Air fryer cauliflower cheese recipe – ‘simply the easiest’

Creamy cauliflower cheese can be turned into something special in an air fryer.

Sam and Dom Milner explain how to use your air fryer to turn cauliflower into something special.

We have some simple tricks to make this creamy cauliflower cheese even easier. Combining frozen cauliflower with a leftover vege cheese sauce, this is perfect for Sunday dinners, Christmas or just a simple dinner side dish.

Simply the easiest cauliflower cheese recipe

Serves 4

Hero basket/dual

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Calories: 767

Ingredients

675g frozen cauliflower florets

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried mixed herbs/Italian seasoning

1 recipe quantity Bits and Bobs Cheese Sauce (see below)

85g/1 cup grated mature/ sharp Cheddar cheese, for sprinkling

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Place the frozen cauliflower florets into the air fryer basket/drawer and spread out so they cook evenly. Set the temperature to 180ºC/360ºF and cook for 15 minutes.
2. When the air fryer beeps, transfer the just-cooked cauliflower to a silicone pan or casserole dish with handles. (If using a dual, you can use two smaller dishes and cook one in each drawer.) Sprinkle the herbs over the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the cheese sauce and sprinkle grated cheese over the top.
3. Place the dish into the air fryer basket/drawer, set the temperature to 180ºC/360ºF and air fry for 10 minutes, or until the cheese sauce is heated through and the cheese on top has melted.

Why do we use frozen cauliflower? Frozen cauliflower cooks quickly in the air fryer, doesn’t go hard like fresh and, of course, saves you on prep time.

My favourite way to make a sauce is to gather up different veggies that need using up, to avoid wastage. I cook them until tender, then blend and use as base for a sauce that can be transformed into different sauces depending what meals we are eating.

We will then freeze in 240ml/1 cup portions which can be used when needed.

Bits and bobs freezer sauce for everything recipe

Makes 4 freezer cubes

Hero dual

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 mins

Calories: xxx

Ingredients

6 medium tomatoes

3 medium carrots

1 medium courgette/zucchini

225g/8oz butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 garlic bulb

1 x 150g/5½oz pack garlic and herb cream cheese (we use Boursin)

2 tsp dried basil

240ml/8fl oz/1 cup whole milk/full-fat milk, plus extra if needed

Salt and black pepper

Gather up different veggies that need using up and make them into a tasty sauce.

Method

1. Quarter the tomatoes and peel and slice the carrots. Slice the courgette into 1cm/½ inch slices and then into quarters. Peel the butternut squash and chop it into 2cm/¾ inch cubes. Put all the vegetables in the air fryer drawer, removing the crisper plate first. Add the olive oil and parsley, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands until the vegetables are well coated with the oil and seasonings.
2. Slice the top off the garlic bulb exposing the cloves at the top. Spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in foil and place in the air fryer on top of the vegetables. Set the temperature to 180ºC/360ºF and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the foil-wrapped garlic and shake the air fryer drawer to rotate the vegetables. Unwrap the cream cheese and place over the vegetables. Sprinkle half the basil over the cheese and air fry at the same temperature for a further 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pour the milk into a blender or food processor. Squeeze the soft flesh out of the garlic head, discarding the papery skin, and add it to the blender. When the air fryer beeps, tip the contents of the air fryer drawer into the blender – including any juices that have collected – and add the remaining basil. Pulse until you have a creamy sauce, adding a little extra milk if it’s too thick.
5. If freezing, pour the sauce into large 240ml/1 cup freezer cubes (or into small freezer-proof boxes) and allow to cool before adding the lid and freezing.

Note: You can mix and match vegetables you have in, but try to balance naturally starchy vegetables, such as root vegetables, with vegetables with a higher water content, such as tomatoes or courgette. If you just add watery vegetables, your sauce will be too thin, and with too many root vegetables, it will be too thick.

Use the sauce as your base for:

• Cheese sauce – add 225g//2½ cups cheddar cheese.
• Tomato sauce – swap the milk for a 400g passata.
• Mexican sauce – swap the milk for 400g of salsa.

Edited extract from Air Fryer Easy Everyday: 140 Super-Simple, Delicious Recipes by Sam Milner and Dom Milner, $39.99, published by Quarto.