• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Fearless Dining
  • New to GF? Start Here
  • GF Resources
    • Safe Gluten Free Dining Tips
  • Recipes
  • GF Cookbooks
    • Pantry
  • About Me
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • New to GF? Start Here!
  • Recipe Index
  • Check Out My Gluten Free Cookbooks!
  • Gluten Free Dining Tips
  • About Fearless Dining
  • Contact Me
  • Follow Along

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Appetizer Recipes

    Crispy Gluten Free Cauliflower Pancakes

    Published: Feb 15, 2016 · Modified: Sep 2, 2020 by Sandi Gaertner · 80 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Gluten free cauliflower pancakes make a wonderful appetizer, side dish, or vegetarian meal. Crispy on the outsides and cheesy tender on the inside, you will love this easy riced cauliflower recipe.

    If you love cauliflower recipes as much as we do...here are all of my delicious gluten free cauliflower recipes in one place!

    Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheddar Pancakes on a wooden board. Each pancake has sour cream and fresh cut scallions on top
    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🔪 Instructions:
    • What oil is best for frying?
    • Topping Ideas:
    • 🥗 Side dishes:
    • Tools:
    • Recipe
    • Community

    Have you seen all of those fun riced cauliflower recipes on Pinterest lately?

    I have always wanted to try one, but the thought of ricing a cauliflower was a bit overwhelming. Do visions of cauliflower flying around my kitchen and creating a huge mess flash before your eyes?

    Not to mention, my kids are not big fans of cauliflower unless it is served raw with extra ranch dressing. These gluten free cauliflower pancakes are going to change all of that! Kids love them.

    bag of Trader Joe's riced cauliflower

    Luckily, I found this riced cauliflower at Trader Joe's this week. (I love when Trader Joe's makes something so incredibly easy to want.) It was the shortcut I was looking for!

    They did all of the work and this bag of riced cauliflower costs the same as a big head of cauliflower. Win-win! (*If you can't find pre-packaged cauliflower rice, check out this simple step by step method to create your own riced cauliflower.)

    And you can even use riced cauliflower instead of rice in risotto, check out this recipe for Shiitake Cauliflower Rice Risotto!

    🥘 Ingredients

    Bag riced cauliflower or a head of cauliflower
    Vermont cheddar cheese
    Leeks
    Egg
    Parmesan cheese
    Light oil
    Gluten free flour blend
    Almond milk, (or regular milk if you have it.)

    🔪 Instructions:

    Cauliflower Cheddar Pancake ingredients mixed in a bowl

    Toss the cauliflower rice into a large bowl and added the cheddar, leeks, and other ingredients.

    Frying cheesy gluten free cauliflower pancakes in a cast iron skillet

    I formed pancake-shaped cauliflower patties with my hands and carefully dropped them into the hot oil. The riced cauliflower pancakes get so crispy and delicious. Try adding cayenne for a spicy kick!

    Try to cook these in a cast-iron skillet because the pan can get nice and hot making a crisp outside!

    What oil is best for frying?

    When frying at high heat, you need to use an oil that can hold up to the heat. Some oils, like olive oil, will get rancid at high heat. Here are my favorite oils for frying:

    • Avocado oil (my very favorite for savory dishes)
    • Coconut oil (great for sweet fried recipes)

    Click here to see all of my gluten free appetizer recipes.

    Top view of Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheddar Pancakes on a wooden cutting board

    Topping Ideas:

    • Sour cream
    • Scallions
    • Chives
    • Bacon

    🥗 Side dishes:

    When I am not using this recipe as an appetizer, I love to serve these pancakes with a side salad like this Kale and Apple Salad, or turn it into breakfast by adding a fried egg on top!

    More Delicious Gluten Free Cauliflower Recipes to Try:

    • Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Alfredo Sauce
    • Shiitake Riced Cauliflower Risotto
    • Turmeric Lime Roasted Cauliflower

    Tools:

    1. Lodge Cast Iron Skillet: This is by far my favorite pan and I do almost all of my frying in this.
    2. Food Chopper: I bought my cauliflower already riced, but if you can't find it pre-chopped, this inexpensive food chopper will do the trick for you.
    3. Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Blend: My favorite gluten free flour, it works beautifully in this recipe without making my pancakes gummy.

