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These must-try cauliflower recipes showcase the best ways to eat this popular and versatile veggie! Try it roasted, crispy, in tacos, as rice, and more.
Cauliflower has become quite the hot vegetable! Once relegated to veggie trays, cauliflower is now used in inventive ways at restaurants and in cookbooks. Maybe you’ve seen buffalo cauliflower wings, the popular vegan stand-in for the meaty variety?
Cauliflower blended into tiny bits and cooked becomes cauliflower rice, a popular low-carb rice substitute. You’ll find it popping up everywhere from tacos to risotto to fettuccine alfredo sauce. Is there anything that cauliflower can’t make delicious?
If you’re looking for the most delicious cauliflower recipes on the internet, you’ve come to the right place. Here we’ve compiled our top recipes that make cauliflower into the glamorous vegetable that it is.
Let’s get to those cauliflower recipes!
First up in our cauliflower recipes: insanely delicious crispy cauliflower! This baked and breaded cauliflower recipe is totally crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. And the flavor? It's so many things at once: savory, tangy, sweet, and spicy. Your palate is simply overwhelmed by the complexity.
Scroll down for the recipe, or click the button below!
Baking cauliflower in a hot oven transforms it into something transcendental. The flavor becomes sweet and buttery, and flavored with salt and garlic, it’s about as irresistible as french fries. This really is the perfect roasted cauliflower recipe! If you’re new to the roasted cauliflower train: it’s going to blow your mind.
These tacos star the Crispy Roasted Cauliflower above, roasted in the oven and covered in a savory, salty, sweet and lightly spicy breading. It’s a play on breaded fish tacos, but plant-based! Cover it all in Yum Yum Sauce, used in Japanese steakhouses and served with seafood. It adds a richness to these cauliflower tacos that’s out of this world good!
This Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower is so irresistible, you’ll find yourself inhaling bites off the baking sheet before you even sit down to serve it. This recipe features roasted cauliflower: baked at high heat the vegetable breaks down into a sweet, caramelized version of itself. Add crunchy Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings, and it’s a sophisticated, restaurant-style spin on the concept behind cheesy broccoli. Heck, we think it’s even better than French fries.
Here’s a fun cauliflower recipe to infuse any meal with flavor: cauliflower salad! It's sort of like a mashup of Mediterranean-style flavors with a retro barbecue salad. The raw florets are covered in a tangy, creamy dressing and mixed with peppery arugula, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts! Delish.
Here’s a favorite way to use these tasty florets: in a cauliflower stir fry! Fry it until lightly charred and tender, then add bell peppers and a punchy stir fry sauce. It’s the best way to make eating your veggies irresistible! Try it as a healthy side dish or an easy plant based dinner (with the protein adders listed in the recipe).
Here's a fantastic pasta dinner idea: Roasted Cauliflower Pasta! It’s got tender, caramelized roasted cauliflower: sweet, lemony and garlicky. Then it’s got al dente pasta that’s covered in a quick Parmesan pan sauce. Top it all off with crunchy basil breadcrumbs and toasted pine nuts and it’s an explosion of flavor.
Love eating plant based foods but love wings? Here’s the way to have your cake and eat it too. Buffalo cauliflower wings! These tasty morsels are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and tossed with spicy, tangy buffalo sauce. You’ll see these in restaurants these days…and this recipe? It tastes just as good as restaurant-style. Better, in fact! And, it's baked instead of fried: a healthy spin on this classic comfort food.
Also try: Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip
Here’s an easy way to eat cauliflower as a side dish! You'll be surprised at how much flavor comes when you add simple seasonings: lemon zest, Italian seasoning, salt and olive oil. It's so tasty you won't be able to stop eating it! (Got a pressure cooker? Try our Instant Pot Cauliflower.)
Here’s a tasty cauliflower recipe that’s comfort food with a healthy spin: our creamy cavatappi pasta! Cavatappi is corkscrew shaped pasta, and it's paired with a creamy cauliflower sauce that coats the noodles perfectly. It’s cheesy but not too rich, made with cauliflower to infuse all the nutrients in this healthy veggie, and garlic and Parmesan cheese to bring savory flavor. It's perfect as a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for entertaining.
This golden cauliflower soup recipe is...well, GOLDEN. Here the cauliflower is roasted until it's browned and caramelized, then blended with onion and carrot. The magic happens with the spices: Moroccan-style spices like cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon bring this bright puree to life. It's become a fan favorite!
This vegan alfredo sauce stars a secret ingredient...you guessed it, cauliflower! It tastes creamy and luscious, and you'd never know it's plant-based and vegan. Cauliflower helps to make the creamy white body and infuse nutrients, and cashews add a protein-packed richness. Try it on fettucine noodles or the creamy cavatappi pasta above.
Next up in our cauliflower recipes: casserole! This cozy cauliflower casserole is filled with chewy gnocchi pasta pillows and Parmesan cheese. The gnocchi (basically pasta dough balls!) are mixed in with the cauliflower, making for a surprising mix of satisfying bites. Instead of being a gooey and heavy casserole like mac and cheese, this one is surprisingly light and seriously tasty.
