What to cook with cauliflower: 20 recipes

Cauliflower is a source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, natural sugars, phenols and minerals. This vegetable, which in the times of Catherine II was available only to the nobility, is now widely used in cooking. Unlike other types of cabbage, cauliflower is better digested, less irritating to the walls of the stomach.

How to boil fresh or frozen cauliflower?

Cooking times for frozen and fresh vegetables are different. Cabbage bought frozen is cooked faster, as the producers blanch the product for a couple of minutes before placing it in the freezer.

Duration of heat treatment depends on the size of slices, the intensity of boiling. Inflorescences cook faster than thick stems, a whole cabbage.

Check the readiness of the product with a toothpick. If the stick freely passes through the pulp, it is time to remove the pot from the stove. Properly cooked cabbage should be firm, slightly crispy, retaining color and shape.

On the stove

Before cooking, cut off the core, green leaves. Soak the cabbage for 15 minutes in a liter of water with two tablespoons of salt to float parasitic insects, larvae. Rinse under running water, separate into florets.

Boil frozen cabbage without pre-defrosting, preparation.

How to cook on the stove:

1. Pour water into a saucepan. Salt, put on the stove, bring to a boil.
2. Put the inflorescences, bay leaf, peppercorns.
3. After boiling again, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
4. If you plan to further roast the vegetable, seven minutes is enough.

Lifehack! To keep the cabbage white, add 2 tbsp of milk or a little lemon juice when boiling.

Steam in a steamer

Steam cauliflower in a steam cooker, multicooker, or in a colander placed over a pot of boiling water.

Put the washed florets in a bowl, cook for 20 minutes.

In a microwave oven

In a microwave oven, boil the vegetable in several ways:

In a bag.
Place 300 g of washed inflorescences in a bag. Pour in 3 tbsp of water, tie close to the edge. Place the bag in a bowl and prick it with a fork to allow steam to escape. Cook fresh product for 6 minutes, frozen for a little longer.

In a microwaveable container in large chunks.
In a microwave-safe pan, put a cauliflower cut into 4 pieces. Fill with water, salt. Cook at full power for 20 minutes.

With milk.
For 500 g of florets you will need a pinch of salt, 3 tbsp. milk. Put the cabbage in a container, add the rest of the ingredients, close with the lid. Cook for three minutes at full microwave power, ten minutes - on medium.

How to fry delicious and fast cauliflower in a pan

Pan fried cauliflower with tomato, cheese, eggs, eggplant and other products is a delicious side dish or a nutritious dish on its own. For cooking, choose fresh cabbage with florets that are as close together as possible.

Recipe for cauliflower in a pan with egg

For a delicious, hearty dish, prepare 2 eggs, 300 g of cabbage, vegetable oil, salt.

Cut the florets into 0.5 cm slices. Combine the eggs, salt, beat with a whisk or fork. Fry the vegetable in a frying pan under a cover over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the eggs and stir to combine. Continue cooking for five minutes.

Serve the dish, sprinkling chopped dill, parsley, rings of green onions.

Cauliflower in tempura with crispy crust

Juicy vegetable under a golden crust is cooked quickly, looks appetizing.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg of cabbage;
• 250 ml of sour cream or classic white yogurt;
• 0.5 liters of water;
• 400 ml vegetable oil;
• 100 g each of wheat flour, potato starch;
• 2 garlic cloves;
• pickled cucumber;
• 1 tbsp. chopped parsley;
• salt, pepper;
• spice mix - coriander, turmeric, nutmeg, curry.

How to prepare:

1. Combine starch, flour, and seasonings. Pour in water, a spoonful of oil, and stir. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare the sauce. Dice cucumber. Peel, squeeze garlic through a press. Pour vegetables with sour cream. Add greens, salt, pepper. Stir and put in the fridge.
3. Dip florets in boiling water. Cook for 5-7 minutes until soft, then drain in a colander. Wait until the water drains.
4. Stab each inflorescence on a fork, drop it into the batter, and place it in a pan with hot oil. Fry until golden brown.
5. From the frying pan, turn the cabbage onto paper towels to get rid of the excess fat.

