Slow Cooker Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon

Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Cauliflower Recipe

Almost any vegetable is better with cheese and bacon, right? Of course! Anyway, I really like this cauliflower cheese with bacon and parsley on top. It’s unique, easy, delicious, frugal, and it’s keto-friendly and gluten-free! 

This side dish is different, but I hope you consider giving it a try. Most of the prep happens about 2-3 hours before serving, so it is a great option for a make-ahead holiday dinner side dish or dinner for a busy day!

Ingredients for Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon

Tender cauliflower covered in a rich, creamy cheese sauce and sprinkled with crispy bacon…Yum! The bacon adds a bit of a smoky flavor and the parsley is a nice fresh addition.

Notes: Although this is a cheesy cauliflower recipe, you can change things up by adding broccoli if you’d like! You can also add a bit of spice with a pinch of cayenne, or switch up the flavor by using a different type of shredded cheese. Feel free to experiment!

Step 1. Boiling the Cauliflower

First things first, and this accounts for about half of the prep time of this recipe, you’ll need to boil your cauliflower florets. About 5 minutes should be enough time to make them nice and tender.

After they’re finished, be sure to drain them well! Cooking and draining the cauliflower ahead of time will help avoid the need for extra fluid in the slow cooker, which makes for a thicker sauce.

Step 2. Throw it All in the Slow Cooker

While your cauliflower is still hot, place it into the slow cooker and add your cheesy sauce ingredients (btw, you can find a full printable recipe below). Stir everything together until it’s all fully incorporated, and then your prep work is done!

Step 3. Slow Cook & Serve

Cook your cauliflower cheese dish on high for two hours. It’s that easy!

Once it’s finished, give it a nice stir before serving, top with chopped bacon and fresh herbs if you’d like, and enjoy! (Find some more serving tips below.)

Final Thoughts + Serving Tips

As you can see, this is a wonderfully easy recipe that’s mostly hands-off. There’s about 10 minutes of prep involved, and then the slow cooker handles the rest!

The flavor is amazing too. The cheesy sauce goes together with the bacon and cauliflower in complete harmony. It’s total comfort food, and it’s actually pretty good for you too!

For serving, this dish is great with a side salad and bread. Try these quick homemade dinner rolls and this easy green salad recipe (or a pea salad) for a simple yet delicious meal.

PS: If you enjoy healthy cauliflower recipes, try this Korean fried cauliflower in the air fryer. 

America’s Test Kitchen‘s favorite chef knife for the last 20 years – Victorinox 8″ Swiss Army Fibrox Chef’s Knife. I have a few Victorinox knives and I love them!

More Slow Cooker Recipes:

• Easy BBQ Chicken & Black Bean Burritos
• Crockpot Beef and Mushrooms Freezer Meal
• Easy Crock-Pot Vegetable Soup
• Healthy Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
• Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

More Awesome Side Dish Recipes:

• Slow Cooker Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
• Bacon Cornbread Stuffing
• Baked Mashed Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Honey-Glazed Carrots
• Easy Cheesy Bacon Biscuits
• Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• The Best Potato Salad
• Easy Special Potatoes
• Veggie Tray
• Sweet Potato Soufflé
• Brown Sugar & Onion Glazed Carrots
• Cranapple Fluff
• Broccoli with Garlic Butter
• Potato Dinner Roll
• Homemade Creamed Corn
• Pretzel Jello

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon

Melt in your mouth cauliflower cheese with bacon on top. Yum!

4.56 / 5 ( 45 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Serves: 3

Adjust Servings: 3

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Large pot
• Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 2 small heads of cauliflower cut into florets (about 6 cups)
• ¾ cup half and half or whole milk
• 1 cup cooked bacon chopped
• 4 ounces of cream cheese cut into squares
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Optional: Fresh herbs such as parsley or chives.

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Boil the cauliflower florets for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
• Place the cauliflower into the slow cooker while still hot and add the cream, bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir until fully incorporated.
• Cook on high for two hours, stir before serving.
• Top with additional chopped bacon and fresh herbs if desired.

Recipe Notes

Change things up by adding broccoli, too!
You can use any shredded cheese you prefer for this recipe.
You can also add a bit of spice by adding a pinch of cayenne.

Nutrition

Calories: 787kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 59g | Sodium: 1764mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g