A delicious combination of vegetables folded in a creamy sauce and sprinkled with parmesan makes Three Cheese Vegetable Bake a perfect accompaniment for roasts, sausages or just eat on its own. Yes this has been eaten on its own many times in my home...it actually is devoured long before the meal it is supposed to accompany is prepared, so be warned if you have a family like mine then I suggest you either hide it in the microwave until you are ready to serve or make just before serving.?
You know how I really love versatility in a recipe, well this recipe definitely does not disappoint.
- You don't have to stick to just one combination of vegetables, I mean you can use any combo of vegetables you desire.
- Choose between frozen or fresh vegetables
- Serve as an accompaniment or meal on its own
- Glam it up with different cheese and crumbs or keep it simple just topped with melted golden cheese.
Whichever way you choose to prepare this dish, it will always be delicious.
Our favourite combination of vegetables for this Three Cheese Vegetable Gratin is cauliflower, broccoli, carrots baby marrow and large cubes of butternut. I have made this dish so many times and have either used fresh or frozen vegetables, just depending on which I had at the time. And it always turned out great. So just be free with this recipe and use what you have.
To cut down on the cooking time, I prefer to steam the vegetables before folding it in the sauce and baking it, in fact the only reason that I put it into the oven, is to melt and crisp up the cheese. The vegetables are already cooked so there is no cooking time in the oven.
Three cheese sauce
Now lets talk about the sauce, the component that adds the YUM to this dish.
This is a basic bechamel or white sauce to which cheese, pepper, nutmeg and if you like, some per peri is added. In this sauce, I used three of my favourite cheeses, Cheddar, Mozzarella and parmesan. These three cheeses make the sun shine out of this sauce, it is magical. You could top it with crumbs,before putting it into the oven, but I prefer the delicious ,golden melted cheese topping.
So remember, when this comes out of the oven.... be good and share equally amongst all those gathered around the oven waiting for the oven timer to chime. Those who are not present in the kitchen at that time.... well hey it's not your problem that they did not hear timer ring.... right??
Enjoy ♥
Three Cheese Vegetable Bake
Ingredients
- 4 cups / 600g of frozen or assorted vegetables cut into large chunks a good selection is cauliflower, carrots, broccolli, butternut, baby marrow
- 250 ml / 1 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons / 60g butter or margarine
- ¼ cup / 30g plain / cake / all purpose flour
- 2 cups / 500 ml milk
- ¼ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup / 113g / 4oz grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cup / 56 g / grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 Tablepoons / 10 g grated parmesan
- ½ teaspoon peri peri spice optional
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder optional
Instructions
- Steam the vegetables in salted water. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until cooked but slightly firm
- Make the cheese sauce by melting butter in a pot over medium heat. Stir in flour,nutmeg and garlic powder . Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Return to heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Remove from heat.
- Stir in just ½ of each of the cheeses meaning use ½ cup cheddar cheese, ¼ cup / mozzarella cheese 1 Tablespoon parmesan .
- Season with salt and pepper and peri peri if using.
- Drain the steamed vegetables in a colander and place in a lightly buttered ovenproof dish.
- Fold in the cheese sauce and top with the remaining half of cheese.
- Bake in the oven at 356°F / 180°C for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve warm
Nutrition
Patrick@looneyforfood.com says
This looks great! I like your choice of veg. I would stick with those!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thanks Partick, those are my favourite vegetables.
Have a great week.?
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
This looks absolutely delicious! What a lovely combination with all those veggies and three types of cheese - so creamy and comforting. I could make a meal out of just this! Yummy 🙂 !!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank You Dawn, yes the cheese really brings out the YUM in this dish. Hands down, this is one of my favourite comfort foods.?
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
This looks just divine! I lovelovelove veggies, especially when they're topped with cheese, so this would be a huge hit in my kitchen! I'd definitely have a hard time sharing :). Have a great week, Ashika!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank You Kelsie, believe me I do a lot of "taste testing" on this dish before I let anybody know that it is out of the oven. ?
Have a great week!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com says
Hi Ashika, what a lovely, simple, homely and versatile dish for mealtimes!
So delicious looking and so coming through my screen at the right time, just when I need another recipe for my new skillet! Pinned!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank You Neil, definitely a comforting dish, you are really going to enjoy it.
David @ Spiced says
This sounds like one amazing dish, Ashika! And I love the tip about steaming the veggies first. You can't ever go wrong with cheese! 🙂 I'm thinking this would be a great recipe to hang on to for the upcoming months once the garden (hopefully) starts producing a ton of veggies. Sounds delicious!!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thanks David, yes steaming the vegetables first really cuts down on the oven time.
It will be delicious with home grown veg, you have got to try it, also hiding all that veg under a creamy sauce and cheese, perfect for those not too keen on veg.?
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
There is nothing like cheese to make veggies taste better. I do love my veggies, but I think I might love cheese more!
The Gardening Foodie says
?Hahaha... that is so true, cheese especially makes brocolli and cauliflower taste so much better.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
3 cheese!!! This looks absolutely mouthwatering!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank you Angie,it is really really delicious!!!
kitchenathoskins says
Oh my Gosh Ashika, my kids would totally adore this and not complain about eating their their veggies for once. Not sure what a baby marrow is, but the name sounds interesting.
The Gardening Foodie says
Hahaha.. I suppose this dish was probably created for kids Maria. Its really delicious.?
Sorry I should have included alternative names for baby marrow. In South Africa, we refer to zucchini or courgettes as baby marrow.
Kim | The Baking ChocolaTess says
I had to google 'baby marrow' 🙂 Now I see as I'm going through the comments that Maria asked too! 🙂 OMG Ashika, this looks like the ultimate yummy comfort food that is also healthy! My family would love it, Pinning the yumminess! Have a wonderful Memorial Weekend!
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank you Tess, Sorry I really should have included the alternate names, I suppose that I should update it in the post.
I am glad that you like it. Have a really great weekend?
Khilna says
Great post. How would we add mushrooms to this dish. As I really love mushrooms?
The Gardening Foodie says
Thank you Khilna. If you want to add mushrooms, then just fry in on its own in a little butter for about 5 minutes. Then add it to the steamed vegetables and mix with the cheese sauce and bake. I hope that this helps...let me know how it turns out 🙂
Ndeenda says
I just made it now, fast, yummy and delicious steaming made the veggies nice soft I soo love ❤️ it 😋😋😋😋
Sue Davis says
Lovely recipe. I have a glut of courgettes, some of which are already marrows so I made this for my lunch today to use some up. I used mozzarella, parmesan and Emmenthal cheeses and added a 1/2 tsp of dried English mustard. It was delicious.
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Sue, thank you, Im glad that you loved this recipe 🙂
Your combination of veggies and ingredients sound amazing 🙂
Jeri says
What cheese(s) would you suggest as a substitute for cheddar? Mozzarella and Parmesan are easily available but here in Italy cheddar is not available at my local grocery. When I can find it, cheddar is very expensive.
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Jeri, any soft yellow or white cheese can be substituted for cheddar. It should be able to melt just like Mozzarella. Gouda is a good substitute or try one of the following if you can find it in your grocery store: Edam, Cantal or Asiago. If you use Asiago look for the fresher type like pressato or fresco which melts very well. Avoid the aged, drier version of Asiago.
If you are still unable to get any of these cheese, then I suggest you just stir in 1/4 cup (30grams) cream or cottage into the cooked vegetables. Then top with grated Mozzarella and Parmesan. This is what I do when out of cheddar as well 🙂 and it still tastes amazing.
I hope this helps 🙂