Yes, you read right. This is indeed a cauliflower-based breakfast bowl. And while it may sound completely crazy, rest assured I'm not the first to have thought of making cauliflower into a grain-free breakfast food, though for a moment when the thought popped into my head I mused at the thought of it being a first -- it's comforting to know I'm not the only cauliflower die-hard though!
I can really and honestly eat cauliflower for lunch and dinner a thousand ways and never get bored. So I was thinking why not turn it into a breakfast too.... I thought to make a porridge recipe for the blog, but then I had a look around and there are in fact already a hundred and one cauliflower porridge recipes out there, so I gave up on sharing mine altogether -- why clutter the web with more of the same...
...But then this bowl happened, and I felt it needed to be shared. I was all out of fruit one morning (strangely except for the few lonely figs you see featured), not feeling like grains, and a nut-based porridge just seemed too heavy, but there was this cauliflower looking at me in the fridge and I winked back at it and knew exactly what needed to be done there. And done deliciously it was.
Really, if it sounds a little strange, rest assured it all quite makes sense. Cooked cauliflower blends into a smooth, creamy, and comforting mixture. We do it in alfredos and other sauces, so why not turn it into a sweet breakfast also?!
This recipe is another one of those rough guide ones -- really it's more of a concept I thought to share: using cauliflower as a warm and creamy breakfast base, filled with your favorite fixings. So feel free to change things up, use more or less sweetener to your liking, or a different sweetener of your choice (though maple and molasses make things so delicious!), play around with flavors or add-ins, etc. Basically, all you're going to be doing is cooking up some cauliflower in a plant milk of your choice until it's nice and tender and soaked in delicious milk. And then you blend it all into a smooth cream of wheat-like porridge, and finish things off by adding flavors and fixings to your taste. Simple. Wholesome. Delicious. Interesting!
The one thing I will say is that the cauliflower flavor is a little pronounced when this breakfast bowl is "naked" -- that's why my favorite go-to flavor for this is chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better, doesn't it? And it masks the slight cauliflower taste perfectly too. Other flavors you could try though would be things like cranberry, cinnamon, etc. Though I know for some the mild cauliflower flavor is not even an issue at all. I like sneaky veggies in things, but not enough for something like this, so playing up the flavors with this one is a must for me.
You can make this "grainy" or more textured by adding cauliflower rice into it (cauliflower pulsed in a food processor to mimic the size of rice grains) after blending and then cooking a few minutes longer. You can also add in some almond flour or sunflower seed flour instead (delicious!). You can make it creamier by blending in something like a banana, mango, or persimmons... You can up the cauliflower-to-plant milk ratio by a lot to make it a thicker bowl too -- it becomes something akin to cream of wheat porridge like that. And of course you can throw in a thousand and one custom add-ins to your liking: nuts, seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, granola, rawnola, etc. Drizzle with melted chocolate, molasses, tahini or your favorite nut or seed butter. Stir in a bit of coconut manna, or raw sweetened condensed milk... or whatever you've got lying around in your fridge or cupboards or crave for that morning... and enjoy!
So here's how I fixed this particular bowl... give it a try and take it from there! :)
P.S. You can make a larger batch of this for a few days in advance -- it keeps refrigerated well and tastes delicious chilled. You can also freeze some for later use.
PrintCauliflower Breakfast Bowl
A warm, creamy breakfast bowl that's entirely grain and gluten-free, and provides a healthy dose of sneaky vegetables beneath optional fruit, nut, chocolate, and maple syrup drizzle.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients
Cauliflower Base:
- 1½ - 2 cups cauliflower florets
- ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or light canned coconut milk for a creamier version)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt (or more to taste)
- ½ tsp raw ground vanilla bean (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
- 1-2 tablespoon cacao powder (or more for a darker chocolate flavor)
- 1 tsp unsulphured blackstrap molasses
Add-Ins:
- nuts (I used some pecans), raisins, fresh fruit (I used figs, but strawberries are nice too), more maple for drizzling, coconut sugar for sprinkling (adds a nice subtle caramely flavor), extra almond milk to thin the mixture out a little.
