Radishes Au Gratin with Canadian Bacon

Published on in Recipes

Radishes Au Gratin

Mark my words – radishes may very well be the next big thing among veggie trends. And this is coming from someone who pretty much despises radishes.  But after learning that cooking them reduces the bitterness and spiciness dramatically and seeing how they have the capacity to take on a fairly potato-like texture, I’m telling you…my money is on the radish.


So I’ve been toying with this idea for a few days and I finally went for it. And it is AWESOME.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…radishes au gratin with Canadian bacon.

I’ve been jokingly referring to this with my Midwestern friends as “Keto Hot Dish” (even though that might not technically be accurate). But it’s full of hot, cheesy, bubbly goodness and it’s virtually carb-free.

Again, you do NOT have to like radishes to LOVE this meal. Their flavor becomes incredibly mild and the texture is soft and blends nicely with all the ingredients.

(Meanwhile, I highly recommend popping a few slices into your mouth after you roast them. Hopefully, you’ll be as delighted with the result as I was.)

Ingredients

  • 3 bunches red radishes – about 34 (They shrink up so if you want more, throw in another bunch)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 10 oz diced onions
  • 16 slices Canadian bacon
  • 1 bunch flat parsley (optional)
  • The Mornay Sauce
  • 3 tbs butter, cubed
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar, plus a little extra to sprinkle over the top
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons almond flour (finely ground if possible)
  • 1 cup milk (I prefer whole milk)
  • 3/4 cup whipping cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut radish stems off and rinse well.
  3. (If you want a softer and less spicy radish, place in a bowl of cool water for about 10 minutes. The radishes will soak up the water and end up with a more tender “sliced potato” quality. However, if you like more of a roasted crispiness, rinse the radishes, but skip submerging them in a bowl.)
  4. Slice each one so you end up with 3 to 4 slices from each radish.
  5. Coat radish slices in olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.
  6. Spread out on a baking dish (use more than one baking dish so they have space to roast and crisp up a touch.)
  7. Check the radishes every 10-15 minutes until they are at your desired texture. (Mine take about 40 minutes).
  8. While the radishes are roasting, brown onions until they’re soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
  9. Start on the Mornay sauce. (You can do this while the onions are cooking or you can do the onions, set them aside, and then start on the sauce.)
  10. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter on medium high heat.
  11. Once melted and slightly frothy, add in almond flour, a tablespoon at a time, stirring vigorously until it takes on the consistency of a paste.
  12. Next, pour in half the milk and stir, then the next half and keep stirring.
  13. Do the same with the whipping cream.
  14. Increase heat to a boil.
  15. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally as sauce begins to thicken.
  16. Toss in first cup of cheddar and stir until melted.
  17. Repeat with second cup of cheddar.
  18. Take radishes out of oven.
  19. Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of casserole dish.
  20. Layer pan with one row of radish slices.
  21. Sprinkle half the onions on top of the radishes.
  22. Next, layer Canadian bacon.
  23. Spoon half the sauce over the Canadian bacon.
  24. Repeat layer again – radish slices, onions, Canadian bacon, sauce.
  25. Sprinkle extra cheese over the top.
  26. Loosely cover dish with foil (you can spray the top if to avoid the cheese sticking).
  27. Bake for 30 minutes.
  28. Uncover dish, sprinkle a bit more cheese if desired and bake for another 15 minutes.
  29. Let cool a bit (sauce will be molten hot and bubbling for a bit)
  30. Garnish with parsley or just dig in and enjoy!

Notes

As far as how many layers to do, I’ve done 2, 3 and 4 and in order to get an even bake, I prefer 2 or 3 at most. (What you can also do is do two 2-layer au gratins and stack them to create a  4-layer after everything is cooked!)

Feel free to change up the cheese. I like to throw in a little shredded Gruyere with the cheddar. Meanwhile, if sharp cheddar is too sharp for you, try a medium cheddar. But in my opinion, mild cheddar is too…well…mild.

You can do cubed ham or ham steak, but since the radishes are fairly delicate, a thinner slice of Canadian bacon or even shaved ham works best.

Don’t worry if you think your sauce isn’t thickening when it’s supposed to as the shredded cheese should take care of the thickening process once you throw it in. (Don’t make the mistake I did the first time I made a Mornay and added more almond flour at the very end or you’ll end up with a gritty, pasty mess!)

 

 

36 Comments

  1. Beth Yates
    March 21, 2019 at 12:58 am

    Wow! How big are those radishes?!

  2. Elaine Wagg
    March 22, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Hi Gina,
    What would you recommend as a substitute for almond flour? I developed what seems to be an allergy to almonds a few years ago. If I eat them my mouth gets itchy and my lips swell up like I had some back-alley Botox. I read that coconut flour can also be used. Have you tried that?

    • ginag
      March 29, 2019 at 6:19 am

      Oh man so sorry to hear that, Elaine! Yes, I use coconut flour all the time and even though it’s a tad more carby and can SOMETIMES leave a slight coconut taste, overall I have found it to be an excellent substitute! Good luck!! xoxo

    • Seth Butler
      April 14, 2019 at 12:05 pm

      We loved this recipe! It’s so incredibly tasty! Thank you Gina! My wife and I really appreciate all the hard work you put into these recipes, and look forward to trying more!

      We used 4 bunches of radishes because many were smaller, and it turned out wonderfully.

  3. Peter Trueblood
    March 22, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    Love this. Will definitely make. Radishes are the prince of potato imposters. Straight up roasting radishes whole like new or fingerling potatoes are killer as well. Or daikon radishes make amazing fries. Thanks for all the tasty recipes!

