Cauliflower is a delicious and warming dish. Vegetarians often have it as their main meal while meat eaters will have it as a side dish, often at Thanksgiving or Christmas. You can make it with your favorite cheese or use a mixture of cheeses.
A mature cheddar is delicious and a blue cheese makes a luxurious change. You could even make it with a vegan cheese if you don’t eat dairy products. However, what do you do if you have leftovers? Can you freeze it? The simple answer is yes, and it does freeze quite well.
How Do You Freeze Cauliflower Cheese?
These are the steps you need to take to freeze cauliflower cheese.
1. Cool down the cauliflower cheese.
Take the cauliflower cheese out of the baking tray and put it in a cold tray so that it cools down quickly. Put it on your countertop and cover it with a t-towel. It will cool down within two hours which is the maximum time food can be left at room temperature. After this time bacteria can start to form. You need to make sure that the cauliflower cheese has completely cooled down. As if you put it in the freezer while it is still warm, it can bring up the temperature and other food may start to defrost and can spoil.
2. Put the cauliflower cheese in freezer bags or airtight containers.
If you are using freezer bags, make sure that you squeeze out as much air as possible otherwise freezer burn may occur. This won’t make the cauliflower cheese unsafe to eat but it will ruin the taste and texture. It is a good idea to freeze the cauliflower cheese in meal-size portions so that you only defrost as much as you need. Put a label on the bag or container with the date you put it in the freezer so that you don’t keep it in there for longer than the use-by date.
3. Put the cauliflower cheese in the freezer.
Tips For Freezing Cauliflower Cheese
- If you defrost cauliflower, it can become watery, so the best thing is to cook it from frozen. Heat it in the oven over low heat until it is cooked through.
- Sprinkle a little extra cheese over the cauliflower cheese before you heat it or even a lot more cheese!
- If you are not freezing leftovers it is best to just freeze the cauliflower and make the cheese sauce fresh when you come to heat it up. Cheese sauce doesn’t freeze that well, but it will still be okay if you do have to freeze it with the cheese sauce.
For How Long Can You Freeze Cauliflower Cheese?
You can safely freeze cauliflower cheese for up to six months. Of course, as with most foods, the sooner you eat it the better. After six months, it will still be safe to eat but the taste and texture will start to change, and it won’t be as delicious as when you put it in the freezer.
How Do You Defrost Cauliflower Cheese?
You actually don’t need to defrost cauliflower cheese as this can make it go watery. Instead, simply cook it while it is still frozen. Put it in a baking dish and sprinkle over some more cheese to make it extra cheesy. You can sprinkle over the same cheese as you used in the cheese sauce or you can mix things up by adding a different cheese. After all, you put different cheeses on a pizza. Just think of a Quattro Formaggio pizza. Put the dish in the oven at 350 F and cook for between 30 and 40 minutes. Because you’ve put on the extra cheese, the top should be bubbling away.
Can You Refreeze Cauliflower Cheese?
It isn’t unsafe to refreeze cauliflower cheese, but the taste and texture will change, and it won’t be as tasty. Every time you defrost and refreeze, you lose moisture so the cauliflower cheese could end up being dry.
Is It a Good Idea To Freeze Cauliflower Cheese?
Generally, cauliflower cheese does freeze well. The only problem you might have is that it could become watery. To avoid this, make sure you drain away all the water after you have cooked the cauliflower, and also, cook the cauliflower cheese from frozen. If you follow these steps you should end up with cauliflower cheese almost as good as if you had cooked it fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hopefully, you now know all there is to know about freezing cauliflower cheese but in case you are still curious, we have answered a couple of questions here.
What is the best cheese to use in cauliflower cheese?
We think that the best cheese to use is mature cheddar. You need a good melter and cheddar melts well. It also has enough of sharpness to balance the slight sweetness of the cauliflower.
Can you freeze cauliflower rice?
Yes, you can. All you need to do is put meal-sized portions into freezer bags. However, the texture will change.
