With the rise of low-carb diets, many of us are on the lookout for new versions of our favorite carb-heavy dishes. For anyone on a paleo, keto or Atkins-style mean plan, many common foods just don’t work in our diet anymore. Sliced white bread or pizza crust? Forget about it! A nice, hearty potato salad? No can do. Although some stores offer a host of speciality foods to help, finding our own creative substitutes is often healthier and more affordable.
With that in mind, cauliflower has become a serious food trend as a substitute for many of our favorite dishes. Still, cooking with cauliflower isn’t always the easiest thing—especially if we’re not sure what we’re doing. While a simple roasted cauliflower snack might be healthy and easy to accomplish, it gets pretty boring after a while (and it’s just not quite as satisfying as some tasty potato wedges, for example). Fortunately, we’ve found a great cauliflower recipe that you’ll absolutely love—and it’s bound to be a huge hit at any summer parties you may be planning. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 7 cups of cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
- 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 cup of Italian bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
- aluminum foil
- non-stick spray
- freezer bags
Here’s what you do:
1. Before you start assembling everything, make sure your oven is preheating to 425 degrees. After that, get out a baking sheet and line it with foil, spraying the top of it with your non-stick spray.
2. With your cooking equipment set, break out your head of cauliflower, rinse it and begin chopping it up into bite-sized pieces to your liking. Although you could also buy a bag of frozen, pre-cut cauliflower chunks, fresh is always better. Once it’s all chopped up, get out a large freezer bag and put your cauliflower inside it. Add in your olive oil, zip the bag up and shake well to coast the cauliflower with the oil.
3. After giving it a good shake, open the bag back up and ass in your garlic powder, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and salt. Zip the bag up again and shake it even more, coating the pieces with the breading. Though the breading should stick to each piece regardless, you can also squeeze the bag gently to help the process along. When the pieces are coated, open the bag and put them all on your cooking sheet.
4. When your oven is preheated, lightly spray the top of your cauliflower chunks with cooking spray before popping the whole thing in the oven. Let it bake for about 20 minutes. After that time has passed, take the tray out, stir or flip the cauliflower around and bake for another 10 minutes. When it’s done, each piece should be be toasty and cheesy on the outside and tender on the inside!
As always, the key to making a good dish great is in choosing the right seasoning. While cauliflower is almost always very simple to cook, it’s important to pair its natural flavor with some good complements. Breading your cauliflower bites always takes things up a notch but adding in the parmesan is really what sets this delicious recipe apart. For even more punch, serve this with ranch at your next party! When you get really confident, feel free to start experimenting by adding in some additional spices of your own as well—maybe some paprika?
Have you given this recipe a try? Leave a comment to let us know how it went.
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