Serve this dish with sour cream sauce.

Delicious cauliflower cutlets (pancakes)

Those who try the cutlets for the first time are pleasantly surprised by the heterogeneity of texture, the original taste.

Products for 6 servings:

• 2 eggs;
• 1 kg of cauliflower;
• 100 g of flour;
• parsley greens, dill;
• salt, pepper;
• 100 ml of vegetable oil.

Method of preparation:

1. Put the florets in boiling salted water. Boil for 6 minutes.
2. Chop the ready vegetable with a knife, transfer to a bowl. Add beaten eggs, flour, chopped greens, pepper, salt, mix.
3. Spoon stuffing out, forming cutlets on a frying pan with boiling oil.
4. Fry for 4 minutes on each side.

Tip! To the cabbage cutlets, prepare a sauce of sour cream (yogurt) with lemon zest and juice.

Meatballs

Prepare a set of products for 3 servings:

• 500 g of minced meat;
• 200 gr cauliflower;
• 1 carrot, 1 onion;
• 1 egg;
• 50 g each of sour cream and butter;
• salt, pepper;
• greens.

Preparation steps:

1. Coarsely chop peeled carrots, onions. Pour in butter and lightly fry the carrot and onion.
2. Combine minced meat, eggs, roast, cabbage florets. Season with salt and pepper and mix.
3. Make meatballs, roll in flour, put them on a heated frying pan with oil. Fry on both sides, pour in sour cream, stew.

This is interesting! Cauliflower has several times more vitamin C than white cabbage.

Cauliflower with mushrooms

For the baked dish you will need:

• 300 g of mushrooms;
• A bale of cabbage;
• 40 g of sour cream;
• 1 carrot;
• salt, pepper, smoked paprika.

Boil the cabbage until half cooked, pass the carrots, onions. Add mushrooms sliced into pan. Fry until liquid evaporates. Season florets with black pepper and smoked paprika. Braise until softened. A couple of minutes before removing from the heat, add the sour cream.

Cooking cauliflower in the oven

Dishes with a useful vegetable, baked in the oven, are prepared quickly, turn out light, refined. Depending on the set of products on the basis of cauliflower, you can prepare everyday dishes and for the festive table.

A quick cauliflower pie will come in handy when guests arrive unexpectedly. Baked cabbage and zucchini are included in menus during religious fasts and eaten for weight loss.

Sauce Cake with Cauliflower

The unsweetened pastry is served for dinner or as a side dish at lunch.

Products:

• 0.5 kg of cabbage;
• 6 eggs;
• 400 ml of kefir;
• a glass of flour;
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil;
• 0.5 tsp. soda;
• salt, pepper;
• bunch of greens.

How to make and bake:

1. Add baking soda to kefir. Beat three eggs with salt. Combine, stir products together.
2. Pour in flour in batches, kneading thoroughly.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
4. Boil the remaining hard-boiled eggs and cabbage florets for 10 minutes. Cut both ingredients into chunks.
5. Oil a baking tray. Spread half of the dough. Spread the filling. Pour out the rest of the dough.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

Even a novice hostess can cope with the easy-to-make pie.

Gratin of cauliflower and broccoli

This vegetarian dish for the keto diet is really tasty and very healthy.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg broccoli;
• 1 kg of cauliflower:
• 150 g cheddar;
• one egg;
• 300 ml cream;
• 150 g cherry tomatoes;
• 30 g pine nuts;
• 1 tbsp. butter;
• 1 tbsp. almond chips;
• salt, pepper, dill.

Cooking Algorithm:

1. Separate two kinds of cabbage into florets. Boil in boiling water for one minute.
2. Whisk in different bowls egg, cream. Mix together, season with salt, pepper and dill.
3. Grease form with butter. Spread cabbage, pour sauce over it.
4. Place cherry halves on top, sprinkle with almond chips, pine nuts. Bake in oven at 180°C for half an hour.

