Crispy Cauliflower Cakes are a delicious vegetarian side dish. Easy to make, full of flavor, with a soft inside and crispy crust, this recipe is a real crowd pleaser!
Reason number five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred why you shouldn’t eat sugar: sometimes your sugar bombs come with company.
Let’s back up. Last weekend, the man and I went camping. And of course, we just haaaaaaaaad to pick up s’mooooooore fixings, because camping isn’t caaaaaaamping without s’moooooores. So we did and we s’mored and brought the leftover fixings home.
If you’re like me, you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that nothing will be right with the world unless you have something sweet to eat after dinner. Nothing! The world must. be. right. So Wednesday, I did one of these: Today kinda sucked. A marshmallow will make the world right. Okay, today didn’t suck that bad, but a marshmallow sounds reeeeeal goooood.
So I reached into the bag of leftover s’more fixings (which of course was still on the kitchen floor because why would you unpack even though it’s been five days since you were camping?).
I got me a marshmallow. I took a bite of el marshmallow. And it was stale, no biggy…but it tasted really bad.
Why does this marshmallow taste SO BAD?? Okay, it kinda tastes good….wait…wait…..wait. This marshmallow tastes bad.
You know women. Women have intuition. Women know what’s up before they need evidence. I knew what was up. But I still needed evidence. I removed el marshmallow from my mouth, and there it was.
A teeny little ant struggling for his life, kicking his little ant legs up in the air. Whhyyyyyy Julia, whhhhhyyyyy?? The ant shouted at me.
I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were there!
Finders, keepers, the marshmallow was rightfully yours…I don’t know why I had to go and take your marshmallow away from you and in so doing, mortally wound you, ant! I said.
Disgust. Disgust and spit and garbage disposal and guilt. Shame.
Tail between my legs, I couldn’t help but think the divine heavens were sending me a message.
Not only do marshmallows hurt you, Julia….they hurt your roommates. Duh. The divine heavens told me.
I have never been much of an insect killer…especially not with my mouth…so this situation was a bit traumatizing. Did I reach for another marshmallow?
Nay. Did I reach for the chocolate in its stead?
Yes. The message from the divine heavens was not heeded. Sugar was still consumed. Albeit, no more innocent bystanders were harmed.
What does this have to do with crispy cauliflower cakes? Nuttin’ honey!
I happened upon this recipe as I was flipping through the August Cooking Light. It spoke to me.
The crispy cauliflower cakes look like crab cakes and I love crab cakes, so I made them.
They taste marvelous (although they do not taste like crab). You MUST make the sauce that goes with them, you MUST! It’s one of those sauces that makes you throw down everything you’re holding (ant-ridden marshmallows included) and sluuuuurp!
Had a rough day? Have cauliflower cake.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Crispy Cauliflower Cakes with Herb Sauce and Arugula Salad

Crispy Cauliflower Cakes with Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Crispy Cauliflower Cakes with Yogurt Dipping Sauce make for a fun appetizer or light meal. Easy to make and magically tasty!
Ingredients
For the Crispy Cauliflower Cakes
- 2.5 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 russet potato, quartered lengthwise
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup fontina or gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup gluten-free panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
For the Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon green onion, finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
To prepare the yogurt sauce
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To prepare the cauliflower cakes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Arrange the cauliflower florets and potato wedges on a baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring once half-way through. Cauliflower florets should be browned and potato wedges should be soft when poked with a fork. Leave the oven at 400 degrees
- Add the roasted cauliflower and potato to a blender or food processor and pulse several times just until mixture is chunky but not smooth.
- Pour the cauliflower/potato mixture into a mixing bowl along with the lightly beaten egg, fontina cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine, then form patties out of the mixture
- Pour the panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese onto a plate and mix together.
- Dip the patties in the breadcrumbs/parmesan mixture to coat them.
- Place patties on a well-oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake cauliflower cakes for 25 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping them half-way through baking.
- Serve with yogurt sauce on top.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 of 4Amount Per Serving Calories 407Total Fat 23gUnsaturated Fat 0gCarbohydrates 26gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 24g
Sheela
Monday 18th of May 2015
We made these tonight for the first time. They were delicious! These will definitely be entering our regular rotation.
Julia
Tuesday 19th of May 2015
So happy to hear it, Sheela!! Thanks for your sweet feedback :)
Erin
Wednesday 23rd of April 2014
These look delicious! I bet you could eat them in a wrap with green and yogurt sauce like a falafel.
Erin
Wednesday 23rd of April 2014
greens
Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli
Sunday 13th of October 2013
Oh my gosh, I just found this from your Twitter feed and I swear you had me doubled over with the whole ant apology!! Haha! Love it! Ugh, the last time I had s'mores, there was much damage done...to my liver with the bottle of wine I had to wash them all down! Haha!
Trish
Saturday 31st of August 2013
I made these last night for dinner with a side of salmon and made them exactly per the recipe and was amazingly delish! Hubby is a diabetic so I try to find lower carb sides and this was a huge hit.. It's going to be one of our regular sides from now on, am sure. Thanks!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies
Thursday 1st of August 2013
Ahh, you just reminded me that I haven't read this month's Cooking Light yet! I need to do that. These look pretty incredible--anything crispy, anything cauliflower-y, I am there! And ants completely squick me out, but now you've gone and made me feel sorry for them. Or at least that one in your marshmallow. Sads! :(