I don't exactly have what you would call a 'green' thumb.
Being the nice guy that he is, my husband has routinely tried to buy me flowers throughout our relationship, and they always end up sad, wilting, and (unceremoniously) in the trash.
I honestly don't know what it is! I water them, put them in the sun, give them their little package of plant 'food', and they still shrivel up like raisins and die on me. It has gotten to the point that I tell my other half not to bother with them any longer, as I seem to have some sort of death touch.
Recently, however, I was on my way out of Trader Joe's, plastic container of fresh basil in hand, when I spotted some live, potted basil plants outside of the store.
The prices were comparable, and since the packaged stuff always seems to go bad if I don't use it all within a few days, I grabbed the healthiest of the sidewalk dwellers, and promptly exchanged the packaged variety for it's happy and vibrant parent.
That was about two weeks ago, and it's still going strong, which is very encouraging, considering I've always wanted to plant a little herb garden.
Given that I have fresh basil everyday, I've been going a bit nuts with putting it in recipes. Vegan Bolognese, spaghetti squash pizza casserole, warm quinoa and asparagus salad, and today's delicious cauliflower breadsticks (though it's really only an adornment here).
These breadsticks though...they are beyond delicious.
Most cauliflower base recipes call for cheese in the crust, which, even though I eat cheese, I've never appreciated for some reason. I like my cheese on top of the crust, if I use it at all. I also know some of you might be dairy-free and thus appreciate a version stripped clean of it.
The other ingredient I found to be key here, is the addition of baking powder. This little bit of leavening gives the recipe a bit of fluffiness, reminiscent of actual breadsticks.
My favorite way to top these is by brushing a bit of garlic-infused coconut oil on to the top and sprinkling it with some fresh basil and a bit of nutritional yeast, or by using some part-skim mozzarella and topping it with some fresh basil. Did I mention I have a lot of fresh basil? 🙂
Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks (Grain-Free)
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cauliflower florets about 2 tightly packed cups of 'riced' cauliflower
- ¾ c. water
- 1 egg + 1 egg white
- 1 T. oil I use olive
- 1 T. oat flour nutritional yeast, almond meal, OR parmesan (if NOT dairy-free)
- ¼ t. sea salt
- ½ t. baking powder
- ½ t. dried oregano
- ½ t. dried basil
- ⅛ t. garlic powder
Instructions
- Make your cauliflower rice by either grating the pieces using a cheese grater or pulsing the florets in a food processor until finely chopped.
- In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the cauliflower rice to the pan.
- Turn the heat off (leave the pan on the burner), and cover the pan.
- Let the pan sit covered for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the lid from the 'rice', and dump the contents into a fine-mesh sieve to drain a bit.
- Transfer the cooked cauliflower from the sieve to a clean dish towel.
- Wrap the cauliflower in the towel, and squeeze out the excess water (there will be quite a bit!).
- In a bowl, mix the egg, egg white, oil, and remaining ingredients.
- Add in the squeezed cauliflower.
- Mix everything until well combined.
- Pour the contents of the bowl onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Using a spoon, spread the mixture out into the shape of a small rectangle (it should be about 1/2 of an inch thick).
- Place the pan into the oven, and bake the breadsticks for 35-40 minutes, until golden.
- Cut the breadsticks as you desire (I make 4-5 column slices and then one row slice right through the middle).
- Top the breadsticks with cheese or other vegetables, as desired.
- Replace the breadsticks, and bake for 5-10 more minutes until toppings have cooked through.
- Remove the breadsticks, cool, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
These are so scrumptious dipped into this Homemade Pizza Sauce!
My daughters and I literally ate these in about 10 minutes, they were so good!
This post is dedicated to my beloved basil plant...
...may it live long and prosper. 😀
Are you adept at growing plants or gardening?
Lisa
Holy mama, these were a great way to use up some cauli I had going bad. They're a bit more labor-intensive than I usually do, but soooo worth it. 😀
Gina Little
So the egg white is also supposes to ge incorporatedo into the mixture? Just needed clarification. Thanks in advance. 🙂
Lauren
Yes, sorry if that was confusing, I updated it to include 'egg white' as well. 🙂
Amy
These look crazy good! I've made your cauliflower crust personal pizza multiple times now with great success. The key is to squeeze out all of that liquid for sure. My crusts always turn out super firm and crunchy on the edges! I can't believe I never thought of making cheesy sticks?! Need to do this!
Lauren
Thanks Amy, I hope you like these if you try them!
Stacey
We tried these tonight and I think I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't squeeze out enough fluid, so it didn't cook through very well and burnt around the edges but my husband and I could see where these would taste amazing had I done it right. We enjoyed them anyway! Thanks for the recipe!
Cassie
I hadn't thought about cheesy breadsticks in a minute... now I'm craving them.. Pinning this for later!
cel
so happy to see they are dairy free! anyway to make them vegan?(egg free)
Lauren
Hi Cel,
I tried flax/chia eggs, and didn't have success myself. You might be able to use a chickpea egg?...1/4 cup chickpea flour + 1/4 cup water or dairy-free milk in place of one egg.
Marie @ Not Enough Cinnamon.com
I'm so happy you posted a dairy-free version of this recipe Lauren! And I also love that you don't need a microwave either (i don't own one). I'm going to try these soon, they look amazing! Thank you 🙂
Mike@TheIronYou
Cauli crust breadsticks are one of the best thing ever. I'm not surprised your daughters rave about it!
Matt Robinson
We love cauliflower and these look incredible!!
Lauren
Thanks Matt! 🙂
The (Gluten-Free!) Food Gurly
I am sooo trying these! 🙂
Sharon
I love your little plant! I know exactly what you mean about the little packages going bad and you have inspired me! I do love basil ... maybe I'll give this a try. 🙂
ilana
Would it be possible to use flax/water egg replacer in this recipe?
Lauren
I've not had luck with it in the past, but maybe your results would be different?...
Elisa
Can I use two egg whites instead of the one egg and one egg white? Also 2 cups is about 1/2 head no?? This looks super yummy...better make a double batch, one for me and one for my husband!
Lauren
Hi Elisa,
Two egg whites might make the recipe a bit drier, but you could try! Also, it's two cups of 'riced' cauliflower, meaning that it is already processed, so it's actually about one small head. 🙂 I totally agree about doubling the batch! 😀