Cauliflower Pasta Bake with spinach is a great vegetarian comfort food dish and is ready in just over 30 minutes so perfect for midweek. Cook your pasta and vegetables, pour over a white cheese sauce, top with more cheese, and bake in the oven. It's tasty, filling, and can even be prepared in advance. It's also a good recipe for using up any leftover cauliflower cheese.
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Pasta bakes are great one-pot meals and perfect for feeding a crowd. Cauliflower goes so well with a homemade cheese sauce and makes a filling and budget friendly meal. For another cauliflower dinner idea, try this easy Cauliflower curry with spinach and peas.
Another easy thrifty vegetarian pasta bake is my Veggie Pesto Pasta Bake. For an alternative to a traditional cheese sauce with pasta try my Baked Mac and Cheese no flour butter or roux which uses creme fraiche as the sauce instead.
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Ingredients
- Cauliflower. You can eat the cauliflower leaves and stalks as well as the head. Just wash them and chop them into bite-sized chunks and cook along with the cauliflower head.
- Cheese. Use mature cheddar cheese to flavour the cheese sauce rather than a mild cheddar. A mature cheddar has a nice strong flavour. As with all recipes, I recommend grating the cheese yourself as it's more economical and reduces plastic waste. Pre-grated cheeses don't always melt so well due to the anti-clumping agents that are added to them.
- Pasta - use any pasta shapes such as fusilli, rigatoni, penne, macaroni, or shells.
- Spinach - use fresh spinach rather than frozen. If you do use frozen spinach, be careful to squeeze the water out of it first or the pasta bake will be watery.
- Nutmeg - goes well with spinach and has a slightly sweet, earthy nutty taste.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Baked Pasta with Cauliflower is easy to make. Prepare the cheese sauce whilst the pasta is cooking.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 and bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the pasta in the boiling water then reduce to a simmer and cook a few minutes short of the packet instructions. Add the cauliflower to the water for the last 5 minutes until it is tender but not too soft, then drain.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter, sieve in the flour and add the milk, and hot vegetable stock. Bring to a boil stirring all the time then simmer until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring and any lumps will disappear.
Add half the cheddar cheese and nutmeg and stir until the cheese has melted.
Tip the pasta and cauliflower back into a large pan and stir in the spinach and cheese sauce.
Tip everything into an oven-proof baking dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheddar. You should aim for a light covering of grated cheese. If you have a large dish, you may need to use more cheese to cover your pasta. If you're making this to use later, leave it to cool and store it in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 days but is best cooked within 24 hours. See the tips on preparing in advance.
Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
Hint: The pasta and cauliflower should be slightly undercooked in the pan as they will continue to cook once the pasta bake is in the oven.
Substitutions
- Cheddar Cheese - If you don't have cheddar, you could substitute another hard cheese. Gruyere cheese melts very well and has a salty and nutty flavour. Older gruyere will give your pasta bake a stronger flavour. Parmesan also has a nice strong flavour.
- Cauliflower - Instead of the usual white cauliflower, you could try Purple cauliflower. Purple cauliflower is completely natural and looks amazing. If you can get hold of one, this cauliflower cheese pasta bake is a great way to use it. The flavour is slightly sweeter and nuttier than white cauliflower and it will retain its colour when cooked. To store, cover the head with a damp cloth and put the entire cauliflower into a zip-lock bag with a few holes in it so it can breathe. Cauliflowers need some air circulation. Store in the bottom of the fridge. A whole cauliflower will last about one week. Cut florets will last around 4 days.
- Vegetables - I've added spinach to this pasta cauliflower bake, but you could also add broccoli and leeks. Kale goes well and is a good source of iron. If you are adding a whole head of broccoli as well as cauliflower, reduce the pasta quantity slightly or you might not have room in the dish.
- Topping - Grated cheese will give a lovely topping. You could also add some breadcrumbs for a bit of crunch. This helps use up any bread that is past its best and helps prevent food waste.
Equipment
You will need a large pan big enough for the pasta and the cauliflower, plus a smaller one to make the cheese sauce. One oven-proof dish roughly 38cm x 30cm or 15 inches x 12 inches or use two smaller dishes.
Prepping Ahead
It's always useful to be able to meal prep. You can assemble this entire pasta cauliflower bake in advance. Let it cool then keep it in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days. It is however best cooked within 24 hours. If you are planning on doing this, cook the pasta and cauliflower for slightly less time so they still have some bite. This is because the pasta and cauliflower will absorb some of the liquid from the sauce and we don't want them to go too soft.
