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Say goodbye to bland cauliflower. These 13 Cauliflower Recipes are plant-based, wholesome, and seriously delicious — everything from soups and sides to salads and mains.
Cauliflower has been having a moment! But for a lot of us, this vegetable has gotten a bad rap. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who grew up eating it microwaved to oblivion and smothered in Velveeta — or watching it sit untouched on a raw veggie tray next to the ranch.
Hey, that might work for kids. But I have great news for you: cauliflower can be so good as an adult that you actually crave it. It just needs a little more than a microwave and a block of processed cheese — especially if you’re plant-based, like so many of you in the Sweet Potato Soul community!
I’m rounding up my favorite ways to cook it, all of them creative and vegan. Head to your local farmer’s market to get it fresh!
For more vegan recipe roundups, check out my Easy Tofu Recipes, Vegan Salad Recipes, Mushroom Recipes, Sweet Potato Recipes, Beet Recipes, and Vegan Instant Pot Recipes.
How to Pick and Prepare Cauliflower
Look for a head that feels heavy for its size, with firm green leaves that are packed tightly around it. I love buying mine at our amazing local farmer’s market, but you can find cauliflower year-round at most grocery stores.
To prepare it, first peel off those tight green leaves. They are edible too, so feel free to keep them (extra delicious with roasted vegetables). Once they’re removed, rinse the head under cold water and gently wash away any dirt or debris.
Next, turn the head upside down so the stem is facing you. Carefully cut into the base at an angle, working your way around the stem in a series of diagonal cuts until the core releases. Once it’s out, break the florets apart by hand; they should do so easily.
Once your florets are separated, pat them completely dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness, so don’t skip this step if you’re roasting or air frying. Cut them as large or small as you’d like to use in dishes like orange cauliflower, fried cauliflower, or cauliflower crust pizza.
How to Cook with Cauliflower
One of the best things about cauliflower is how versatile it is. It takes on your desired flavors, and it responds well to almost any cooking method — roasted, air-fried, riced, steamed, or sautéed.
That’s five different ways to cook one humble head, each giving you a completely different texture. Here’s how to master each method:
Roasting — Arguably one of the most popular methods, and for good reason. It caramelizes the vegetable as it cooks, infusing it with incredible flavor and making the cauliflower tender and meaty, making it a great one to turn skeptics around. The photo above shows the roasted veggie in a hearty cauliflower salad.
- How to do it: Toss florets with oil and spices, spread them out on a sheet pan, and roast at 425ºF for 25–30 minutes, tossing halfway, until the edges are golden and caramelized. See those brown bits? That’s the good stuff. Note: Don’t crowd the pan. Doing so traps the steam, making the cauliflower mushy.
Air frying — This method is faster than the oven and gives the cauliflower even crispier edges with tender centers. Yum!
- How to do it: Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF, arrange the florets in the air fryer basket or tray in a single layer, and air fry for about 20 minutes, turning or flipping the veggies every 5 minutes. Note: Don’t crowd the basket — overcrowding steams the cauliflower instead of caramelizing it. See my air fryer cauliflower recipe for seasoning suggestions.
Ricing — Makes a fantastic low-carb rice alternative. You can buy it premade, or save money by using a food processor or making it by hand.
- How to do it: Place the cauliflower florets into the food processor and mince a head into “rice” by pulsing for 1-2 minutes. If you don’t have a food processor, just use a box grater or sharp knife. For a richer flavor try roasted cauliflower rice.
Steaming — The way to go when you want to make a puree or cauliflower mash!
- How to do it: Fill a saucepan with an inch of water. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add a steaming basket full of florets, cover, and steam for 5-8 minutes or until fork-tender, then use as desired. Steamed cauliflower can be used instead of broccoli in this creamy Broccoli Salad recipe.
Sautéing — A flavorful, easy, and quick weeknight option and a great canvas for your favorite Stir Fry Sauce.
- How to do it: Cook florets in a hot skillet with a little oil until browned in spots and crisp-tender, stirring frequently, for about 7-10 minutes.
Creative Cauliflower Recipes
Without further ado, here are my most original and best cauliflower recipes — from soups and salads to sides and mains. All vegan and all delish!
Soups and Salads
Kick off your meal — or make a light lunch of it — with these cruciferous takes on soups and salads.
Cauliflower Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Featuring roasted cauliflower and sweet potatoes, sweet peas, loads of fresh mint, and a curry-lime dressing, this salad is so flavorful and satisfying it pulls double duty as a main dish.
Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup
Two of my favorite things come together to make something even better than the sum of their parts in this Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup. An oldie but a goodie, it’s my go-to on cold evenings — and it only takes a handful of ingredients.
Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad
For this recipe roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and potatoes are tossed with chewy farro and chickpeas in a tangy pomegranate vinaigrette. The result is nothing short of fantastic! Fresh, nutritious, bright, and easy to make.
