This is a simple and very delicious recipe for endives au gratin. It’s one of our favorite vegetable side dishes and a great way to enjoy endives.
The name endive comes from the French for “beaver tail.” Beavers don’t eat a lot of endives but maybe we should.
Traditionally endive au gratin is made with a bechamel sauce and Gryere cheese. We have made this classic French dish with a low carb cheese sauce and a vegetarian cheese.
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Are Endives Keto Friendly?
Endives are part of the chicory family and are a great low carb vegetable with a 100g serving being just 0.3g net carbohydrates. They are high in vitamin C, a good source of potassium and low in calories.
Endives can be enjoyed raw in salads, or cooked. We use the leaves to as a shell to hold dips and mixed vegetables for an elegant appetizer too.
Keto Cheese Sauce Ingredients
To make this dish, all you need is a few crisp Belgian endive and a low carb cheese sauce.
- The Cheddar cheese could be swapped for a Swiss cheese or vegetarian Parmesan.
- You could add a splash of white wine in the sauce for a holiday dish.
How to Make Endives au Gratin
Before the gratin goes into the oven, the endives are braised for a more mellow flavor.
Braise endive halves in butter until golden.
Make the low carb cheese sauce.
Place the endives in a baking dish, pour the cheese sauce over, sprinkle cheese and bake.
Serve and enjoy!
Make this Ahead
This is a great side dish to have made ahead and ready to bake. Braise the endives and make the sauce but don't combine them until you are ready to bake. They can both be stored in the fridge, in sealed containers until you are ready to cook.
Variations
We also served this dish with just braised endives without the cheese sauce, and grated cheese on to. Not really a gratin but it was tasty. I preferred the cheese sauce version though.
Add caramelized onions to the gratin before spooning the cheese sauce over.
Storage
This dish is better the next day, so store any leftovers in the fridge and reheat the next day. Place cling film over the baking dish when storing.
Serve any endive gratin leftovers with a green salad for a tasty lunch the next day.
MORE LOW CARB GRATIN RECIPES
Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Walnut
Endives Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 firm endives
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Cheese Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons cream, heavy or whipping
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Topping
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
Braise the Endives
- Trim woody bottom stems from the endives, remove the outer leaves and cut in half.
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan or skillet and cook the garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add the endive halves, season with the salt and pepper. Braise the endive for 10 to 15 minutes on a medium-high heat until the endives are brown, turning over half way through cooking (or when one side has turned golden).
Make the Cheese Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on a medium heat, stirring until you have a smooth sauce.
Assembly
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F degrees.
- Place the braised endives in a casserole dish.
- Pour the cheese sauce over then and scatter the Cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and is bubbling. For a crispier topping, place the dish until a grill/broiler for a golden top.
- Serve with chopped chives or parsley.
Notes
YOUR OWN NOTES
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