    Recipe

    Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheddar Pancakes

    Sandi Gaertner
    Easy riced cauliflower cheddar pancakes.
    4.88 from 31 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections Save RecipeSaved!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Gluten Free Appetizer Recipes
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 pancakes
    Calories 111 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 bag riced cauliflower or a head of cauliflower riced
    • ¾ cup Vermont cheddar cheese shredded
    • 1 large leek sliced
    • 1 egg
    • 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • ¼ cup gluten free flour blend
    • ½ cup almond milk (or regular milk if you have it.)
    • **Optional ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • garnish with sour cream and scallion.

    Instructions
     

    • Start heating oil in a pan on medium high heat.
    • Add riced cauliflower, egg, cheese, salt, flour, leek and milk to a bowl and mix well.
    • Test oil temperature by dropping a drip of water into the pan. If it sizzles, it is ready.
    • Form patties.
    • Drop patties into the hot oil.
    • Cook until golden on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.
    • Remove from heat and put each patty onto a plate covered in paper towels (to absorb extra oil)
    • Serve with sour cream and scallions

    Notes

    To test if your oil is hot enough, toss one drip of water into the hot oil. If it sizzles, your oil is hot enough.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 111kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 5gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 188mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

    Nutrition Disclaimer

    Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

    lemon e-cookbook cover image

    If you love the recipes you are finding on my blog, I would love for you to sign up for my newsletter (and get my free gluten free lemon desserts e-cookbook!)

    Save

    « Chili Mac Ground Pork Soup
    Shiitake Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Risotto »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim Z.

      March 04, 2022 at 2:14 pm

      What size bag of riced cauliflower?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        March 04, 2022 at 3:53 pm

        Hi Kim, the bag I used from Trader Joe's said it is 16 ounces.

        Reply
    2. Diana

      October 26, 2021 at 6:05 am

      Can these be made and cooked ahead?Frozen then put in skillet to crisp back up when ready to eat later?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        October 26, 2021 at 12:39 pm

        Hi Diana, You can make these ahead, thaw them and then re-crisp in a skillet with some oil 🙂

        Reply
    3. Maria

      September 06, 2019 at 2:21 pm

      I used cooked cauliflower a little well done, parmeson cheese and 2 lightly beaten eggs lots of seasoning , scallion, onion, garlic pwder, 1/4 cup almond flour, mashed everything together, used a ice cream scoop to drop the batter in the pan and flattened them with a spoon came out delicious. I'm sure any cheese wil be delicious

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        September 07, 2019 at 4:52 pm

        I am so glad you liked them Maria, thank you!

        Reply
    4. Cook

      September 02, 2019 at 10:50 am

      I made this, but added cream cheese and bacon bits. Too delicious.

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        September 02, 2019 at 3:14 pm

        I love the idea of cream cheese and bacon!

        Reply
    5. Jillian

      August 07, 2018 at 9:52 pm

      5 stars
      This looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        August 08, 2018 at 10:11 am

        Thank you so much Jillian 🙂

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    A picture of my face standing in front of landscape bushes

    Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you are here. I have created hundreds of delicious family-friendly gluten free recipes with easy step-by-step directions. Many recipes are also dairy-free. A gluten free lifestyle has never been easier!

    More about me →

    Easy Dinner Recipes:

    • Gluten Free Skillet Lasagna
    • Gluten Free Quiche with Sausage and Tomato
    • Italian Gluten Free Meatloaf Recipe
    • How to Fire-Roast Hatch Chiles and The 12 Best Hatch Chile Recipes!
    • How to Make Gluten Free Ramen Soup
    • Quick & Easy Ground Pork Fried Rice

    More Dinner Recipes!

    Trending Gluten Free Recipes:

    • 8 Tasty Ways To Enjoy Shishito Peppers {Easy Recipes}
    • The Best Gluten Free Blueberry Scones
    • Proposition Chicken's Gluten Free Fried Chicken Recipe
    • Sweet Gluten Free Apple Fritters
    • The Best Flaky Gluten Free Biscuits
    • The Best Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread {Dairy Free Too!}

    Click for more Trending Recipes.

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up!

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Web Stories

    Copyright © 2014-2022 Fearless Dining