The French word gratin means a dish with golden crust, served in a baking dish.

Soufflé with cheese

To make a delicate, airy soufflé, prepare:

• 5 eggs;
• 600 ml of milk;
• 1 kg of cauliflower;
• 80 grams of butter;
• cheese;
• salt, pepper, herbs;
• 3 tbsp. flour;
• breadcrumbs for breading.

How to prepare:

1. Boil florets in salted water for 10 minutes.
2. Heat flour in a saucepan, add butter, pour in batches of milk. Stir until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and dried dill.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
4. Whisk the egg whites. Add the egg yolks to the sauce first, then gently stir in the egg whites.
5. Coat the bottom of the mold with breadcrumbs, place the cabbage, pour the sauce over it. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle grated cheese over the dish. Keep baking until crusty and brown.

That's interesting! Did you know that cauliflower does not grow in the wild. It was artificially bred from leafy cabbage.

Baked Cauliflower with Bacon

To prepare the dish you will need:

• 150 g of bacon;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 0,7 kg of cabbage;
• pepper, salt, coriander;
• 50 ml of soy sauce.

Preparation:

1. Chop bacon finely, slice garlic, separate cabbage into florets, wash. Combine ingredients, add coriander, pepper, salt, sauce.
2. Put the products in a baking dish. Preheat the oven to 180°C for 15 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with greens.

Cabbage in cheese sauce

A juicy, hearty dish suitable as a snack or as a side dish to meat.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 130 ml milk;
• 150 g hard cheese;
• 0.4 kg of cabbage;
• 50 g wheat flour;
• 20 g of room temperature butter;
• 10 ml vegetable oil;
• salt, paprika, red, black pepper.

How to prepare:

1. Take apart the cauliflower into florets, wash, boil for five minutes.
2. Coarsely grate the cheese.
3. Put a pan with milk and butter on the stove.
4. Add salt, spices and flour. Bring sauce to a thickening point, stirring constantly.
5. Add cheese, wait until melted, remove from heat.
6. Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
7. Place the cabbage and pour the sauce over it. Place in an oven heated to 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

Serve the dish in portions, sprinkled with spicy herbs.

How to cook whole cabbage in the oven

To bake a whole cabbage, you'll need 30g of butter, salt, a clove of garlic.

Wash and dry the cauliflower. Wrap the cauliflower in foil, cook in an oven preheated to 180°C for 50 minutes.

Melt butter, mix with minced garlic and salt. Remove the vegetable, smear the prepared mixture, continue baking for another quarter of an hour.

What else you can make with cauliflower

From cauliflower florets make hot, cold snacks, vegetable stew, soups, side dishes for meat, fish, fillings for baking.

Vegetable stew with cauliflower

Vitamin stew for a diet meal takes only 25 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 200 g cabbage;
• young zucchini;
• garlic clove;
• sweet bell pepper
• large tomato;
• onion;
• salt, black pepper, bay leaf.

Preparation Steps:

1. Wash, peel vegetables.
2. Separate the florets from the cauliflower, cut the zucchini, carrots in circles, peppers, tomatoes in pieces.
3. Put a pot of water on the stove. Bring to a boil, add the cabbage, and simmer until tender.
4. Heat a frying pan with oil. Stew the rest of the vegetables for a quarter of an hour.
5. Add the boiled florets, salt, pepper, and stir. Heat for a couple of minutes, remove from heat.

A light diet stew is combined with boiled potatoes.

Tip! To make the dish tastier, introduce butter into the recipe.

Pickled cauliflower in Korean

For pickling, choose medium-sized cauliflowers with dense, light-colored florets.

Products:

• 1.5 kg of cabbage:
• 50 ml vegetable oil, vinegar;
• 3 carrots;
• 0.7 l water;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tsp. coriander;
• ground black pepper.

How to prepare:

1. Soak the florets separated from the cauliflower in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. Peel carrots, grate them on a Korean grater.
3. Pour 0.7 l of water with sugar and salt, add oil and bring to boil.
4. Remove the container from the heat, pour the vinegar.
5. Mix carrots with cabbage, season with pepper and coriander.
6. Pour marinade, cool, put in the fridge.

