August 3, 2018
Cauliflower Bread
by Kirbie
This cauliflower bread is the best cauliflower bread I’ve ever made. It is low carb, gluten free, paleo, keto. It can be used as toast, sandwich bread, and any other bread substitution you need.
I am super excited to share with this recipe with you today. I have shared a lot of cauliflower bread alternatives like my cauliflower crusted grilled cheese or cauliflower bread buns. And even though I adore those recipes, I have always wanted something more.
I really wanted to be able to make a loaf of cauliflower bread. A loaf I can slice up and treat like any regular bread loaf. It’s something I’ve been testing for nearly two years.
MY LATEST VIDEOS Bread Texture
This cauliflower bread looks similar to a loaf of white bread, though it doesn’t rise quite as high. It is sturdy enough to be sliced, toasted, used for sandwiches, etc.
The bread is much airier than your typical bread because there are whipped egg whites folded into the batter. It’s similar to texture as cloud bread, but slightly more durable and sturdy.
If you toast the bread, it will make it a little firmer and sturdier.
Bread Structure
The key to the structure of the bread is whipped egg whites. Egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks and then folded into the batter. The whipped egg whites allows the bread to rise and keeps it light and airy rather than dense and flat.
How to Dry the Cauliflower
Like many of my cauliflower bread recipes, you will need to dry out the cauliflower before adding it to the batter. Cauliflower retains a lot of moisture so it would make the bread too wet if you don’t dry it out first.
First, use a food processor to rice the cauliflower until it resembles coarse crumbs. You want the cauliflower to be finer than if you were making a cauliflower rice dish.
Next, you cook the cauliflower either by steaming it or in the microwave.
Finally, you can wring dry by hand with a tea towel or a few sturdy paper towels, or you can continue to microwave to the cauliflower until it is dry. I discuss how to dry the cauliflower using only the microwave in this recipe. For this bread, I chose to wring the cauliflower dry by hand.
Flavor Options
I intentionally made a plain loaf because I wanted something similar to white bread. However, you can easily make this bread more flavorful by adding other toppings. I recommend sticking to dry additions because if you try to incorporate liquids, that will change the batter too much.
Some topping suggestions:
- Dried or fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano
- Shredded parmesan or cheddar cheese
- Garlic powder or minced garlic
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also like my cauliflower crusted grilled cheese, cauliflower bread buns, and cauliflower breadsticks.
- 3 cups cauliflower finely riced
- 6 large eggs separated
- 6 tbsp canola oil (use olive oil if making paleo)
- 1 ¼ cup superfine almond flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Microwave cauliflower for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Allow cauliflower to cool. Once cooled, place a small amount in a tea towel and wring dry. Repeat with remaining cauliflower, working in small batches.
Add egg whites to a mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine eggs yolks, oil, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a smooth paste forms. Stir in the cauliflower until evenly mixed.
Add about ¼ of the egg whites to the paste. Use a spatula to fold in the egg whites, When egg whites are completely folded in, add in another batch of egg whites and repeat until all egg whites are incorporated. The mixture should look pale and fluffy. Be careful not to beat the egg whites because that will cause them to lose the air whipped into them and the bread will not properly rise.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until bread is done. Allow bread to cool before slicing.
- If you are making a paleo version of this recipe, substitute the canola oil with olive oil and use a homemade paleo baking powder.
- Rice the cauliflower until it resembles coarse crumbs. You want the cauliflower to be finer than if you were making a cauliflower rice dish.
- If you do not wish to use the microwave to cook the cauliflower, you can steam it before drying.
- I intentionally made a plain loaf because I wanted something similar to white bread. However, you can easily make this bread more flavorful by adding other toppings like shredded cheese, fresh or dried herbs. If you are adding toppings to flavor the bread, add them when you add in the cauliflower.
- Recipe adapted from delish
Nutrition Facts
Cauliflower Bread
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 204 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 98mg 33%
Sodium 285mg 12%
Potassium 301mg 9%
Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 1g
Protein 7g 14%
Vitamin A 2.9%
Vitamin C 28%
Calcium 10.7%
Iron 7.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This bread came out GREAT! How do you store it? Fridge or counter?
Definitely fridge! So glad it turned out well for you
I am on keto. Can I substitute the canola with melted butter?? How many tablespoon of melted butter should I add??
Regards,
Mrs.Sundram
Yes, you would do a direct substitution for the same amount of oil, replaced with melted butter.
How long will it store and can it be frozen? You have no idea how much this recipe excites me. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I have only stored in the fridge and it lasts a few days and reheats well
I have a severe nut and banana allergy. Is there a substitute for the almond flour?
Sorry I do not have a substitute at this time
I used Super Fine Tapioca Flour (store didn’t have Almond Flour). This flour is the consistency of cornstarch. It substituted wonderfully.
Is it 3 cups cauliflower before it’s riced or 3 cups after it’s riced?
3 cups after it is riced
It turned out great! Don’t get discouraged if your initial egg yolk/oil/almond flour mixture doesn’t resemble a “smooth paste.” Mine was actually quite lumpy but everything turned out fine. I’m going to cube it, toast it and put it in my Thanksgiving stuffing to keep it low carb 🙂
I love the idea of adding it to Thanksgiving stuffing!!
Can I add pre-riced cauliflower without cooking/steaming? Or does it need to be cooked first before making the bread?
It needs to be cooked and it needs to be dried out to remove all the moisture.
I didn’t understand by the directions that it needed to be cooked and THEN remove the moisture. I did not cook mine first. I riced it (more or less) then put about a half cup or a little more into a folded paper towel, I rolled that up like a burrito with ends folded in and everything. Then I rolled that up inside a dish towel and twisted it. When it was good and tight, I then held it between myself and the counter and thumped with my fist on the middle of the lump. My bread turned out great! I LOVE IT! I am wondering something though, in order to keep the center of the loaf from falling, would adding cream of tartar to the egg whites before whipping help?
I haven’t had issues with the center falling. Cream of tartar may help or you may need to eliminate more moisture from the cauliflower. The reason for cooking the cauliflower first before squeezing it dry is because cauliflower releases liquid when it is cooked. But I’m glad you got it to work!
I’m not much of a cook. Could coconut oil be used instead of canola oil?
I have not tested it with coconut oil but I think it should work
Mine came out crumbly I tried to follow exactly the recipe. It looked just like the batter and the loaf looked the same but texture was off. I cooked to internal temp of about 165f
Sorry to hear that. Did you make sure to cook and wring dry the cauliflower? If the cauliflower isn’t cooked or dried completely, I can see that causing a crumbly texture. When it’s cooked and dried it should be a mash so it wont be crumbly.
Hi can I use coconut flour instead of almond?
Coconut flour is not a direct substitute for almond flour. It may be possible to make this bread with coconut flour but it would use less coconut flour and other ingredients may need to be increased. The texture may also be affected.
Thank you for the recipe!
Would it be possible to use whipped aquafaba in stead of egg whites and skip or substitute the yolks?
I have not tested it with whipped aquafaba. I don’t think it will work without the yolks.
THis is a fantastic recipe. I made 9 mini-loaves with this recipe. . It’s a good way to portion and not have to handle too much. They store great and have reheated well in the toaster oven. I am looking forward to spicing up with habaneros for the next batch. The only drawback is the time taken to dry the cauliflower. I used the dehidrator function on my toaster oven while I was at work.
I’m glad this recipe turned out well for you! I love the idea of mini loaves
How many slices in a loaf?
It is stated in the recipe box under servings: 10 slices.