Cauliflower Gratin With Leeks and White Cheddar Recipe (2024)

Can I use something other than heavy cream? Is it advisable to make and freeze all but bread crumb topping? Thanks!

Learned a trick about leeks when my kids gave me lessons at a cooking school. Cut an X in the base of the leeks and immerse in a glass or bowl of water. Leave it at least 5 or ten minutes. The water will become surprisingly sandy. Change the water and repeat. After the third time it's usually clear, but if not, do it again. It does take about half an hour, but only about three minutes of activity. Just let it happen in the background.

I've cooked this 3 times in the last 3 weeks, so, yes, I love this dish. Made it once with coconut milk since that was what I had & it didn't change the flavor or texture at all. Like many, it took about twice the indicated time before the cauliflower was fork tender. I added a wee bit of ancho chili flakes with the salt & pepper for a little zing, & also squeezed on a bit of lemon when I took it out of the oven. It's very rich & so tasty that I always want to eat more than I ought.

This is great. I forgot to buy a leek and used an onion, used Gruyere and Parmesan instead of cheddar because that’s what I had, and sprinkled bread crumbs on top. Delicious.

as previously noted, I loved this dish and have made it a few times since first discovering. In case anyone wants to try substituting half and half, I did try it once with half and half because that is what I had in the house and it did come out watery. Never had a problem with wateriness with the heavy cream as the recipe calls for. Will go back to using heavy cream. Wateriness definitely detracts from the perfection of the original recipe. Agree that one should use a high end cheddar.

Doubled recipe and subbed plain Greek yogurt for the cream (as another reviewer did). I probably ended up with a very different dish, but what I lost in the indulgently creamy department I gained a lovely tanginess and less guilt! It cooked for about 40 mins with foil. Cauliflower tender and very delicious!

I would recommend parboiling the cauliflower before popping the dish in the oven. I parboiled them for 3 minutes but it wasn't enough. I suggest at least 5. I also added wonder flour to the cream before adding that to the dish to thicken it. It was still a bit runny but not too bad. I highly recommend a good white cheddar. I used Irish from Trader Joes. Delish.

What bread crumb topping...?

This was super easy to make and delicious. I added the bread crumb topping and it made a nice crunchy contrast to the soft cauliflower. FYI, it look 30 minutes in the oven, not 10-15, to get the cauliflower nearly tender before removing the foil. I used a ceramic oval baking dish.

Made a small version of this which was astoundingly good. Used 2% milk and made bechemel, added mushroom stock powder, white pepper, very small amt whole grain dejon mustard. Used combination of extra sharp cheddar & Asiago.

A hit! I did make it with the white beans (about 3/4 of a can, drained, rinsed), thyme, and about 1T of Dijon whisked into the cream; added a topping of panko mixed with parmesan and some almond flour (I try to add protein where I can for my vegetarian teen). Also, Trader Joes was out of fresh cauliflower so I bought their 1 lb bag of frozen grilled cauliflower which worked perfectly. Used gruyere instead of cheddar. So this is a riff on the original, but so glad to have been inspired!

Ran to the store today to get white cheddar just for this recipe. It’s delicious. Made 1/2 the recipe using 1 lb bag of Trader Joe’s fresh riced cauliflower, a baby leek from the green market and half and half, because those ingredients were already in the house. I’m having my vegetables! Yay me.

Fantastic! I made this dish for a pre-holiday dinner with a few minor changes. I couldn't find leeks and was not willing to make a 3rd stop, so used shallots instead and added some garlic. Used the inner leaves. Added some nutmeg. I found it took nearly 25 minutes covered to get the cauliflower tender, then cooked uncovered for another 30. I used melted butter with the olive oil, a rich, buttery aged Irish cheddar, and whole cream. Not watery as some noted. Delicious with many compliments.

My husband said this is the only way he wants cauliflower prepared for the rest of his life. It's absolutely delicious, super rich, and couldn't be simpler to prepare. Attempting to slice perfect 1/2 inch slices creates so many "crumbs" and small pieces. Next time I might just do small florets and diced stem instead.

This is excellent / easy. Even better the next day. The leaks, cauliflower and cheese blend great. Followed the recipe with the exception of cook time. Read everybody’s comments 1st. Cooked it longer then 1st apparent in the recipe but not much. Did 30 mins with aluminum foil on, figured it would steam the cauliflower, then did about 25 mins with no foil. Wanted time off to evaporate it. There must be a time balance between over cooking the CF creating more moisture and not. Was Perfect!

Used an onion bc didn't have a leek on hand. Added a bit of Aleppo pepper and sprinkled top with a couple of tablespoons of panko mixed with a bit of grated parmesan and olive oil. All else as recipe. Sublime. Husband and I ate entire thing for dinner last night. Took 15 min tops to prepare before putting in oven. Will make again.

I have made this a million times, using more or less of everything. It is a family favorite, even for picky eaters who hate veggies and onions. A+

We are such a great foodie community to learn from! I love reading everyone's changes/additions to the recipes here. And I'm still convinced there are only a handful of ingredients necessry in a good cauliflower dish.

Needs more cream, probably a full cup. Add salt and pepper to cream and one crushed garlic clove ( heat before cooking to dissolve salt and garlic).Cook for 35 mins then remove foil and cook for about 15 min, then add breadcrumbs and cook another 5-10 minutes.

I make this constantly, though never with cream. I'm sure it tastes great, just don't want those calories. The great thing about this is you can use any vegs you have -- I usually do broccoli, cauliflower, sometimes thin-sliced potatoes (for hubby), plus sprinkled nutritional yeast. And if I don't have cheese around, I just skip it. It's a perfect, healthy casserole, and so easy to make! (I also bake at 450 for 30 mins total, foil on first 15, off last 15.)

Delicious. I think I cut the cauliflower too thick, so it took 45 minutes to get tender. But it was totally scrumptious.

I made a cashew cream, 1/2 cup soaked cashews, 1 Tbsp hemp hearts and 2 c water high speed blender for 40 seconds. I added the entire 2 cups as the recipe seemed like it should have more liquid. Also added chopped kale, spinach would probably work too!

This dish is so simple and very good. The leeks make it so do not skip or substitute. Two of us ate the whole casserole along with a simple chicken thigh dish. Careful about size of casserole. I used a slightly too big rectangular glass casserole. Wish I had used a round soufflé dish. Next time. There definitely will be a next time.

Really tasty! Wound up using a combination of Gruyère and cheddar but lovely crispy tops and tasty cream sauce.

How does one keep the cream from separating into solids and liquid? My gratin was very watery at the bottom, with milk solids clinging to the cauliflower. I followed the recipe as listed. No substitutions or changes. The gratin was a big disappointment in the texture department. Taste was ok, but unless there is a way to turn it into a thicker creamy saucy dish, it's not worth it.

I made this tonight and it was delicious. I over salted it a little and will be more careful next time. Hubs loved it.

Cheese choice is essential to this recipe

I have made this dish and a number of variations of it, and my favorite version is with butter (rather than olive oil), a bechamel made with the heavy cream, a bit of chicken stock blended in, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and cayenne. The leeks are delicious, but a regular chopped and sautéed onion will do. I guess I am among the legions of NYT home cooks who loves to experiment with a good basic recipe. We just can't resist sharing our experiments!

We added some potatoes we had lying around, and it was a great starchy addition!!

I subbed Greek yogurt for cream as several people mentioned and I don't know what I did wrong but it basically turned into cheese like gobs! Luckily still tasted good but it was on the dry side