43 Craveable Cauliflower Recipes to Cook Right Now
This collection of cauliflower recipes will show you that the vegetable works many wonders. It’s great as a gluten-free base (think cauliflower rice or cauliflower pizza crust), as a vegetarian entrée (cauliflower steaks or whole-roasted cauliflower), or as a side (mashed cauliflower).
But wait—what, exactly, is cauliflower? Technically, it’s a mass of undeveloped flower stalks, according to food science writer Harold McGee. Though cauliflower is most often spotted in a creamy white hue, colorful heirloom varieties in shades of yellow, orange, green, and purple can be found at farmers markets when the vegetable is in season. Along with kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and more, it’s a member of the cabbage family. Its name comes from the Latin word caulis, meaning stem or stalk, and its bluish-green leaves are a good indicator of its freshness. (They should be crisp.) Apparently, Louis XIV loved to eat it.
When you get a head of this cruciferous cutie home, store it in your crisper drawer stem side down to prevent condensation from gathering and spoiling the florets. Now, enough with the lesson; on to our best cauliflower recipes.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Liza Jernow3/43Shawarma “Singapore” Noodles With Corn and Cauliflower
In this riff on Singapore-style curry noodles, you’ll find homemade shawarma spice mix—it involves coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper—instead of curry powder.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi4/43Cauliflower-Crust Pizza With Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Here’s another example of how cauliflower is a key player for making gluten-free pizza crusts. When it comes time to serve it, how about a proper pizza cutter?
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele5/43Buffalo Cauliflower
This Buffalo sauce-coated cauliflower is just...incredibly good. It's got everything you’d expect—Frank’s RedHot, sriracha, melted butter, and crumbled blue cheese—but it’s vegetarian. (Still a great pairing with beer, though.)
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi7/43Cauliflower-Carrot Cheesy Tots
Sorry, your air fryer won’t cut it for these extra-crispy tots. The equipment you will need? A food processor, a rimmed baking sheet, an oven to preheat, and a good old-fashioned deep-sided skillet.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks8/43Herb-Crusted Cauliflower Steaks With Beans and Tomatoes
Need a dinner party main that can be ready in under an hour? These cauliflower steaks are both impressive and exceedingly—yes, exceedingly—simple to make.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/43Cauliflower Carbonara
Like many of the recipes here, this twist on classic carbonara involves roasting cauliflower florets on a rimmed baking sheet, or sheet pan. So, make sure you’re using a good one: These are the best baking sheets.
Andrew Purcell, food styling by Rhoda Boone11/43Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Cutlets With Cauliflower Purée and Arugula
Once again, cauliflower purée proves to be a worthy mashed potato substitute. This time, the buttery side dish makes a perfect companion to crispy, schnitzel-like chicken.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Laura Rege12/43Roasted Cauliflower With Parmesan-Panko Crumble
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton14/43Shaak-no Sambharo (Quick Pickled Vegetables)
Classic Indian aachars are oil-based preserves that extend the life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Try cauliflower, carrots, radishes, fennel, or raw turmeric for this preparation.
Photo by Alex Lau15/43Cheesy Baked Pasta With Cauliflower
Chopped cauliflower adds earthy sweetness and turns as tender as the pasta while cherry tomatoes add pops of juicy tang in this more substantial version of mac and cheese.
Photo & Food Styling by Hetty McKinnon16/43Grilled Cauliflower Wedges With Herb Tarator
It’s weeknight dinner time: Cut your cauliflower into wedges and char them on the grill. The outside becomes caramelized, highlighting the vegetable’s sweetness, and paired with a lemon and tahini sauce, it is—muah!—chef’s kiss.
Photo by Tara Donne, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell17/43Creamy Cauliflower Dip
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell18/43Cauliflower "Mac 'n' Cheese" Casserole
The melty goodness of a mac ‘n’ cheese dinner without the carbohydrate-heavy pasta? Yes, please. Make a double batch and freeze it for an emergency dinner. Your future self with thank you.
