Cold weather months call for hearty side dishes. My mushroom, bacon, and cauliflower casserole is brimming with nourishing, satisfying veggies. If you're a fan of mushrooms, definitely give this casserole a try—there's earthy mushroom in every bite, enhanced by umami bacon flavor. The combination is incredible. Add in some cauliflower, spinach, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs, and you've got a casserole to remember.
With cold weather approaching, the Man Spouse revealed to me that he missed casseroles. He's typically suspicious of foods he can't identify, so I was surprised that he would crave the type of dish that's easy to sneak mystery ingredients into.
Still, I searched online for some casserole ideas and found something that featured mushrooms and bacon—perfect combo, right? I set out to make a paleo version that included a few more veggies and less junk.
Well, the result smelled amazing and looked great, so I opted to take pictures as soon as it came out of the oven. Once I plopped the piping hot casserole into my photography setup, Tjay asked when he could dig in.
"That looks really good," he claimed. I wasn't sure if he was being honest—I know casseroles aren't always aesthetically pleasing. But he continued asking when we could eat. With each click of the shutter, he asked, "can we try it now?"
In short, the wait was 100% worth it. The first bite of a new recipe can be slightly nerve-wracking...despite how it smells or looks, the flavor may not be there. But this time, we both approved of the recipe just the way it was.
Later, I realized I wasn't satisfied with any of the pictures, so I would have to remake the casserole and take more pictures.
I mean, any excuse to make it again. Please tell me I'm not the only food blogger that does this.
Since this mushroom, bacon, and cauliflower casserole makes too much food for two people, I was happy to find that the leftovers reheat well. I can prep this recipe on the weekend and enjoy hearty, nourishing leftovers all week!
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Mushroom, Bacon, and Cauliflower Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon, chopped
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 12 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
- 4 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 4 cups cauliflower crumbles (~1 head cauliflower)
- ¼ cup beef or chicken bone broth
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- If necessary, make cauliflower crumbles. Add cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulse until broken down into coarse crumbles. Set aside.
- In a dutch oven or deep pot, cook the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pot, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in the pot. Set the bacon aside.
- Return pot to medium-high heat and add onion, garlic, and thyme to the drippings. Cook for 3 minutes until slightly browned and tender. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in cauliflower crumbles and broth, cooking for 5 minutes. Add spinach, bacon, and coconut aminos, stirring until spinach has wilted. Remove from heat.
- Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Keywords: Mushroom bacon cauliflower casserole
Shami says
This looks awesome!! Have you tried making the dish and refrigerating it for a day or two before baking it in the oven? Wanting to make this for a Thanksgiving side and wasn't sure if you'd had success doing it like that!
Chelsea says
I'll admit I haven't tried, but I'm planning on doing something similar for my Thanksgiving on Saturday! I'm going to prep everything as normal and bake it for roughly 10 minutes under the normal baking time. I know this dish reheats well, so I'll leave it in the fridge overnight and then bake it for another 10-15 minutes before serving.
Jackie says
Looks like a good grain-free alternative to stuffing
Chelsea says
I know many people who made this for Thanksgiving as a stuffing alternative! Thanks for stopping by, Jackie!
Jill Bills says
I just made this. So delicious. Reminds me of sausage stuffed mushrooms. I will make this again and again. Yummy.
Chelsea says
Thanks, Jill! 🙂
Bishop says
This was more like a rice dish instead of a casserole. I'm wondering if they left the eggs out of the ingredients list. It's okay as a rice dish but it's definitely not the consistency of a casserole.
Chelsea says
I'm sorry that this recipe didn't suit your needs! No, I didn't leave eggs out of the recipe. Everyone's got a different definition of a casserole, but if you look it up a casserole is a dish that's cooked slowly in the oven (that's it), so this fits the bill for me.
Stephanie says
Can this be made with frozen cauliflower?
Chelsea says
Hi Stephanie! I've honestly never tried making it with frozen cauliflower. If you have frozen cauliflower rice, I think it could work (although I'd reduce the amount of broth). If you try it using frozen cauliflower, please let me know how it turns out so I can let others know!
Keren says
I have a family member with a garlic allergy. Do you think I should use shallots as a substitute instead? If so, how many?
Chelsea says
Hey Keren! I think you could use chives or shallots. Neither replicates the flavor of garlic entirely, but it would help round out the dish! In either case, I'd probably use 2-3 minced tablespoons.
You can also try adding 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (in addition to chives or shallots) to help add a bit of robustness to the casserole. Again, not the same as garlic, but something to help nonetheless!
Hope that helps! 🙂
Pam says
A dish I will make again! Very delicious.
Chelsea says
Glad to hear it, Pam! 🙂
Ally says
Hi there! So I made this and it looked totally different and was way less hearty and made like 4 servings. I do a cooking group on a dementia unit every Friday and were making it, was thinking of adding eggs to it??
Chelsea says
Hmmm... I'm not sure what went wrong here for you. Regarding the 4 servings, I will say that this was intended as a side dish and not a full meal, so I usually serve it along with protein (chicken thighs, turkey, etc.). I've never tried using eggs, because I've never had trouble with the recipe and no one else has mentioned that before! You could certainly try it (I do add eggs to other casserole dishes), but I can't guess what the results might be. I'm not sure what you expected, but this casserole isn't designed to hold together into a uniform scoop like mashed potatoes. I'm sorry I can't be of more help...it's hard to troubleshoot unless I know exactly what you did! Hope it works out for you on Friday.
Ally says
So I added a few eggs to it the second time I made it to make it more of a meal and it was yummy!!
Chelsea says
Glad to hear that adding eggs works, Ally! 🙂
Lisa says
This is great. Just wondering why you need to put it in the oven at all?
Chelsea says
Hey, Lisa! Finishing the cooking process in the oven allows it to cook evenly, making it more of a casserole. If you cooked it entirely on the stovetop, you'd have to stir throughout cooking to properly heat it through, so it either wouldn't cook evenly or it would be more of a hash rather than a casserole. Hope that answers your question!
Andrea Elkins says
Can you update to include the nutrition information?
Chelsea says
Hey Andrea! At this time, I don't include nutrition information with my recipes. I'm a one-woman show over here and I simply don't have the time! You can plug the recipe into a service like MyFitnessPal to find out the nutrition information.
Daniel Shields says
Thank you so much for sharing! This is an amazing recipe! Kids will definitely enjoy this and it is so much healthier. This is another way for me to persuade them to eat the healthy type of foods!
Taylor says
This was great! I actually completely omitted the bacon and started the dish with sautéing the onions and garlic. I love, love, loved the finished flavor after everything was done. I made it for Thanksgiving and it was honestly my fav dish- guilt free, too! Thanks! 😊
★★★★★