This is the best ever Keto mac and cheese recipe. Mac and cheese is comfort food for a lot of people and now you can have it even on a Keto diet. I love how creamy and rich this is. It sure doesn't taste like healthy food!
This is my new favorite side dish. Well, maybe except spicy butternut squash soup. I had that for dinner the other day and I LOVED it. So easy and turns out great every time. Guess I'll have to post that recipe soon . . .
One of the things that's great about this recipe is that it gets me to eat more veggies. I mean, I love veggies and I'm eating way more now than I used to, but I really get tired of the same vegetables over and over. When I eat this stuff, I find myself eating tons of cauliflower, which is really good. Plus, this helps me not to miss pasta so much.
Main Ingredients
- A whole head of cauliflower - this is the main body of your dish. It's surprising how much of it you can eat when it's soft, creamy and smothered in a delicious cream sauce.
- Butter or bacon fat - really any sort of "fat" will do but one with the most flavor is the best, especially since you don't use that much.
- Heavy cream - I really do recommend using heavy cream and not using half and half or milk, etc. It's not only better carb-wise but it's so nice and rice and creamy. But the real advantage as far as cooking with it is it doesn't curdle. It's so much easier to work with.
- Cheddar cheese - I like to use a good quality medium. It seems to have a balance of enough flavor but being still easy to work with. Sharp has more flavor but it's really hard to work with. It doesn't melt properly, falls apart, costs more, is harder to find, etc.
Tips and tricks
- If you like your cauliflower to be more firm, start the cream sauce first and let it get warmed up and going for a few minutes before you add the cauliflower.
- If you want this thicker without having to cook it down for so long and make the cauliflower super soft, you can cook the sauce and the cauliflower separate. Start the cauliflower when the sauce is almost done. I like to cook my cauliflower in the Instant Pot * for 3-10 minutes on steam, depending on how soft I want it. Then - this is important - drain the cauliflower really, really well before you add it to the cheese sauce. Otherwise, it will water down the sauce and make the cauliflower and the sauce taste watery.
- If your pan isn't ovenproof, you can just put a lid on it and let the cheese melt on the stovetop with the heat turned off.
- You could totally add bacon to this, which would make it even more Keto and would add a lot of flavors. After all, bacon is a cornerstone meat on the Keto diet!
- For extra flavor, use sharp cheddar and add some cayenne pepper. Or try jalapeños, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning or Parmesan cheese.
- You could also add a few tablespoons of cream cheese to make it a bit richer and thicker.
- Instead of cauliflower, you could use spaghetti squash or zoodles *.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do! I would love to hear if you try this and like it. Please comment below and let me know how it turned it.
Keto Mac and Cheese Recipe
I love how creamy and rich this Mac and Cheese is. It sure doesn't taste like healthy food!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Head Cauliflower (I used a fairly large head, about the equivalent of 4-5 cups)
- 1 tablespoon Grass-fed butter or bacon fat
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Yellow Mustard
- 12 ounces Cheddar Cheese (grated)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Break the head of cauliflower into very small florets, discarding the thick stems. You should have 4-5 cups of cauliflower florets, in the end.
- Place the cauliflower florets in a large, deep sided saute pan. Add the butter, water, cream ,salt, garlic powder and mustard.
- Bring to a simmer over medium/high heat. Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.
- If the liquid is still thin, let it cook, uncovered, until it has reduced to the consistency of heavy cream.
- Add ⅔ of the shredded cheese to the cauliflower and toss into the sauce until it melts and sauce becomes creamy. Taste sauce and add more salt, if needed.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a grating of fresh black pepper. Assuming your pan is oven proof, set it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Serve immediately. Sauce will thicken slightly upon standing.
Keywords: creamy, rich, healthy, Keto
Paige
It was delicious
★★★★★
Iola Meadows
I used two heads of cauliflower and I baked it in the oven.
★★★★★
Sarah E Scott
It turned out great, we loved it!
★★★★★
Katrina Lahr
Very tasty! I added more salt and pepper because it's just how I like it, but it's very good regardless!!
