Cheesy Cauliflower Toasts
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1head cauliflower, leaves and thick core removed
- ¼cup olive oil
- ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8ounces whole-milk ricotta or mascarpone
- 4ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
- ¼teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6slices rustic sourdough-type bread
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for topping
- Sweet paprika, for topping
- Finely chopped chives or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
239 calories; 15 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 323 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into ½-inch clusters. Transfer to a sheet pan and toss with the oil, red-pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread florets out into a single layer and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until tender and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, stir ricotta or mascarpone in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Mix in Gruyère, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and set aside. In a toaster, toast the bread until golden.
- Step 3
When cauliflower is done, remove from the sheet pan and set aside to cool. Line the pan with foil and reduce the oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 4
Arrange the toasts on the lined sheet pan. Stir the cauliflower into the ricotta mixture, then divide among the toasts, spreading to the edges. Dust with Parmesan and paprika. (Recipe can be made up to this point and held at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)
- Step 5
Bake until toast edges and topping are browned, 10 to 15 minutes. (If desired, broil 2 to 3 minutes to brown and melt the top.) Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with herbs, if using, then cut into halves or quarters and serve immediately.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Janet
Can the cauliflower spread be made the night before?
Abby
Made this with mascarpone and homemade sourdough- left out the nutmeg as I don't love it but topped with fresh heirloom tomatoes and a little basil to cut the richness. It was fantastic and very simple to make!
KJ
If you’re cooking this for a vegetarian friend, please note that Gruyere and Parmesan are NOT VEGETARIAN (they are made with beef rennet). You will need to look for a vegetarian version.
Lizzie G
Made as is with ricotta. Delicious and a crowd pleaser. My only minor change: I added 3/4 tsp salt (rather than 1 tsp) and the 1/2 tsp pepper-- and both were a little too much. I added more ricotta to mellow out the salt. Recommend you add salt and pepper incrementally, to taste.
CLM
The difference between vegetarian and vegan is that vegetarians abstain from eating food that requires killing an animal but will general eat anything that the animal provides that doesn't result in its death (e.g., eggs). Vegans will not eat anything that comes from an animal. However, animal-based rennet (found in most hard cheeses like Gruyere and Parmesan) cannot be obtained without the killing of the animal from which it is extracted (intestines); therefore, some vegetarians avoid rennet.
RDG
Kosher cheeses do not use rennet and are vegetarian .
Susan Lopez
Mascarpone and ricotta are not generally interchangeable as mascarpone is essentially thickened (coagulated) cream and ricotta is made with milk. This is probably why some people thought the recipe too rich. I would recommend using ricotta to keep it light. It firms up in the oven and doesn't need a binder. I use ricotta all the time on veggi pan pizza.
Mara C.
I roasted cauliflower steaks (half inch thick slices of a whole cauliflower head) and use that instead of the toast and put all the toppings together with prosciutto and baked it. it was incredible.
Mse
I would hold the aluminum no foil please! Transfers Aluminum into your food and your body building up in the body unbleached parchment paper is safe
Julie
Have you ever tried making your own ricotta? It's THEE most delicious thing! Ina Garten has a recipe - I suggest trying it!!
Sandy
I will try this because my favorite fast lunch sandwich is chopped pickled vegetables (which are primarily cauliflower) drained and placed on toast with grated cheese on top. Broil. And you have a fast version of this. Likely not for company or as tasty but still very workable!
DB
Has anyone tried this with pizza crust instead of bread, like white pizza?
Joan
This dish is insanely rich and I can't wait to make it again. My cauliflower was on the small side so I cut the cheese recipe in half. I served it as a side to roasted trout filets; skipped the bread and we swooned. Even with only half the cheesiness. I want to try it with pizza dough as suggested in the comments!
Karen
I used precut cauliflower and I think that was a big mistake, the amount must have been off because this was way too rich even for me, and I don't normally shy away from richness in my food. I felt that I could have eaten it as a small appetizer but no way should it have been a meal. So make sure you have enough cauliflower! And in future even if I doubled the cauliflower I would use half the amount of olive oil, it was drowning in it. Likewise I would use half the black pepper.
Eric
This makes a massive amount, and with the marscarpone, it's basically a very salty dessert. Reduce the salt by half at least, use ricotta, and then count on 12-15 slices, minimum.
Lark
It's a super yummy dish. I found that the cauliflower was a bit too mushy after baking and I attributed that to the amount of oil. Instead of a 1/4 cup, I would do it by eye.
Tanya
You really have to like these cheeses...
H Andress
I love a fancy toast as much as the next Millennial, and this was yum! Probably won't make for breakfast often, as it does take longer than I'd like for a morning meal (that's a me problem, not a recipe problem) but it is hearty enough to be made as part of a light dinner. My only deviation was rubbing a garlic clove on the toasts before piling on the cauli mix. A quarter of a grocery store cauliflower (with all other components scaled down appropriately) was enough for 2 generous portions.
Liz
I’m still chewing my last bite of this savory wonder. Followed the directions pretty faithfully, but here are a few notes: my grocery store didn’t have Gruyère but they had Raclette. If you have the same problem, go with it. Delicious. Nor did my Kroger have authentic sourdough, but a softer, Bowdlerized version was probably better here, if only because it was less scratchy on the palate. Finally, the cauliflower. I used 2 lbs of frozen, breaking the big florets up with my chilly fingers.
Jill
I thought this was bland. Had it next day and added everything bagel seasoning and it was better. Also added some lemon zest
nara
One cauliflower resulted 5 toasts
Susan
Pretty good, but not as magically delicious as I'd hoped given the amount of work that went into it. Ina Garten's recipe calls for a two-pound cauliflower; mine was smaller than that but it still made a ton of cauliflower-cheese spread.
Bee A.
Delicious, as-is. I garnished the toast with basil and presto! Ina Garten uses Rock Diamond kosher salt. For any other brand, reduce the salt quantity.
Lisa Conn
Loved! Served it as an appetizer for an outdoor summer meal with friends and they went crazy for it! I made the mixture earlier in the day, stored it in the fridge. Right before serving I brushed the bread slices on one side with oil, grilled them, piled them up with the cauliflower-cheese mixture and briefly broiled.
Bicks
When is this meant to be eaten? Is it a breakfast/brunch dish? Lunch? An appetizer?
Chris in Saugatuck
Stirring on a sheet pan?? They do have low profile roasting pans for stirring things. Sounds like a mess.
Stacey
I thought it was fine, personally I think a nice sharp cheddar would be a bit more fitting, but we love cheesy cauliflower made with cheddar. I'll make again for an occasional vegetarian meal.
Jonathan
We loved it! An ideal accompaniment alongside a creamy or finely pureed soup. I used a high fat creamy cottage cheese (we have a nice local product) and a emmentaler, and finished with pecorino in place of parmigiano. The end result was similar to a rich béchamel with concentrated roasted cauliflower flavours and textures. So good!
Jane
VERY tasty. I cooked as a gratin using cottage cheese. I added about 2-3 cups of chopped spinach, 2 eggs and 1/3 cup fresh parsley. We ate it as a meal. Great breakfast the next day!
aussie on the nyt
Mmmmm delicious. Added grilled mushrooms and that was great too. But I will say … it’s very rich .. especially if you choose to gouge yourself on the cheesy leftovers in the bowl. Anyways. It would not have fed us all as a flat out meal but we had some minestrone and a green salad and they were perfect to add. And if you’re trying to impress the neighbours - it looks spectacular too. Well, compared with the meals I’ve produced during our latest lockdown. Covid of course.
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