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    Home » Recipes » Appetizer Recipes

    Baked Cauliflower Fritters

    Updated: Jun 3, 2024 · Published: May 30, 2019 by Andrea

    Jump to Recipe

    These light Baked Cauliflower Fritters are a delicious vegetarian dinner option and are ready in less than 30 min!

    Baked cauliflower fritters are a great way to get children to eat cauliflower, who usually don't particularly like it due to its strong smell.

    These fritters are delicious and even my son who normally doesn't like this vegetable, appreciated and devoured them.

    To be honest, the whole family likes them so much that I make them every week!

    I like preparing a big batch of these little guys, and an extra batch of my baked zucchini fritters and serving them as finger food at parties and dinners.

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

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

    Ingredients

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

    • Steamed cauliflower florets
    • Garlic
    • Aromatic herbs
    • Panko breadcrumbs
    • Egg
    • Grated Parmesan cheese
    • A little flour

    How to make cauliflower fritters

    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 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, then bake in the oven.

    Alternatively, you can fry them in a large pan with a bit of 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 air fryer or simply fry them in a pan with a little oil.

    If you prefer to fry them, fry the fritters in small batches, so they get extra crispy and turn into that lovely golden-brown color.

    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 cauliflower fritters?

    Absolutely, I do that all the time!

    Once the fritters are ready and cooked through, transfer them in an airtight container, 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 marinara sauce.

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

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

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

    Did you try this recipe?

    Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!

    Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest updates.

    Recipe

    Print SaveSaved!
    4.82 from 11 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 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Main course/ Appetizer
    Cuisine: Italian
    Serving: 4
    Calories: 117kcal
    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.
    Did you try this recipe? Tag @thepetitecook or use the hashtag #thepetitecook - Looking at your pictures makes my day!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 581mg | Potassium: 448mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 1mg

    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.

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Katie says

      April 07, 2025 at 11:02 am

      5 stars
      So tasty! Do you defrost after freezing or cook from frozen? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        April 15, 2025 at 10:29 am

        Hi Katie, cook them directly from frozen!

        Reply
    2. Gino says

      December 22, 2024 at 1:12 am

      Can you prepare the batter day before?

      Reply
    3. 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
    4. 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
    5. 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
    6. 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
    7. 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
    8. 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
    4.82 from 11 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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    Andrea Soranidis, founder of The Petite Cook.

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