Cauliflower fritters are a fabulous keto side dish for any meal. Add a little cheddar and some finely diced ham for a punch of flavor, or leave them plain. It’s a great recipe to customize and make your own!
How would I describe these gluten-free cauliflower fritters? Crispy, golden, and full of flavor, that’s how. And a whole sight healthier than hashbrowns. Heck they’re even healthier than most other cauliflower fritter recipes!
My family loves all kinds of fritters, especially my chicken fritters and my keto zucchini fritters. They also adore my keto tuna patties, which are arguably fritters as well. All of which makes this mama very happy, since it’s tough to get three kids to agree on anything these days.
We served these with a dollop of ranch dressing on top. But you can easily do sour cream or another dressing of choice. Or serve them for breakfast with a fried egg on top. Oh, the delicious possibilities!
Updated Cauliflower Fritters Recipe
Made with simple, clean ingredients, these fritters are a fabulous way to use up some leftover ham. Let’s face it, hams are huge, and unless you have a serious crowd to feed, they can seem virtually endless.
I first created this recipe back in 2014 for that very purpose. So I decided to revisit it and see if I could improve upon it a little bit.
Keto cauliflower fritters don’t hold together as well as the conventional variety because they lack flour, and thus have no gluten to bind them. They are a touch fragile but I found a few tricks to help keep them together better. Read my How-To section for more details!
Ingredients
Nothing crazy or outrageous in these cauliflower fritters! Just basic ingredients you can find at any grocery store. You will need:
- Cauliflower – You can chop up a whole head or use pre-cut florets. You can even use cauliflower rice!
- Eggs
- Almond flour – See Frequently Asked Questions for nut-free alternatives.
- Garlic
- Minced herbs – I used chopped sage, as I had it on hand. But parsley, thyme, or rosemary would also be delicious.
- Grated cheese – I used sharp white cheddar, but again, so many possibilities here.
- Ham – Optional. Feel free to leave it out or replace it with some cooked, chopped bacon.
- Salt and pepper
- Oil for the pan
How to make Cauliflower Fritters
Because these fritters contain no flour or starches, they require a bit of care when making them. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Process the cauliflower until finely chopped: In the original recipe, I steamed small florets and mashed them, but it made them more fragile. Processing the cauliflower until it resembles rice makes it a lot easier to squeeze out the excess moisture.
- Steam the cauliflower until very soft: You can do this in a microwave or in a pan on the stove.
- Squeeze out the moisture: Wrap the cooked cauliflower in a tea towel and really squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
- Stir in the other ingredients: Make sure that the ham and herbs are finely chopped as well, to make the patties more cohesive.
- Form into patties: Keep them on the small side so that they aren’t as hard to flip. 2 tablespoons of the cauliflower mixture is about right for small patties.
- Refrigerate 1 hour: Another trick that helps them stay together a little better!
- Use a non-stick skillet: I really don’t recommend cast iron here, as I found that it browned them too quickly and they wanted to stick too much.
- Use plenty of oil: Make sure that the skillet has a full coating of oil across the bottom and add more as needed.
- Don’t crowd the pan! You need room to get the spatula underneath and flip them, so give each fritter a few inches of space.
- Let cool a few minutes: They are hot coming off that pan so give them 5 to 10 minutes to cool before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and either fresh or frozen is fine. You will need 16 ounces to make this cauliflower fritter recipe. Just make sure to cook until very soft.
My original recipe took 3 tablespoons of coconut flour, so you can do that here as well. It’s no better or worse than almond flour in terms of consistency.
Possibly, but the cheese does help give the fritters some cohesiveness so they may be a little more fragile. I am not sure if any dairy-free grated cheese would help but it might! At the very least, it would be a delicious experiment.
Possibly but I haven’t tried. They may stick and be somewhat tough to flip over. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
This is a great make-ahead recipe! The fritters actually hold together better the longer they sit, so you can make them in advance by a day or two and simply rewarm them in the oven.
