Comforting ground beef cauliflower casserole with cheese, an easy (and low-carb) recipe for cold winter days.

overhead picture of a bake with ground beef and cauliflower

What can be more comforting than a hot and cheesy casserole dish straight from the oven? Either this hamburger cauliflower casserole, a Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake, or a vegetarian Mushroom Polenta Casserole, this kind of dish is always welcome and loved by the entire family.

What do you need?

Cauliflower:

One large head or the same amount of frozen cauliflower.
Chop the cauliflower into small florets and use the stem as well. If you happen to have leftover stems from another recipe, now is a great time to use them.
Frozen cauliflower can be added frozen to the pot to save some time. It will defrost quickly in the hot water. Once drained and cool enough to handle, you can chop it, if the pieces are large.

Meat:

Ground beef or hamburger.
These two are pretty much the same thing, the main difference between them being in the way fat is added.
Ground beef can only be made with fat added from the meat trimmings it is made from, while fat can be added to hamburger to reach the desired fat content level.
Both of them can only have a fat content of a maximum of 30%.
I use ground beef with a fat content of about 20 % most of the time.

Cheese:

Basically any kind of good melting cheese you enjoy having in a casserole.
I often use Cheddar or Gouda, but anything you like should be fine.

beef and cauliflower served with boiled potatoes overhead view

How to make hamburger cauliflower casserole?

A super easy and rather fast recipe.

Chop the cauliflower and the stem into small florets and pieces. (1)
Blanch the chopped cauliflower for about 3-4 minutes, it should soften slightly, but not be soft or cooked through. If using frozen cauliflower, use directly from frozen. Once defrosted in the hot water, drain well, and when cool enough to handle, chop into smaller pieces (if necessary).
Place the cauliflower back into the cooking pot, you can use that to mix all the ingredients.
While the cauliflower is cooking, finely chop the onion.
Cook it in a large skillet together with the ground beef or hamburger. There is no need to add any fat to the skillet, the beef has enough fat.
Add the spices and stir for another minute. (2)
Transfer the beef to the pot (or bowl) containing the cauliflower. (3)
In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, hot broth, and cream cheese until smooth. (4)
Pour the mixture over the cauliflower ground beef mixture.
Add half of the grated cheese, stir well, add salt and pepper to taste.

collage of four pictures with the steps of making beef cauliflower casserole

Transfer to a baking dish of about 25×20 cm/ 10×8 inches.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

collage of two pictures of uncooked hamburger casserole with cauliflower and cheese

Can you reheat it?

The ground beef cauliflower casserole keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can be reheated in the oven at about 180 degrees/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Cover it loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the cheese from getting too brown.

You can also freeze the leftovers in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.