Spicy Cauliflower Mac and Cheese! Loaded with three different cheeses, leeks and seasoned, roasted cauliflower, this baked mac and cheese is a cheese lover’s dream!
You guys. . It’s National Cheese Lover’s Day! So, I made a baked mac & cheese! An epic, mind blowing mac & cheese.
With all the cold weather we’ve been experiencing here in Wisconsin, I’ve been craving comfort food like crazy and staying bundled up (in like 3 layers) here at home so there’s nothing I want more today than a big portion of this on a plate!
This cheesy goodness starts with roasted cauliflower. If you read my blog, this shouldn’t surprise you. I like throwing cauliflower into dishes and I love food with texture!
And the cheese makes this mac and cheese unforgettable. Three cheeses to be exact!
This was the best part. . taste testing like 7 different cheeses to see which ones would taste better together. I love Fontina and Cheddar together and fell in love with the Wisconsin butterkäse cheese. Have you guys tried butterkäse cheese before?
It has a very creamy texture and buttery taste. It is also called Damenkäse or “ladies cheese” because it is odorless and delicately flavored. It’s absolutely delicious! I had to stop myself from just eating it so I would have enough for the mac & cheese.
This might be the BEST baked mac & cheese I’ve made. I mean, come on.
I love that you can see the leeks and cauliflower. I hope you give this recipe a try!
And since today is National Cheese Lover’s Day, the folks at Wisconsin Cheese are throwing a Twitter party! TODAY, January 20, at 12pm EST. Just follow @WisconsinCheese on Twitter and follow this hashtag: #CheeseParty! They’ll be giving away some great prizes and lots of CHEESE so I hope you can join in on the fun!
Spicy Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
For the roasted cauliflower:
- Half head cauliflower diced fine (at least 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
For the mac and cheese:
- ½ lb. shell pasta
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard seed
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream or 2 cups of milk
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups Wisconsin cheddar cheese freshly grated, split
- 1 cup Wisconsin fontina cheese freshly grated
- 1 cup Wisconsin butterkase cheese freshly grated
- 1 heaping cup sautéed leeks white and tender green parts only
Instructions
For the roasted cauliflower:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Using a parchment lined baking sheet, arrange the cauliflower on top in a single layer. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and, using a small bowl, mix together the paprika, chipotle chili pepper powder, garlic powder and salt.
- For the rest of the instructions and to view the entire recipe card, please visit AllThingsMacAndCheese.com
For the rest of the instructions and to view the entire recipe card, please visit All Things Mac and Cheese.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Wisconsin Cheese. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
We officially have our first winter’s day today. For us winter has been slow. I would love love to have a plate of this right now.. ALL that CHEESE…..Yummm!!
The Melting Pot used to have a Wisconsin-themed cheese fondue that used butterkase! And blue was in there too, and also a hit of sherry. I ordered it every time! Then they changed their menu. I hate it when restaurants do that with getting rid of the good stuff! But yep, butterkase is the best!
And this mac and cheese looks like the best, too. I just cannot get over all the cheese. It’s such a happy way to celebrate one of those food holidays I never realized existed, but am now very happy about!
This mac ‘n cheese looks SO good, Alice! I had no idea it was national cheese day, so this is just perfect. I love the twist of cauliflower in here! Sounds like such a delicious comfort food!
National cheese day? Now that is something that I can get on board with!
We always pack our mac and cheese full of cauliflower to bulk it out, so I feel like I am eating more food 🙂
I am SO impressed that you got some sneaky cauliflower in there! Now I can feel a little bit better about this cheesy goodness! Pinned!
Hahaha…as if I need another reason to love cheese! I’m totally intrigued by the cauliflower in here. Sounds delicious, Alice!
Holy cheesy goodness! It’s been SO cold here this week so I need all the comfort food I can get ! This looks SO good and I love the roasted cauliflower and leeks in here!!
I am loving this mac and cheese!
Oh my word Alice — this looks SO cheesy and incredible! I love the sound of that Butterkase cheese! Also, how did I not know about National Cheese Lovers Day?! I’m so behind!
this mac and cheese is everything! love that it’s made with cauliflower.
I am a huge mac and cheese fan! Love that you made this one spicy and used cauliflower in it. I absolutely can not wait to try it!!
Man did you know I’m making mac and cheese today? Now I want THIS! It looks superb!
I simply LURVVE how you snuck in some leeks into this! This is comforting and veggie packed – yay!
This looks so good with all 3 kinds of awesome cheese! Love it! And of course I did not know it was National Cheese Lovers Day 🙂 Pinned!
Haha! Did you see my IG from yesterday? Roasted a head of cauliflower that was SUPPOSED to go in pasta. But I ended up eating it right off the tray. I needed this recipe!! Although, I still probably would have eaten it off the tray. It’s just so good!
I love this spicy take on mac and cheese. you are a smart one to add leeks and cauliflower, all good things in that casserole. Yummers.
xx
This looks delicious- what a great idea to bulk up the mac with cauli! Pinning!
Now this is the way to do mac and cheese! And I love that you added roasted cauliflower (my fave!) 🙂
Oh man! All that CHEESE!! I love the cauliflower in there 🙂
Oh my goodness, Alice, this mac and cheese looks FABULOUS! You know that whole “put an egg on it” saying, I feel like there should be a “throw some cauliflower in it” saying. Because I LOVE cauliflower. Obviously this mac is toe-ts calling my name! Three cheeses, leeks and some spice?! GAH. NEED SOME! Pinned! Cheers, friend! <3
You and I are on the same wavelength on the roasted cauliflower, but OMG I want your version!
This looks like the best mac and cheese I’ve ever seen — you rocked this! 🙂 I love that roasted cauliflower and all that delicious cheese. This is a must-try!
This looks incredible Alice! I have never tried that cheese before but I definitely need to! Seriously loving all the cheesy goodness!
Roasting the veg is key to flavor depth, and my goodness, you’ve captured the dish in its cheesy glory. A lip smacking keeper of a recipe, my friend!
Mmm, look at all that cheese on this dish! LOVE the cauliflower that you added here, too! I just want to dig right in, Alice!
Cauliflower in Mac and cheese? Genius! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Comfort food that I’ll feel less guilty about with the addition of the cauliflower and leeks. Great additions!
This is such a great idea for cauliflower. I love that you can enjoy this dish and not feel guilty afterwards!!
Oh My GAhhhh, this might be the best thing I have ever seen. I am so into cauliflower right now and I am forever into mac and cheese. Plus leeks? Holy Heck. Also I need to try that butterkase, sounds amazing. I really like the Sartori belevatano but I have never tried the fontina. Pinning and making a cheese grocery list now….