Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
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For the past few years I’ve heard a lot about cauliflower breadsticks and cauliflower pizza crust. Of course I never believed the hype. I couldn’t imagine cauliflower could taste like bread or crust in any way.
But then I’ve been eating zoodles lately. I also thought there was no way zucchini could taste like noodles and I was proved wrong in that case so I thought maybe I was wrong in the case of the cauliflower as well.
I didn’t want to tell my husband what the breadsticks were made out of because I wasn’t sure how he’d feel. When I started making the breadsticks I was surprised by how long the process was to make them. You have to cook the cauliflower, drain the cauliflower, squeeze out the cauliflower, then shape it.
The best part of the breadsticks is putting the herbs and cheese on top. I’ll be honest, after seeing the cauliflower go into the oven I wasn’t holding out much hope of it working. Even after baking when the breadsticks came out they were soft.
I found that letting them sit for 10 minutes did the trick. They firmed up nicely and I was able to pick them up. I tasted them and was pleasantly surprised. They had a different texture to them but tasted like herb and cheese garlic breadsticks! My husband and I each had about 4 of them and really ended up enjoying them. The great thing about them is that 4 of these breadsticks was just a little over the calories in one piece of the garlic bread I normally serve.
The one word of advice I’d give about these is to double the recipe and make two orders because it’s a lot of work. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator and then I heated them up in the oven for 10 minutes the next day and they firmed up again. This is a great way to get all the flavor you enjoy from breadsticks without all the carbs and calories.
Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ c. mozzarella cheese shredded
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper leaving enough excess that it hangs over the sides.
- In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets until they are tiny but not liquefied.
- Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Place the cooked cauliflower in a dish towel and squeeze. Squeeze out as much water as possible. I was able to squeeze out about a cup of liquid.
- Transfer the squeezed cauliflower to a mixing bowl. Mix with egg, mozzarella, Italian herbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix well.
- Spread the cauliflower mixture in the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the loaf is set and starting to brown, about 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. When the cauliflower loaf has browned, use the parchment paper to lift out the breadsticks and flip them over carefully onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the tops are browned.
- Take out of the oven, sprinkle with additional cheese, and broil for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut and serve.
Notes
These are delicious served with marinara sauce. One breadsticks yields 34 calories and 3 grams of fat.
