Cheesy Cauliflower Nests
Updated Nov. 28, 2025
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 2medium cauliflowers (about 3 pounds total), stalk and leaves trimmed, each cut through the core into 3 even wedges
- 5tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½cup (lightly packed) fresh sage leaves
- 8ounces/235 grams phyllo pastry (about 6 sheets), thawed if frozen
- 1¼cups finely grated sharp white Cheddar (about 4 ounces)
- 3large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
- 1¼cups heavy whipping cream
- 1teaspoon cornstarch
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- ¼whole nutmeg, finely grated (about ½ teaspoon)
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
578 calories; 46 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 805 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Step 2
Bring a large lidded pot of well-salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower wedges and cook for 5 minutes, covering with a lid if necessary to maintain a rolling boil. Strain and transfer the cauliflower to a sieve or rack to dry for 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Heat the butter with the oil in a small saucepan over medium just until melted, about 2 minutes. Add the sage leaves and cook, stirring, until dark green and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside, keeping the butter mixture.
- Step 4
Keep your phyllo sheets under a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. Working with one sheet at a time, brush the top of the phyllo with the butter mixture. Place a cauliflower wedge in the center of the sheet, then gently scrunch the phyllo halfway up the sides of the cauliflower and transfer it to a 9-by-13-inch sheet pan. Leave a small gap approximately the width of your pinky-finger between the phyllo and the cauliflower all the way around, to hold the custard later. Repeat with the remaining sheets and cauliflower, nestling them snugly into the baking sheet. Brush the exposed tops of the cauliflower with the remaining butter mixture.
- Step 5
Transfer the cauliflower nests to the oven, setting them in the top third of the oven near the heat source, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the phyllo is deeply golden and the cauliflower is lightly charred.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, make the custard: Add 1 cup of the cheese to a medium bowl and whisk together with the whole eggs, egg yolks, cream, cornstarch, garlic, nutmeg, cloves, a good grind of pepper and ¾ teaspoon salt until combined.
- Step 7
Spoon the custard into the cauliflower nests (don’t worry if a little spills out) then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Return to the oven until the custard is set with a gentle wobble, 10 to 15 minutes. (If you’d like more browning, you can broil for about 1 minute.)
- Step 8
Serve straight from the pan, with the sage leaves on top.
Private Notes
Comments
This really looks intriguing, but reading through the directions I feel a video would be invaluable to clarify the assembly process.
Intrigued but utterly hung up on how to cut 2 cauliflowers through the core into 3 even wedges. And the pic isn’t helping.
@Jen moody I would say as long as you get a good chunk of cauliflower it should be fine- the concept of wedges with the core is to hold them together while blanching. You could easily just gather large florets together( use a spider or slotted spoon to get them out of the water). I don’t think it will make any difference in the final outcome. Sounds good!
Chef-y but fun to make and much easier than it sounds. I totally messed up handling the phyllo and it still worked fine - just huddle the buttered-up phyllo around the cauliflower and it all works because the custard is very thick. The textures are truly beautiful, but it’s a bit bland to my taste. Maybe more salt and cheese? My favorite cauliflower prep is still boiling the whole head, cooling, smearing thickly withe butter and grated parm and heating until bubbling and golden. If there were a way to add custard and shattering phyllo to that - super!
How is this vegetarian with all these eggs? Wouldn't it be possible to just use the cauliflower and spices in the phyllo cups? And perhaps cheese for those lacto-vegetarians.
I made this and many of the readers comments/concerns occurred with me. One sheet of phyllo was very fragile, went dark brown within 20 mins. The custard leaked out of the fragile nests but confirmed to the shape of the sheet pan, so looked fine. And tasted pretty good