Store the fritters in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
What to serve with cauliflower fritters
This tasty cauliflower recipe goes with just about anything! Here are some suggestions:
- Easy Pork Medallions
- Spinach Artichoke Chicken
- Keto Pork Chops
- Air Fryer Steak Bites
- Creamy Feta Dressing
- Keto Parmesan Crusted Fish
Cauliflower Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 pound)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cups finely diced ham
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Oil for the pan (avocado or olive oil)
Instructions
- Chop the cauliflower into 1 inch florets. Add to a food processor or high-powered blender (if using a blender, add a cup or two of water). Process until finely chopped (drain if using a blender with water).
- Place in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a large plate. Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook in a pan over medium heat until very tender.
- Set a tea towel into a sieve and drain the cauliflower through the tea towel. Let sit until cool enough to handle and then gather the ends of the tea towel together and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl and add the eggs, cheese, ham, almond flour, garlic, sage, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Line a platter with parchment or waxed paper. Using 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time, form into small patties about 3 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick. You should get 16 patties. Refrigerate 1 hour to firm up.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add some of the cauliflower patties, taking care not to crowd the pan.
- Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until nicely browned on the browned on the bottom. Then wiggle a thin-bladed spatula underneath and carefully flip. Press down firmly with the spatula and cook another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the remaining patties. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Kelly says
This looks so good!.
Michelle K says
I have some bags of frozen cauliflower. Could I use that instead?
Carolyn says
Yes, I think that should work.
Anthony DiFiore says
I just made these and they’re delicious!!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked them!
Nancy says
We love leftovers at my house too! Cauliflower has become one of my low carb favorite dishes because it is SOOO versatile. I tried these last week and they were AMAZING! Mine tried to stick to the pan making them hard to flip so I ended up just scrambling them and making a hash. We ate on this dish for several meals and enjoyed it more each time. Thanks Carolyn for another amazing recipe. I always check your recipes first when looking for a low carb edition.
Allyson says
Love the idea of using cauliflower in these fritters! Yum!
Priscilla @ She's Cookin' says
Leftovers rule! We love cauliflower, so these fritters would be a big hit in our house!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Priscilla.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I love making veggie fritters but never have tried making them with cauliflower before. What a great and delicious idea.. definitely something I need to try!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
My husband and I have completely opposite opinions on leftovers. Me? Awesome. Him? Feels the need to eat every serving of the meal (even if it’s a 4 serving meal and just the 2 of us eating it) when it’s served to not allow for leftovers. It kills me! These fritters look awesome. Ham is the perfect addition to cauli to add some salt and flavor.
Rachael @ Cabot Cheese says
Love this idea! What a PERFECT breakfast idea….!
Lauren @ Healthy Delicious says
I’m with you on leftovers – I always get upset when there aren’t any. I don’t usually repurpose them, but with things like ham that make SO much you kind of have to at some point. These cauliflower fritters look awesome!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I’m a huge, huge cauliflower fan. These look amazing. Pinned.
leslie says
You make cauliflower look soon good!
Jenny Flake says
What perfect little fritters! So hungry now!
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
These look so wonderful- I could eat the whole stack!
Liz says
These look terrific! I need to cook a ham just to have leftovers for these fritters!
fabiola@notjustbaked says
Oh my gosh, I totally agree! I do not understand no leftover people at all. I purposely make more to have leftovers, make more, cook less. I actually wrote those words in my last post! Love this!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
I LOVE leftovers too! This is such a great idea!
Janet says
Leftovers rule!
I made a large batch of Coq au Vin yesterday so we could have lots of leftovers for the week. I tend to do that a lot, not sure how others get things done without leftovers to fall back on. : )
Carolyn says
I know a few people who don’t like leftovers and throw everything away after the first meal. Can you believe that???
KalynsKitchen says
I love this idea!
Catherine says
What delicious looking and sounding fritters. Catherine