  4. Mark
    March 23, 2019 at 12:34 am

    Look awesome. Will give it a try this weekend.

  5. Chad Hicks
    March 26, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    In a house that fights the consumption of vegetables with a fury, just your description alone was enough to sell this. We’ll be adding radishes to the shopping list and giving this a go this weekend.

    Also, try just sautéing them in butter (little salt and pepper) too. So good

  6. Debby Crowson
    March 27, 2019 at 10:20 am

    Made this and it was fantastic!! Never was a big fan of radishes. Ok. Hated them. But I followed Gina’s suggestion of soaking them prior, then with the roasting we were literally eating them off the baking sheet before I even put the casserole together! I browned chorizo with the onions and threw that in as well. It made this into a hearty main dish that my family devoured! Definitely a keeper!

    • ginag
      March 29, 2019 at 6:06 am

      You have no idea the joy this brings me, Debbie! So glad you’re a radish convert like me!! xoxo

  7. Dave Rodgers
    March 27, 2019 at 3:24 pm

    Wow! This dish tasted amazingly like Potatoes Au Gratin, Gina! I’ve never had this PAG with Canadian Bacon, but it was delicious. I used half aged cheddar and half aged gouda (and closer to 3 cups than 2, because that’s what I had on hand). I think you’ve stumbled onto something with the radishes. It’s crazy how much the texture resembled potatoes.

    Nice work!

  8. Kathy Allen
    March 27, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    Thank you Gina…I bought the radishes and I’m diving in! (I too hate them….lol!). I know you’re busy with all this new blog stuff, but if possible, is there a way to make your recipes printer friendly? Call me old-school but I like to print a recipe out and have it in the kitchen when I cook. Keep up the Lord’s…er Vinnie T’s work! 🙂

    • ginag
      March 29, 2019 at 6:04 am

      I tried to do printer friendly, but I’m still new at this lol! I will try harder and I can’t wait to hear what you think! xoxo

  9. Rebecca Schmidgall
    March 28, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    OMG. Raving radish reviews!! I’ve never successfully made a cheese sauce in my life. Until NOW!

    Chef Husband:: You try it first. I hate radishes.
    Chef Husband later: You will be making this again, right?

    #notacook #NSNG #whoneedspotatoes

  10. Rene Dallam
    March 29, 2019 at 1:58 am

    Great recipe. I changed it a bit, as I really wasn’t sure about the radish part. I didn’t have milk so I you’d added a bit of chicken stock. Didn’t have enough time to bake it, so used the microwave. I had enough sauce left over to top our pork chops. Yummy.

  11. Jen
    April 3, 2019 at 12:58 am

    Omg sooo goood! Love it. I didn’t have Canadian bacon but plan to add it next time. Also didn’t have whole milk or heavy cream so I subbed half and half for both and it worked great. My husband is crazy for it.

  12. Alaina Antunes
    April 3, 2019 at 4:52 pm

    Hi Gina! I’m thinking of making this ahead of time, then putting in fridge to bake later. Do you think that would be ok?

    • ginag
      April 5, 2019 at 3:30 am

      That’s a very good question! My only concern would be the sauce making the radish slices to mushy. But never fear! I would suggest cutting everything up, making the sauce and storing it separately, and then once you’re ready to bake, throw it all in together and pop in the oven! xoxo

  13. Kevin Folta
    April 7, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Hi Gina, I did the same recipe with a few twists and it came out really nice. We have large radishes (we’re the same folks that dropped off the cucamelons) so we cut them about 1/4 inch thick. I also used some turnips and they were perfect. I know this is no grain, but I had to use standard flour (it was a tablespoon or two) to make the rue, and worked fine (as would be expected).

    Someone also needs to pull back the curtain on Canadian Bacon. It’s just round ham. Talk about guilding the lily. Next time I think i’ll do this with shredded ham or cube up the Canadian bacon. Or I’ll add crispy regular bacon and black olives. Thanks for a great recipe and for teaching me something else to do with radishes.

  14. Hallie
    April 13, 2019 at 10:19 pm

    Hi Gina- big fan of you on ACS. Love the Gina’s recipes segment. Finally made my way to your website. I’m always googling low carb recipes. I am saving this site to favorites and will be trying this recipe first. One question: It’s hard to tell how big those radishes are. Are they regular quarter sized radishes or did you find bigger radishes?

    • ginag
      April 18, 2019 at 4:41 am

      Hi, Hallie! Honestly any size will work. I used a mix of regular little ones and giant ones that were given to me from a garden…so either way, you can’t go wrong! Maybe buy an extra bunch so you have enough! xoxo

  15. Shannon
    April 16, 2019 at 11:48 pm

    Made my second batch today and sharing it with work mates on Keto. Soooo good, thank you!

    • ginag
      April 18, 2019 at 4:23 am

      That is fantastic! Thank you for the lovely feedback and I hope your workmates enjoyed it!!

      • Becky N
        August 26, 2019 at 12:49 am

        What a great recipe, Gina! Definitely not on the “quick and easy” list, but worth it! Thought I could sub crispy bacon, but it was a little too greasy. Skimmed it off and it was still yummy. Thanks so much, never would have thought of radishes myself.

  16. Dana
    April 26, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    I love you on your new podcast!
    I’m going to make this tonight.
    I would love to see Adams and bald Bryan’s ratings of these recipes!

  17. Katie Evenson
    July 11, 2019 at 1:08 am

    Did I miss something, or is there a link to make Mornay sauce? I want to make sure it is NSNG recipe!
    Thanks!