I love anything made into a cake or “fritter” and these Crispy Cauliflower Cakes did not disappoint! I paired them with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce which is similar to a Thousand Island Dressing. Of course, you could use the sauce of your choosing.
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
The first thing we need to do is steam the cauliflower florets. Although we will be pan-frying the patties, it won’t be enough time for the cauliflower to become tender. I steamed mine for approximately 8 minutes or until they just start to soften. While they are still warm, I drain off any condensation using paper towels and immediately transfer to a food processor to break them into smaller bits. You could also chop by hand.
They then get added to our dry flour/cornmeal-based mixture. As a binder, we used 2 Flax “eggs”. If you are unfamiliar, ground flax seeds (or meal, as it’s commonly known) is combined with water and refrigerated for 10-15 minutes. Stir before using and it becomes gelatinous which works perfectly to bind the cauliflower cakes.
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
Using an ice cream scoop, I portion out mounds of the mixture into a preheated pan with a small amount of oil. Wait until the first side is browned before flipping. Once you flip them, it is much easier to compress them into a patty shape using the back of a spatula. Allow to brown on the other side, remove to paper towels to blot away any excess cooking oil and allow to rest for a few minutes. They will firm up a bit more as they sit.
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
I take this time to whip up a super-simple dipping sauce of vegan mayonnaise and organic chili sauce. This is similar to a Thousand Island Dressing.
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
The cakes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but hold together nicely! Serve warm with our tangy dipping sauce.
The cauliflower cakes (without sauce) are only 70 calories a piece.
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
Before you go, why not check out some of our recent videos and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! 🙂
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes{Vegan}
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAULIFLOWER CAKES:
- 1 medium head of Cauliflower
- 1/3 C All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 C Cornmeal
- 2 Tbl Vegan Parmesan or Nutritional Yeast
- 2 in Tbl Ground Flax Seeds + 6 Tbl Water - allow to sit the refrigerator for 10 minutes
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Chili Powder you could also use Paprika
- 2 Tbl Parsley chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Pepper
- Oil for shallow pan frying
- FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE:
- 3 Tbl vegan Mayonnaise
- 1 Tbl vegan Chili Sauce
Instructions
- Separate the cauliflower into florets and steam until fork tender.
- While the cauliflower is steaming, combine the flax meal and water. Place into the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Drain any condensation by placing the florets onto paper towels.
- While they are still warm, process the florets into smaller bits using a knife or a food processor. Do not over process.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Add the flax mixture and processed cauliflower pieces, stirring well to combine. The mixture will still be very moist.
- Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the oil and using an ice cream scoop, portion out the cakes. Wait until they are browned on one side and ready to flip to press them into patty shape. I used the back of my spatula.
- Continue cooking until browned on the opposite side.
- Transfer to paper towels to remove any residual oil.
- They firm up a bit after resting but will be crispy on the exterior and soft on the interior.
- While they are resting, we prepared a simple dipping sauce using vegan mayonnaise and chili sauce.
- Serve warm with a sprinkle of salt.
- This recipe makes 12 cakes.
Crispy Cauliflower Fritters (without sauce)
Dazzle59 says
These look delicious! What an ingenious way to use cauliflower. Can’t wait to try, thank you!
rahmah mohammad says
Great, thanks for tonight’s dinner recommendation!
Kristin says
Sounds yummy! Question, can you use another flour? Like almond?
aimee says
Hi Kristin, you should be able to substitute just about any flour. The finer the flour though, the more you may need to use. The batter is supposed to be fairly moist, so don’t worry if it looks like it may not hold together. This is why I cook fully on one side before flipping. It makes for a really tender cake 🙂
Milda says
I have been looking at this recipe for a few days now, and I finally got around to making it today. Oh my goodness! It is absolutely delicious! I think this recipe has catapulted itself to the top of my favorites list. Thank you so much for it!
Georgia B. Cobb says
This recipe is scrumptious!
Georgia B. Cobb says
I made these cakes a week or so and was delighted. I am making them again this evening and looking forward to another taste sensation.
aimee says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Georgia! 🙂
Joyce says
I would imagine if you first fry them and then bake them (or spray with oil and bake them), they would dry out and be more like a traditional corncake…
Connie says
Put me on the list for recipes
aimee says
Hi Connie, I went ahead and subscribed you to my mailing list where you will receive updates of new recipes 🙂
Roni Hall says
What would you serve with these to make a complete meal? Can’t wait to make this lovely cauliflower cakes!
aimee says
Hi Roni, we actually served ours here at home with a salad of mixed greens, those beautiful Campari tomatoes sliced up and a light olive oil, salt and pepper vinaigrette 🙂
Donna Chappell says
Could you please put me on your list? I am realitively a newbie, & a senior citizen to Vegan, and the only one in my family…so can use all the help and suggestions I can get.
Thanks much,
Donna Chappell
Bridget darby says
Do you have a kidieny friendly recipe for this I would like too try this thanks
Bonnie says
These are delicious! For fun I cooked mine in a waffle iron brushed with a bit of olive oil – turned out great. Would probably work well in a Foreman grill, too.
aimee says
Oooh, I love that idea! The waffle iron probably made more crunchy edges. YUM! 🙂
Sandra Pope Hays says
I made these for dinner last night, and OH YEAH! These are so delicious, and EASY to make! I live by myself, and one “batch” of these is enough for several meals for me, so its very cost effective too. THANK YOU!
barb says
What could be used instead of flax?
aimee says
Hi Barb, you could use a commercial egg replacer such as Ener-g (I think Bob’s Red Mill makes one too), or even chia seeds in the same manner I used flax. They just need some sort of binder.
Amatullah says
I made these they are absolutely delicious I added a nice spinach , arugula salad and tomato & carrot soup with homemade dinner rolls YUMMY! My husband enjoyed them also.
aimee says
Sounds amazing! 🙂 So glad you liked them.
Aaron B. says
All the recipes look delicious can’t wait to taste
aimee says
Thanks Aaron! I hope you try some soon and if you do, please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂
LeAnne says
Could you possibly bake these?
aimee says
Hi LeAnne, I am thinking that you could indeed bake these. I would use some cooking spray (both sides) so they have a chance to brown a bit, but otherwise, I think they would work just fine. The same goes with air-frying. I believe both methods would work 🙂