Serve the Korean-style appetizer after 6 hours at the earliest.

Recipe for mashed cabbage

The dish may well replace the more caloric mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg of cabbage;
• 1 l of water;
• 50g of butter;
• salt.

Preparation:

1. Wash, separate into florets, cut into pieces cauliflower.
2. Boil water, put inflorescences, boil for 10-12 minutes.
3. Pour 50 ml of the cabbage broth into a cup, pour out the rest.
4. Load the pieces of cooked vegetable into the bowl of a blender. Add salt, oil, broth, beat with a blender.

The puree can be flavored with turmeric, thyme, nutmeg.

Philo with cauliflower

To make a delicious crispy pie, you will need:

• 400 g cabbage;
• half an onion;
• 6 sheets of filo;
• 2 eggs;
• 30 ml of vegetable oil;
• glass of milk;
• 1 carrot;
• 30 grams of tomato paste;
• salt, pepper.

How to prepare:

1. Peel the vegetables. Cut onion in small cubes, florets in pieces, grate carrots.
2. Thaw the dough.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
4. Line a baking tray with parchment.
5. Put a pan with oil on the fire. Sauté carrots and onions.
6. Add the florets. When they have settled, add tomato, pepper and salt. Braise until cabbage softens.
7. Whisk milk with a fork and eggs, a pinch of salt.
8. Place a sheet of dough on the table. Place a couple of spoonfuls of vegetable filling on the edge and roll up. Place in the center of the baking tray in the shape of a snail.
9. Place other rolls in the same way around the first one, forming a large snail.
10. Bake the cake for half an hour, pouring the egg and milk mixture over it.

Before eating, sprinkle the portions with chopped dill.

This is interesting! Did you know that cauliflower is called because the flowers of the plant are used in food.

Cauliflower puree soup with cream

To prepare the dinner dish, prepare:

• 0.5 kg of cabbage;
• 100 ml of cream;
• one onion;
• 150 grams of potatoes;
• salt, pepper;
• 30g of butter.

Method of preparation:

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Fry diced onion until golden brown.
2. Peel and dice potatoes.
3. Peel the cauliflower into florets, rinse and strain in a colander.
4. Add potatoes, cabbage to onions. Pour boiling water over them.
5. Salt and pepper. Boil it for 20 minutes.
6. Pour off a glass of broth, drain off the rest of the liquid.
7. Chop the cooked vegetables with a blender to a purée, gradually pouring the remaining broth.
8. Add cream to the soup, bring to the boil, but do not boil.

Serve soup hot with croutons, chopped greens.

Diet salad

This dish is suitable for supporters of right eating who want to get rid of excess weight.

Set of products for three servings:

• 4 tomatoes;
• 1 cup of sour cream;
• 1.3 kg of cabbage;
• 4 garlic cloves;
• spices, salt.

How to prepare:

1. Put a pot with salted water on the stove. After boiling, put the inflorescences, boil for 10 minutes. Cut the cabbage into pieces.
2. Chop tomatoes, garlic.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a salad bowl. Add sour cream and stir together.

Serve this diet salad with meat or boiled potatoes.

Tip! To reduce the energy value of the dish, replace the sour cream with classic yogurt.

Cauliflower Steak

Cabbage steak has nothing to do with the meat product. The dish got its name because of its flat shape.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg of cabbage;
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil;
• 0.5 tsp. turmeric, chaber, basil, oregano;
• salt, dried garlic.

Preparation Steps:

1. Slice florets into slices. Fry in a heated frying pan with oil for a couple of minutes on each side.
2. Combine oil with salt and spices.
3. Place cabbage steaks on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake for a quarter of an hour in a preheated 180 degree oven.

Serve as a separate dish or garnish with meat or fish.

Nuggets

Baked florets turn out moderately spicy, crispy on the outside, soft inside.

