Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (2024)

Cauliflower recipes are super versatile and taste great in everything from roasted side dishes to comfort food-inspired casseroles. Whether you're looking for a vegetarian-friendly entree or an easy appetizer, these savory cauliflower recipes are great for any occasion. Some of our favorite recipes for cauliflower include cauliflower tinga tacos, sausage-spiced cauliflower steaks, cheesy gratin, and more.

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Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Florets

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (1)

When roasted with a little olive oil, cauliflower florets turn wonderfully sweet, crisp, and caramel-brown; a squeeze of lemon brightens their flavor.

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02of 30

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (2)

Mashed potatoes get an elegant upgrade with this combination of Yukon Gold potatoes and cauliflower. Cauliflower lightens the mash, emulsifies beautifully into the potatoes and keeps the mixture from turning gummy.

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Aloo Gobi

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (3)

Our version of this curry, a favorite combination of vegetables in India, unites cumin, coriander, turmeric, and red-pepper flakes. Fresh cilantro provides an herbal note. Serve the curry as a generous side dish or with rice for a meatless main dish.

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04of 30

Three-Cheese Cauliflower Gratin

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (4)

A powerhouse of English cheeses — Montgomery's crumbly and nutty cheddar; Ogleshield, a washed-rind Jersey cow-milk cheese; and buttery, blue-veined Colston Bassett Stilton — blankets cauliflower florets in a béchamel.

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05of 30

Charred Cauliflower Tacos with Romesco Salsa

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (5)

A smoky, mildly spicy romesco salsa seeps into the filling of charred cauliflower florets in this well-balanced vegetarian taco.

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06of 30

Cauliflower Okonomiyaki

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (6)

Tender and nutty sheets of cauliflower, held together with eggs and plenty of ginger and scallions, form the base of this savory pancake.

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07of 30

Sausage-Spiced Cauliflower Steaks

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (7)

A quick spice blend of roasted fennel seeds, black pepper, and orange zest lend a sausage-like flavor to these roasted cauliflower steaks — without the meat. Browning the cauliflower before adding the toppings and melting the cheese ensures a tender, sweet, and nutty bite. Be sure to flip the cauliflower during roasting to ensure there are plenty of caramelized florets under the marinara and melty cheese.

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Slow-Grilled Cauliflower with Tahina and Zhough

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (8)

Serve this dish as a hearty main course or as a side with herbal zhough and bright tahina sauces, garnished with sumac onions and herbs.

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Cauliflower Tinga Tacos

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (9)

Cauliflower works best in this saucy dish. It takes on the flavor of the spiced tomato sauce while maintaining its delicious bite. If you want a smokier, spicier sauce, you can add a canned chipotle in adobo sauce to the mix.

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10of 30

Miznon's Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (10)

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: The cauliflower served at Miznon in New York City calls for the best quality ingredients, each essential for creating the dish. Here's how to prepare fresh cauliflower with tight, closed florets surrounded by a crown of crisp leaves.

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11of 30

Root Vegetable and Cauliflower Tagine with Parsley Yogurt

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (11)

For Aida Mollenkamp, spiced Moroccan tagines are a dinner-party staple because they can be made in advance. "In case something impromptu happens," she says, "you're not stressed about the main dish." And tagines are incredibly versatile. This version is vegetarian, but lamb or chicken could be added.

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12of 30

Korean-Style Fried Cauliflower

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (12)

This ultra-crispy cauliflower, aka KFC, is a signature dish at Hong Kong’s Yardbird. After being battered and fried, the cauliflower florets are tossed with a sweet and fiery sauce made with gochujang, the pepper paste that is a staple of Korean cooking.

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13of 30

Bucatini with Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (13)

Marc Vetri sautés cauliflower and brussels sprouts with onion, garlic, anchovies, and herbs until they're charred and flavorful, then tosses them with long, thick strands of bucatini. The best part: the crispy bread crumb topping.

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14of 30

Cauliflower Casserole with Cheddar

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (14)

This dump-and-stir casserole recipe could not be easier. Fresh thyme and smoked paprika give the cauliflower great flavor, without having to add loads of heavy cream and butter.

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15of 30

Sweet Cauliflower-and-Carrot Pickles

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (15)

"These came from an overzealous trip to the farmers' market," says chef Naomi Pomeroy. "When I see something beautiful like purple cauliflower, I can't resist." She marinates the vegetables in a mixture that includes sugar and Cointreau, and sometimes honey, too. The sweet pickles can be served as a snack, in salads, or on a charcuterie plate.

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Panfried Cauliflower

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (16)

Chef David Tanis ensures sweet and nutty cauliflower with gorgeous and delicious browning by pan-frying it. He writes, "To get sweet caramelized cauliflower, pan-fried is the way to go. Some cooks make this dish with grated cauliflower, but I prefer to make irregular thin slices, which brown beautifully. Make it as spicy as you wish."

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17of 30

Jerk-Spiced Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (17)

Jonathon Sawyer makes a fantastic jerk spice blend to sprinkle on a mix of chickpeas, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts after they've been roasted. You'll have some left over, and the blend is great on shrimp and chicken.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Green Olives and Pine Nuts

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (18)

Roasting cauliflower caramelizes the florets, making them supersweet. Tossed with crunchy pine nuts and salty olives and capers, this dish is perfect with roasted chicken or steamed fish.

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Quinoa and Cauliflower Salad with Popped Sorghum

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (19)

Sorghum, a type of grass, has seeds that can be popped like popcorn. Chef Daniel Patterson tops his nutty, crunchy quinoa salad with popped sorghum, which gives it a buttery flavor.

