I thought I’d focus on holiday vegetable recipes today to wrap up my “it’s-not-a-boring-diet ” recipe extravaganza. This recipe has proven to be one of the most popular ones on my website. It was a real hit with my brother, an executive chef at one time at Top-of-the-Mark in San Francisco and my husband just loves it. It has hundreds of thousands of fans on Facebook (when I posted there) so I thought I should include it today. It’s one of my most favorite cauliflower creations, too.
Smoked Gouda doesn’t melt in dry heat easily, but if shredded, it usually melts acceptable if surrounded by moist heat, above and below. In this dish, it takes an ordinary cheesy cauliflower casserole and transforms it into the sublime. The Smoked Gouda truly sets this one apart from all the other cauliflower casseroles you have tasted. It’s Atkins Induction friendly, too!
I buy my Smoked Gouda at Sam’s Club and have discovered, not all stores carry quality smoked Gouda. The brand I bought in San Antonio at my mother’s grocery store was just awful….totally tasteless. This recipe appears in Volume 1 of Low Carbing Among Friends by best-selling author Jennifer Eloff and other talented chefs, including George Stella! There are 5 volumes already released and two more due out soon! More info on their Facebook page linked above. You can order our cookbooks here or at Amazon.com. These cookbooks are filled with easy, gluten-free, tasty low-carb creations by a group of very creative cooks. You’re going to WANT your very own set of these cookbooks, folks. They are currently on sale at the lowest price ever, so get yours TODAY!
INGREDIENTS: 1 medium-large head cauliflower
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, grated or shredded
¼ tsp. coarse black pepper
chopped chives or green onion to garnish
DIRECTIONS: Cut up cauliflower into manageable pieces and boil or steam until tender. Drain off any water and mash the chunks up slightly with a fork (do not puree, however). Stir in softened cream cheese until it is melted and blended well. Grease glass casserole dish and spoon half the cauliflower mixture in. Sprinkle with half the grated smoked Gouda (I do not recommend using slices for this. Grate it to facilitate melting). Spoon remaining cauliflower into dish and top with rest of Gouda cheese. Sprinkle with just a dash of salt and pepper if desired, but cheese has a lot of sodium. If you are sodium sensitive, I wouldn’t add ANY salt. Sometimes I add some chopped chives or green onion to the top, but this is not in the nutritional info below. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 6, each serving contains: (you may get 8 servings, lowering carbs even more)
190 cals, 15.22g fat, 6.17g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 3.77g NET CARBS, 8.77g protein, 312 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 
So I was just wondering if you think adding chopped onion and garlic would add to the flavor or screw it up?
The flavor of smoked Gouda is so subtle, I wouldn’t busy it up with any add-in flavors other than the chives mentioned in the recipe. You have to try this to see what I mean. This recipe is so unique from other cauli-bake recipes, I think adding bacon, onion or garlic will make it just like all the rest and overpower the Gouda. But hey, I’m just me and you might just like a lot of competing flavors. 🙂
Just tried this with vintage Scottish cheddar (I live in Scotland) & local cream cheese (bit more flavour than “commercial” cream cheese) & did add chives. This was so good. Thank you for sharing
I’m delighted you tried and enjoyed it, Linda R. It’s a regular on my holiday tables now. 🙂
Made this tonight with the Chipotle Gouda and I must say outstanding. Definitely a keeper.
You know, several readers have said it’s good with Chipotle Gouda. Going to HAVE to get some, else shake a little Chipotle tobasco in the middle layer. 😉 So glad you liked it, Barb. It’s a regular at our house, especially at holidays.
I made this tonight with sliced Chipotle Gouda cheese!! It crumbled very easily into the cauliflower and cream cheese mixture. It was great!!!!!! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it, Cora. It’s a favorite recipe and has been so well-liked by a tremendous number of readers who came back with a review. 🙂 Like your creative idea of using Chipotle Gouda!! I’ve never seen that variety of Gouda, but I could just mince a seeded chipotle and add. I’ll have to try that!
I have wanted to try this recipe for so long. Today I had all of the ingredients and the time to make it. I absolutely loved it! The smoked Gouda was wonderful. I have to say that I added a little sharp cheddar and mozzarella only because I needed to use them. This was a very satisfying and delicious dish.
Isn’t that recipe just amazing? We couldn’t believe how good it was to be so darn simple. Glad you liked it. Others have played around with the hard cheeses in this. But I think the smoked Gouda makes it really unique in the cauliflower casserole arena. 🙂
I just didn’t like it, Sorry. I felt the taste of the smoked gourde for me was overwhelming. When I read the recipe I was like smoked Gouda I going to love it. My husband loved it…so 50/50.
Well taste is so individual. Glad you husband at least liked it. I wonder if you would like it if you used LESS Gouda? another option, you could of course, consider using a totally different cheese on one end of the casserole dish and the Smoked Gouda on the other end for the hubby. One reader said they tried it with cheddar and liked it, another tried it once with Swiss and was pleased. Another reader used Asagio, but I find Asagio even heavier than Smoked Gouda, personally.
I’ve made this twice for parties I’ve hosted this weeks – it’s wonderful! Thanks for posting it.
Oh, I’m so glad you’ve found a new “company” dish here, Jane. This dish lends itself to “additions”, too, like bacon and some have even added meat and turned it into an entree. 🙂 Hope you have a very Happy Holiday Season, Jane.