Broccoli and cauliflower are generously coated in a creamy white sauce, topped with cheese and bread crumbs, then baked until bubbly, melty and golden brown. This cheesy broccoli cauliflower bake is sure to be a favourite veggie side for Sunday supper or special occasion meals. So easy and ultra comforting!
Are you a fan of veggies?
How about cheese?
Well, this vegetable au gratin recipe is for you!
“Au gratin” all the things, I say!
Au gratin is just a fancy way of saying covering something in bread crumbs and cheese and baking. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, if you ask me.
I mean, veggies are delicious on their own, but cover them in a creamy, cheesy sauce, top with more cheese and panko and bake until bubbly, melty and golden brown? Oh yeah!
This broccoli cauliflower au gratin (or broccoli cauliflower bake) is technically a veggie side, but I could honestly devour a whole bunch and call it dinner (just like scalloped potatoes).
Why We Love This Broccoli Cauliflower Bake
- It’s simple to prepare and made with some humble ingredients.
- It’s chock-full of cruciferous veggies.
- This veggie side is such a great way to get people to eat their veggies, especially since it’s covered in a yummy cheese sauce!
- Of course, it tastes delicious!
How To Make It
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Start by steaming your florets just to take a little of the bite (crunch) out of them. You definitely don’t want them fully cooked here.
- Meanwhile, make your flour roux (similar to the one you’d make when preparing cod au gratin or mac and cheese). In a saucepan, melt some butter, stir in flour to form a paste and cook for a little.
- Gradually stir in milk and cook until everything is nice and thick and easily coats the back of a spoon. You can add your seasonings at this point too.
- Off heat, stir in some shredded cheese.
- Coat the florets with your sauce mixture.
- Pour into a greased baking dish.
- Cover with more cheese and some panko bread crumbs.
- Bake until bubbly, melty and straight-up delicious!
Once everything is baked, crack into that melty, crispy top layer and dig in.
Serve yourself a big portion and maybe go back for seconds (I know I do). This broccoli cauliflower bake is quite hard to resist!
Tips and Variations
- A mixture of cheese is used in this broccoli cauliflower bake. You can use a good quality store-bought shredded cheese blend or, even better, grate your own. For convenience, the shredded blend allows you to use a variety of cheese without having to purchase a full block of each. However, if you prefer to grate your own you can use a combination of your favourites or all mozzarella or provolone, for example.
- Use what cheese you enjoy best. Just pick a good melting cheese (or cheeses), liked cheddar, low moisture mozzarella, provolone, asiago and/or Gouda. You can also add some parmesan for extra flavour.
- Cut your florets into roughly equal-sized pieces so they cook evenly.
- If you have slightly more broccoli than cauliflower (or vice versa), no worries. You basically want about 8 to 9 cups of florets or about 1.5 pounds worth.
- The florets still have a little texture after everything is cooked. If you want them to be a little softer, you can steam them a little more before baking.
- Instead of steaming, you can easily boil the florets. If boiling, give them a little shock in cold water afterwards (to stop the cooking process before they’re baked).
- Garlic powder and onion powder are used here but you can totally cook some garlic cloves and minced onion instead.
More Veggie Side Dishes
If you make this vegetable au gratin recipe, please leave a comment below!
Broccoli Cauliflower Bake (Vegetable au Gratin)
Ingredients
- 4 to 4.5 cups broccoli florets, about 1 small head or ¾ pound
- 4 to 4.5 cups cauliflower florets, about half a large head or ¾ pound
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, divided (5 tablespoons)
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 ounces shredded mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, Asiago and/or cheddar, divided, about 1.5 cups (see "Notes" below, Point "1")
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unseasoned panko bread crumbs
- Chopped chives or green onion, garnish to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, place broccoli and cauliflower florets in a steamer basket (one that will fit over the pot that you will be using). Next, place a few inches of water in a pot and place the steamer basket over it. Bring water to a boil, cover veggies with the steamer basket lid and steam veggies for 6 to 8 minutes or until just tender crisp. Set aside.Note: The veggies will soften a little as they bake, but still have a little bite/crunch. If you want them more well done, steam for a little longer before baking.
- Then, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt ¼ cup (or 4 tablespoons) of butter.
- Stir in flour to form a paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- About ¼ cup at a time, stir in milk. Keep stirring until thickened and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Don't add more milk until the previous batch has thickened. This could take about 8 to 10 minutes or so until your sauce is made.
- Stir in garlic powder, salt, onion powder, black pepper and nutmeg.
- Off heat, stir in ½ cup (2 ounces) of the shredded cheese and mix until incorporated.
- Stir in broccoli and cauliflower florets, stirring to coat.
- Grease a 9 to 10-inch baking dish (or a baking dish of roughly the same size) with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Pour in broccoli/cauliflower mixture and spread out into an even layer.
- Top with remaining 1 cup (or 4 ounces) of shredded cheese and bread crumbs.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese has melted.