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Cauliflower Fried Rice with Sausage

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (20)

Throw away your takeout menus, tonight we are making fried rice with a twist. Spiced with chile, ginger, and garlic, cauliflower and sausage pair beautifully in this rice dish.

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Curried Cauliflower and Green Bean Salad with Lemon Yogurt

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (21)

Here, Mark Peel flavors roasted cauliflower and green beans with a mild curry powder.

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22of 30

Pan-Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Raisins

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (22)

The late Armenian cookbook author Arto der Haroutunian, who taught Paula Wolfert this dish, caramelized cauliflower on the stove before baking it with eastern Mediterranean flavorings: chopped tomatoes, plumped raisins and Marash red pepper flakes. You can use any cazuela or flameware pot, but Wolfert likes the unglazed black La Chamba roasting pan from Colombia, which she says imparts sweetness to the dish.

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Baked Shells with Cauliflower and Taleggio

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (23)

High-quality pasta makes a big difference in this decadent dish: The shells retain their beautiful texture instead of turning mushy as they bake.

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Potato-and-Roasted-Cauliflower Salad

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (24)

Cauliflower florets are a sly substitute for half of the baby potatoes in this creamy salad. The white-on-white combo gets a zingy lift from briny capers, mustard, and freshly grated horseradish.

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Cauliflower Korma with Blackened Raisins

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (25)

Meera Sodha, author of Fresh India, adds ground almonds to her version of this yogurt-based curry, then folds in nutty roasted cauliflower. Toasting the almonds and the raisin garnish adds a striking smokiness and texture to the finished dish.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa with Candied Walnuts

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (26)

This simple and elegant dish makes an easy dinner party side, and caramelizing the walnuts only adds 5 minutes.

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Cauliflower Soup with Herbed Goat Cheese

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (27)

This luscious, creamy cauliflower soup from star chef Anne Burrell gets a delicious topping of crispy roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

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Dijon-Roasted Cauliflower

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (28)

A few tablespoons of Dijon is what makes this recipe sing.This mustard hugs the cauliflower as it's roasted, creating a bold yet pleasant taste. Use this roasted cauliflower to garnish chef Steven Satterfield's Silky Cauliflower Soup.

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Roasted-Cauliflower-and-Sesame Spread

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (29)

Jerry Traunfeld toasts and grinds whole coriander seeds before pureeing them with roasted cauliflower, tahini paste, lemon and cilantro. At home, use ground coriander from a bottle to season this bright, tangy recipe.

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Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce

Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (30)

This outrageously rich sauce, flavored with salty, nutty Manchego, gets poured on sautéed cauliflower and baked until it's golden and bubbling.

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Our 30 Favorite Cauliflower Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak cauliflower before cooking? ›

If you're planning to roast the cauliflower whole or slice it into steaks, slice off the thick stem at the base. Drop the whole cauliflower head upside-down into cool, salted water. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove dirt, residue and bugs.

What are three ways you can eat cauliflower? ›

  • Many people claim they don't enjoy the taste of cauliflower — that it's too bland or too crumbly, especially when served raw. If you've only encountered the firm white bundles as a component on a crudite platter, we can't argue with you there. ...
  • Roast It. ...
  • Coat It. ...
  • Mash It. ...
  • Puree It. ...
  • Turn It Into Tots.

How to get bugs out of cauliflower? ›

Rinse the cauliflower florets.

Transfer the cauliflower pieces to a colander and place them under running water to eliminate bugs and larger pieces of dirt.

What happens if you don't wash cauliflower? ›

The natural nooks and crevices in broccoli and cauliflower are the perfect hiding spots for dirt, germs, and even little bugs. Get your cruciferous veggies squeaky clean by filling a sink with cold water and then soaking them for a few minutes.

What part of cauliflower is not edible? ›

Yes, you can eat all parts of a cauliflower. Cauliflower can be eaten raw or cooked and it can be used in various recipes. 1. Cauliflower rice is a great substitute for rice in dishes like fried rice, curry, and stir-fries.

What diseases does cauliflower prevent? ›

Eating larger amounts of cauliflower and related vegetables has been linked with a lower risk of strokes caused by blood clots. Low levels of healthy red blood cells (anemia) due to iron deficiency. Heart disease. Symptoms of menopause.

What pairs well with cauliflower? ›

Cauliflower goes especially well with

Chicken — roast chicken; a stew or braise involving thighs and/or drumsticks; breaded chicken such as kyiv, schnitzel, parmigiana. Pork — salty/smoky cuts such as bacon, gammon steaks, large cooked ham on the bone, ham hock; slow-cooked pork shoulder; a fatty pork chop.

What does adding lemon juice to cauliflower do? ›

The ingredients for the roasted cauliflower recipe are simple, but they offer plenty of flavors. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice gives it a brightness that will tantalize the taste buds.

What does cauliflower do to your gut? ›

As a cruciferous vegetable, cauliflower is an excellent source of fiber. Fiber helps maintain healthy digestion, reducing your risk of digestive disorders. It also promotes the growth of good bacteria in your gut.

Why do I feel so full after eating cauliflower? ›

The reason for this is that cauliflower, as well as other cruciferous veggies, such as kale and broccoli, contains raffinose and other oligosaccharides. These are specific types of sugars that remain undigested until bacteria in the gut ferment them, producing gas, and, in turn, causing bloating and gas.

Does cauliflower soak up liquid? ›

Unlike those starchy grains of rice, riced cauliflower doesn't soak up moisture or liquid in the same way.

Why do you add milk to boiled cauliflower? ›

Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. For surprisingly flavorful and creamy mashed cauliflower, cook your florets not in water but in a gently simmering pot of milk seasoned with garlic and thyme. When the cauliflower is mashed (or blended), the pectin in the cauliflower will thicken and smooth the mash.

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