Low-Calorie Cauliflower Side Dish Recipes

This creamy broccoli-and-cauliflower casserole is a hassle-free side dish that just about everyone loves. Our healthier version skips the heavy cream and butter found in most recipes--saving about 160 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat compared to a traditional version.

You'll be craving your vegetables with this easy and oh-so-delicious recipe. Cauliflower gets sweet and tender as it caramelizes from the high heat of roasting. A sprinkling of Cheddar and herbs and a squeeze of lemon on top make it crave-worthy.

This quickly pickled, spicy Italian salad of mixed sliced vegetables is great for an antipasto platter, served with grilled meat or chopped up and put on a sandwich.

Biryanis are rice-based casseroles that combine a saucy meat, vegetable or legume curry with basmati rice, whole spices, nuts and raisins. This particular dish is a nutritional powerhouse, thanks to the mustard greens and chickpeas. Look for the specialty spices--cardamom pods, saffron and garam masala--in the spice section of well-stocked supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.

In this healthy vegetable side dish recipe, the flavors of Lebanese lubiyeh (green beans and lamb braised in a flavorful tomato sauce) are applied to cauliflower with delicious results.

Nonfat milk and a bit of sharp Cheddar combine to make a rich sauce without all the butter usually found in gratins.

Roasted cauliflower and lemon segments tossed with Parmesan and capers makes an easy side dish. Pair it with roast chicken.

A cunchy, savory pretzel-pecan coating turns roasted, caramelized cauliflower into an irresistible appetizer or kids' snack that mimics flavored popcorn. Serve this popcorn cauliflower straight from the oven with a dipping sauce and watch these tasty little bites disappear.

Whir cauliflower into a creamy low-carb substitute for mashed potatoes. This easy recipe gets a kick of flavor from garlic-infused olive oil, making it a dairy-free (and vegan) vegetable side dish.

Fat florets of cauliflower stay meaty when roasted--you could even try this with orange or yellow cauliflower. If you happen to have pickled chiles, use them in place of the fresh chiles here. Reprinted from Real Food Heals by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2017, Seamus Mullen

This marinated vegetable salad recipe is a colorful composed salad inspired by the classic Italian giardiniera. Serve on a platter as is or on a bed of crisp greens. For a heartier appetizer or light lunch, add 1/2 cup each diced salami and hard cheese, such as Provolone or even white Cheddar, to the mix.

Reaching for a frozen broccoli & cauliflower blend to make this flavor-packed side dish helps save time on chopping, plus the frozen veggies cook quicker than fresh!

Walnuts, tahini, dill and lemon make an irresistible, earthy sauce for roasted cauliflower in this healthy salad recipe. Serve this cauliflower salad with hummus, grilled chicken and pita for a Middle Eastern-inspired healthy dinner.

A quartet of garden vegetables--cauliflower, carrots, green beans and spring onions--plays a starring role in this best-of-summer, farmers'-market pickle recipe. Bright-green Castelvetrano olives from Sicily have a sweet, almost nutty flavor. Look for them in well-stocked supermarkets with other olives.

The term “cauliflower mashed potatoes” usually means subbing cauliflower for potatoes completely, but in this recipe we use both cauliflower and potatoes: Yukon Golds add to the buttery hue of the mash and their waxy texture balances out the more watery cauliflower to keep it velvety. The mash is easy enough to make as a weeknight dinner recipe, but it would also make an excellent side dish for Thanksgiving or another special occasion.

Roasted vegetables are an easy side dish as they give you time to prepare the rest of your meal while they roast in the oven. This recipe is tossed with a citrusy dressing and then sprinkled with a fragrant gremolata of parsley, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, and toasted almonds. There's so much flavor in this dish that it works best with something simple like grilled fish or chicken.

This lemony side dish of steamed cauliflower and broccoli florets goes perfectly with poultry or fish.

If you are searching for a delicious roasted romanesco recipe, look no further. This psychedelic-seeming crucifer looks like cauliflower and broccoli fell in love and had a baby. The earthy, smoky flavor makes this a show-stopping vegetarian side dish or appetizer--or make it the centerpiece of a vegetarian feast. If your store carries the Middle Eastern strained yogurt called labneh, use 1 cup and omit Step 1.

Caraway and cauliflower are a match that brings to mind wursts, kraut and foamy, cold mugs of beer. Alas, not everyone loves that caraway flavor so leave out the caraway seeds if you prefer--the salad's wonderful either way.

Two kinds of cheese combine to make a creamy sauce for this easy cauliflower side dish. Roasting the cauliflower adds an extra layer of savory flavor.

A topping of Mornay sauce is a delicious treatment for numerous vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, fennel, Belgian endive, to name a few. In our revised version, we have replaced some of the high-fat cheeses and cream with low-fat cottage cheese, which contributes a rich dairy flavor without the fat. Even children will eat cauliflower prepared this way.

These crispy hash brown patties are reminiscent of their deep-fried potato counterparts but have way fewer carbs. Serve them up with fried eggs for a veggie-heavy breakfast or a quick and healthy dinner.

Don't tell your kids, but we snuck a whole head of cauliflower into these garlic mashed potatoes. The cauliflower, garlic and potatoes are all cooked at the same time and mashed with butter and cream cheese. Your kids will love this side dish and the best part is you won't have to remind them to eat their vegetables!

In this quick three-ingredient recipe you coat a whole head of cauliflower with mayonnaise and curry paste, then cover and cook it in the microwave. The results are amazing! Try it with any type of curry paste.