitely going to have it again AND will be trying more of your recipes!!
Just made this- it was great!
I did a search for low carb meals and your link came up. We are watching our carb intake for health purposes. Do you know how many carbs in this dish? I really would like to make this recipe. It looks delicious.
Hi! I’m sorry I don’t know exactly but it would be very low in carbs.
Thank you. I made it for dinner tonigh and my hubby had seconds. Very good!
I gather with the 2 tbsp of flour if it is all purpose. We are looking at a total of 13 carbs for the whole dish
Using the carb info on the side of the ingredient packages our pan equals 58.5 carbs, Unless i’m forgetting something . Only thing we did different is to use ground turkey not ground beef.
Wow that is low, thank you!
Hi Gloria! I came upon this recipe when a friend gave me a head of cauliflower and I had some ground beef in the refrigerator. Also, I had just started on the Atkins diet! In any event, I did a calculation of the carbs in this recipe and it may not be exact, but it’s pretty close.
Cauliflower (1 cup) 2.9 carbs (5 g carbs, less 2.1 fiber)
Cheese 0 carbs
Ground beer 0 carbs
Butter 0 carbs
Flower 3 carbs (based on 4 servings) 12g carbs (.4 fiber) 11.6/4
Milk 0 (I used light cream for 0 carbs)
So..I estimate about 6 carbs per serving, which I think is amazing for something this delicious!!
Pam Leach
Does anyone know the nutritional facts? Many thanks
Is it 1 & 1/2 cup milk and 1 & 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated or 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese?
It’s one and a half of each
I wanted to extend it, so I added 2 cups cooked quinoa. I had to make 1\2 recipe more of the cheese sause.I also added garlic and onion to the ground beef. Then on top of the cheese I put 1\2 cup crumbled bacon. Grandkids loved it.
This is a great basic recipe that is really easy to whip up and add on to. I made extra sauce and added sautéed garlic, onion, mushrooms & green beans. I also added some garlic powder, cayenne & black pepper. The whole family devoured it then had second and third helpings.
I added onion, garlic, and black pepper and omitted the seasoned salt to lower the sodium and it tasted like a gooey cheeseburger with added healthy cauliflower! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so happy I found your little recipe here, I struggle with what to do with Cauliflower .. steam it …. thats about it.. til now. I, as well, added some fresh garlic and chopped onions. Loved IT! easy, simple and it’s just me so it lasts awhile.. thanx so much Yummy!!
That’s great! Have you tried roasting it? I have a roasted cauliflower soup that’s really good: http://foodwhine.com/2016/04/curried-cauliflower-lentil-soup.html
I love a good cheeseburger and I’m trying to stay away from my favorite places. This was so very good! I added onions, garlic, garlic powder, garlic salt, fennel and worchestire sauce and blue cheese on top. Thank you!
I have made this dish several times. It is one of my very favorites! Last time I overcooked the cauliflower and it was still delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Me and my family loved it. I added pepper, chili flakes and chili powder to the meat while cooking. I also cooked it twice as long because I like a good browning on my casseroles, especially cheesy ones. Thanks
Loved it! I sautéed some onions with the ground beef, added cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper & 3/4 cup of salsa. It was a little runny, I didn’t compensate for the extra liquid in the salsa. I’ll cut down the milk some next time. And it will be made again!
Im broke so i made this without flour and i uses Munster cheese for the sprinkle and velveeta for the sauce i got to say first time trying this because i only had these ingredients but it came out wonderful big props!!
What to do… we have ground beef cauliflower, cheddar cheese. Thank you!
Just made this … Smells an looks great cant wait ….
I made this tonight with veggie burger crumbles and it turned out the great. My husband and 4 year old daughter loved it. The only minor issue was that there was a little liquid in the bottom. That could have been a result of different water density in the veggie burger v. ground beef, I think, so I may reduce the milk next time. Either way, delicious and easy recipe. It was great comfort food for a rainy night. Thanks!