Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese
Low Carb Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Bacon
There are very few dishes as comforting as Mac and Cheese. Not having grown up in the US, we did not take to the culture of Mac and Cheese, but I did have parents who loved pasta with cheese. The exception is that in Romania this is a sweet dish made with lots of sugar and mild fresh cheese (something similar to queso fresco). I kind of like this dish growing up, but nothing could have prepared me for my first encounter with the American Mac and Cheese.... being the cheese lover that I am, I absolutely fell in love with it.
This Mac and Cheese recipe with cauliflower as replacement for the Mac (Should be called Cal and Cheese) has been around for a while. This is our own spin on it. This is a rich, melt in your mouth buttery and cheese dish with the addition of a crunchy topping.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp garlic
- 4 oz. cheddar cheese
- 6 oz. cream cheese
- 500 g cauliflower
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp mustard powder or prepared mustard (I used Dijon mustard in this).
- Grated mozzarella or cheddar for topping
- pork rinds for topping (about 5-6 pieces)
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream in a pan and heat up. Add the garlic and let it cook a little bit in the cream. If the cream starts thickening too much add a little bit of water. Add the mustard.
- Add the cheddar and the cream cheese and let everything melt together. Then add the cauliflower cut up into small florets (I always have frozen cauliflower on hand) and let things cook together a bit.
- Separately cook up the bacon and cut it up into small bites. Mix the bacon and the spices in the sauce and put everything into an oven safe dish.
- Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350. Then add some more cheddar cheese on top and let it melt in the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Finally cover everything with crumbled pork rinds and bake for about 10 more minutes.
Notes
- Try adding broccoli along with the cauliflower for that extra bite.
- Try different cheeses like Cheddar or Monterey Jack for the spicy kick.
- You can also replace bacon with ham or Canadian bacon.
- When it comes to using bacon, I prefer using the uncured kind since it doesn't have the added sugars during the curing process.
Nutrition Information
- Number of Servings 4
- Calories Per Serving 570
- Fat 50g
- Carbs 10g
- Fiber 3g
- Net Carbs 7g
- Protein 23g
- Fat 79%, Protein 16%, Net Carbs 5%
