• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Petite Cook™ logo

  • Recipes
  • Italian Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Cookbooks
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Press
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Cookbooks
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Press
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Appetizer Recipes

    Baked Cauliflower Fritters

    Published: May 30, 2019 · Modified: Jul 1, 2020 by Andrea

    Jump to Recipe

    Ditch the deep-fryer in favour of these healthier and easy-to-make crispy patties - These light Baked Cauliflower Fritters are a delicious vegetarian dinner option and are ready in less than 30 min!

    When I was a kid, cauliflower was absolutely out of question for me.

    No matter what, I would avoid at all costs being anywhere near cooked cauliflower. Except for one thing, fritters.

    My mum cleverly came up with these yummy bites to help me and my brothers get over the smelly veggie, and it did work! We used to totally love cauliflower fritters and begged her to make them over and over again.

    I have to say, I still have issues with plain cooked cauliflower, but I do love it in all sorts of recipes now.

    However, making fritters is still my favorite way to enjoy them. I like preparing a big batch of these little guys, and an extra batch of my baked zucchini fritters and serve them as finger food at parties and dinners.

    They're light, full of flavour and usually disappear within minutes!

    Ingredients

    This healthy version of baked cauliflower fritters only requires 7 simple ingredients such as:

    • steamed cauliflower florets
    • garlic
    • aromatic herbs
    • panko breadcrumbs
    • egg white
    • optional Parmesan cheese
    • a little flour

    Instructions

    This recipe takes only 30 mins to prepare, making these simple patties a great dinner option on busy days.

    cauliflower fritters mixture in a large white bowl

    To make these baked cauliflower fritters all you have to do is mix together the ingredients in a large bowl, just as you would do with meatballs.

    Then, form small patties with the help of your hands and lightly dust them with flour.

    Spray a little olive oil on both sides of each fritter and arrange them on a baking tray, or heat a large pan with some olive oil (in this case you don't need to spray them with oil beforehand).

    hand holding a small amount of mixture shaped as a flatten disk

    I prefer to bake the fritters in the oven, but you can also give them a go in the airfryer.

    However, if you prefer to fry them (I won't judge), the best advice I can give is to fry the fritters in small batches so they get extra crispy and turn into that lovely golden-brown colour.

    Dairy-free Cauliflower Fritters

    To keep them 100% dairy-free, take the Parmesan out and substitute with extra panko and fresh aromatic herbs. You won't compromise the flavour, I promise!

    Can I Freeze These Fritters?

    Absolutely, I do that all the time! Once the fritters are ready and cooked through, place them in airtight containers, with baking paper between the layers of fritters, and freeze for up to 1 month.

    Serving Tips

    Serve them piping hot plain as they are with a squeeze of lemon on top if you like.

    Or even better, try them dipped in this spicy marinara sauce.

    For a healthy breakfast, serve them with poached or scrambled eggs.

    Try them with a large nutritious quinoa salad for a balanced meal.

    cauliflower fritters stacked on a white plate, more fritters in a plate on the background

    These cauliflower fritters are so good you'll want to make them over and over again!

    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

    Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook! Looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!

    Print SaveSaved!
    4.78 from 9 votes

    Baked Cauliflower Fritters

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Ditch the deep-fryer in favour of these healthier and easy-to-make crispy patties – These light Baked Cauliflower Fritters are a delicious vegetarian and dairy-free dinner option and are ready in less than 30 min!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Main course/ Appetizer
    Cuisine: Italian
    Serving: 4
    Author: Andrea Soranidis

    Ingredients

    • 300 g cauliflower florets, steamed
    • 1 egg white
    • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
    • a bunch of fresh parsley and basil leaves, chopped
    • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
    • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, optional
    • sea salt and pepper, to taste
    • all purpose flour, for dusting
    • Extra-virgin olive oil, for spraying or frying

    To serve:

    • lemon wedges, optional
    • 1 cup marinara sauce, optional

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F.
    • In a large bowl or food processor, mix together panko, fresh parsley/basil, minced garlic and Parmesan if using. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Fold in the tender cauliflower florets and egg white and mix all the ingredients until you have a dense mixture. Add in more panko if too wet, or an extra egg if too dry. Adjust seasoning.
    • Form small patties with your hands and lightly dust with flour.
    • Spray with olive oil on both sides and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    • Bake in the oven for 10 min of each side, or until crispy and golden-brown.
    • Serve the fritters piping hot, and enjoy plain, or with a squeeze of lemon on top and optional marinara sauce on the side.

    Notes

    Recipe originally posted in April 2016 and updated with more info.
    Did you try this recipe? Tag @thepetitecook or use the hashtag #thepetitecook - Looking at your pictures makes my day!

    The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

     

     

    More Appetizer Recipes

    • Baked Purple Sweet Potatoes
    • Mozzarella in Carrozza (Fried Mozzarella Sandwich)
    • Homemade Ricotta Cheese
    • Grissini - Crunchy Italian Breadsticks
    2171 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Yummly

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MaleRN says

      March 12, 2022 at 11:18 pm

      5 stars
      Awesome recipe. Anyone can customize it with different kind of spices. I added onion and paprika and substituted. Turned out very well. Even fooled one of my kids that it’s a potato pancake. I definitely will switch up the spices next time and try chives, curry, and tumeric to make it taste like a falafel or Italian seasoning to make it taste like arancini balls

      Reply
    2. SQS says

      March 12, 2021 at 2:31 pm

      And no temp for the oven? Come on!

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        March 14, 2021 at 7:49 am

        Hi! The oven temperature is stated in the first line of the recipe 🙂 Hope you like the fritters!

        Reply
        • Patti says

          April 11, 2021 at 11:39 pm

          5 stars
          I make these all the time, I love them! So very easy to make and they are very filling.

          Reply
    3. Linda Greiss says

      September 24, 2019 at 8:28 pm

      Can you use cauliflower that has been put in the food processer made as rice.

      Reply
    4. Louise says

      September 09, 2019 at 10:39 pm

      It’s not clear in your instructions if you cook the fritters before freezing.

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        September 10, 2019 at 6:27 am

        Hi Louise, yes, you need to bake them before freezing! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Suzet says

      November 08, 2017 at 12:21 am

      Instructions
      Report this ad

      Preheat oven to 200C/400C.

      Which one is it?? And do you know the degrees in Fahrenheit??

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        November 15, 2017 at 10:10 am

        Ooops, thanks for spotting the typo! The temperature should be 200C or 395F.

        Reply
    6. Mary Coyle says

      April 19, 2016 at 7:55 pm

      These look absolutely delicious! Healthy too!

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        April 20, 2016 at 10:21 am

        They're so light and tasty Mary! Thank you for stopping by, I hope you like them 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    About Andrea

    Andrea Soranidis, founder of The Petite Cook.


    Welcome to my kitchen!
    I’m Andrea, I'm Italian, and I absolutely LOVE cooking.
    Grab a fork and join me!
    READ MORE ABOUT ME…

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Follow us

    The Petite Cook™

    Quick and Easy Italian Recipes Anyone Can Cook


    About Andrea

    Privacy Policy

    Work with us

    Terms

    Press

    Nutrition Disclaimer

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 The Petite Cook. The Petite Cook® is a registered trademark.