Amazing cauliflower snack that kids and adult will love. These Cauliflower Parmesan Crisps are made with a few easy ingredients that many people will already have at home. All you need is a head of cauliflower, block of Parmesan cheese, dry parsley flakes, and some garlic powder.
Cauliflower Parmesan Crisps
Raise your hand if you’re addicted to cauliflower!
I have both my hands raised because I LOVE cauliflower. There is always a head of cauliflower in my fridge. If I don’t have anything prepared for myself for lunch, I quickly make some roasted cauliflower in the oven.
Roasted cauliflower if often my choice for a fast side dish or a quick lunch. It’s very easy to make and all I need is a head of cauliflower, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
I preheat the oven to 425, cut cauliflower florets off the stem, and mix it with some olive oil, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. After that, I just spread it evenly in a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
No joke, it’s the simplest form of cooking cauliflower and the most delicious.
That is not the only way I use cauliflower, of course. I add it to stir fry, casseroles, make rice out of it, and even pizza crust.
Last time I was making cauliflower pizza, I got an idea for a snack made out of cauliflower and cheese. I wanted to make little bites of cauliflower that would be cheesy and crispy on the outside.
Starting out as if I was making cauliflower pizza crust, I made a few modifications to make these little cauliflower Parmesan crisps. They made a tasty snack and I bet kids will love these. My 1-year old sure did!
TIPS FOR MAKING THESE CAULIFLOWER PARMESAN CRISPS:
Use block Parmesan cheese and grate it freshly yourself. This will ensure that the cheese melts better. Don’t use dry grated Parmesan cheese because it will not melt. (Some grocery stores do have freshly grated Parmesan off the block in the deli section.)
Much like cauliflower pizza crust, make sure to squeeze all liquid out of the steamed, ground cauliflower.
To make cauliflower crisps the same size, I used a cookie scoop to measure the “dough.” I used #40 cookies scoop but you can choose to use a different one.
Once cauliflower crisps are baked, let them cool before taking them off or they might break.
When making the crisps, pat the “dough” down and fix the edges as you flatten it. The edges will crack as it spreads but they are easily fixed.
What is the best way to squeeze liquid from the cauliflower?
The best thing to use when you need to squeeze the liquid from cauliflower is cheese cloth. I like to fold cheese cloth in two (sometimes even more) to make finer mesh.
What if I don’t have a cheese cloth?
What you are looking for is fine mesh to squeeze out the liquid without squeezing part of cauliflower through the holes. There were a few times when I ran out of cheese cloth, then I used clean veggie saving bags. They are made from fine mash material and worked perfectly. So look around your kitchen, you might just have something you can use. Make sure it’s clean and it’s fine mesh material.
Can I prep them ahead of time?
Yes, you absolutely can.
You can prepare the cauliflower “dough” and refrigerate it in an air-tight container. (Up to step 5.)
You can prepare it the night before and bake the next day or prepare in the morning and bake in the afternoon or evening.
How can I reheat these crisps?
Just like so many other things, this snack is best eaten fresh from the oven but, it CAN be reheated.
The best way to reheat it is in the oven. Heat oven to 425 and pop them in on a baking sheet for just about a minute or two, until hot.
You can also reheat them in a dry cooking pan, on stove-top. Preheat a cooking pan over medium-high heat and re-heat the cauliflower crisps for about a minute on each side.
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Cauliflower Parmesan Crisps
Ingredients
- 3 lb head of cauliflower 1 average head of cauliflower
- 3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dry parsley
- salt optional
Instructions
- Cut cauliflower florets off the stem.
- Steam cauliflower florets until tender. (10-15 minutes)
- Place steamed cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse a few times until it looks like fine crumbs. (Make sure there are no chunks left.)
- Transfer cauliflower crumbs in a doubled cheese cloth and squeeze out all the liquid. (You may have to let it cool a bit or it will be too hot for you to squeeze.)
- Place cauliflower in a mixing bowl and add Parmesan cheese, dry parsley, and garlic powder. Mix well, until all evenly incorporated. (Taste to see if you want to add salt. Parmesan cheese is quite salty and you may feel like it's enough salt.)
- Preheat the oven to 425 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out cauliflower "dough." Press it into a ball with your hands and place it on the baking sheet. (I used #40 scoop.)
- Press down to flatten the "dough" into a thin disk, fixing the broken edges. The goal is for the disks to be only about 3 millimeters thin.
- Repeat with all the "dough." You will get about 12 pieces.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, until deep golden brown.
- Let the cauliflower crisps cool before taking them off the baking sheet. Use a spatula to gently scoop them up.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Brigid Wilson says
Tastes great! I made them too thick at first so they were a bit limp😂. How did you determine nutrition numbers? I made 19 crackers with a 1.5-pound head of cauliflower and seems like carbs should be much lower.
Thanks for posting this recipe.
Indira says
I made it had no parsley so I used sweet basil 🌿 nice and put onion powder too. It was delicious thank you!!!!!
LyubaB says
I am so glad the recipe turned out well for you!
Laura says
These are delicious! I added a teaspoon of Hidden Valley ranch powder and made my crisps smaller using a melon ball scooper. Thanks for the recipe! Definitely will make again 😊
LyubaB says
Oh, what a good idea, I will have to try the ranch packet as well! Glad you liked them! 🙂
Virginia Kingen says
can you use “bagged/frozen” cauliflower and what would the measurement breakdown be ?
LyubaB says
Hi Virginia,
Yes, you can! I go over how to use the frozen bagged cauliflower in my post for cauliflower grilled cheese they are crisps with cheese in the middle so you can refer to that part of the recipe for these crisps. Here is the link. https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/cauliflower-grilled-cheese/#search/q=cheesecae
L. B. says
I noticed that the grilled cheese recipe uses an egg but this one doesn’t. Does the egg act mostly as a binding agent? Thanks!
Karen says
Is the nutritional information provided for all 12 pieces, or for just 1 disc? Interested to know if suitable for keto. Thank you Karen
LyubaB says
Hi Karen, the nutritional information is for one serving which is 4 discs, not one. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.
Stephanie says
Love these! Great idea for healthy crispy snack.
LyubaB says
Thanks, Stephanie!
Lucie says
Will make these today, look so delicious.
Can I make in advance and freeze them?
LyubaB says
You can freeze them with wax paper between them and crisp them up in the oven or on the stove.
Prelle says
Hi Lyuba, i’ve tried making the chips and mine weren’t crispy at all, could I ask if you flip the chips during the baking?
LyubaB says
I think that there is some misconception about the final product 🙂 It is not a cheese crisp or a cracker. Cauliflower is a vegetable and has moisture in it so it will still have moisture in it. It’s thin and crispy on the outside but there is a little softness in the middle. I would say just make sure to get as much moisture squeezed out as possible. Hope this helps.
Jo Stember says
Can you use frozen mashed cauliflower? How much & do I need to squeeze out liquid?
LyubaB says
Yes, but make sure to thaw it out and squeeze all the liquid out of it first.
Ashley says
I made these and refrigerated overnight! They came out great!
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked them, Ashley!
Shelley says
Hello. I assume you store these in the refrigerator, correct? I am trying to come up with readily available snacks for when cravings hit I am not reaching for unhealthy foods. Thanks.
LyubaB says
Yes, you would store these in the refrigerator, and for the best result heat them up in a frying pan with a little cooking spray.
Shelley says
Thank you!