Crispy hashbrown potato crust filled with a comforting mix of cauliflower, spinach, and warm melted cheese - cauliflower cheese pie is vegetarian comfort food at its finest.

How this cauliflower pie came to be....
When I first went vegetarian at 13, I was given a copy of The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen - which was the definitive bible of vegetarian cooking at the time. It was a first introduction to vegetarian cooking for both myself, as well my mother who was the cook of the house.
This cauliflower cheese pie is an adaptation of a recipe in that book. It was one of the first vegetarian recipes that my mom learned to cook for my family in support of my vegetarianism, and over 20 years later it is still a staple in both her home and also mine, where it has now become a favourite of my own daughter.
Over the years I have tried adapting it in various different ways, but the way that I like it most lately is with the addition of spinach, and modifying the herbs to include sage and poultry seasoning - to me, this flavour profile is the ultimate in comfort food, reminiscent of Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.
How to Make Cauliflower Cheese Pie:
This recipe breaks down into 3 parts: the crust, the filling, and the pie.
For the crust:
Shred the potatoes with either a food processor or a grater then put the grated potato in a colander and rinse with water to remove as much of the potato starch as possible.
After rinsing the potato shreds, sprinkle them with salt and mix throughout. Salting the potatoes will help to draw out any excess moisture from them which is how we get a crispy crust.
Let the potatoes sit for 5 to 10 mins, then squeeze them tightly to remove the water. This can also be done with cheesecloth if you have some. Transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl, add the beaten egg, flour, and season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Heat your oven to 400℉ and grease the bottom and sides of your pie pan with butter. Beginning in the middle of the pan, add a couple of spoonfuls of the potato mixture and begin to spread it out on the bottom of the pan building a thin, even layer building outwards to the edges of the pan and then up the sides to form a 'crust'.
Place the pie pan in the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven, then cover the top of the pie pan with a pie crust protector to prevent the top edge of the crust from burning as it finishes baking. If you don't have a pie crust protector don't worry (I don't either), you can just use strips of tin foil folded over the edges and around the pie to protect it. Put the pie back in the oven and back for another 15 minutes.
For the filling:
Prepare the cauliflower by cutting it into small bite sized florets, and chop the baby spinach into small bite sized pieces.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil, cauliflower, onion and garlic to the pan. Cook while stirring frequently to prevent burning for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the cauliflower softened. Add the chopped spinach, sage and the poultry seasoning and cook for 5 more minutes, mixing the spinach into the cauliflower to make sure it is all wilted.
For the pie:
Reduce the oven heat to 375℉.
place ⅓ of the shredded cheese into the pie crust and spread across the bottom. Add ½ of the cauliflower mixture on top of the cheese and spread it out evenly and pack it down. Add ⅓ of the cheese and spread across the cauliflower. Top with the rest of the cauliflower mixture then spread it and pat it into the pan, then top with the remaining cheese.
Whisk the eggs with the almond milk and season. Pour the egg mixture slowly over the pie to evenly distribute it across the pie.
Place the pie protector (or tin foil) on the pie.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Tips For the Best Cauliflower Pie
You will get the best and crispiest crust if you make sure to squeeze as much water out of the shredded potatoes as possible.
This pie is also delicious with half the cauliflower substituted for broccoli!
If you don't protect the edge of the potato crust with a pie ring or tin foil it WILL get burnt. Don't forget this step!
More Vegetarian Comfort Foods You'll Love
If you like this cauliflower cheese pie, you might want to check out some of our other comforting vegetarian recipes:
If you have made this recipe we’d love to see it! Tag us on Insta @loveandgoodstuff.
Loved this? Don’t forget to rate it below!