- Garnish, if desired, with freshly chopped chives. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- A mixture of cheese is used in this broccoli cauliflower bake. You can use a good quality store-bought shredded cheese blend (I used an Italian-style cheese blend, which was a combination of provolone, mozzarella, parmesan and asiago) or, even better, grate your own. For convenience, the shredded blend allows you to use a variety of cheese without having to purchase a full block of each. However, if you prefer to grate your own you can use a combination of your favourites or all mozzarella or provolone, for example.
- Use what cheese you enjoy best. Just pick a good melting cheese (or cheeses), liked cheddar, low moisture mozzarella, provolone, asiago and/or Gouda. You can also add some parmesan for extra flavour.
- Cut your florets into roughly equal-sized pieces so they cook evenly.
- If you have slightly more broccoli than cauliflower (or vice versa), no worries. You basically want about 8 to 9 cups of florets or about 1.5 pounds worth.
- The florets still have a little texture after everything is cooked. If you want them to be a little softer, you can steam them a little more before baking.
- Instead of steaming, you can easily boil the florets. If boiling, give them a little shock in cold water afterwards (to stop the cooking process before they’re baked).
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Sheila
Try using smoked Gouda, it adds a whole new dimension of taste! Wonderful recipe.
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Oh, I love smoked Gouda. Will try that next time, sounds delicious! Thank you, Sheila!!
Eily
Made the cheese sauce with gluten free oat milk and it was smooth n delicious. It was a winner. Xxxxx
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Sounds wonderful, Eily!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you!!
Judy
I followed the recipe completed yet mine was too watery, I would do less milk next time.
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Hi Judy, hope you enjoyed the recipe all the same!
Lisa
Is it possible to use frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets? If so, how would you go about steaming them?
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Hi Lisa, I’ve only made this recipe with fresh broccoli and cauliflower, so I can’t say for sure how frozen veggies would work in this recipe. If you do give it a try, love to know how it turns out for you.
Madhuram
Thank you very much for the awesome recipe. It was a super-duper hit with family and friends last evening. This will become a regular at our house henceforth.
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much!! Happy you and your family enjoyed it!!
Bettyann Waller
Is it possible to make the casserole ahead and warm up another day?
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Hi Bettyann! I haven’t tried that before (I usually just make it and eat right away), so I can’t say for certain but imagine it would turn out okay. Just prep the broccoli cauliflower bake up to the point before baking, then properly store in the refrigerator (for up to a couple of days). When ready to bake, take it out of the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so, then bake. You may need to bake it for a few minutes longer (since it was in the refrigerator). Hope that helps and you enjoy the recipe!
Debbbettte
Loved the combination! I used Fontina cheese and forgot the Parmesan. I used Herb de Provence and really liked the flavor. Delicious way to get some veggies down!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much!! It sure is!! 🙂
Lois Brooks
Can you substitute vegetable or chicken broth for the milk?
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
You can certainly substitute vegetable or chicken broth for the milk, but you won’t get the same creamy sauce as you would with milk. I prefer to use milk for this particular recipe.
Leamho
I followed the recipe with no modifications, I even used the same baking dish. It was not only delicious but the presentation was impressive, this dish is going places, let’s see how many requests I get for the recipe!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you kindly! So happy you enjoyed the recipe!!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Oooh such a fantastic idea! I think my kids would love this since they love cauliflower, broccoli and mac & cheese!!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thank you Michelle! It’s a yummy one for sure!
Debbie Slayton
Can this recipe be prepared the night before and then baked the next day?
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Hi Debbie! I haven’t tried that before, so I can’t say for certain but imagine it would turn out okay. Just prep up to the point before baking, then properly store in the refrigerator. The next day, when ready to bake, take out of the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so, then bake. You may need to bake a few minutes longer (since it was in the refrigerator). Hope you enjoy!
Marissa
This is the kind of ‘side dish’ that I LOVE to make a meal of, Dawn. Heavenly!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Right??! Thank you Marissa!
Valentina
I could totally call this dinner, too. No need for anything else. And yes, doesn’t get much better than a cheese and bread crumb topping! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yay! Thanks Valentina!
Valentina
Dawn, I made this for dinner tonight and everyone gobbled it up! SO delicious! One of my boys is gluten-free so I skipped the breadcrumbs and used a tiny bit of cornstarch instead of flour. Thank you! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Oh my goodness, Valentina!! So happy to hear that! Thank you!! You just made my day!
David @ Spiced
Oh, that cheese sauce is calling my name! I kinda want to dunk my broccoli straight into that sauce. Oh, just forget the broccoli and hand me a spoon! Haha. Seriously, though, this is such a fun way to upgrade the classic broccoli with cheese sauce. I want to make this as a side dish for the smoked brisket I’ve got on the smoker right now. Mmmm!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Right??! That sounds like a super yummy combo! Thanks David!
Alex
This is the ultimate in comfort food – the best kind of side dish. It goes so well with so many things!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thank you Alex! For sure!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Yes, I could happily sit down to just this and be very happy 🙂 A great way to enjoy my veggies!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Happy to hear I’m not the only one! Thank you Jennifer!