The Best Cauliflower Recipes - 25 Super Healthy Ideas! (2024)

If you’re looking for new healthy cauliflower ideas or how to cook your favorite vegetable for lunch or dinner, here are more than 25 of the best cauliflower recipes that everyone will love!

Appetizers and Side Dish Recipes

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Crispy, savory, spicy, and secretly healthy, these homemade baked cauliflower buffalo wings are a hit with both vegans and meat eaters. Serve them at a party, and see how fast they disappear!

Watch the buffalo cauliflower recipe video above

Cheesy Cauliflower Rice

If you’ve never tried cauliflower rice before, this riced cauliflower is a great place to start. It’s a quick and easy side dish that tastes surprisingly similar to mac and cheese and pairs well with the main course.

BBQ Cauliflower Wings

These delicious barbecue wings are baked, not fried. They’re a great healthy snack instead of French fries or onion rings, whether you’re on a weight loss diet or not.

Cauliflower Soup

For a low carb alternative to baked potato soup, this restaurant style thick and creamy cauliflower soup will satisfy your comfort food cravings on a cold night, without all the extra fat and calories.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

If you’re cutting carbs, counting calories, or simply feel like being adventurous and trying something new, this veggie packed healthy side dish is a wonderful choice.

Main Dish Cauliflower Recipes

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

This super easy cauliflower alfredo recipe is so rich and savory, you will never believe it isn’t full of heavy cream. Serve it over pasta, rice, or roasted vegetables.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

For a healthy dinner the whole family will love, try this simple cauliflower pizza recipe. It can be vegan, keto, oil free, and gluten free, with just 5 ingredients.

Cauliflower Casserole

This cheesy baked cauliflower casserole recipe is the ultimate creamy comfort food side or main dish for dinner. It calls for just a few basic ingredients, with no heavy cream, sour cream, condensed soup, or mayo required.

Cauliflower Tacos

Feel free to throw in some avocado, sautéed zucchini, or diced roasted sweet potato. Or give the tacos a protein boost by adding chickpeas, smoked tofu, or black beans for a completely vegetarian healthy meal.

Lemon Cauliflower

A sweet, sticky, savory, crispy lemon cauliflower recipe that tastes like your favorite American Chinese restaurant takeout and is so much healthier. The sauce is also good on steamed broccoli or tofu.

Cauliflower Mac And Cheese

This lightened up creamy, cheesy, secretly healthy cauliflower macaroni recipe is perfect for feeding a crowd. Even people who normally go for regular macaroni and cheese and have no interest in healthy eating whatsoever give it their passionate stamp of approval.

Veggie Burger Recipe

The basic veggie burger recipe is a weeknight staple in our home. You can bake, fry, or grill the burgers, and leftover patties can also be frozen. Serve with a salad and sweet potato fries to complete the meal.

Cauliflower Meal Prep Recipes

Whip these four easy cauliflower recipes up for Sunday meal prep – you cook just once and get a wholesome meatless dinner or lunch for the entire week!

Sticky Sesame Cauliflower

One of the most popular plant based dinner ideas on my blog is this sticky roasted sesame cauliflower, with an addictively sweet and yummy ginger sesame sauce that can be mild or spicy and will make you think of the sesame chicken at Panda Express, just without the meat.

And of course, dessert!

Healthy Chocolate Cake

Yes, there really is hidden cauliflower in this moist chocolate cake recipe. And absolutely nobody can ever guess!

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Cauliflower Recipes: How To Roast Cauliflower

This healthy recipe for how to cook cauliflower in the oven is a super easy appetizer or side dish for dinner.

The Best Cauliflower Recipes - 25 Super Healthy Ideas! (16)

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Yield 3 – 5 servings

5 from 21 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 large head cauliflower,
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
  • salt and optional pepper as desired

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease well. Cut cauliflower into florets, discarding the leaves. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with the oil and any spices you wish (I usually add 1/2 tsp salt). Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure not to crowd the cauliflower. If needed to fit it all, you can use a second baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, or until florets are soft and edges begin to char.

    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

Also check out this guide on the best way How To Cook Sweet Potatoes.

Have you made this recipe?

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More of the best cauliflower ideas

  • Coconut Curry
  • Cauliflower Burgers
  • Pineapple Cauliflower
  • Indian Chickpea Curry
  • Cauliflower Bacon
  • Vegan Breakfast Burritos
  • Cauliflower Tater Tots

What are some of your favorite cauliflower recipes or ways to use up leftover cauliflower? Please feel free to let me know in the comments if there are any recipes you’d like to see, as I’m always looking for inspiration.

Next to try on my list are cauliflower breadsticks, crispy air fryer cauliflower, and grilled or baked whole vegan cauliflower steaks.