Cauliflower and Cheese Pie
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 2 cups shredded potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg - beaten
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 head cauliflower - coarsely chopped
- 1 onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 eggs - beaten
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk - (or milk of your choice)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the crust
- Shred the potatoes with either a food processor or a grater. Place the grated potato in a sieve and rinse with cool water to remove as much of the potato starch as possible. After rinsing sprinkle the potato shreds with salt and mix throughout. The salt will help to draw the excess moisture from the potatoes. Let the potatoes sit for 5 to 10 mins, then squeeze them tightly to remove the water. This can also be done with a cheese cloth if you have one. Transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl, add the beaten egg and flour and season with salt and pepper then mix well.
- Heat your oven to 400℉ and grease the bottom and sides of your pie pan with butter. Beginning in the middle of the pan, add a couple of spoonfuls of the potato mixture and begin to spread it out on the bottom of the pan building a thin, even layer building outwards to the edges of the pan and then up the sides to form a ‘crust’.
- Place the pie pan in the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven, then cover the top of the pie pan with a pie crust protector to prevent the top edge of the crust from burning as it finishes baking. If you don’t have a pie crust protector don’t worry (I don’t either), you can just use strips of tin foil folded over the edges and around the pie to protect it. Put the pie back in the oven and back for another 15 minutes.
For the filling:
- Prepare the cauliflower by cutting it into small bite sized florets, and chop the baby spinach into small bite sized pieces.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the cooking oil, cauliflower, onion and garlic to the pan. Cook while stirring frequently to prevent burning for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the cauliflower softened. Add the chopped spinach, sage and the poultry seasoning and cook for 5 more minutes, mixing the spinach into the cauliflower to make sure it is all wilted.
For the pie:
- Reduce the oven heat to 375℉.
- Place ⅓ of the shredded cheese into the pie crust and spread across the bottom. Add ½ of the cauliflower mixture on top of the cheese and spread it out evenly and pack it down. Add ⅓ of the cheese and spread across the cauliflower. Top with the rest of the cauliflower mixture, spread it and pat it into the pan, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Whisk the eggs with the almond milk and season. Pour the egg mixture slowly over the pie to evenly distribute it across the pie.
- Place the pie protector (or tin foil) on the pie.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Valentina says
I love the Moosewood cookbooks! This recipe both looks and sounds SUPER comforting and delicious. I think my whole family would love it!
Courtney says
They are great, aren't they! Thank you 🙂
Kavita Favelle says
Oh I love love love this idea! I love the idea completely from the potato rather than pastry crust to the addition of spinach into the usual cauliflower and cheese mix. Great idea, one for me to bookmark!
Courtney says
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Vicky says
This is a great option for meatless Mondays. It looks so filling and you can't miss when combining cauliflower and cheese!
Beth says
Oh, wow! That totally looks like Thanksgiving leftovers at my house! If I don't make cauliflower and cheese I am in the doghouse! I totally love the potato crust, as well! Fantastic! My boys will love this!
Lalaine says
This is such a hearty, filling meal! Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables and I am always looking for ways to enjoy it.
Rae says
This is the ultimate in comfort food! I always have an abundance of cauliflower, so I am constantly looking for new ways to use it up. I am sure my husband will love this.
Jae says
Anyone substituted vegan cheese for the dairy cheese? Does the recipe work just as well?
Courtney says
Hi Jae, I haven’t tried the recipe with vegan cheese, but I imagine it would turn out ok with on that melts well.
Prema Prakash says
Can we steam the pie?
Courtney says
Hi Prema, the recipe has not been tested in a steam oven, so I am unsure of the results.
virginia Rivalland says
In the crust ingredients list section there's no amount of almond milk stipulated - yet required in instructions section. How much is needed here? (NB 1/4 cup in filling section - is this a repeated amount?)
Courtney says
I'm sorry for the confusion! That is a typo. There is NO almond milk in the crust.
Elizabeth says
Can you please edit the instructions in the recipe section—you have accidentally added the milk to the potato crust step. After following the mistaken instructions, I ended up adding extra potatoes to thicken the consistency—I hope it will work out!
Courtney says
I am so sorry about that! I have no idea how that got in there. I've gone ahead and fixed the issue. I hope it worked out for you!