16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (2024)

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable with limitless potential. Whether you want to try it riced, roasted, baked, or air fried, this round up of cauliflower recipes features the versatile veggie as the star of the plate. Each of these recipes with cauliflower provides a wide array of options everyone can enjoy, any night of the week. Try making buffalo cauliflower for a easy appetizer or whip up a restaurant-worthy cauliflower steak for dinner tonight.

01of 16

Orange Chicken Thighs with Cauliflower Rice

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (1)

This dish isn’t only delicious, it’s gorgeous! Purple riced cauliflower, orange chicken seared to juicy perfection, and a sprinkle of green cilantro make this plate pop in the most spectacular way. Savory cauliflower rice is the perfect complement to tender, citrusy chicken. This riced cauliflower recipe will wow both your taste buds and your eyes!

View Recipe

02of 16

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (2)

Roasted to golden perfection with garlic, almonds, and crisp panko breadcrumbs, and Parmesan cheese, this recipe with cauliflower is loaded with flavor and texture. Serve it as a side dish or as a base for fish, chicken, steak, or tofu bowls.

View Recipe

03of 16

Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (3)

If you have an air fryer, this buffalo cauliflower recipe is calling your name! This air fried cauliflower is cooked until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, tossed in a tangy vinegar hot sauce, and topped with fresh chives. Serve them up alongside creamy blue cheese dressing.

View Recipe

How to Use an Air Fryer for Tasty, Crispy (And Healthy!) Foods

04of 16

Smoky Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (4)

There’s nothing quite like a bowl of soup on a cold weather day. It’s comforting, warming, and positively nurturing. This cauliflower soup recipe calls for mashing cauliflower into a creamy soup flavored with Cajun seasoning and topping it with with crispy crumbled bacon.

Cauliflower Steaks with Hazelnuts and Browned Butter

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (5)

Try a cauliflower steak recipe for dinner tonight! Large slices of cauliflower are cooked to golden perfection in a piping hot cast-iron skillet and then topped with a pan sauce of nutty brown butter and toasty hazelnuts. A sprinkle of tangy lemon zest upon serving intensifies the nutty flavors of the golden pan sauce.

View Recipe

The 9 Best Nonstick Pans of 2024

06of 16

Cauliflower Gnocchi

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (6)

The texture of these cauliflower dumplings is shockingly similar to potato gnocchi. They’re hearty, tender, and have a perfect sear on them thanks to a hot skillet and plenty of butter. Top with your favorite pasta sauce and a sprinkle of cheese.

View Recipe

07of 16

Herb-Crusted Cod with Cauliflower Mash

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (7)

Tender, flaky cod is encrusted in a golden layer of crisp panko and earthy fresh dill, to create this weeknight dinner. Serve it alongside a colorful riced vegetable medley of cauliflower, potatoes, and carrots. This dish may be an easy weeknight meal to prepare, but it is packed with layers of flavor and a variety of textures.

View Recipe

08of 16

Cauliflower Crusted Pizza

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (8)

If you’re looking to satisfy that pizza craving, but still cut down on carbs, a cauliflower crust is totally the way to go! Replace traditional pizza crust by combining crumbled cauliflower and an Italian cheese blend with breadcrumbs to create a flavorful crust. Top this cauliflower recipe with your favorite pizza toppings and a flavorful sauce.

View Recipe

09of 16

Cauliflower Rice Cakes

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (9)

If you love falafel, you must try these cauliflower rice cakes! Topped with a vibrant green pea pesto made with fresh herbs, sharp Parmesan cheese, and tangy lemon, these cauliflower rice cakes can be enjoyed as an appetizer, side dish, or even a sharable main course!

View Recipe

10of 16

Cauliflower-and-Rosemary Crusted Pizza

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (10)

Fresh chopped rosemary makes this gluten-free cauliflower pizza crust recipe stand out among the rest! You can make and bake this cauliflower base ahead of time, and return it to the oven later on with your favorite toppings. Your entire pizza can be ready in under 10 minutes!

View Recipe

11of 16

Buffalo Cauliflower Salad

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (11)

This simple recipe with cauliflower is the salad version of a delicious buffalo wing platter. It includes hot sauce, lemon juice, crisp carrots and celery, and toasted almonds. Topped with spicy buffalo cauliflower and a creamy avocado dressing, this vegan cauliflower salad is anything but boring!

View Recipe

12of 16

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Jalapeno Creamed Spinach

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (12)

This cauliflower recipe plays up the classic steakhouse pairing of steak and creamed spinach. The roasted cauli steaks are served atop a generous serving of spicy jalapeno creamed spinach that perfectly complements each juicy, tender bite.

View Recipe

13of 16

Crispy Cauliflower Steak Sandwiches

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (13)

These open-face sandwiches are vibrant, colorful, and so satisfying! Bright purple cauliflower, creamy Havarti cheese, crisp greens, and pickled vegetables are piled beautifully upon a toasted baguette. Prepare this sandwich for lunch, or serve it for a weeknight meal or weekend gathering.

View Recipe

14of 16

Chicken Alfredo Cauliflower Rice Bake

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (14)

This kid-friendly dish is the perfect way to incorporate nutritious and vitamin-packed vegetables into a weeknight family comfort meal. Savory rotisserie chicken brings tons of flavor to this cauliflower casserole and tender fresh cauliflower combines perfectly with rich alfredo sauce, sharp cheese, and the perfect bit of crunch from panko bread crumbs. This is a must for your weeknight meal rotation!

View Recipe

15of 16

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Chimichurri

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (15)

This vegan cauliflower recipe comes together in just 30 minutes. Roast the cauliflower and chickpeas until golden in the oven. While they bake, prepare a zesty herb sauce with parsley, cilantro, lime, and green onion. This is a great roasted cauliflower recipe to have for meal prepping.

View Recipe

16of 16

Chicken and Cauliflower Pasta

16 Cauliflower Recipes to Make if You're Cooking Tonight (16)

A hearty helping of veggies adds volume to this weeknight meal idea. Turn 2 cups of rotisserie chicken and just 4 ounces of pasta into a full meal with the addition of chickpeas, cauliflower, and arugula. This cauliflower pasta recipe is a fan favorite, as one reviewer raves, "Left out the chicken to keep it vegetarian. Super easy and oh-so delicious."

View Recipe