Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe - Dr. Axe
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Gluten-Free Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe

October 5, 2020 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN
(96)
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
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Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food favorite for good reason, no matter if you’re going for the original or a variation like cauliflower mac and cheese. It’s hot, it’s cheesy and it’s delicious. But if you’ve ever looked at the ingredients on that famous blue box, you’ll know it’s full of a lot more than pasta and cheese.

While homemade versions are tasty, too, they’re not necessarily healthier. Packed with calories, refined carbs and heaps of cheese, they offer little-to-no nutritional benefits.

Does that mean you have to give up your favorite food? No way!

Instead, let’s give mac and cheese a makeover with this keto mac and cheese recipe.

Cauliflower mac and cheese recipe step 1 - Dr. Axe

Key Ingredients

Using cauliflower, two types of cheeses packed with goat’s milk benefits and protein-rich kefir, you’ll get a deliciously healthy version of a longtime favorite.

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Here is some more information on the main ingredients used to make this keto cauliflower mac and cheese recipe:

  • Cauliflower: This cruciferous vegetable is loaded with nutrients. High in vitamin C, K and B6, cauliflower nutrition can help fight inflammation and chronic disease, not to mention benefit bones, eye and brain health.
  • Goat milk kefir: Goat milk is easier to digest than cow milk and can actually enhance nutrient absorption. It’s high in calcium, phosphorus and potassium, among other nutrients. When used as the base for kefir, it also provides beneficial probiotics to support gut health and more.
  • Cottage cheese: This cauliflower mac and cheese recipe calls for cottage cheese made from goat milk as well. The added protein it provides makes it an excellent keto-friendly recipe.
  • Ghee: In place of regular butter, ghee ups the ratio of healthy fats and has a higher smoke make, making it perfect for this cauliflower mac and cheese recipe.

Good for the Keto Diet

You may be wondering how a mac and cheese recipe can be good for the keto diet. Simple — replace the high-carb noodles with cauliflower!

With that simple swap, this take on a classic turns regular mac and cheese into a ketogenic version that’s high in healthy fats and much lower in carbs than traditional versions.

In fact, with the high fiber content offsetting the 11.7 grams of carbohydrates, this keto mac and cheese recipe has only 7.4 grams of net carbs. So even if you’re following the keto diet, you can enjoy this mac and cheese variation.

How to Make Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Begin by greasing your pan with ghee, an excellent lactose-free butter alternative. Then, add your chopped cauliflower into a pot of boiling salt water, and cook for about 5 minutes or until it’s tender but not overcooked.

Drain the cauliflower, and pat it down with a cloth or paper towels. Spread it in your pan, and let it hang out while you assemble the sauce.

Cauliflower mac and cheese recipe step 2 - Dr. Axe

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, throw in the following tasty ingredients: kefir, cottage cheese and mustard. Mix these until the sauce is smooth.

Then, add in the cheddar cheese and enjoy the cheesy magic happening before your eyes. Season with sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder, and stir until the cheddar just begins melting.

You want it to mix smoothly with the other ingredients, not melt completely.

Cauliflower mac and cheese recipe step 3 - Dr. Axe

When you’ve reached the melting point, pour the whole cheesy mix over the cauliflower and stir up all that goodness so there’s cheese in every cauliflower floret bite. Got them all covered? Add a little extra cheddar on top for good measure, then slide the whole pan in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese on top is bubbly and light brown.

Cauliflower mac and cheese recipe - Dr. Axe

Then sit back, spoon yourself a heaping serving and enjoy! This is a great cauliflower mac and cheese recipe to use as a base.

Alter the seasonings to your family’s taste — maybe a little cayenne pepper or some rosemary — or add in extra ingredients. I think turkey bacon or finely chopped, sautéed onions would be delicious as well.

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Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe

  • Author: Dr. Josh Axe
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

Get all the creamy, cheesy goodness of mac and cheese without the high starch content with this keto cauliflower mac and cheese recipe.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large cauliflower head, cut into small florets
  • ½–¾ cup goat kefir
  • ½ cup goat’s milk cottage cheese, pureed
  • 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1½ cups grated sheep’s or goat’s milk cheddar cheese, plus additional for topping
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ghee

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 8” x 8” pan with ghee.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Spread in prepared pan.
  3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, mix together kefir, cottage cheese, and mustard until smooth.
  4. In a saucepan over medium high heat, mix together the cottage cheese, kefir and mustard until smooth
  5. Stir in cheese, sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder until cheese just starts to melt. Pour over cauliflower and stir. Top with additional cheese if desired and bake for 10–15 minutes.

