22 Cauliflower Recipes That Will Make You Want to Eat This Popular and Versatile Vegetable All the Time

A spectacular vegetarian main starring our favorite cruciferous vegetable paired with cucumber salad and yogurt sauce. We steam, then grill the head of cauliflower to make sure the interior is tender while the exterior has a tasty brown crust.

A must for your next cookout! Steamed cauliflower is tossed with celery, onion, and a mustard vinaigrette for a carb-free salad with satisfyingly tender bites that gets even better the next day as the flavors meld.

The humble cauliflower will always make comfort food more cozy. Here, it stars along with Swiss chard and Gruyère cheese in a comforting, meatless baked pasta.

Beautiful and delicious, this dish has it all. Cutting cauliflower into steak-like cross-sections before roasting makes the vegetable feel more substantial. It's topped with Kalamata olives, clementines, fresh parsley, and a white-wine vinaigrette for a delectable Mediterranean-style side dish.

Better than mashed potatoes? Definitely a winner for color and nutrition, this mash is amped up with milk, butter, and a touch of nutmeg and cayenne. 

Turning cauliflower into rice is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your meal. Cooking it in the oven means it comes out crispy. Make it really healthy by adding edamame and serving with heart-healthy wild salmon. And the clincher: This winner meal is made on just one sheet pan.

If you hadn't considered using cauliflower as a sandwich filling, this recipe will inspire you! Cauliflower and chickpeas are roasted and spiced for this plant-based entrée that's inspired by the falafel and there's a bright, zippy lime-jalapeño yogurt sauce drizzled on top.

Our deconstructed take on a grilled cheese sandwich uses roasted cauliflower steaks as a base and crunchy toasted bread as a garnish. Umami-rich mushrooms and nutty Gruyère turn them into a satisfying vegetarian dinner.

And you thought tuna-noodle casserole couldn't get any better. The classic returns with cauliflower snuggled among the pasta.

Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will appreciate the appeal of this hearty knife-and-fork dish. It's made by cutting a head of cauliflower, trimmed stem and all, vertically into thick slabs, then roasting it until it's crisp and browned on the outside but still tender inside. Serve each "steak" with romesco sauce or try tapenade, chimichurri, or salsa verde.

We love the combination of raw cauliflower, cooked crisp-tender green beans, and crunchy roasted chickpeas in this salad. Fresh parsley and dried currants complete the dish.

Homemade pizza? Yes, please! If you haven't made a pizza using cauliflower as the crust, today is the day! Margherita is the classic topping but feel free to swap it for anything you like.

Crisp-tender cauliflower is topped with a sensational dressing made from walnuts roasted with garlic and Parmesan, capers, parsley, and red-wine vinegar.

Try this novel technique for a fast vegetarian meal: finely chopped cauliflower is broiled atop the pasta. Yes, it's a one-pan dinner!

Why does a dish always seem fancier when made in individual portions? Here we have roasted cauliflower with dairy upon dairy upon deliciousness (plenty of butter and milk plus Gruyère and Parmesan).

This creative winter salad calls for cauliflower to be grated and tossed with lemon, oil, and herbs. It's a radical and delicious take on the classic bulgur salad. Served alongside sliced roasted chicken breast over a bed of baby kale and shredded carrots, it's a standout dinner. 

Is there really nothing cauliflower can't do? We think not! Case in point: It makes an excellent pickle.

Similar to hummus, this dip replaces nutty chickpeas with rich, buttery cauliflower and nutrient-dense spinach but keeps the tahini. The result is a dip that's—dare we say it?— even better than hummus and definitely prettier.

Potatoes and cheese have been friends for years, but why not add cauliflower to the mix? Here, our favorite vegetable adds a pleasant crunch and nutty flavor to this creamy casserole.

Oh so easy and so smooth, this super simple recipe calls for cooking florets in chicken broth then blending. There's no dairy—the cauliflower magically creates a creamy texture.

Purple cauliflower is a moody, delicious accompaniment to flageolet beans in this colorful plant-based dish that's as balanced as it is beautiful.

This casserole is simple to make and comforting to eat. Your family will enjoy it paired with any protein!