These low carb cauliflower fritters are a great way to use up a little of your leftover holiday ham! Cheesy, grain-free goodness. This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm.
I’ve never understood people who don’t like leftovers. In our house, leftovers are a precious commodity and treated with the great respect they deserve. I often make extras of whatever we are having for dinner in the hopes that there will be some leftovers in the days to come. Mind you, I sometimes underestimate the appetites of my young growing family and can sit in astonishment watching all of my hoped-for extras go down their gullets in one fell swoop. This family likes to eat, that’s for sure. But when there are leftovers, I love the idea that I will get an extra meal out of one night’s cooking. Sometimes it’s lunch, sometimes it’s another whole dinner. And sometimes those leftovers get repurposed into a whole new recipe.
There always seem to be leftovers of holiday ham. Everybody loves it and digs right in, but unless you have a serious crowd to feed, those hams can seem endless. The whole boneless family ham from Jones Dairy Farm is no exception to this. I received one for recipe development and created a delicious Rosemary Garlic Crusted Ham when my sister-in-law and her family came to stay for a few days. The 9 of us put a noticeable dent in it, but there was still plenty for another full meal, some lunches and these low carb fritters. I am not complaining, as we enjoyed it in all of its iterations!
These fritters did prove a bit of a challenge. Cauli has so much moisture, you really need to press on it in a fine-mesh sieve to get as much of it out as possible or your fritters will be soggy puddles. And the lack of gluten makes them a bit prone to falling apart until that first side is fully cooked. I found that it was best to form the patties by hand, really pressing them together, before putting them into the hot pan. And be sure to cook the first side completely before flipping over, as that will help hold them together better. They are worth all the effort though! They are delicious and a great low carb side dish for any occasion. You might just want to buy yourself a holiday ham, if only for the leftovers!
This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm. As always, all recipes, photographs, thoughts, opinions, random tangents and incoherent ramblings are my own.
Ham & Cheese Cauliflower Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 ¼ cups finely diced ham
- 3 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Plenty of oil or butter for the pan
Instructions
- Chop cauliflower into ½ inch pieces and steam about 10 to 15 minutes, until quite soft. Drain well in a fine-mesh sieve. Mash up with a fork or potato masher, pressing to release as much liquid as possible. You don't want it perfectly smooth, it should be a little chunky.
- Transfer cauliflower to a large bowl and add eggs, cheese, ham, coconut flour, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add oil or butter to the pan. Using 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, form cauliflower mixture into flat patties, pressing together firmly. Don't make them more than about 3 inches in diameter.
- When pan is hot, add a few of the cauliflower patties, being careful not to crowd them. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, until browned on the bottom, then flip carefully and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining patties.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Saturated fatty acids: 10.10g
Total fat: 16.17g
Calories from fat: 145
Cholesterol: 118mg
Carbohydrate: 4.55g
Total dietary fiber: 1.86g
Protein: 12.92g
Sodium: 585mg
Heather says
Can these be frozen? I’d love to make a bunch and then have them in the freezer for those days when life is too hectic to cook meals!
Carolyn says
Yes, they would freeze very nicely.
Kara says
Would almond flour work in place of coconut flour?
Carolyn says
Possibly but you need to add 3 times the amount which changes the carb count.
Jocelyn says
Oh these are so getting made! Can’t wait to try them!
Becky Hardin says
These are amazing! Love everything about them. So delicious!
Anna says
These fritters are delicious! My family loved them!
Kristyn says
I could eat so many of these!! I love how crisp & tasty they are! The ham adds nice flavor. Perfect for appetizers or snacking!
Suzy says
I love to have a couple of these as an afternoon snack!
SHARON J says
Since this recipe came out we can now find cauli rice in the freezer section, SO how many cups of processed cauliflower is in this recipe? I know I know it wont be cost effective at all to use the frozen cauli rice, but I am wondering. Thanks so much.
Carolyn says
It’s hard to say for sure but I think you’re looking at about 16 ounces (3 to 4 cups). I know the Trader Joe’s cauli rice is only 12 ounces.
Nina says
Can you still make this if you omit the cheese?
Carolyn says
Not sure how well it will hold together.
Charity says
This was so yummy! Next time I’ll cut back on the salt because the ham I used was salty and so the fritters ere a little salty too, but still good! My picky kids didn’t even notice the califlower!!
Please help! I am trying to determine the serving size for the data listed of calories etc. It says it makes 20-24 fritters and serves 8. For easy math I’m assuming that the serving size is then 3 fritters but that seems high for the data. Could you confirm or give the correct serving size. Thanks so much!
Sheila says
These are delicious! Used asiago cheese and ricotta (had some I had to use up) and green onion. Added a 4th egg because they were not holding together (made them too big – should have listened to your advice). Second pan full much better. Smaller and fried well over 5 min per side. Patties that fall apart fry up really well as a hash. Delicious!
Andrea says
This was a delicious low carb keeper!! Will continue to make and know you can put almost anything you want in it. Delicious!!!
Lisa says
Yummy. I topped worth an over easy egg & low carb yums Avocado ranch dressing. Filling fabulous meal.
Season C says
These were delicious, thank you very much. I used lunch meat ham. I just need to work on getting more water squeezed out of the cauliflower – the last couple patties turned into hash browns in the pan!
Ginger says
Would riced cauliflower (fresh not frozen, comes in a bag, already chopped up, each piece is about the size of rice) work?
Carolyn says
Yup, just make sure to cook it until it’s pretty soft.
Lise says
I make something similar but I use spaghetti squash. Will have to try it with the cauliflower. I make a dill and onion sour cream dip for mine. Yumm
Margaret says
OMG! Just made these and they are fabulous, just like potatoe pancakes. Who would think it is cauliflower
Juanota Richards says
They look great and I’d love to try them but I never never have any kind of flour or sugar in my house. No carbs of any kind. So I need recipes like this which cater to my dietary needs,
Cindy Horvath says
Hmm. I have ham. I have a bag of microwaveable garlic cauliflower. I have cheese. Off to try.. (putting cauliflower in a nonstick searing hot pan removes a lot of moisture very quickly, FYI)
Candace Spaid says
Loved the crunchy outside.