Products for 4 servings:

• 2 eggs;
• 50 g Parmesan;
• 0.5 kg of cauliflower;
• 10 tbsp. bread crumbs;
• 1 tsp. paprika, dried garlic, salt;
• Hot pepper (red) to taste.

Method of preparation:

1. Dip florets in boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes.
2. Whisk the eggs.
3. Combine, mix grated cheese, garlic, bread crumbs, and pepper.
4. Line a mold with parchment paper. Dip the florets one by one in the egg mixture, roll in the crumbs, and place in the mold far apart from each other.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in an oven heated to 190 ° C and turned on convection.

Tip! To keep the white color when boiling, add a little sugar to the pot.

Pasta with egg and cauliflower

This breakfast dish takes only 14 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients for 1 serving:

• 100 g of pasta;
• two eggs;
• 20 ml vegetable oil;
• 70 g of cauliflower;
• salt.

How to prepare:

1. Boil the pasta and florets in different containers until tender.
2. Heat a frying pan with oil, put the pasta, warm it up. Whisk in the eggs, salt, and stir.
3. Add the cabbage, continue cooking for three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

The pasta will taste better if you season the dish with spicy herbs.

Chocolate cauliflower mousse

People on a diet will love this light dessert with a creamy texture and apple sambuca flavor.

Product set:

• 25 g gelatin;
• 1 kg of cabbage;
• cocoa powder;
• spices - cinnamon, rum essence, vanilla;
• honey or sugar.

Recipe:

1. Prepare for steamed florets. Beat with a blender to the consistency of a purée. Soak, dissolve the gelatin according to the instructions on the package.
2. Pour the solution into the cabbage puree, add cocoa powder, sugar or honey. Whisk thoroughly again with a blender. Add more spices to flavor the cabbage with a neutral flavor, mix.
3. Pour the mousse into molds, send it to the freezer, after 20 minutes move it to the refrigerator shelf.

Serve the dessert with grated chocolate, fresh berries or pieces of fruit.

Cauliflower couscous

Easy-to-make dish pairs with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and lemon.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg of cabbage;
• 1 tbsp. olive oil;
• 0.5 tsp. turmeric;
• 30 g. parsley greens;
• pepper, salt.

How to prepare:

1. Separate the cauliflower into florets, peel, and wash.
2. Put in the bowl of a blender, grind the product into coarse crumbs.
3. Heat a frying pan with oil. Put crumbled cabbage in it, add turmeric.
4. After 10 minutes of frying salt and pepper the couscous. Remove pan from heat.

Serve the dish with finely chopped greens, pouring lemon juice.

Q&A

Advocates of healthy eating are more often interested in how to cook cabbage properly and how much of the vegetable can be eaten without harm to health.

How long should I cook cauliflower after boiling?

After boiling, the optimal time to boil frozen florets - 5-7 minutes, fresh - 10-12 minutes. A whole cauliflower for salads is cooked for 15-20 minutes.

If cooked longer, the product will begin to turn yellow.

Why is cauliflower bitter after cooking?

The bitter taste of cauliflower after cooking is due to two reasons. The change in taste is influenced by insufficient moisture when growing the plant and an excess of nitrates.

You can get rid of this defect if the inflorescences for 15 minutes soak in salted water or with the addition of lemon juice, acid.

How much cauliflower can I eat per day?

For healthy people, the consumption of cauliflower is not limited. With gastric ulcer, gastritis, the daily norm is 100 g, with pregnancy 200 g.

Dietitians advise future mothers to start with 50 g and gradually increase the amount, if there are no side effects. The product can be included in complementary foods for babies from six months of age by a teaspoon once a week.

Can I eat it raw?

Cabbage that has not been heat-treated is quite edible. In addition, it keeps unchanged vitamins, which are partially destroyed when boiled.

The product is eaten as a separate dish or added raw to salads.

The caloric value of 100 grams of boiled cauliflower is only 23 kcal. But the benefit of the product consists not only in its low energy value, which contributes to weight loss. The vegetable contains proteins, vitamin and mineral complex, organic acids that support the health of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver, endocrine, respiratory system.