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Creamy, savory, with just a hint of spices, this comforting Cheesy Mixed Vegetable Bake will have you melting with each bite. That’s because the rich sauce blends perfectly with the still-crunchy veggies to make a side dish that can go with almost any dinner. And, it’s just about the tastiest way to get your veggies in!
To start with we’re blanching the vegetables in some boiling water. As soon as you take them out place them in a bowl of cool water to stop the cooking. This gives you a head start on cooking the veggies.
For this recipe we’re only using cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. But, you can add or leave out any veggies you like. My advice here is that they need to hold up well to cooking whatever you add. So tomatoes, zucchini, and leafy greens probably wouldn’t be great in this dish. But, corn, beans, onions, eggplant, or turnips in this recipe could be wonderful.
While they cook you can start on the creamy white sauce, which is a béchamel enhanced with spices and cheese.
We’re adding an unusual ingredient here, some mustard. I used stone ground for this one, but I grew up calling this German mustard. You could also use Dijon mustard or even grind some dry mustard if you wish. This doesn’t make it taste like mustard. Instead it adds to the sauce overall and brings out the flavor of the cheese rather than standing out as a weird taste.
On that note let’s talk about the cheese. Sharp cheddar here adds the most flavor and goes really well with the mustard to create a unique flavor.
Once you combine the sauce and the veggies it’s time to bake this and my goodness this smells so good while it’s in the oven. The top gets a little browned and that’s honestly my favorite part of this whole dish. Give me the bits with charred cheese on top!
I can honestly say that even after being in the oven about 38 minutes total the vegetables were not mushy, nor were they too crunchy. They had just a little bit of bite left to them: the ideal complement to such a rich sauce.
For a filling and very more-ish side dish that will leave you feeling comforted this Cheesy Mixed Vegetable Bake is the one! It goes with chicken, beef, pork, or even vegetarian mains and is like warm hug in casserole form.
Cheesy Mixed Vegetable Bake
Yield(s): Serves 6-8
25m prep time
50m cook time
295 calories
Diet: Vegetarian
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ¾ cups milk
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon large grain mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch white pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Add vegetables to pot of boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes then place veggies into bowl of cold water while you make the sauce. Drain vegetables well and set aside.
- In saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until golden and thick, 1-2 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- Whisk in ¼ cup milk at a time, breaking up lumps as you go. After all milk has been whisked in remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Drain vegetables and pour them into a 9”x13” baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. When done vegetables should be fork tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from Newbie in the Kitchen.
