I’m having a bit of a thing with cauliflower right now.  I buy at least three big heads of it per week and have been experimenting putting it into different dishes.  I pretty much look at any recipe and wonder, “Could I do this with cauliflower instead?”  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s kind of how life goes right?

Look, life lessons while making yummy food.  Can’t get any better than that.

Last week I had delicious taquitos (which you should definitely make immediately… after today’s recipe) that had a cauliflower filling and this week I’m doing a little bit of a twist on macaroni and cheese.  Spoiler alert: there is no macaroni.  Or cheese.  There is, however, cauliflower, a delicious cheese-esque sauce, and a slow cooker.

Now, before you Mac N’ Cheese purists come at me with pitchforks and torches this recipe isn’t meant to taste exactly like Mc N’ Cheese it just uses a similar process.  And if we’re on the subject of tasting like Mac N’ Cheese, apparently Kraft rolled out it’s new less artificial Mac N’ Cheese and told NO ONE and there were literally no complaints about it.  So if we want to get technical, no one really knows what Mac N’ Cheese tastes like so who’s to say my version isn’t right?

Ok, that took a weird little turn but back to this recipe.  I love the pesto-cheesy sauce on this and I like that I made it in my slow-cooker so there was minimal effort.  You could easily prepare the sauce stuff before hand and then throw everything together in the slow cooker when it’s time to make dinner.  It all tastes rich, creamy, and decadent yet you’re still getting a lot of nutrients and a big dose of vegetables.  Talk about a win!

Cauliflower Pesto Mac N’ Cheese

• 1 large head of cauliflower, about 5 to 6 cups, cut into florets
• 1 batch of No Mozzarella Mozzarella
• 1 batch of Spinach Pesto
• 3/4 cup of full-fat coconut milk or any other non-dairy milk you like
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 to 1 tsp smoked paprika

1. Cut up your cauliflower and set aside.  Make the No Mozzarella Mozzarella and the Spinach Pesto.  You can do this the night before if you want or right before.
2. Lightly oil your slow cooker with a little olive oil and place cauliflower florets into your slow cooker.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the mozzarella and pesto.  It will be really thick but don’t worry.
4. Add the coconut milk slowly and keep whisking until you have a smooth and pourable sauce.  You might not use all the milk and you might need a little more just adjust until you have the right consistency.
5. Pour the pesto sauce over the cauliflower, making sure to coat everything.  Sprinkle the top with smoked paprika, cover, and cook on high for 3 hours or a little longer if you want super soft cauliflower.

Serve up and enjoy the goodness!