Cauliflower Cheese Recipe:
Is there a more popular festive side dish? It’s versatile and easy to cook at home once you know how to make cauliflower cheese.
Why is this the best Christmas side dish?
For this recipe, Ellis has incorporated some other popular festive trimmings to create a recipe that is easy to follow, takes the pressure off Christmas Day, is full of flavour and is guaranteed to go down a treat.
“There’s something magical about Christmas cooking, isn’t there? The clatter of pans, the aromas of roasting vegetables and spices wafting through the kitchen, and the challenge of creating a feast that keeps everyone happy. For me, it’s all about balance: big, bold flavours, seasonal ingredients, and dishes that deliver maximum wow factor with minimal stress.
That’s where my ‘Celeriac, Parsnip, and Cauliflower Cheese Recipe’ comes in. This isn’t your average cauliflower cheese. Nope, this is the souped-up, turbocharged version—a creamy, cheesy side dish that’s just as much a showstopper as the roast itself. With spiced, infused milk, artisanal Welsh cheeses, and the natural sweetness of parsnips and celeriac, this dish takes the humble cheese sauce to a whole new level. Oh, and it’s gluten free.”
Cheese sauce is a classic that provides a base to play around with and add different flavours. The infused milk in this recipe adds a layer of warmth and complexity, thanks to cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, and more. These spices bring a subtle festive edge to the dish, without overpowering the star of the show, the beautiful seasonal vegetables.
“I’m all about supporting local producers, so I’ve gone for Welsh Hafod Cheddar, with its rich, nutty flavour, and Mon Las, a blue cheese from Anglesey for its creamy, tangy kick. If you’re going to do cheese, you’ve got to do it properly, right?”
Suggestions
Make Ahead: This dish can be fully assembled a day in advance. Bake and reheat on Christmas Day for a stress-free side.
Low and Slow: The longer the milk is infused, the deeper the flavour.
Getting Cheffy: Roasting the flour beforehand removes any raw taste.
Get Creative: Add some garlic, truffle and a bit of mustard, or finish it with bread crumbs on top for that extra crunch.
Support Local: Switch out the cheese for your preffered cheeses. Using quality, local cheeses like Hafod and Mon Las adds a depth of flavour that supermarket cheeses just can’t match.
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For the Infused Milk:
1 liter whole milk
Skins from 1 celeriac (washed)
1 onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 whole nutmeg, bashed
4 cloves
4 allspice berries
For the Sauce:
50g butter
50g plain or gluten-free flour
300g cheddar cheese (Welsh Hafod Cheddar recommended), grated
100g mozzarella (optional - for extra cheese pull)
50g blue cheese (Ellis uses Mon Las), diced
100g crème fraîche
Pinch of white pepper
Salt to taste
1 whole nutmeg, grated
For the Vegetables:
1 small cauliflower, broken into florets
1 medium celeriac, peeled and diced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and diced
2 leeks, finely sliced
Flour for dusting
Salt and pepper to taste
To Finish:
Grated cheddar or parmesan for topping
Cooking Instructions
Infuse the Milk
Combine the milk, celeriac skins, onion, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice in a saucepan.
Heat gently until just boiling, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the milk to remove the aromatics and keep warm for the sauce. (In the video, Ellis strains the milk straight into the mornay sauce but it is simpler if done beforehand.)
Prepare the Vegetables
Dust the cauliflower florets lightly with seasoned flour.
In a pan, sweat the diced celeriac and leeks in butter over medium heat until softened but not browned.
Make the Mornay Sauce
Melt 100g butter into the sweated celeriac and leeks, then stir in the flour to create a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the infused milk, ensuring no lumps form. Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
Stir in the cheddar, mozzarella, crème fraîche, and nutmeg until melted and smooth. Season with white pepper and salt to taste.
Assemble the Dish
Layer the cauliflower and parsnips in a large baking dish.
Pour the leek and celeriac cheese sauce over the vegetables, ensuring everything is well-coated.
Dot with diced blue cheese and sprinkle grated cheddar or parmesan on top.
Bake
Cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 160°C (320°F) for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 200°C (390°F), and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Rest and Serve
Let the dish rest for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
And there we have it. A cauliflower cheese recipe that is sure to impress and reduces the amount of side dishes that you need to cook and simultaneously the amount you need to clean.
Final comments from Chef:
“This isn’t just another cauliflower cheese. It’s the festive upgrade you didn’t know you needed. The spiced milk brings subtle warmth, the cheese sauce is creamy and luxurious, and the mix of seasonal veg keeps things hearty and fresh.
So whether you’re cooking for Christmas or just fancy a comforting dish that’ll impress any dinner guest, this one’s a keeper. Trust me—you’ll be coming back for seconds.
Stay tuned for my next festive recipe: a one-pot wonder featuring sprouts, bacon, and broccoli. It’s the perfect companion to this indulgent classic.
Happy cooking.”
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This is going to sound obvious. The cheese is key. Supermarkets do a great job with a lot of products but their cheeses don’t stand up to artisanal counterparts. Using a reputable cheese from a small producer is a worthwhile purchase to enhance this recipe.
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Yes, you can make a gluten-free cauliflower cheese by using a good gluten-free flour.
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There’s no need to add water to the process by preboiling your vegetables. Dusting the cauliflower with flour to make the mornay also helps to emulsify the dish, creating the creamy texture.
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Yes, you can assemble the dish and refrigerate it, then bake it when ready to serve.
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This recipe plays with the festive flavours and ingredients to create the perfect Christmas side dish but cauliflower cheese is often served as a side for roast dinners, particularly beef or lamb, but it also complements vegetarian mains like lentil or nut roast.
