If you’re wondering what to serve with your cauliflower cheese, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I list 45 of the most popular side dishes for cauliflower cheese.
In a rush? Here’s the short answer.
The best dishes to serve with cauliflower cheese are roast beef, homemade garlic bread, or a stew like mushroom bourguignon. You can also serve gammon steaks, Korean fried chicken, or baked beans. For green options, go for a shaved brussel sprout salad, watercress salad, or sauteed broccoli rabe.
Ready? Let’s jump right in.
Roast beef
If you’re feeding a crowd, a joint of roast beef is perfect for the occasion.
And if you’ve never had cauliflower cheese with your mash, you’re missing out!
The cheesy sauce mixed in with your roast meat, crispy potatoes, and some gravy is an unbeatable combination.
Olivia’s recipe comes with a delectable mushroom sauce too.
Why we love this recipe: it’s just calling for you to crack out a bottle of red.
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Rosemary and garlic roast beef
Make a centrepiece
Beef wellington
Make it vegan
Vegan roast beef
Homemade garlic bread
Garlic bread is a guaranteed crowd pleaser – everyone loves it.
And it’s an excellent side for cauliflower cheese because you can use it to mop up all of the gooey, creamy sauce.
Psst… add some red chili flakes to the butter if you like a bit of spice.
Why we love this recipe: you only needs four basic ingredients.
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Homemade garlic bread
Make it cheesy
Cheesy garlic bread
Make it spicy
Spicy garlic bread
Shaved brussel sprout salad
Brussel sprouts get a really bad rep, but that’s because they’re usually overcooked and mushy.
Turn them into a salad, and you’ll wonder how anyone can dislike them.
The salad is light and inviting, and has a tangy mustard and red wine vinegar dressing that will help balance out the rich cauliflower cheese.
Psst… you can add a meaty element by mixing in bits of crispy bacon.
Why we love this recipe: it’s healthy and has plenty of variations.
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Shaved brussel sprout salad
Take an Asian route
Asian shaved brussel sprout salad
Make it hearty
Warm quinoa and brussel sprout salad
Baked potatoes
Looking for a super simple side to complete your cauliflower cheese dinner.
Scoop it over a baked potato.
This recipe from Ali delivers potatoes with perfectly skins and super fluffy insides. All you need is a little butter and some time because these are baked in the oven
Why we love this recipe: it’s budget friendly.
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Baked potatoes
Make it cheesy
Twice baked potatoes
Make it loaded
Chili loaded baked potatoes
Southern baked beans
This recipe gives your plain old can of baked beans a major upgrade.
Simple additions like ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, diced veggies, and mustard amps up your beans’ flavors.
They’re fabulous with barbecued meats, but to really make the most of the sauce you need a cheesy side to go with it (hello cauliflower cheese).
Why we love this recipe: there’s not much hands-on cooking involved in this dish.
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Southern baked beans
Make it vegetarian-friendly
Vegetarian baked beans
Make it different
Cheesy white bean tomato bake
Bangers and mash
Stick with a British theme and serve your cauliflower cheese with a comforting combo of bangers and mash.
The mash is soft and smooth while the pork sausages come with a flavorful onion gravy that’s hard to resist.
You can go with any type of sausage, but Nagi recommends staying away from ones that are too lean because you won’t get as much flavor in the gravy.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a hearty dish that won’t leave you feeling hungry.
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Bangers and mash
Make it low-carb
Bangers and cauliflower mash
Make it vegan
Meat-free sausage and mash
Watercress salad
Round out your meal with a simple watercress salad.
Watercress has a naturally bitter and peppery taste, but all it needs is a white wine vinaigrette to mellow out the flavor.
And the addition of tart green apples, salty pecorino, and crunchy toasted almonds gives this salad a wonderful mix of textures.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a simple salad that lets all flavors do the talking.
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Watercress salad
Make it sweet
Watercress salad with strawberries and feta
Make it hearty
Salmon and watercress salad
Gammon (ham) steaks
I think gammon (or ham) steaks are such an underrated cut of meat. They can be salty, but that salty flavor is what makes them such a good pair for a creamy cauliflower cheese.
Sabrina describes her recipe as ‘rich, sweet, and oven-baked’, and I can confirm that it’s all of those things!
The brown sugar glaze is finger-lickingly good.
Why we love this recipe: you can eat the leftovers for breakfast with eggs.
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Brown sugar ham steaks
Make it sticky
Sticky gammon steaks
Make it the day after
Gammon fried rice
Braised savoy cabbage
Looking for another side to pair with your cauliflower cheese and ham steaks?
