These mini, baked cauliflower cakes with roasted garlic sour cream and marinara sauce are fantastically crispy, shockingly delicious and (especially) shocking low carb! They’re the perfect appetizers for your fanciest cocktail parties, or the healthiest side dish for your dinner party.
This recipe is actually 3 in 1! I’ll show you how to make the dreamiest roasted garlic sour cream that you can use to top these tasty treats, or use as the yummiest dip for veggies, as well as show you how to perfectly roast cauliflower florets!
This recipe was inspired by Heidy Linn McCallum’s recipe over at The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch. I tweaked the recipe a bit to make them bite size, spiced them a little differently and just had to add that roasted garlic sour cream!
Keep in mind, the marinara just takes it over the top, but if you just add the roasted garlic sour cream, they’re still incredibly tasty!
The whole process takes about 2 hours, and you can serve them right away! You can also pop them in Tupperware and save them for days in the fridge! I got to about 5 before I ate them all, but they were still perfectly fresh and tasty at that point. I imagine they could last at least a full week.
A Few Tips
- If you want to make larger cauliflower cakes as a side dish instead of appetizers, simply use standard-size cupcake tins instead of minis. You don’t need to adjust the recipe at all. Simply fill them to the top, and bake. You’ll have about a dozen from this recipe if you make them in a standard-size cupcake tin.
- This recipe makes 1½ cups of roasted garlic sour cream (which is probably more than you’ll use for your cauliflower cakes), but you can freeze it and save it for months! To thaw, simply remove from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator for 4 hours or so. Give it a good stir, and you can use it to top more appetizers, or use as a delicious veggie dip!
Common Questions
- How Long Will They Last in the Fridge?
If you don’t want to serve them right away, store them in a container in the fridge, then simply reheat them at 350 for 15 minutes to bring them right back to their original, crispy splendor when you’re ready to serve.
2. What Else Can I Top These Little Cakes With?
I love that roasted garlic sour cream & marinara, but here are a few more tasty options:
- lemon/yogurt and mint sauce
- green pepper salsa
- chunky tomato sauce with the liquid strained and just the tomato chunks
- pesto cream sauce (I make a lovely pesto cream sauce for my scallop amuse bouche)
- a thick bleu cheese dressing
3. What Do I Need to Make This Recipe?
- Tin foil
- 2 baking sheets
- a medium size mixing bowl
- a small mixing bowl
- a food processor
- a cheese grater
- 2 mini-cupcake tins (2 dozen)
How to Make Cauliflower Cakes – Step by Step:
1. Preheat oven to 400, and peel away the papery, outer skin of the garlic heads without pulling the cloves apart. Carefully slice just a bit off the tops of each garlic clove. Keep them all together in the head. If a few fall off while you’re slicing the tops, it’s OK, just tuck them into your foil when you’re ready to bake.
2. Place your head of garlic in tin foil, drizzle with 1 tsp. of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Do the same to your other head of garlic, and wrap them up. Don’t wrap them too tightly. Just enough that they’re covered. Place on a baking sheet (or directly on a grate) and place in the oven for 40 minutes. While your garlic roasts, prep your cauliflower and herbs.
4. Chop your cauliflower into florets – just big enough that they’ll easily fit into a food processor after they’ve been baked.
5. Place them in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp. of olive oil and mix. Lightly sprinkle with garlic powder and salt & pepper, and give it another mix so every floret is nicely coated.
6. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and lay your florets in a single later on the sheet. Set aside until your garlic is done roasting.
7. Chop your scallions (including the bulbs) into thin slices until you have 3 tbsp.
8. Chop your parsley until you have ¼ cup.
9. Remove your garlic from the oven, if you haven’t already. Raise the temperature to 425, and place the cauliflower in. Let it bake for 35-40 minutes. While it bakes, open your garlic up and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
10. While your garlic cools, grate parmesan for the garlic sour cream. You’ll require ½ cup for your cream (and ½ cup for your cauliflower cakes).
11. When your garlic isn’t hot to the touch and just warm, squeeze each clove right into your food processor with 8 ounces of sour cream, discarding the skins. the garlic will squeeze out like butter. This part is a little messy, but the GREAT news is the you can lick your fingers when you’re done 😉
12. Add ½ cup of grated parmesan. Pulse in your food processor until thoroughly mixed. Remove from the food processor into a small mixing bowl, and mix in ½ cup mayo, the juice from 1 wedge of lemon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Give it a taste and swoon. Set aside.
13. Remove your baked florets from the oven, and reduce temperature back to 400 F. for when you’re ready to bake your little cakes.
