This slow cooker cauliflower recipe is rich, creamy, and oh-so-cheesy. With a sprinkle of crispy chopped bacon, it’s the ultimate keto side dish!
Okay, all of you cauliflower naysayers! I dare you NOT to fall in love with this easy Slow Cooker Cauliflower. You won’t believe how creamy and flavorful it is. Warning, you may like it so much, you will want to make it every day.
I kid you not. I created this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese in 2017 and it has been one of my most popular keto side dish recipes ever since. Sixty 5-star reviews can’t be wrong!
Just like cauliflower risotto and cauliflower potato salad, this recipe proves to the world how versatile and delicious this low carb vegetable can be.
Why this recipe is so awesome
The best slow cooker recipes are the ones where you just dump the ingredients in and walk away. I like to call them “dump and run” recipes. And that’s exactly how you make this cheesy slow cooker cauliflower. You do need to add in the grated cheese toward the end, but that’s it. There’s so little work involved and you end up with a super creamy, super flavorful low carb side dish.
It goes perfectly with all of your favorite mains like Air Fryer Pork Chops and Spinach Stuffed Chicken. And I can tell you from experience that the leftovers make a great breakfast, too.
And with only 4.7g net carbs per serving, you can dig in with gusto!
Ingredients you need
- Cauliflower florets: You can cut the florets from a head of cauliflower or get them pre-cut. I don’t suggest using frozen cauliflower as they will become mushy.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese helps make the cheese sauce rich and thick.
- Whipping cream: You need a little liquid to help the cauliflower cook and become tender.
- Butter: Butter adds additional fat and flavor.
- Pepper Jack cheese: If you aren’t a fan of Pepper Jack, you can use Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese.
- Bacon: Because everything tastes better with bacon! You will need to have it already cooked up nice and crispy.
- Salt and pepper
Reader Reviews
“I made this and it is superb!!! Sometimes cauliflower recipes are not easy to pull off and make ‘tasty’”’. Carolyn has done it with this recipe! My daughter and grands (5,6,7yrs) LOVE IT!!! This is now added to MY go to side dish library. Thank you Carolyn for all you do! Makes living a healthy, keto friendly, lifestyle so much easier and FUN.” — Sandra
“This is perhaps our favorite side dish recipe. As a matter of fact, I’ve been known to have some of the leftovers for breakfast the next day! This is my idea of a “Breakfast of Champions”! Your talent, imagination and creativity in the kitchen never fails to amaze.” — Diane
“Girrrrrllll! I love this recipe!!! This recipe is my replacement for mac & cheese. Love that it is a crock pot meal. My family members loved it. I am looking forward to making this dish for Thanksgiving as a side side whichThank you for sharing and demonstrating one of many of your delicious recipes.” — Pamela
Step by Step Directions
1. Dump in the ingredients: Add the cauliflower, cream cheese, whipping cream, butter, salt, and pepper into a greased slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours.
2. Add the cheese: Add the Pepper Jack and stir to combine. Continue to cook another 30 minutes to an hour, until cauliflower is fork tender.
3. Top with bacon: Add the bacon crumbles and serve.
Tips for Success
Choose a cheese that melts well. I prefer grating my own, as it has no fillers and will melt more smoothly. But you can use pre-shredded if that’s all you have.
In a rush? You can also cook this on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
I do not recommend cooking this in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. The pressure tends to force too much liquid out of the vegetables, making the sauce too soupy and thin.
Frequently Asked Questions
For those of us following a low-carb diet, cauliflower is an excellent vegetable choice. It has a mild flavor so it takes on the flavors of the other ingredients. It is also low in carbohydrates and can be steamed, roasted, boiled, fried and grilled.
This easy keto “Mac and Cheese” is best the first day you make it, but the leftovers are good for several days. Keep leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
This keto slow cooker pepper jack cauliflower recipe has 6.3g of carbs and 1.6g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.7g net carbs per slice.
More delicious slow cooker recipes
Slow Cooker Pepper Jack Cauliflower
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453.59 g) cauliflower, cut into 1 inch florets
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese
- 1/4 cup (59.5 g) whipping cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
- 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
Instructions
- Grease the inside of a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the cauliflower, cream cheese, whipping cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Cook on low for 3 hours.
