You can’t miss these cauliflower fritters made this way, not fried, that is cooked in a pan without oil: they are delicious! They remind me a lot of the Neapolitan cauliflower pizzelle which are made fried with a batter, however, despite the similarity, mine have very few Weight Watchers points: only 1 point per fritter!
The batter is very simple and tasty and the trick to success is to cook the cauliflower the right way, so either steamed or in the special microwave bags. If instead you boil it in water you must let it drain for several hours or the mixture will be too wet and you will need more flour. And we don’t want that, right?
Also the recipe is super simple: it requires few ingredients and little time. And I really enjoyed them; luckily the Dutchman really doesn’t like cauliflower so I ate them all myself!
You can find a few other cauliflower recipes here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 fritters
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- cups cauliflower (weighing only the florets)
- 2 eggs
- cup all-purpose flour (can also be gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup skim milk (or unsweetened plant-based milk)
- 4 tbsp grated Parmesan (or Grana)
- to taste salt and pepper
- WW points per fritter = 1 point
Tools
- Food storage/cooking bag
- Frying pan
Steps
Clean the cauliflower and cook the florets by steaming or even in the microwave using the special bag. The cauliflower should be soft enough to be mashed but must not become too limp. So once cooled, roughly mash it with a fork.
In a large bowl beat the eggs with a bit of salt and the Parmesan: I used my Herb-seasoned salt. Add the mashed cauliflower and mix well. At this point add the flour and the milk: the final mixture should be very soft but not runny.
Heat a good quality nonstick pan: the pan should be very hot.
Spoon a tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan and immediately shape it into a round, flattened fritter with a silicone spatula. Repeat two or three times more, depending on the size of your pan. Let the cauliflower fritters cook well on the bottom before trying to lift them: only when the underside is well cooked will they come off easily.
Then flip them and let the other side brown well too. You may want to flip them another couple of times until you reach the desired browning. Continue cooking the rest of the mixture the same way until finished.
For oven or air-fryer cooking read the Notes at the end of the recipe.
And here are the non-fried cauliflower fritters ready to be enjoyed. They are great hot or cold: a nice salad, some bread and dinner is served.
I am happy because they really remind me of the taste of the cauliflower pizzelle my mother used to make and since I never fry, it had been years since I smelled or tasted them.
They are great as a main course but also ideal as an appetizer and with a large pan you can make many quickly.
I hope you will enjoy them too; I look forward to your comments and also the photos of your fritters on Facebook!
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
Cinzia, a dear reader of mine, made these fritters in the air fryer, here they are:
They look great, don’t they? She put them in the basket lined with parchment paper and cooked them at 392°F for 15 minutes: well done, Cinzia!
Two other dear readers of mine, Michela and Teresina, baked the cauliflower fritters in the oven! Here they are:
Michela put them in a fan-assisted oven at 392°F for 15 minutes and then another 5 minutes at 356°F. She wrote to me that they remain nicely compact and well cooked. And I, who did not believe they could come out well in the oven…