Instructions
- Place the cauliflower and plant milk in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes (or until cauliflower florets can be pierced easily with a fork).
- Use an immersion blender (or cool and transfer into a regular blender) to blend the cauliflower and plant milk into a smooth consistency.
- Add in all remaining base ingredients and mix everything to combine (I transferred a bit of the mixture into the bowl before adding in the cacao to have the black & white bowl). Adjust flavors to taste.
- Transfer into your bowl, top with add-ins and enjoy warm, or chill for a cold breakfast bowl (in which case add the add-ins when ready to eat).
Emilie says
I made this this morning and YEAH I'm pretty stoked to have breakfasts back.
I have to stay away from starch for an autoimmune disorder and it tasted so close to cream of wheat :)
I used monkfruit as my sweetener and seasoned it with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I topped it with banana, chopped dates, hemp seeds, slivered almonds, strawberry, blueberry, and a tiny bit of almond butter drizzled over.
I totally forgot but next time I want to add a scoop of my unsweetened pea protein powder!
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Emilie. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback and for sharing the way you dressed this breakfast bowl up -- sounds delicious! I'm glad you found a basis for a breakfast idea here that works for your needs :)
M says
Audrey, this is brilliant! It will SAVE LIVES! I added a couple of dried apricots while cooking the cauli and also took it out the moment it got fork-tender. I blended the apricots with the cauliflower and the cauli taste was really minimized and it needed very little other sweetener. Thank you so much!!
Audrey says
Oh, I love this idea -- thanks for sharing! :) So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Maryam says
THAT is brilliant! Thank you so much!
Jonas Cohen says
this looks marvelous! I'm on keto and have been looking for a cream of cauliflower rice recipe. I don't suppose you might have the macros for this recipe as you prepared it? Thanks so much.
★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Jonas, no, I don't. But you can always run the recipe as you prepare it through one of the many free recipe nutrition calculators you can find online to get the macros.
Rebecca Clemmer says
Hmm, I'm thinking of taking this in a savory direction, by adding some Parmesan cheese and herbs and maybe some nuts....
Audrey says
Interesting ideas -- thanks for sharing :)
Maryam says
I’m on that savory page too Rebecca and want to take it further into a cheese that gets made with a ‘cauliflower milk’ instead of a seed or nut milk. Please let me know if you find anything!
Hannah says
Love this idea! I make a similar version of this with riced cauliflower boiled in water/milk then combined with eggs and flaxseed to make a porridge. Who knew cauliflower made such a delicious breakfast??
Audrey says
Thanks for sharing, Hannah :)
Kate says
Good lord Audrey! I'm seriously like your biggest new fan. Again an amazing recipe. The crazy fruity Carob cake was such a hit, and I'm having this as we speak. So. Good. Will have to post this one as well and share your wealth!! So stoked for more. Xo
Audrey says
Kate!! You're the best. Thank you so much for all your amazing feedback. So happy you're enjoying all these recipes. I feel I'm in good company :)
Kiki says
Could I replace it with broccoli? It might be gross but you've heard of green smoothies, right? Maybe I could even make it mint or matcha flavored!
Audrey says
I don't see why not, Kiki -- I've actually been thinking of trying that too :) Just would need to make sure the flavors are balanced and that it doesn't actually taste like broccoli... unless you like broccoli cakes, that is ;) But yeah, I can see it working and will be trying it in the future myself. If you get there before me let me know how it turned out!
Kristen @ The Endless Meal says
This is brilliant! I'm so happy you decided to post this recipe ... I haven't seen any of the other cauliflower porridge recipes yet so this is brand new to me. Love it!
★★★★★
Audrey says
Glad I introduced you to something new-ish :)
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy says
Oh WOW! This sounds amazing, and I've never had cauliflower for breakfast so I'm so intrigued! Not too early to get those veggies in either. I have everything to make this, so hoping to try it out this week!!! I love cauliflower...so keep them coming!