Notes

  • Instead of noodles, this recipe is keto-friendly thanks to the cauliflower base.
  • Add any extra healthy ingredients to this dish, such as turkey bacon or onions.
  • If you don’t care for goat cheese, you can use sheep or cow milk cheese.
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: By hand
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 244
  • Sugar: 6.4g
  • Sodium: 756mg
  • Fat: 15.8g
  • Saturated Fat: 10.1g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 5.7g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 11.7g
  • Fiber: 4.3g
  • Protein: 15.9g
  • Cholesterol: 47mg

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47 Comments

  1. Marsha Williams on

    After experiencing stomach pain for months, weight loss and no appetite, I was diagnosed with Gastritis. My physician put me on 30 days of Nexium. However, I am still experiencing some discomfort. I have deleted coffee, dairy, juice and nuts from my diet and recently went on a gluen free diet. Do you know if using Pine Nut Oil is effective in curing gastritis? What might you suggest to rebuild my stomach lining and resolve the gastritis?

  2. Joanna on

    I try not to do “dairy” in general but find that I’m okay with goat or sheep products. Do you have a whey product that doesn’t use cow’s milk or is there some other alternative? Thank you for all your fabulous advice and wonderful freebies!

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      Typically if you do well with sheep and goat dairy but not cow dairy it is because you are sensitive to casein A1. Sheep and goat milk contain casein A2. There are cows that produce casein A2 but to find out if they do, they must be genetically tested. There are 2 types of protein in milk, casein and whey. If you are sensitive to casein, you may do fine with a whey protein powder because there won’t be any casein present in it. Another Great option would be my collagen protein! It’s amazing for the skin, joints and gut! You can find it here: http://store.draxe.com/products/collagen-protein

  3. Ashley on

    Why do you prefer goats milk over cow’s milk? I have heard this before on other health sites. Just wondering.

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      There are two types of protein in milk, Casein and Whey. In the last 1000 years there has been a genetic mutation in some dairy cows that has caused them to produce an irregular type of protein called Beta-Casein A1. A1 Casein is a protein that for some people can be highly inflammatory similar to Gluten. This type of dairy isn’t found in certain cattle and is never found in human, goats, sheep, buffalo, and A2 cows. To learn more read Devil in the Milk.

  4. katie on

    Hi Dr Axe I have neuropathy of the gut ,the nervous in my stomach is damage , what can I do to heal my body.Also no one talk about neurpatht of the stomach i need help.

  5. Breege on

    I have fluid on my knee as a result of a hurt and my Dr said to do some excerise but how will I get rid of the fluid as it’s painful sometimes. Also my blood pressure is 145/ 83 or more some times what can I do to bring it down without meditation .

  6. Vel 1 on

    I am an older retired man and I belive I have had leaky gut for 20 years. Can you tell me in short how I can start overcoming this? I am almost overcome with all the reading and it all seems to run together. Everyone say I look ten years younger than I am.

  7. Sharon A. on

    I love cow dairy . What are some of the problems someone might have with dairy products besides being lactose intolerant ?

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      Many people don’t do well with A1 casein which is most commonly found in cow dairy. Sheep and goat dairy contain A2 casein which can be much easier to digest. Also check these out:
      https://draxe.com/nutrition/raw-milk-benefits/
      https://draxe.com/nutrition/raw-milk-benefits/
      https://draxe.com/pasteurization-homogenization-raw-milk/

  8. elanz1234@ on

    I have just been told that i may need a hip replacement and that there is inflammation in my joint cartilage. It is extremely painful. Any recommendations for food, herbs etc. I am taking tramadol for the pain but so far it is doing nothing

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      I would look into my healing foods diet: https://draxe.com/nutrition/healing-diet/
      Also, my omega D3 supplement and wobenzym could be beneficial for you:
      http://store.draxe.com/products/fish-oil
      http://amzn.to/1vUBJYB

  10. Corrina on

    I have noticed that you normally reply pretty quick Dr Josh but I don’t appear to have had a reply and was wondering why.

