In the grand scheme of vegetarian meals, I don't think one can ever have too many recipes for veggie burgers, cakes, and/or patties. Really, they are all similar but each can have it's own role. Ever since I stumbled upon this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen, it's become a staple in many, many forms as a substantial main course. This particular version of the cauliflower cakes is made more often than not, because I almost always have brown rice sitting around. I have a thing for fried cauliflower (a weakness) with ranch and so this version is my take on the bar food.
Variations for the Cauliflower Cakes
Once you make this recipe, you'll realize the extent at which this can be used. Sara mentions a few use cases: on top of greens (my favorite, pictured here and on her site), in sandwich form stuff in pita, as a snack with dip, or another of my favorites: served with eggs. In this case, I served these patties on a bit of arugula and drizzled with homemade ranch.
Breakfast: Serve with a fried egg and drizzled with a bit of hot sauce. You can keep or ditch the greens (I nearly always keep them- feels good to me to have greens in the morning!)
Lunch: Crumbled on a salad or like mentioned above, stuffed in a pita (maybe with a nice smear of hummus and/or harissa.
Dinner: Served as I have them here and while I'm normally a wine drinker with dinner, I'd serve these with a nice IPA (can you tell I do love my fried cauliflower?)
Cauliflower Cakes with Brown Rice and Cheddar
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 cakes 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup short grain brown rice
- 1 ½ cups cauliflower florets
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons chives
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water, with a pinch of salt, to a boil. Add in the brown rice and cook until rice is soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower until it is in pieces smaller than the rice. Transfer to a bowl. In the food processor again, pulse the oats, chives, salt, and pepper until the oats are in fine pieces. Add in the brown rice and pulse a few more times.
- Transfer the rice mixture to the bowl with the cauliflower and add in the cheddar cheese. Whisk the eggs, pour over the mixture and stir until well combined.
- Place mixture in the refrigerator and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
- Warm the olive oil up over medium heat in a large skillet with lid. Wet your hands and form the mixture into patties that are roughly 1" thick and 4" wide. Place in the skillet and cook for 4 minutes, until browning and crisp. Flip, cover, and cook for another 4 minutes until crisp and warmed through.
Notes
+ recipe slightly adapted from this version from Sprouted Kitchen which was adapted from Vegetarian Everyday from Green Kitchen Stories.
Dan says
Looks like a great veggie option for breakfast ... will have to try this soon!
dixya | food, pleasure, and health says
i never get tired of cauliflower based recipes..which means i will be pinning this and making it very very soon 🙂
Marianne says
This looks so delicious! I'm always switching my favourite veggie burger recipe because they're all so good... looks like these patties might be the next favourites!
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
If you're cooking for someone who's not a big fan of cauliflower then these cakes would be a great way to re-introduce cauliflower to them. You better cook a big batch, because they will surely ask for a second serving. 🙂
Kristina says
I love veggie cakes. They are so simple to make and you can make them different every time. They are a perfect dinner. I'll surely try your version of them.
Anna says
I'm making this for dinner for sure!! so yummy
Ellyn says
Please clarify...do you cook the califlower at all? Would it affect the recipe if you parboiled the florets before putting them in the processor?
By the way, the recipe says transfer to a boil, but think that should be bowl. Thanks!
erin says
Thanks for the catch, it is supposed to be bowl. And no, the cauliflower doesn't get cooked before hand. I'm not sure how it would effect the overall cakes, but I wonder about the consistency after parboiling.
Jay Burnett says
Another question - could you use frozen cauliflower for this. ?
★★★★★
erin says
I would be hesitant only because the moisture content of frozen cauliflower wouldn't be the same since it has been precooked. You could always try it but unfortunately I can't tell you if it would work or not.
Valentina Duracinsky says
Yay! This looks so good.
Valentina
Barbara (BarbB) says
I am like you - I love veggie patties of every type. This one looks like it may be my next favorite. I think I'll try it for breakfast with an egg. Yummy.
Lucky says
Look so delicious. Thanks for sharing. I will try to make it.
★★★★★
Allyson says
This looks like a perfect recipe to break in cauliflower season. I'll have to see if I can adapt this to my vitamix, since I don't have a food processor.
erin says
You should be okay- just be careful not puree the cauliflower (those high speed blenders are quick!)
kristin says
Whaaat..this looks amazing! certainly something to fuel my cauliflower obsession! Thanks for sharing!
renee says
This looks delicious, I wonder if you could make it vegan some how, I would love to try these. Maybe i'll have to have a go in the kitchen and see if I can make it work.
Katrina says
i'm assuming the rice is cooked?
erin says
Nope, you cook it in the first step of the instructions.
Mar says
I've made these twice already. Love. Them. The second time I used a box grater for the cauliflower and it worked fine.
erin says
Thanks for the tip (and glad you love them)!
vivian says
This was part of our Sunday dinner this week, along with homemade herb and buttermilk ranch and a huge ray of roasted vegetables from the CSA box. They were delicious. When they first went into the pan, they looked like they would fall apart, but if you just leave them alone until the first side is cooked (5 minutes for me), they stay together really well. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Kavita says
Hi .
I live In India and absolutely love your recipes. I tried this for a week dinner last week and it was delicious.
Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Kelsey says
Can you freeze these after cooking? Would they still
Be crispy when reheated? (They are delicious by the way!)
erin says
I doubt they would still be crispy. I might recommend freezing before freezing and then cooking from a frozen state (it will take a bit longer but would still be crisp!)
Radhika Bhandarkar says
Hi Erin, recently found your site and I love everything! I was about to try these and am wondering if I have to use 1 cup of cooked brown rice or cook 1 cup of the brown rice and use all of it? Many thanks!
Erin Alderson says
Thanks for asking- I used all of it!
ChiTownRUnner says
Made this tonight without the egg, and it was delicious! I processed the brown rice mixture a little longer and added a mixture of chickpea flour and water in place of the eggs. They hold together well, though I did make them a little smaller/thinner than specified. I did have to cook a little longer than 4 minutes per side to get them crispy.
Tina says
I wonder if flaxseed or chiaseed would be good as egg replacement ?? Or any other suggestions? Thanks
Erin Alderson says
Yes- I think either would work. I've not tried it but that's usually my go-to vegan binder in vegetable cakes.
Rachael says
THANK YOU!!! My boys are so picky and getting them to eat veggies is such a struggle. They gobbled these up and asked for seconds.
I made these even easier with the Trader Joe's bagged cauli rice.
Erin Alderson says
Yes! So glad to hear! <3
Eva says
I made these! They’re excellent! Cooking instructions were spot on. I might add more seasoning next time.
Jessica says
I made these with come cooked quinoa I had and they turned out so well. The trick is to let the first side brown nicely before flipping them over. So tasty!
Chelouu says
Quick Question, is this something you could make before and then warm up at a later date (say if you were to take it to work)?
Thanks
★★★★★
Erin Alderson says
I've done it! It's definitely not the crispy texture but I still find them delicious. I'd compare it to premade falafel if you've ever had those before!
Hannah says
This is a go to recipe for me. It is the one thing (aside from mac and cheese) that my kids will ALWAYS eat. And it's great for grown ups too! 🙂
★★★★★