Cabbage is a great idea!
You don’t need many ingredients to make this side, yet it’s packed with flavor.
Pro tip: don’t be tempted to increase the heat to cook the cabbage faster. The long and slow cook is what gives it it’s melt-in-your mouth texture.
Why we love this recipe: it’s super budget friendly.
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Braised savoy cabbage
Make it hearty
Braised cabbage with potatoes and smoked sausages
Make it spicy
Gochujang braised Napa cabbage
Korean fried chicken
Want to go on a culinary fusion adventure?
Serve your cauliflower with a generous helping of this Korean fried chicken.
The juicy, fall-off-the-bone chicken is covered in a sticky sweet-spicy glaze that will leave you licking your lips.
Y-U-M.
Why we love this recipe: it’s super unique.
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Korean fried chicken
Swap the meat
Instant pot Korean Short ribs
Make it familiar
Southern fried chicken
Pan-seared salmon
Nutritious and gorgeous, this pan-seared salmon is a light and healthy accompaniment to an indulgent cauliflower bake.
You can serve it skin on or without skin. I personally go for skin off (unless I’ve managed to get it super crispy – which this recipe helps with).
Either way, the lemon butter sauce will enhance the clean flavors of the salmon.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a quick gourmet meal that you can cook in 15 minutes.
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Pan-seared salmon
Make it creamy
Pan-seared salmon in lemon cream sauce
Make it spicy
Spicy salmon maki bowl
Mushrooms bourguignon
This meatless version of the famous French stew involves two types of mushrooms braised in red wine and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid.
Spoon a generous serving over some dairy-free cauliflower cheese for a comforting, vegan meal everyone will enjoy.
Why we love this recipe: it’s packed with umami goodness.
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Vegan mushroom bourguignon
Fire up the oven
Baked garlic parsley mushrooms
Make it indulgent
Scalloped portobello mushrooms
Sauteed broccoli rabe
Also called rapini, this leafy veg has a distinct bitterness that makes it the perfect contrast to indulgent dishes like cauliflower cheese.
But if you find the bitter flavor too harsh, you can tone it down by blanching the greens before sauteing them.
And avoid buying broccoli rabe if it already has yellow flowers. This is a sign it’s extra bitter.
Why we love this recipe: it’s great if you’re in a rush.
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Sauteed broccoli rabe
Switch up the veg
Garlic sauteed swiss chard
Preheat the oven
Oven-roasted broccolini
Meatloaf
Your creamy cauliflower side will also pair superbly with a hearty meatloaf.
The tangy ketchup glaze tastes great once it’s mixed into the cheesy sauce.
This recipe involves an extra step of cooking a sofrito base made of chopped onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. You can skip it, but I think it adds too much flavor to skip.
Why we love this recipe: it turns simple ingredients into something delicious.
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Classic meatloaf
Make it healthy
Turkey meatloaf
Make it vegan
Vegan lentil loaf
Italian-stuffed cabbage rolls
This recipe features cabbage leaves filled with spicy Italian sausage, ground beef, rice, and cheese mixture, then rolled and smothered with spicy tomato sauce before being baked.
They can be eaten alone, but they’re also fantastic with cauliflower cheese – just make sure you don’t have anywhere to go after this meal!
Why we love this recipe: it’s a highly detailed step-by-step recipe.
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Spicy Italian-stuffed cabbage rolls
Go back to basics
Stuffed polish cabbage
Skip the cabbage
Swiss chard rolls
The best side dishes to serve with cauliflower cheese
- Roast beef
- Homemade garlic bread
- Shaved brussel sprout salad
- Baked potatoes
- Southern baked beans
- Bangers and mash
- Watercress salad
- Gammon (ham) steaks
- Braised savoy cabbage
- Korean fried chicken
- Pan-seared salmon
- Mushrooms bourguignon
- Sauteed broccoli rabe
- Meatloaf
- Italian-stuffed cabbage rolls
What To Serve With Cauliflower Cheese
Ingredients
- Roast beef
- Mushroom bourguignon
- Broccoli rabe
- Watercress salad … and more
Instructions
- Prepare your cauliflower cheese according to your favorite recipe.
- In the meantime, choose one of the following sides to serve alongside it.
- Side dishes include: roast beef, homemade garlic bread, shaved brussel sprout salad, baked potatoes, southern baked beans, bangers and mash, watercress salad, gammon (ham) steaks, braised savoy cabbage, Korean fried chicken, pan-seared salmon, mushrooms bourguignon, sauteed broccoli rabe, meatloaf, Italian-stuffed cabbage rolls.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!