    Thank you.

  11. Carolyn Angelette on

    Just wanted to say, I am impressed with you and what you are teaching about food being our medicine!
    I have been on a health journey for 20+ years, have 5 children and a husband that did not agree with what I tried to feed my family. Being from south Louisiana was a big problem. Nonetheless, I did my best and went in an out of the healthy eating for those years. The children are grown now and on their own so my husband and I, for the past 10 years are coming back full circle to healthy lifestyle. Having said all this, I would like to know what you would recommend to read to help me to fully understand what you teach and incorporate that into our lives.

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      Thanks for the feedback! You can look back through articles I have posted and various topics or keep checking back for new articles as we post lots of new content each week! Also check out our awesome recipe section, we will be adding over 100 new recipes in the next few weeks as well!

  12. Corrina on

    Hi Dr Axe
    I have a white coating on my tongue, I have tried caniston but it makes no difference, the dentist say that some people have this for no reason, but I’m not so sure. What do you think?

  14. Sally King Baribault on

    Hi Dr Josh,
    I am so glad I found you! You are BY FAR the best resource for everything healthy! I love everything you do! I can’t say enought great stuff about you. Keep up the great work.
    My question, I’ve always had constipation issues, long story short, my holistic chiro helped me get stool testing done and I do have a yeast problem. My WBC count is low at 3.3. Could this be caused by chronic inflammation ? What protocol do you recommend? Anything else I should do? Thanks so much for any help.

  15. Meg on

    This is a great recipe! Thanks for posting! I couldn’t find goat cottage cheese, so I used goat feta. I cooked one egg on the side with this and ate it together…….it really tasted like mac n cheese then! I think I will bake it with the egg next time and see how it turns out.

  17. Julie on

    Made your recipe for gluten free cauliflower mac n cheese. It tastes delicious but is the sauce is too liquidy, not at all creamy. I followed your recipe exactly. Was I supposed to mix the sauce until it was thickened? Any ideas?

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      Next time, try decreasing the amount of kefir that you add. You may try adding just a little bit and add more as you need it until the consistency you want is reached. That way you’re in control!

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      I would follow the protocols in this article: https://draxe.com/health/leaky-gut-diet-treatment/
      I also think that following the GAPS diet would be extremely beneficial for you:
      https://draxe.com/nutrition/gaps-diet-plan-protocol/
      https://draxe.com/nutrition/gaps-diet-plan-protocol/

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      Try your local health food store or talking to some of the local farmers in your area. Also, you can search and find private farms online that will ship their products to you once you sign up.

    • Dr. Josh Axe on

      I don’t recommend people count calories, instead I tell them to count nutrients! You can read why here: https://draxe.com/nutrition/nutrient-dense-foods//

      If you are still worried, you can put every ingredient that you specifically use in your recipe and get the exact nutrition facts on this site: http://nutritiondata.self.com/mynd/myrecipes/welcome?returnto=/mynd/myrecipes

    • Teresa on

      Thank you so much for your time and wonderful information. Just yesterday my mother asked me why I’m going so crazy with my diet, and lifestyle change. The only reply I could think of with so much information out today, was because ignorance is bliss. too many over weight ie unhealthy people about, Health system is over the top! and wanted answers. I went vegan 1 year plus ago for the sake of animals.. finding them after all… are not worthy for us. then…. finding my gut blowing up like a balloon. seeking to see it is gluten. I am a small frame body always have, yet finding myself with a belly that needs to stop growing. :) I also have a 6 year old at the age of 52 that leaves me seeking for her health and wellbeing. I’m new to utube and this has been such a delight running across your pages. Much much gratitude Dr. Axe

      • Suzy on

        Congrats on your new lifestyle! Dr Axe has so much great info- my suggestion to you is to limit your sugar grams to 25/day. Once I did that my belly started shrinking and as people my age continue to get fatter, I’m in the best shape of my life at 50 years old! Good luck

  24. Mary C Ramsaur on

    At 64 years of age, I have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. Do you recommend some good resources?

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