The Best Cauliflower Recipes - 25 Super Healthy Ideas! (2024)

FAQs

What is the most nutritious way to eat cauliflower? ›

5 Healthy Ways to Cook with Cauliflower
  • Roasted Cauliflower and Kale Soup. Soup is a quintessential comfort food, especially when it's rich and creamy and full of flavor. ...
  • Cauliflower Steaks with Caper-Anchovy-Garlic Sauce. ...
  • Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. ...
  • Whole Roasted Cauliflower. ...
  • Cauliflower Tabbouleh.
Feb 20, 2018

Why do you soak cauliflower before cooking? ›

This process – which should last 10-20 minutes - destroys several microbes and large parasites. As cauliflower is highly susceptible to microbial attacks, it should be washed once again. This time, boil some water and put the cauliflower florets in it. Keep for five minutes and remove from the hot water.

What brings out the Flavour of cauliflower? ›

There are two really simple techniques that bring out the best in cauliflower: grilling and pickling. Dumping cauliflower florets in a mixture of salt and lemon juice for 45 minutes to an hour turns them into spiky little flavor bombs, delivering high-pitched squeaks in salads, sandwiches or the stew recipe here.

What does cauliflower do to your gut? ›

Cauliflower is high in fiber and water. Both are important for preventing constipation, maintaining a healthy digestive tract, and lowering the risk of colon cancer. Studies have shown that dietary fiber may also help regulate the immune system and inflammation.

Does cauliflower clean your gut? ›

Cauliflower doesn't contain anything that would give it superpowers for gut cleaning. Still, it contributes to gut health in numerous ways, the biggest being that it's a good source of dietary fiber essential for digestive health.

Why do you put lemon juice in cauliflower? ›

Cauliflower contains some phytonutrients, these nutrients may react with iron cookware and gives the cauliflower a brownish color. To prevent this add some lemon juice to the cauliflower or to the water in which it is blanched.

What happens when you add lemon juice to water when cooking cauliflower? ›

Helps retain color: Cauliflower can sometimes turn brown or lose its vibrant white color when cooked. However, the acid in lemon juice can help prevent discoloration and maintain the cauliflower's white appearance.

How long should cauliflower soak? ›

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. Drain and rinse.

What does baking soda do to cauliflower? ›

Baking soda is often used as a natural cleaning agent, and it can be used to brighten up your veggies too. Sprinkle a little in the water before boiling to prevent cauliflower from yellowing and make corn look more vibrant.

What is the purple stuff in cauliflower? ›

The purple color in cauliflower is caused by the presence of anthocyanin, which is a harmless, water-soluble pigment in the curd. Anthocyanin is the same pigment found in red cabbage. Sun exposure exaggerates its effect on the developing cauliflower head.

Why is my roasted cauliflower not crispy? ›

If the florets are too crowded on the pan, they'll steam—not caramelize—in the oven.

What is the best way to cook cauliflower without losing nutrients? ›

Steaming and microwaving cauliflower will better preserve its vitamin content, especially the B vitamins, than if it is boiled. To microwave: Put 2 cups of florets in a shallow microwavable dish, or cover a whole head of cauliflower with plastic wrap.

Is it healthier to steam or bake cauliflower? ›

It's easy to cook, which gives it a creamier, nuttier taste that takes on the flavor of whatever you use as seasoning. How you cook cauliflower matters. You can keep more of its nutrients if you steam, roast, or stir-fry it.

How do you cook cauliflower to prevent gas? ›

Cooking Methods: Cook cauliflower thoroughly by boiling, steaming, roasting, or stir-frying it. Cooking breaks down some of the complex fibers in cauliflower, which can make it easier to digest and reduce the likelihood of gas formation.

Is cauliflower more nutritious raw or cooked? ›

Eating raw cauliflower provides maximum vitamin C content, but cooking cauliflower allows your body to absorb more nutrients, such as vitamin K and potassium. Roasting or steaming cauliflower brings out its natural flavors and adds a delightful texture.

How do you cook cauliflower to retain nutrients? ›

Steaming and microwaving cauliflower will better preserve its vitamin content, especially the B vitamins, than if it is boiled. To microwave: Put 2 cups of florets in a shallow microwavable dish, or cover a whole head of cauliflower with plastic wrap.

Is cauliflower better steamed or boiled? ›

It's best to steam vegetables. If you have a pot that is large enough to steam whole cauliflower or cut up in small pieces. If you boil in water. You will waste vitamins, and flavor.

Does boiling cauliflower remove the nutrients? ›

Another 2009 study found peas, cauliflower and zucchini to be particularly susceptible to a loss of nutrients through boiling, losing more than 50% of their antioxidants. “Water is not the cook's best friend when it comes to preparing vegetables,” the researchers summarized.

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