Cauliflower is a vegetable that is fairly new to me. We never had it growing up and I didn’t even know it existed until 1 year into college. Now, I absolutely love it. Everyone else in my house….not so much. Me, I can eat it steamed with some salt and butter and be happy as can be with it. If it isn’t smothered in sauce with cheese sprinkled on the top, no one else wants anything to do with it. So, I am always looking for different ways to prepare it that will please everyone. With crispy fried cauliflower, I have found it. My 9 year old claims that it’s the “best thing” I have ever made. I don’t know about all that, but it is pretty good.

UPDATE: Video below!

How to make crispy fried cauliflower

Starting with a head of cauliflower, you want to break it down so that you have medium sized florets with stems. You can certainly make them smaller, but I like this size for dipping. The smaller bits are great in a salad.

Steam for 5 minutes and then set aside on a paper towel to cool. UPDATE:I have actually tried the without steaming and it’s actually perfect. I would probably only recommend steaming this if you are working with large pieces.

Next, you want to get your dredge going. In a medium or large zip lock bag add your flour and spices. The spices should be whatever you like. I like to add salt, pepper, smoked and sweet paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and allspice.

Throw in your florets and give it a shake, shake, shake to coat them all. Lay them out on a paper towel while you prepare your breading station.

I find that working with a zip lock bag makes an already mess recipe a little less messy, but you could also just put the flour into a bowl.

Then you want to dip the floured florets into the egg and back into the flour. You can put quite a few florets into your bag all at once and give it another shake, shake, shake.

Time to fry!

I am frying them in coconut oil and it doesn’t even have to be a ‘deep’ fry. It only takes 3-5 minutes per side.

Transfer them to a paper bowl, sprinkle a little salt on them while they are piping hot and then serve!

I would like to try baking them next time. They came out even better than I imagined.

Enjoy!

If you are looking for different ways to work with this veggie, try my Cauliflower Pizza or Cauliflower ‘breadsticks’.

Crispy Fried Cauliflower

Ingredients

Coconut Oil for frying
1 head of cauliflower cut into large florets
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon Allspice

Instructions

Steam florets for 5 minutes. Cool.
In a ziplock bag, add your flour and spices and shake to combine.
Toss your florets in to coat the cauliflower and set the florets aside.
In a separate shallow dish mix your eggs and dijon until well combined.
Dip your floured florets into the egg mixture and then drop into your flour mixture to coat a second time.
Shallow fry them in coconut oil 3-5 minutes per side until they are nice and golden brown. Enjoy!