Why is my cauliflower cheese watery?
The water comes out of the cauliflower after the sauce is on it. Three ways to get ahead of that, plus the separate faults that make the sauce split or go grainy.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Undercook the cauliflower, drain it thoroughly, and let it steam dry in the colander for several minutes before it meets the sauce — or roast the florets instead of boiling them. Then make the sauce slightly thicker than you would eat it, because the cauliflower will let go of more water in the oven and thin it down to exactly right.
A cauliflower is around ninety per cent water and it does not stop releasing it when you drain it. Everything that goes wrong with cauliflower cheese follows from that, and from the fact that a béchamel is a starch-thickened sauce that dilutes very easily.
Step by step
- Cook the cauliflower short of done.Five or six minutes in boiling salted water — a skewer should meet real resistance. It has 20–30 minutes in the oven still to come. Cauliflower boiled until tender and then baked is mush.
- Drain thoroughly and let it steam dry.Tip into a colander, shake it, and leave it for five minutes so the surface water evaporates and the florets stop dripping. Spreading them on a tea towel is better still. This is the step that most reliably fixes the problem.
- Or roast the cauliflower instead of boiling it.Toss the florets in oil and roast at 220°C for 20 minutes until browned at the edges. You lose water rather than adding it, and the flavour is substantially better. It is genuinely the best version of the dish.
- Make the sauce thicker than you want it.Around 40 g each of butter and flour to 500 ml of milk gives a sauce that coats a spoon heavily. It will loosen in the oven as the cauliflower gives up water. A sauce that looks right in the pan will be thin on the plate.
- Add the cheese off the heat.Take the béchamel off the hob before stirring in grated cheese. Boiling a cheese sauce makes the proteins tighten and squeeze out fat, which is the grainy, oily separation people mistake for wateriness. Mature cheddar, and a little mustard powder, do the most for the flavour.
- Assemble in a dish that is not too deep.A shallow wide dish lets water evaporate and browns more surface. A deep dish traps steam and produces a pool at the bottom.
- Bake hot and briefly.200–220°C for 20–25 minutes until bubbling and browned on top. Long slow baking gives the cauliflower more time to collapse and release water. If it is assembled cold from the fridge, give it longer but cover it for the first half.
Tips
- Cauliflower cheese can be assembled a day ahead and baked from cold, which makes it one of the best prep-ahead parts of a roast dinner — allow an extra 10–15 minutes and cover for the first half.
- The leaves and the stalk are good food. Slice the stalk and cook it with the florets; roast the leaves until crisp.
- A handful of breadcrumbs mixed with the top cheese gives a much better crust and absorbs a little surface moisture.
If it doesn't work
Thin liquid pooling under the sauce
Cause: Cauliflower not drained and dried, or overcooked before baking — Fix: Tip the liquid off, return to a hot oven uncovered for ten minutes. Next time undercook, drain and steam dry, or roast.
Sauce grainy with oil on top
Cause: Cheese added to a boiling sauce, or baked too long at too high a heat — Fix: Add cheese off the heat. A splash of milk and vigorous whisking can bring back a lightly split sauce.
Cauliflower turned to mush
Cause: Boiled to tender before baking — Fix: Boil for five minutes only, or roast instead.
Bland
Cause: Under-seasoned béchamel and a mild cheese — Fix: Mature cheddar, English mustard powder, nutmeg, plenty of salt and pepper, and a little parmesan on top.
Skin formed on top of the sauce before baking
Cause: Sauce left standing uncovered — Fix: Press cling film onto the surface, or dot with butter, while it waits.
Questions people ask
Can I steam the cauliflower instead of boiling?
Yes, and it is a small improvement — less water taken on. It still needs the drying time before the sauce goes on.
Why does my sauce taste floury?
The roux was not cooked long enough. Give the flour and butter a full two minutes over a moderate heat, stirring, before the milk goes in.