Photo by Con Poulos19/43Chipotle Chicken and Cauliflower Tacos
For vegetarian tacos, simply leave out the chicken and double the amount of cauliflower. (And speaking of vegetarian tacos, this method would work for trimmed brussels sprouts or roasted broccoli, too.)
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton21/43Cauliflower “Couscous” With Dried Fruit and Almonds
This recipe will show you how to turn a medium head of cauliflower into gluten-free “rice.” There's really no big secret: Use a food processor or grate the veg using the largest holes of a box grater.
Jean-Pierre Gabriel22/43Hummus and Curried Cauliflower Tartine
Just look at the way those small, golden, crispy florets are so delicately placed! This hummus-smothered open-face sandwich is Joan Miró-esque a work of art.
Photo by Shutterstock23/43Creamy Mashed Cauliflower "Potatoes"
Here's what reader Nat said about this alternative to mashed potatoes: “This was really quick, easy, and tasty. Good backdrop for highly flavored things; I served it under some spicy paprika fennel chicken. Will definitely be keeping this one up my sleeve.” Same, Nat. Same.
Photo by Colin Price27/43Watermelon Chia Smoothie
This light and refreshing watermelon smoothie gets its creamy texture from chia seeds, strawberries, and a surprise ingredient: frozen cauliflower florets. Now that’s an actually-filling breakfast smoothie.
Photo by John Von Pamer29/43Cauliflower Melts
Raisins may seem like a strange choice for a savory, melted-cheesy sandwich, but trust us. They bring pleasant little burst of sweetness to this cozy lunch.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson31/43Lemony Pasta With Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Arugula
This vegetarian pasta dinner is packed with fresh arugula (and skillet-browned chickpeas and cauliflower), so it almost feels like eating a salad. Almost.
Photo by Ree Drummond32/43Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
This cheesy vegetable casserole cooks in just 30 minutes. Even better: It can be assembled and stored in the fridge, unbaked, for up to 24 hours.
photo by Romulo Yanes34/43Cauliflower and Feta Omelet
Pieces of cauliflower add texture to this open-faced omelet while salty, tangy feta cheese gives it character. This is the kind of eggy dish that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Erin Gleeson36/43Cinnamon Cauliflower
One of the many reasons to love cauliflower is that it’s a perfect blank slate for soaking up other flavors. In the case of this simple side dish, that flavor comes from cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and sesame oil.
John Kernick37/43Cauliflower With Rye Crumbs
Imagine this: a heavy skillet holding hot, melted butter sits on the stovetop. Toasted rye bread crumbs and caraway seeds are added to it. They sizzle and pop and the kitchen starts to smell deliciously nutty. Then, the dressing is spooned over a whole head of steamed cauliflower. Yeah, you want to make that a reality.
Photo by Patricia Niven38/43Cauliflower “Shawarma”
This certainly isn’t traditional shawarma, but it is a way of slow-cooking cauliflower (and spicing it, with coriander, cumin, allspice, and turmeric) that makes it feel substantial and tasty enough to warrant the association.
Photo by Joanthan Punisnk39/43Cauliflower Risotto
Risotto is, of course, a rice recipe, but using cauliflower “rice” is a fun, veggie-packed alternative. The rest is the same—vegetable broth, Parmesan cheese—but it cooks in a quarter of the time.
Photo by Maura McEvoy40/43Cauliflower With Quinoa, Prunes, and Peanuts
You want layering of flavors? You’ve found it. Quickly pan-sear cauliflower steaks, then finish them in a hot oven. Cook quinoa, then flavor it with a sweet onion purée, peanuts, and prunes. Plate it up. Eat it all.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky42/43Coconut Curried Vegetable Stew
Most of the work required by this recipe is in gathering the ingredients. As for the active cooking time, the hearty vegetarian soup comes together in under 30 minutes