Audrey says
Cauliflower is so versatile. Can literally make anything out of this cruciferous veg. Love it!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
This is nothing I would've come up with, but it sounds amazing!!! I love cauliflower and your creativity! Awesome.
Audrey says
Thanks very much, Ellen! Appreciate it ♥
Elisabetta@Però Sano says
Wow!!! I feel exactly the same, I really love cauliflower (and other brassicas). I made brownies and cakes with it but such a velvety cream... oh, I miss it...Thank you so much for your recipe and for blogging. You're so inspiring! :-*
Audrey says
Hi Elisabetta,
Thank you so much. Cauliflower in sweets has now become a bit of an obsession for me -- can't stop myself, it's such a versatile veggie ♥
I've made cauli cakes and was about to try it out in brownies as well -- good to know it turned out well for you :)
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
Cauliflower for breakfast?! Wow, this is so creative, Audrey! At first I was like "what?! This is crazy", but it looks sooo good and I just shared a recipe for zucchini and oats last week, so I TOTALLY need to try this!! :-)
Audrey says
Oh, yeah -- Sina ♥ It's so good! I love zucchini in sweets and smoothies, so I can just picture how good it would taste in oats! Going to check out your recipe now... :)
Margaux says
YES! Nom nom nom! I'm going scouting for fresh cauliflower to make this because it sounds absolutely perfect - and with your amazing photos I can practically taste it too :)
Audrey says
Thank you so much! It's so good in a breakfast dish, and like you said smoothies, etc. Love this veggie to bits ♥
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
Can I tell you how impressed and amazed I am by this recipe! I LOVE cauliflower and tend to buy tons of it, and it just so happens that I bought a little too much this week, meaning I need to use it up with this recipe! I think it was fate! Great recipe!
Audrey says
Haha, amazing -- enjoy it Bethany! That's exactly how I ended up with my first bowl... too much cauli, not enough fruit. Fate ♥
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
This sounds crazy, but looks incredible! The toppings alone are drool worthy, I have a feeling I would forget entirely that I am eating a vegetable with all that yumminess on top. I actually made a chocolate cauliflower frosting a while ago and it tasted delicious with no hint of veggie, so I 100% believe that cauliflower is well disguised under all those toppings. The addition of a banana sounds delicious too! Even if cauliflower for breakfast has been done, you always seem to somehow do it better! I'm so glad you shared <3
Audrey says
Thanks Natalie :) It's so good. I know you're good with endless fruit... but knowing there's a plan B is always good :) I made a really delicious chocolate cake out of it yesterday actually as well -- it's so good. I can just imagine how good it is in frosting. Is the recipe on your blog? Hmmm.. I'm going to look :)
I think I'm renaming this blog unconventional cauliflower because I honestly can't stop it with the recipes over here lol
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Hahaha I like the name change! I've though about changing mine to feasting on muffins before just so we can post endless cauliflower/muffin recipes without it being weird and annoying :D I made my best batch yet of your pumpkin muffins today, mmm so good! And actually I don't think the cauliflower frosting is on my blog. Thought is was but now i can't find it...weird. It was just cauliflower and cacao and milk blended up though, simple stuff. I'm intrigued by this chocolate cake you have though :)
Audrey says
Oh, yeah, I searched and couldn't find it! Oh well, means you just need to make more sometime ;)
And I love feasting on muffins so much ♥ So glad you're still going strong with those muffins!
Mara says
I will definitely try this at the weekend!
Looks soo good! I think I'll also add a little bit of cashew butter to make it extra creamy! :)
Audrey says
That's awesome, Mara! I hope you enjoy it ♥ And you are right -- it is super delicious with cashew butter! :)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
This is so me!! Has my name written all over the craziness!! But that's always it, the crazier the better ;) In love, Audrey!!!
Audrey says
Haha. Yep, I think you'll love this :)
Sarah | Well and Full says
Cauliflower for breakfast?? You certainly got my attention, girl! I would have never guessed that cauliflower would make such a sweet and creamy breakfast bowl! :D
Audrey says
Haha, glad it worked and brought you here, Sarah! :) And yes, it's absolutely delicious ♥