- Add the Pepper Jack and stir to combine. Continue to cook another 30 minutes to an hour, until cauliflower is fork tender.
- Add bacon crumbles and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
This is so easy to make. It would be a great recipe to experiment with using different kinds of cheeses. I used a colby pepperjack, and it was lovely. The sauce was a little on the thin side after 3 1/2 hours in the slow cooker, so I took off the lid and let it simmer for another half hour. It thickened up nicely. It also reheated well on the second day.
Been wanting to make this for awhile but I cannot find pepper Jack cheese anywhere. Is it the same as Monterey Jack with jalapenos? I’m in Canada.
I do not like Pepper Jack. I am making it today with a Cheddar/Monterey mix. I’m sure you can substitute any cheese that you would like!
My new favorite side dish!
This recipe has absolutely satisfied my craving for Mac and cheese! Just had to share that with you. This is so rich and creamy It’s simply amazing. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I know the recipe says to use 1 lb of cauliflower, I’m just curious if most use a full head and follow recipe as directed. OR, my full head is almost 3 lbs, I was thinking I would double everything else, but will that make too much sauce for the dish?
Wow, that’s a big one. You want to increase the other ingredients too. I suggest doubling them.
Your printer recipe includes whipping cream and only 4 ounces of pepper cheese?
I am not sure what your question is asking… the recipe (both on the website and when you hit print) indicate 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 4 ounces pepper jack. Where are you seeing different numbers?
This sounds great, but I don’t have a slow cooker. can this be made on the stove?
I am sure it can be, but you will just have to experiment to figure out timing, etc!
Well shucks! I really wanted to love this recipe. Sadly, the sauce was way too runny and thin, and not all that flavorful. I used a regular (not frozen) cauliflower so no idea why it turned out like that. I won’t make again.
I thought this was watery when I added the cheese, but I left the lid off the cooker and it came out perfect! My husband says it’s a keeper, and “that was pretty f*** tremendous. We can have that whenever.” He’s a big fan of Carolyn Ketchum recipes 😉
Thank you (again and again) for amazing recipes!
PS definitely trying it for breakfast ????
I made this last night exactly as written except I used frozen cauliflower and it turned out amazing!!! My husband wrinkled his nose when I told him I was making it, but after I forced him to taste it he was sold!! Ate an entire serving and admitted it was a do over. I love your recipes, they are the only keto recipes that actually taste good! (IMO) Thank you!!
Best keto comfort food ever and I would serve this to anybody and they would never think “diet food”. It is so good.
Made this as a side for dinner. Everyone loved it. I was told “this needs to be in the regular rotation.” Thanks for another easy, delicious keto recipe, Carolyn!
Just a note: I got a late start, so I used my Instapot on Slow Cook setting level High. I cooked it for 1 hour (the recipe says 3 hrs on low).then I mixed in the pepper Jack and cooked it on Slow Cook level High for 30 more minutes. It was perfectly fork tender. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I doubled the recipe. Thanks again!
I added a little chicken stock. Sooo yummy! Thanks for sharing thos recipe.
I was skeptical, cauli in a slow cooker? I had a nice big cauli & surely needed a new recipe, so what the hey … well you knocked me & hubby offa our feets!! Super great idea & the cauli came out perfect!!! Thanks so much!!
So glad to hear it!
Made this for dinner, so delicious! I messed up when shopping & forgot the pepper Jack cheese, and shopping took too long & didn’t have time for 3 hours of slow cooking. I cooked in InstantPot for zero minutes, used a mixer of cheddar & mozzarella cheese. Added chopped mini peppers & a teaspoon of cracked pepper spice.
After pressure, stirred in bacon & just put lid on with no heat for 5 minutes. Perfect!! Love your recipes, thank you for all your genius & generosity!
It was glorious to be able to dump all ingredients in a slow cooker and fly out the door to my appointment. Only took 3 hours to cook to yumminess. My husband and I enjoyed it so much and had several ideas to change it up a bit—IF we wanted to. Already perfect. But we thought we could also throw in some rotisserie chicken or even canned chicken. Also the pepper Jack cheese kicked up the yummy factor. Thank you, Caroline for all your always wonderful recipes. ✨
I added a pd of ground sausage to it. So good!