★★★★★
Nina Berman
Insanely delicious. I love this dish, although I only add about 1 TBSP of water as opposed to 1 cup or else I end up with cauliflower soup! Also use powdered mustard in place of the yellow mustard. Don’t miss the macaroni noodles at ALL! 😋
★★★★★
Michala Shaw
This recipe is amazing, must make immediately!
★★★★★
Rebecca Taylor
Is it possible for you to add the nutritional information for those of us that are just now starting Keto?
Rebecca Baron
It's on there. Just scroll to the bottom of the recipe.
Lea
Wondering about adding broccoli and rice to this. Broccoli rice casserole is yummy.
Will try and let you know
★★★★★
Rebecca
It sounds delish. I'd love to know how it turns out.
Paige B
It was delicious
★★★★★
Alisa
We made this tonight, it was delicious! Need a BIG head of cabbage for all the sauce. To get it to thicken up I made a slurry with arrowroot powder instead of corn starch, worked beautifully. Also replaced some of the sharp cheddar with spicy cheese I had, instead of adding cayenne. Crispy bacon was a nice addition too. No carb crash! I was working out an hour after eating this where pasta would have me like a zombie on the
couch.
★★★★★
Rebecca
I love your tips. Your version sounds wonderful!
Melissa Reed
This was sooooo good! I made my cauliflower and sauce separate then brought it together and broiled it for about three minutes Yum!
★★★★★
Brenda K
I sautéed my cauliflower then added the sauce. Also used 2 TBS of cream cheese. Very yummy.
★★★★★
Denise Beveridge
Turned out delicious!! I will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Donna
Has anyone tried making this, but using roasted and seasoned cauliflower? I think it would add more texture and an awesome flavor addition!
Kim
Super delicious!!!
★★★★★
Stephanie Lumpkin
I loved it!
★★★★★
Keena
That looks amazing! Do you think that the Trader Joe's Riced Cauliflower would work?
Rebecca
Probably. I haven't tried it myself, cause I'm not lucky enough to live close to a Trader Joe's, but it would probably work and would definitely cut down on prep time. I would love to know if it works out for you, so my other readers will know if it works.
Kristin
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! It was A-maz-ing !! I really loved that this dish didn't taste like cauliflower like some other recipes I've tried. Will defintely be putting this mac and cheese in my meal rotation. Thanks! ?
★★★★★
Rebecca
Oh, good. I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for commenting.
Dawn
Can I freeze this?
Rebecca
I've never tried, but it sounds like a big, watery mess to me. Maybe someone else has tried it?
Amy
This was delicious, but it was very runny. You suggested cooking the cauliflower separately as an option. If so, then do I need so much water? I would make it again regardless. I just used a slotted spoon to serve it.
★★★★
Rebecca
Did you do step 4? If I cooked the cauliflower separately, then I would drain the water off the cauliflower after I cooked it or just take it out of the pan with a slotted spoon.
Gabriella
I don't like to use fresh vegetables like zucchini and cauliflower becausse they make the dish too runny.I'm afraid to try this.
Jordan
You can use frozen cauliflower “rice” and they also have frozen zoodles.
Sharon
Just made this with bacon and cayenne pepper. It was so good! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Rebecca
The perfect Keto additions! Everything is better with bacon and cayenne, I think! Glad you liked it!
Elizabeth
There is 1/2 tsp of yellow mustard listed in the ingredients but it doesn’t appear in the directions. Can I get clarification on that.
Rebecca
Oops. I totally forgot that, didn't I? I just added it to the instructions now. Thanks for finding that so other people aren't confused. Sorry about that.
Elizabeth
It was still good even without the mustard. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
★★★★★
Becky
I may be missing it somewhere, but what is the serving size that the label is based on? Can't wait to make this!
Rebecca
It's just a fourth of the recipe, which a big serving, like a big bowl like is pictured, so if you only eat a small amount on the side, adjust the servings accordingly. There is a sliding scale on the servings so you can adjust based on how many servings it is for you and it will tell you the nutrition per serving for you.
Jade
Wow! This dish is amazing! Thank you!
★★★★★
Rebecca
I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for the comment!
Joyce
Oh, what an excellent idea. I have got to try this real real soon. I so miss my mac n cheese!
★★★★★