A cake for dinner? Why not?! I’ve been wanting to make this for a long time. Cakes are easy to make, so why not combine that with a bunch of vegetables and make a Savory Cauliflower Cake for dinner? It has tons of protein and vegetables, but doesn’t have any meat, so it’s a really nice comforting meatless meal.
I like that you can just cook the veggies and then throw everything in your cake pan, and let it bake in the oven while you do something else.
Nutritious Savory Cauliflower Cake
I’ve seen a few recipes online for a Savory Cauliflower Cake, but I always found that it was seriously lacking in the vegetable department, so mine has a lot more, and it made it that much tastier. So good!
Cauliflower is very high in vitamin C, and our body needs a lot of vitamin C to perform many functions. The catch is that our body only takes the amount of vitamin C that it needs at the time and then flushes it out, so it’s important to eat foods that have vitamin C at every meal.
Even though this dish doesn’t have any meat, it is packed with proteins to keep you full and help your body repair itself. Eggs are one of nature’s most perfect protein in my book, and the extra chickpea flour boosts up the content even more.
I made mine without any cheese at all, but if you want to use real cheese, it is an option too, just look for organic cheese preferably made with unpasteurized milk. Either way I highly recommend making the cucumber salad to go with it, as the dressing tastes amazing drizzled on top of the Savory Cauliflower Cake.
Bon appétit!
Savory Cauliflower Cake | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower head approx. 2 lbs/900 g, cut into florets
- 2 large red onions each the size of your fist, minced (keep a few slices to put on top - optional)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dry rosemary
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp dry thyme
- 10 oz organic Swiss chard (284 g) mix of organic baby spinach, baby kale, and baby Swiss chard - OR 7-8 cups mix of chopped organic greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard) - It might seem like a lot but it goes down by a lot when it cooks
- Good quality olive oil for cooking
Batter
- 1 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 2 tsp sea salt
- ground black pepper a few pinches
- 6 organic free-range eggs
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil organic if possible
- 3/4 cup unsweetened nut milk or rice milk make sure it is unsweetened, otherwise you'll have an unpleasant taste in your dish
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup grated cheese vegan or organic dairy (optional)
Instructions
- Put a medium or large pot of water to boil. Cut the cauliflower into florets (cut the biggest ones in half, and leave the rest whole), and add them to the boiling water. Cook for about 12-15 minutes. Once cooked, drain the water and put the florets into a large sieve to drain for a bit. Set aside.
While the cauliflower is cooking, heat a large pan over medium to medium-low heat (depending on your stove). Drizzle with olive oil and sauté the minced onion for several minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Add the chopped herbs, and sauté for 1 minute, then add half of the baby greens or chopped greens on top, and put a lid on it. Wait a minute or two for the greens to reduce in volume, then mix around and add the other half, cover and wait for another minute or two. Mix. Remove from the heat and let cool down a bit.
Use parchment paper to fully line a 10" round cake mould. Press at the bottom all around to mould the parchment paper all around. Let it stick out a bit over the edge to make sure nothing will get under the paper. Set aide.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to mix the chickpea flour, turmeric, baking powder, sea salt, and pepper. Make sure there are no clumps.
- In a medium mixing bowl, use the whisk to beat the eggs first, then add the oil, mix, then the milk and the apple cider vinegar, and whisk everything.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and mix using the whisk. It might appear too wet at first, but it'll thicken as your mixing it. Briefly set aside.
Equally distribute the cauliflower florets in your parchment-lined 10" round cake mould, then do the same with the onion and greens mix.
- Pour the chickpea flour mix over everything, so that all the florets are fully covered.
- Place the extra onion slices on top, and some fresh herbs, if you wish (optional).
- Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes, or until it's nicely golden on top, and cooked throughout (insert a clean knife in to test if it comes out clean).
Remove from the heat, and let cool down for at least 10 minutes before eating.
Recipe Notes
This tastes great at room temperature, served with this quick cucumber salad and balsamic dressing. (the salad is the perfect complement and essential in my opinion!)
Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 504kcal | Fat: 25g | Saturated fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 260mg | Sodium: 1633mg | Potassium: 1601mg | Carbohydrates: 44g | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 11g | Protein: 26g | Vitamin A: 5015% | Vitamin C: 100.2% | Calcium: 445% | Iron: 6.5%
Quick Cucumber Salad, with Balsamic Dressing
This simple quick cucumber salad can be made a day or two ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 1 organic English cucumber thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup good quality olive oil
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- sea salt a pinch
- pepper a pinch
Instructions
- With a whisk or a fork, mix the vinegars, olive oil, maple syrup, and salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the sliced cucumber and chopped parsley, and mix well to coat. Set aside until ready to serve.
Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 189kcal | Fat: 18g | Saturated fat: 2g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 129mg | Carbohydrates: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 240% | Vitamin C: 4.6% | Calcium: 18% | Iron: 0.5%
What a great idea! I must try this! I love that it’s loaded with nutrients and gluten- and dairy-free, too!
thank you! It’s definitely packed with nutrition, and can easily be customized with more veggies too!
Oh my! This looks fantastic and like something I would make! Your photos are making my mouth water!!! Happy Friday 🙂
Thank you so much 🙂 You should give it a try, it’s worth it!
Yum. Except for the flour, it reminds me of a fritatta, which I love to make. Beautiful photos!
Thanks! It’s similar, but not the same at all. haha 😉 But it’s just as easy to make.
Oh cauliflower, you never cease to amaze us.
This looks and sounds super tasty. It seems like it would be great for brunch, too. And those pickles! Heart eyes for dayyyys. My husband doesn’t like cauliflower (weirdo) but I might have to make one of these bad boys for myself 🙂 Or maybe when I visit my parents!
haha I have a feeling he might eat this one without really knowing, especially if you break off the large pieces, he’d never know! lol I have a feeling I will make this more often too. So simple.
if you can add fruit to cake, why not veggies, right? I’m seriously intrigued by this recipe. It looks delicious!!
Thanks! hehe it’s very tasty and worth a try! 🙂
I’m so going to try that soon!!! Love it it looks like a healthy tortilla without all the eggs! Nice idea!
Awesome! I look forward to hearing how it goes! It does kinda look like a Spanish tortilla, but it doesn’t taste like it at all, it definitely has a cake texture 🙂
Love that it’s gluten free and dairy free! What a great bring to a potluck – and so beautiful, too! It is somewhat reminiscent of Yotem Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake which I adore… so am enamoured by the differences as well as the similarities. Love options!
🙂
Valerie
Thanks Valerie! Yes, I was in fact loosely inspired by Ottolenghi’s version, but pretty much changed everything about it, haha, and added a lot more vegetables because I felt like it needed more. I wanted mine to be available for people with sensitivities too. It turned out beautiful and delicious 🙂 I hope you have a chance to make it.
You’re right! most cauliflower cakes seem to be only made of…cauliflower, I love how you’ve made yours with more veggies!
haha right?! I mean, it’s kind of bland I think. But not this one! 🙂