broccoli and cauliflower cheese bake

Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese Bake

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Cauliflower-Broccoli Cheese Bake

One of the first dishes my mom taught me is a tasty pairing of cauliflower, cheese and broccoli. It’s absolutely my best side.

Here is a special Mouth Watering Mondays. This recipe I shared on BonBon Break awhile back and now I have it for you here today. It is one of my favorite casseroles and it is so quick and easy to make Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Bake.

The cheese sauce is created on its own in the casserole. You just cut up cubes of cheese and viola, it couldn’t be easier!! This is great comfort food for Thanksgiving or the holidays!! Also, try our Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole too!

There is no need to make a cheese sauce in advance for this recipe. This is the only time I have used Velveeta in baking and I have to say it works great and the cheese is melted perfectly with no effort. Camembert and Velveeta are diced and added to the veggies, it is as easy as that to make a sauce.

I love broccoli and cauliflower together. It is also one of the best casserole recipes we make.

Maybe not the healthiest of choices but “everything in moderation, including moderation,” said Julia Child. You can make your own cheese sauce but for little effort, this dish makes its own sauce. If it is for the holidays then you can splurge a little!

But there are lots to love about this recipe! Perfectly done veggies that are first blanched for 3 min. and then shocked in cold water. This technique ensures that they keep their color and texture.

Then a cheese sauce that is created on its own in the oven. Lastly, a slightly spicy, crunchy gorgeous crumb mixture is mixed up in a small bowl and the perfect finish to this great dish.

I have brought this dish to a few potlucks and it completely has disappeared. Everyone loves a casserole like this and if you use gluten-free panko crumbs or bread crumbs even more people can enjoy it.

Besides salt and pepper, for the topping, there are some other interesting ingredients that make this recipe stand out. Read the recipe to find out more!!

This dish goes with turkey, ham, roast beef and even fish. It can be easily made as a weekday casserole as it can be special for the holidays too!

It is completely portable and just needs to be popped into a preheated oven.

This dish is nice also because it is just vegetables and doesn’t include rice which I find to sometimes be too filling with a big dinner.

This makes a small 8×11″ baking dish but you can easily double it for a larger crowd. A side dish that is easy to make and serves a crowd is a win, win!!

Why I Love This Recipe

• One thing I love about this broccoli cauliflower bake is that it can be made ahead of time. All you have to do is prep your ingredients on the stove, add them to a casserole dish, cover the dish and refridgerate. Then when you are ready to broil the casserole top it with the breadcrumb mixture and cheese then pop it in the oven.
• This dish is packed with veggies making it nutritious and it’s not the worst way to get the littles ones to eat more vegetables.
• Can we talk about the fact that you won’t have to do much washing up? All you’ll need is a small bowl to make the topping, a saucepan to cook the ingredients and a casserole dish for broiling!

What you will need

Equipment

To make this cauliflower and broccoli cheese you will need a mixing bowl, a baking sheet and some baking parchment to line your baking sheet and make washing up easier. I’ve included the baking parchment link so that you can see what it looks like, but to be quite honest you can pick this up for less than a pound in most supermarkets.

You will also need a saucepan for making the cheese sauce, and a baking dish to make it all in. The baking dish should be large enough to hold all the vegetables plus the cheese sauce (approximately 8″ x 8″).

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 package (8 ounces) Velveeta, cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen broccoli-cauliflower blend, thawed

How to make it

Prepare the cauliflower and broccoli

Place the cauliflower and broccoli florets into a mixing bowl, pour in the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and then spread the florets onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Bake the vegetables in a preheated oven (200C / 400F) for 12 to 15 minutes until they start to brown.

The florets should be fork-tender. If they seem too hard, leave them for another minute or two. Remember, the vegetables will continue to cook once they go back into the oven with the sauce.

Make the cheese sauce

While the vegetables are roasting, you can get on with making the cheese sauce.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and then stir in the flour. Take care to remove any lumps of flour.

Add the milk and the mustard and stir over a gentle heat until the mixture thickens. It should pour slowly from the spoon.

Stir in the cheese and continue to heat until the cheese has melted.

Taste the sauce and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Assemble and bake

Transfer the roasted cauliflower and broccoli into a baking dish.

Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables.

Combine grated cheese with Panko breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the sauce.

Bake the cauliflower and broccoli cheese for 15 minutes (200C / 400F) until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are golden.

To let the cheese and breadcrumb topping brown more easily you may like to add a few dots of butter before baking the dish in the oven. I think there is enough butter in the sauce, so I don’t bother doing this.

Nutrition Facts

1 piece: 170 calories, 11g fat (6g saturated fat), 95mg cholesterol, 461mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 1g fiber), 8g protein.