14. Add them to your food processor and pulse until chopped. BUT DON’T PUREE YOUR CAULIFLOWER.
15. Make sure the texture is gently, coarsely chopped.
16. Add cauliflower, 1 cup of panko bread crumbs, ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan, ¼ cup parsley, 3 tbsp. sliced scallions, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper, a good sprinkle of salt & pepper, and 2 beaten eggs to a mixing bowl. Gently mix all ingredients together.
17. Grease your mini-cupcake tins with butter or cooking spray, and spoon the mixture in. Fill to the top and pat down.
18. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until the edges of your cakes are nice and crispy brown.
They’ll slide out easily from your tins, especially if you help them out with a pairing knife.
Top each cake with marinara and your incredible roasted garlic sour cream. Serve, and watch your guests melt when they pop them in their mouths.
More Appetizer Inspiration
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Crispy, Baked Cauliflower Cakes with Roasted Garlic Sour Cream & Marinara
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower Cakes
- 1 large cauliflower
- ¼ cup parsley – chopped
- 3 tbsp. scallions, including bulbs – thinly sliced
- 2 eggs – beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup parmesan – freshly grated
- Butter or cooking spray – enough to grease cupcake tins
- A spicy marinara – enough to top cakes with a tiny spoon full
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- ⅛ tsp. tsp. cayenne pepper
- Garlic powder – just a sprinkle
- 1 tsp. dry Italian herb blend – rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, sage, etc.
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Roasted Garlic Sour Cream
- 2 large heads of garlic
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- ½ cup parmesan – freshly grated
- 8 oz. sour cream
- Juice from 1 lemon wedge – about a tsp.
- ½ cup mayo
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel away the papery, outer skin of the garlic heads without pulling the cloves apart. Carefully slice just a bit off the tops of each garlic clove. Keep them all together in the head.
- Place your head of garlic in tin foil, drizzle with 1 tsp. of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Do the same to your other head of garlic, and wrap them up. Don’t wrap them too tightly. Just enough that they’re covered. Place on a baking sheet (or directly on a grate) and place in the oven for 40 minutes. While your garlic roasts, prep your cauliflower and herbs.
- Chop your cauliflower into florets – just big enough that they’ll easily fit into a food processor after they’ve been baked.
- Place them in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp. of olive oil and mix. Lightly sprinkle with garlic powder and salt & pepper, and give it another mix so every floret is nicely coated.
- Line a baking sheet with tin foil and lay your florets in a single later on the sheet. Set aside until your garlic is done roasting.
- Chop your scallions (including the bulbs) into thin slices until you have 3 tbsp.
- Chop your parsley until you have ¼ cup.
- Remove your garlic from the oven, if you haven’t already. Raise the temperature to 425 F, and place the cauliflower in. Let it bake for 35-40 minutes. While it bakes, open your garlic and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- While your garlic cools, grate parmesan for the garlic sour cream. You’ll require ½ cup for your cream (and ½ cup for your cauliflower cakes).
- When your garlic isn’t hot to the touch and just warm, squeeze each clove right into your food processor with 8 ounces of sour cream, discarding the skins. the garlic will squeeze out like butter. This part is a little messy, but the GREAT news is the you can lick your fingers when you’re done 😉
- Add ½ cup of grated parmesan. Pulse in your food processor until throughly mixed. Remove from the food processor into a small mixing bowl, and mix in ½ cup mayo, the juice from 1 wedge of lemon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Give it a taste and swoon. Set aside.
- Remove your baked florets from the oven, and reduce temperature back to 400 F. for when you’re ready to bake your little cakes.
- Add them to your food processor and pulse until chopped. BUT DON’T PUREE YOUR CAULIFLOWER. Just coarsely chop.
- Add cauliflower, 1 cup of panko bread crumbs, ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan, ¼ cup parsley, 3 tbsp. sliced scallions, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper, a good sprinkle of salt & pepper, and 2 beaten eggs to a mixing bowl. Gently mix all ingredients together.
- Grease your mini-cupcake tins with butter or cooking spray, and spoon the mixture in. Fill to the top and pat down.
- Bake at 400 F. for 20 minutes, or until the edges or your cakes are nice and crispy brown.
- They’ll slide out easily from your tins, especially if you help them out with a pairing knife. Top each cake with marinara and your incredible roasted garlic sour cream.
Anonymous
Delicious- Made exactly as presented. Needs a lot of oven time. I recommend making the Roasted Garlic Sour Cream ahead of time, rather than at the same time. Family loved the Garlic Sour Cream, and put it on everything they could think of. I made some of the cakes without the spicy marinara, but we all decided it is a must. I will be making this again soon.
Genevieve Morrison
Thank you! Did you find they needed more oven time than listed? Different ovens may have different bake times, and I just want to be sure to mention it if it took longer. Thank you again!