Ever tried cauliflower…pickles? This pickled cauliflower is full of bright, tangy flavor, with an herby essence from fresh dill and coriander seeds. Add bell pepper and carrots to make a colorful jar and they’re positively eye catching! We love cauliflower pickles because biting into a floret is an explosion of flavor. It’s almost even better than a dill pickle…we think.
Ever tried rice made out of cauliflower? How about, cauliflower fried rice? Chopping cauliflower into small bits mimics grains of rice. Here, we've done up cauliflower fried rice style, just like you'd have with Chinese takeout. And it's almost better than the original! The cauliflower soaks up the aromatic ginger and garlic even more than rice would, and the bowl of piping hot vegetables is comfort food at its finest. To bring additional protein to the dish, it's got egg, edamame, and cashews.
Another option? Vegetarian Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice
Why not sneak cauliflower into a risotto recipe? This basic technique for making homemade risotto consists of sauteing minced shallot in butter, adding the rice, cooking it down with a bit of white wine, and then adding warm broth a scoop at a time until the rice soaks up all of the brothy-goodness and becomes creamy and smooth. Add to this the roasted cauliflower, spinach, a bit of chickpeas and some Parmesan cheese, and you’ve got a meal bursting with flavor.
Everybody loves this cauliflower curry recipe! This easy dinner is warm-spiced, nutrient packed, and ready in just over 30 minutes. Sweet potatoes contrast the savory cauliflower, along with tomatoes, onion, spinach and chickpeas. Add to that a coconut milk sauce spiced with curry powder and garam masala, and your entire kitchen smells amazing. Serve with brown rice for a complete meal.
What's a better cauliflower recipe than adding BBQ sauce? Popping cauliflower onto the grill infuses a smoky flavor. Then painting it with our tangy Homemade BBQ Sauce puts it over the top. It's great as a side dish, but it would also be perfect in a sandwich like our Grilled Buffalo Cauliflower sandwich (see below).
Oh, this cauliflower shawarma recipe. Roasted, spiced cauliflower is nestled in a warm pita and then smothered in a cool, creamy tahini-yogurt sauce. It's perfect for a lunch or light weeknight meal. Try it with a green salad like this one — if you can stop sneaking bites of that roasted cauliflower!
What's better than buffalo cauliflower? This Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich. The flavor combinations here are unreal! Tangy buffalo sauce is slathered over blistered cauliflower, then paired with a creamy Greek yogurt ranch sauce with the sharpness of blue cheese. It's savory, hearty and super satisfying. As a garnish instead of lettuce, we've used celery leaves, reminiscent of the celery sticks typically served with buffalo wings (don’t skip this step, it makes the sandwich!).
And last up in our cauliflower recipes: cauliflower roasted with apples and red onions! The way the sweet apple melds into the savory cauliflower here is truly remarkable. Topping it all with fresh dill adds an herbaceous flair. Everyone around the table will love it: and it's especially eye-catching with the bright pink of the apple against the bright purple onion!
How to cut cauliflower into florets
In most of the recipes above, you’ll need to cut cauliflower into florets. Are you ever frustrated by finding the best method, and then end up with crumbles all over the counter? Guess what? We’ve got a quick and simple way to cut cauliflower: without the mess! Here’s exactly how to cut cauliflower.
Cauliflower nutrition
Even better, cauliflower is one of the 20 best vegetables you can eat! Here are some of the benefits of cauliflower:
- Low in calories. This cruciferous vegetable has only 25 calories per cup of florets, making it a low-calorie way to get vitamins and nutrients into your diet.
- High in nutrients: It’s high in vitamin C, potassium and omega 3’s.
- Good source of fiber. It’s also is high in fiber. 1 cup has about 10% of your daily needs.
Crispy Roasted Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This crispy roasted cauliflower recipe is salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy all at once! It’s 100% plant based and 100% delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds whole)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (use gluten free panko as necessary)
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- ½ tablespoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Chop the cauliflower into large florets. Place them in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix together the panko, cornmeal, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, turmeric, and kosher salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, soy sauce, and hot sauce until fully combined and slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the sauce onto the cauliflower and stir several times until the cauliflower is well coated.
- Pour about ⅓ of the dry mixture into the bowl with the cauliflower and mix. Repeat twice to stir in the remaining dry mixture to coat all of the cauliflower. Then remove the breaded cauliflower from the bowl with your hands and place it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. About ½ of the crumbs will remain in the bowl; you can discard these.
- Bake the cauliflower for 30 minutes total, flipping the cauliflower with a spatula at the 15 minute mark. Serve immediately. If serving as an appetizer, you could add a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce or another sauce. Or, kids love them with ketchup! (If you have leftovers, you can store them refrigerated and then reheat them in a 350F oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes, flipping once.)
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Very insightful cauli-flower recipes!