Meals · Pasta & noodle bakes

Cauliflower mac and cheese

Name: Cauliflower mac and cheese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 large head cauliflower, small florets; 250 g dry macaroni pasta, cooked al dente; 2 1/2 tbsp butter; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups whole milk; 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded; 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

Half the pasta swapped for roasted cauliflower in a proper cheddar sauce. Still baked, still browned on top — the cauliflower disappears into the shape of the dish.

Time: 50 min (15 prep + 35 cook)
Servings: 6
Per serving: 436 kcal
Protein: 19 g

Both directions are legitimate — the score measures fullness per calorie, not virtue. Every version is the same dish, rebalanced.

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower, small florets800 g
250 g dry macaroni pasta, cooked al dente590 g
2 1/2 tbsp butter35 g
1/4 cup all-purpose flour30 g
2 cups whole milk480 g
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded170 g
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard8 g
1 tsp salt6 g
1/2 tsp black pepper1 g

Topping

1/3 cup breadcrumbs30 g

Every ingredient links to its food page — same data, same score, same formula.

Steps

Roast the cauliflower at 220°C for 20 minutes until browned at the edges. Roasted, not boiled — boiled cauliflower waters the sauce down and tastes of itself.
Make the sauce: butter, flour, then the milk whisked in; off the heat, stir in the cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper.
Fold through the pasta and cauliflower, tip into a dish, crumbs on top.
Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes until bubbling and browned.

Alternative

Mac and cheesethe all-pasta original29

Why this score

moderately filling

No single route carries this one — a moderate amount of protein, volume and fiber.

Three routes to fullness — one is enough

17% of kcal

72% water

11 g/Mcal

What pulls it down

How scores work

Computed on the finished dish, not an average of the parts: 2614 kcal goes into the pot, 2150 g of ingredients comes out as ~1890 g of food → 138 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water, and energy density is the score's biggest lever — so we show the math. Full formula here.

Per

Calories: 138
Protein: (17%); 6 g
Fat: (39%); 6 g
Carbohydrates: (44%); 15 g
of which sugar: 2 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 269 mg

Percentages are the share of calories from each macronutrient.

Computed from the ingredients' USDA data — nothing typed by hand. Every number is traceable, every score recomputable.

More meals

Photo: AI-generated. Nutrition and score are computed from the ingredients with the published formula — this recipe hasn't been kitchen-tested by us yet.