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.

We have it as a main, but with plenty of crumbled bacon on it. Usually no potatoes but some nice crusty bread can be good to mop up the cheese. I put lots of cheese in the bechamel — any kind that I have in the fridge, so it's often cauliflower quattro formaggi.

This. DH's family have cauliflower cheese as a side with a Sunday roast, and that was the first time I'd ever come across the concept.

We regularly (approx. once a week) have either cauliflower or broccoli cheese as a main meal, though it has to be made properly. I sometimes do garlic bread with it, sometimes roast potatoes, sometimes oven chips. When I was a child it was a complete meal on its own but we did always have a pudding. We don't eat meat at all but even if I did, the thought of serving cauliflower cheese alongside something doused in gravy makes my stomach churn. Mind you, the thought of gravy makes my stomach churn anyway.

It’s a side dish.

It's completely fine as a main dish or as a side, because it's delicious. It can definitely be both.

We always have/had it as a side dish to our roasts but when I was in UK over summer, a pub in Somerset was serving it as a main so I ordered it.
It felt odd at first, like I “should” have something else with it, but when it came with half a warm French baguette I wasn’t disappointed. Just a bit gassy. 👍

It was served as Main dish ,with peas carrots and potatoes, when I was growing up in 1970's, but we did have other meat free dinner sometimes such as home made cheese & onion or cheese and tomato flan, the days before it was called quiche, with and usually served with a salad and new potatoes.

That sounds amazing! Probably a stupid question, but how do you put the sourdough on it? Do you just arrange it on the top so it goes down the side of the dish? I’d love to try it with the sourdough at some point.

When I was a child, cauliflower cheese was a main dish. I think it was about 2000 before I encountered it as a side dish. (I'm 65.)

Definitely a side dish :)

I have never encountered it as a side dish, nor do I wish to if gravy is involved.

Don't get me wrong: I like gravy if it's nice gravy - it just shouldn't go with cauliflower cheese.

Protein and veg. I’d like something fresh with it too like a salad or green veg.

but it can be a main or a side

Big portion = main, small portion = side. Never, ever gravy or mushrooms.

I often have it as a main dish (I'm vegetarian) but the carnivores in the family wouldn't be happy with just that. Growing up (I'm in my 50s) we only had it as a side dish with a roast on Sundays.

We had it as a main dish (I’m mid 50s). I loved it.

I started seeing it as a side dish in food articles and restaurants in the US in the early 2000s. Initially for festive meals IIRC. Then particularly with steak. Strikes me as a really poor side dish. Way too overpowering.

I’m with PP who have never encountered it as a main! Always as a side! I wouldn’t be disappointed with it as a main though, as I like it.

Cauliflower cheese is an abomination. Anyone who chooses to eat it at any time, side dish or main meal, is an utter weirdo!

It’s a side - ever seen it as a main in a restaurant or cafe?

No way is cauliflower cheese a side dish - well, I suppose it could be in small amounts. Here's one of mine, tasty and filling - with breadcrumbs and bacon on top for flavour.

I have cauliflower cheese soup as a main (with crispy bacon on top) so yeah, I guess main course it is

🤣🤣🤣

It can be either. However, if it’s the main dish, it needs a (massive) salad on the side.

I usually add broccoli or leeks to my cauliflower cheese.

Exactly this.

it needs extra cheese on top as a main v side imo. And as another pp said, broccoli and/or leeks in it is good.

Main if done properly, with serious quantities of cheese.

If not done properly, then neither. Just have cauliflower as your vegetable side dish without a half hearted attempt at dressing it up.

Just had it tonight ! We’ve been looking forward to it all day , with some French fries , such a tasty meal.