The Cauliflower Cheese Conundrum

[Speckly]

Earlier a friend I was out with asked me what we were having for dinner tonight. When I replied “Cauliflower cheese and crusty bread”, she said “With what?” When I told her that was our dinner she looked horrified and told me cauliflower cheese is a side dish. As kids we often had cauliflower cheese for our dinner (I’m early 50s) but I’m interested to know, is that weird? Husband and I usually have this as a main about once a month (not vegetarian btw). When I asked DH his views on the subject tonight, he said he enjoys it but that his family never really had it when he was young so he couldn’t comment. If it’s relevant at all, we live in Kent. So is it ok to eat cauliflower cheese as a main or should it only ever be served as a side dish?

YABU - Cauliflower cheese is a side dish. You need to jazz it up with some other stuff!

YANBU - Cauliflower cheese is a decent main course - ignore the haters.

It's closer than Brexit on the voting!

Main dish in our house. We sometimes pad it out with pasta or potatoes and crispy bacon on top.

Cauliflower cheese and mashed potato as a main course. It was a staple growing up and I still do it now but sometimes serve it with sausages.

We usually have it with fried mushrooms and chips.

Cauliflower cheese, crispy streaky bacon and baked beans. Slice of bread and butter to clean the plate.

Maindish, but you can have jacket potato with it if you’re famished. Are those a main or a side (I grew up with them as a side)

Always a main when I was growing up. With bread and butter on the side if we were particularly hungry.

I still find it hard to think of it as a side dish!

I didn't know I had an opinion on this until now. GRAVY on cauliflower cheese? A despicable abomination!

Cauliflower cheese was a main dish in my childhood; we usually had peas with it, or another veg. I used to think carrots looked pretty on the side.

It's either isn't it?
Fabulous as a Sunday lunch side, equally as lush as a main with lovely crusty bread.

Firstly, this was the thread I didn’t know I needed tonight, so thank you. Second, it was a side in my house (working class northern if it matters) but I judge no one who elevates it to a main. Food of heaven.

I’m in my 40s, we ate it as a main (with a couple of rashers of bacon on the side) when I was a kid. I never make it now but if I did then I’d probably do the same thing.

My favourite version of this was a couple of years ago when I had quite a lot of brussels left over after christmas and I thought they're going to end up binned but what can I do with them all as theres quite a lot. So I made brussel sprout cheese. It was THE best thing I think Ive done and Ive cooked a lot of amazing dishes. I put lots of mustard in it and I am a demon with the cheese

Quite a lot of it got eaten on the top of the oven after getting it out. It didnt make it to the plate.

That sounds like heaven.

Cheese is full of protein!

When we had dogs we always gave them the water the cauli had been cooked in(after it had cooled obviously). They bloody loved it.

It would never occur to me to have it as anything other than a side dish. My dad loved it and would serve it with corned beef. It was considered just a more fancy vegetable. Personally I loathe cauliflower and if I was served that as an entire meal would have to feign illness or that I’d already eaten.

Such a British thing to serve a white main course with bread and potatoes haha.

I do it as a main but I would probably put in some ham or bacon in it and do broccoli and carrots on the side.

Ok as a main dish providing you have other veg to accompany it such as roast carrots, spuds and peas.

Its weird af to have it a roast, sorry (yes I've tried it)
Great as a main dish occasionally
Never had it growing up

This is how I have it! Sometimes with brocolli too.

Never had it growing up but now have it as a side dish, usually with gammon. I add other veg too though. Would have it as a main but I'd probably be hungry.

Side dish.

We have it as a main but usually with other things added, such as pasta and broccoli or leeks to make it more of meal.

Cauliflower is the food of the devil. Why would anyone want to eat a vegetable that stinks of BO? Anything else covered in cheese sauce is fair game as a main. Sweet potato is nice. YANBU to consider it a main. YABU to consider cauliflower edible.

I grew up with it as a main, with mashed potato on the top and baked in the oven. But with hard boiled eggs and sweetcorn in - yum. None of the rest of my family like it and it’s a bit of a pain to cook for one, but just occasionally I have it, no potato or other carbs, just cheesy cauliflower and egg goodness. With tons of salt and pepper and a glass of red.

With bacon main dish without it’s a side.