Side Dishes
From cauliflower rice to air fryer cauliflower to caramelized roasted veggies, this humble vegetable earns a spot at dinner every week without ever wearing out its welcome.
Roasted Cauliflower Rice
Once you taste how much more delicious Roasted Cauliflower Rice is, you’ll never go back to the original. Roasting it before ricing it keeps it from being bland and soggy. Serve it anywhere you’d serve the grain to sneak in more veggies and cut back on carbs.
Air Fryer Cauliflower
My goal for every recipe I develop is for it to be so delicious you forget it’s healthy, and I can confidently say I hit the nail on the head with this Air Fryer Cauliflower. Seasoned with a Southern-inspired blend of pantry staples, it’s bold, spicy, and earthy. A delight for the taste buds, and ready in under 30 minutes!
Golden Hour Roasted Vegetables
These Golden Hour Roasted Vegetables prove cauliflower plays well with others — it gets tender and crisp-edged alongside sweet potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and red onions. My all-star side dish, and a meal-prep workhorse.
Main Dishes
Cauliflower makes a seriously imaginative main. From taco meat and vegan fried “chicken” to pizza crusts and piccata, it stretches your grocery budget while stealing the show.
Crispy Orange Cauliflower
If you were ever into Panda Express’s orange chicken, this Crispy Orange Cauliflower is a fantastic way to scratch that itch in a vegan-friendly way. Tender and meaty florets get tossed in a sweet orange sauce made with fresh juice and sweetened with dates, no added sugar. It’s one of Baby J’s and my go-to comfort food dinners
Vegan Fried Chicken
This Vegan Fried Chicken brings all the Southern charm and comfort without an iota of animal products, thanks to cauliflower. Classic fried chicken seasonings and a double-battering technique — just like my Nana does it — give you that crunchy, spicy, perfectly seasoned bite. Make a double batch; the whole family will want seconds!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower Piccata
No Instant Pot? No problem. This Whole Roasted Cauliflower Piccata gives you the same vegan-friendly piccata experience with nothing fancier than a steamer basket and your oven. Just steam it, brush it with spices, and roast it golden. Then slice it into wedges like a pie and let the lemon-caper sauce do the rest.
Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat
This Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat is proof that cauliflower can really do it all. Chili powder and cumin bring the taco flavor, walnuts bring the hearty savory bite, and the cauliflower brings an earthy sweetness that ties it together. Pile it into tacos, burrito bowls, or nachos — even the meat eaters love this one!
Vegan Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Made with brown rice flour, nutritional yeast, and Italian herbs like basil and oregano, this Vegan Cauliflower Crust Pizza is a plant-based powerhouse — the perfect base for whatever toppings you’re craving. I used to make it for clients back in my personal chef days, and they loved it every time.
Indian-Inspired Sweet Potato Tacos
Some of the most unexpected fusions turn out to be my favorites, like these Indian-Inspired Sweet Potato Tacos. Tender sweet potatoes and crispy cauliflower are tucked into warm tortillas with coconut curry sauce and a cooling slaw. Pro tip: double the filling so you can eat them all week.
Instant Pot Whole Cauliflower Piccata
Want a showstopping centerpiece without the wait? This Instant Pot Whole Cauliflower Piccata pressure cooks in four minutes, then broils just long enough to char the top. The lemon caper gravy is salty, tangy, and worth spooning over everything on the plate.
Cauliflower Recipe FAQs
It really is! Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable, in the same family as broccoli and cabbage. One cup of it raw has just 27 calories but delivers 58% of your Daily Value of vitamin C, plus folate and vitamin K (Healthline). It’s also rich in fiber, antioxidants, and choline, a nutrient most of us don’t get enough of (WebMD). And it’s low enough in carbs to stand in for rice and pizza dough — which is exactly what a few of these recipes do.
Just about anything! That’s the fun of it. You can rice it and use it in place of grains, blend it into creamy soups, roast it whole as a centerpiece, batter and fry it like vegan chicken, blitz it into a pizza crust, or chop it fine for taco meat. It works as a side, a salad, a snack, and a main — sometimes all in the same week. Every recipe in this roundup is a different answer to that question.
Cauliflower has a mild, slightly sweet flavor, so it takes on whatever you give it. My go-to blend is smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin seeds, and a touch of cayenne. Curry powder and turmeric are gorgeous on it, and Creole seasoning brings the heat. Sprinkle on nutritional yeast while it’s hot for a savory, parmesan-like finish, or try a walnut parmesan.
It comes down to two things: don’t crowd the pan, and choose a method that caramelizes. Cauliflower needs room to breathe, whether it’s on a sheet pan or in an air fryer basket — pile it up, and it steams itself instead of browning. And skip steaming unless you’re making soup or mash — it softens cauliflower by design. High heat in the oven or air fryer gives you those crisp, caramelized edges.
Now it’s your turn! Try one of these and leave a comment below to let me know how it went. I read every single one.
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