Sustainability
Cauliflower is one of those rare vegetables that is harvested all year round. Don't forget, the cauliflower leaves and stems are also edible so no need to waste them! The outer part of the stem might be a bit tough so peel this, but everything else is good to eat. Buy the vegetables lose to minimise the plastic packaging. Buying from local sources will further reduce the carbon footprint as well as help support your local economy. Nutmeg, which is used here in the cheese sauce is available as a Fairtrade product. Fairtrade nutmeg powder is sourced from Sri Lanka. and comes from the Small Organic Farmers Association.
Storage
You can keep this cauliflower pasta bake in the fridge for up to two days. It doesn't freeze well unfortunately as the cauliflower will go mushy. To store cauliflowers, place them in a loosely sealed plastic bag with holes to allow for air circulation. Pop in a cloth or paper towel to absorb any moisture and store them in the bottom of the fridge in the salad compartment. A whole cauliflower should keep well for a week. Keep it upside down to prevent condensation from forming on top of the florets. Cut florets will keep for about 4 days.
Top tip
Be sure the drain the pasta and cauliflower well and give the colander a little shake to get rid of as much water as possible.
FAQ
Watery cauliflower cheese results from overcooking the cauliflower. The texture should be firm.
This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover cauliflower cheese. Just add the sauce and cauliflower to the cooked pasta and add in any other vegetables. If you don't have enough, you can make more sauce and just add the leftover sauce to your new sauce. Cauliflower cheese will keep in the fridge for 2 - 3 days.
Cauliflower cheese doesn't freeze very well as the cauliflower takes on more moisture and can be mushy when defrosted, which in turn makes the cheese sauce watery.
Related
Looking for other pasta bake recipes? Try these:
More Easy Budget Recipes
Not only is this Cauliflower Cheese Pasta a quick and easy meal and an easy addition to a sustainable diet, it's also very cheap to make. For more budget meal ideas check out these recipes :-
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📖 Recipe
Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Bake with Spinach
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Ingredients
- 575 g cauliflower organic, cut into florets
- 340 g pasta shapes organic, fairtrade
- 100 g spinach organic
Cheese Sauce
- 40 g butter organic
- 40 g plain flour organic
- 300 ml milk organic
- 300 ml vegetable stock organic
- 200 g mature cheddar cheese organic, grated
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg organic, fairtrade
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 and bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the pasta in the boiling water then reduce to a simmer and cook a few minutes short of the packet instructions. Add the cauliflower to the water for the last 5 minutes until it is tender but not too soft, then drain.575 g cauliflower, 340 g pasta shapes
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter, sieve in the flour and add the milk, and hot vegetable stock. Bring to a boil stirring all the time then simmer until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring and any lumps will disappear.40 g plain flour, 40 g butter, 300 ml milk, 300 ml vegetable stock
- Add half the cheddar cheese and nutmeg and stir until the cheese has melted.200 g mature cheddar cheese, ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Tip the pasta and cauliflower back into a large pan and stir in the spinach and cheese sauce.100 g spinach
- Tip everything into an oven-proof baking dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheddar. You should aim for a light covering of grated cheese. If you have a large dish, you may need to use more cheese to cover your pasta. If you're making this to use later, leave it to cool and store it in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 days but is best cooked within 24 hours. See the tips on preparing in advance.
- Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower. You can eat the cauliflower leaves and stalks as well as the head. Just wash them and chop them into bite-sized chunks and cook along with the cauliflower head.
- Cheese. Use mature cheddar cheese to flavour the cheese sauce. A mature cheddar has a stronger flavour, so you will need less of it. As with all recipes, I recommend grating the cheese yourself as it's more economical and reduces plastic waste. Pre-grated cheeses don't always melt so well due to the anti-clumping agents that are added to them.
- Pasta - use any pasta shapes such as fusilli, rigatoni, penne, macaroni, or shells.
- Spinach - use fresh spinach rather than frozen. If you do use frozen spinach, be careful to squeeze the water out of it first or the pasta bake will be watery.
- Nutmeg - goes well with spinach and has a slightly sweet, earthy nutty taste.
Storage
You can keep this cauliflower pasta bake in the fridge for up to two days. It doesn't freeze well unfortunately as the cauliflower will go mushy. To store cauliflowers, place them in a loosely sealed plastic bag with holes to allow for air circulation. Pop in a cloth or paper towel to absorb any moisture and store them in the bottom of the fridge in the salad compartment. A whole cauliflower should keep well for a week. Keep it upside down to prevent condensation from forming on top of the florets. Cut florets will keep for about 4 days.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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