Cheesy BBQ Bacon Cauliflower
I love a good cauliflower gratin but it is such a winter dish to me. I wanted to give it a summer upgrade, and how do you give anything a summer upgrade? Grilling and BBQ sauce. I grilled the cauliflower and slathered on some rich and flavorful BBQ Sauce as it grilled to give it that smoky charred grill flavor. After it came off the grill I layered it with bacon, banana peppers, and jack cheese and put it in the oven for just enough time to melt the cheese. This cheesy bacon BBQ cauliflower will be the best app or side dish at your next summer party!
I made sure to leave the cauliflower in pretty large chunks so it didn’t overcook and get soggy. The vegetable still having some life to it helped separate this dish from its winter counterpart.
Brush on the sauce after the cauliflower starts to char.
Bacon of course.
Layer up the cauliflower with the cheese, bacon, and banana peppers. Add more Bar-B-Q sauce as needed.
After it comes out of the oven, top with some chives.
And of course, a little more sauce
Crunchy veggies, smoky BBQ sauce and bacon, and that creamy cheese all came together to make this dish a winner. The tart and spicy banana peppers and sharp bite of the scallions were a nice counterbalance to the savory rich flavors in the dish.
Cheesy BBQ Bacon Cauliflower
A summer version of a cauliflower gratin with bbq sauce, bacon, and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- salt and olive oil
- 1 cup bbq sauce
- 6 slices cooked bacon
- 1/2 cup drained banana peppers
- 2 cups grated jack cheese
- chopped scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Break up the cauliflower into golf ball sized pieces. You probably need to slice a few of the larger pieces, try doing it right along the stems so you have a solid piece to skewer.
- Toss the cauliflower into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and a few healthy pinches of salt. Toss to combine.
- Skewer the cauliflower for easier grilling.
- Grill about 3 minutes per side to char. Brush with the Bar-B-Q sauce on all sides and continue to grill for a few more minutes per side so the sauce sticks to the cauliflower. Remove from grill.
- Build the dish by adding some cauliflower, some cheese, bacon, peppers, and more cheese. Repeat until you use all the ingredients or fill your baking dish.
- Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melty and starting to brown.
- Top with the scallions and more Bar-B-Q sauce and serve.
Love the touch of grilling the cauliflower instead of roasting. This looks scrumptious.