Sicilian cauliflower 'meatballs' are crisp, with a soft and creamy texture on the inside and delicious cheesy flavor! These vegetarian meatballs are tasty either fried or baked and can be served as an appetizer; side or vegetarian main dish.
Cauliflower is quite the underrated vegetable, in my opinion. But this humble vegetable is so easily elevated in amazing dishes such as pasta with cauliflower; cauliflower fritters or this cheesy cauliflower and potato bake.
And then there are meatballs! Whether they actually contain meat in them or in the case with this vegetarian version, meatballs are always appreciated served as an appetizer, side or main dish.
You can transform so many vegetables into 'meatballs' such as zucchini or eggplant and cauliflower is no different. These cauliflower 'meatballs', or polpette di cavolfiore, are soft, with a creamy like consistency, and oh so flavorful!
And no doubt, you'll notice the shape of my meatballs. They are slightly flattened and not perfectly round, just like most Sicilian meatballs are. The flatter shape makes them easier to fry!
Essential ingredients for the best meatballs
You'll notice that all my meatball recipes have a few simple ingredients in common. These core, must have ingredients that are included in my mom's best Sicilian meatballs recipe are the basis of all my meatball recipes whether or not they contain meat.
- Breadcrumbs: I usually use fresh breadcrumbs (muddica) however since the cauliflower adds a lot of moisture I opted for dry unseasoned breadcrumbs in this recipe.
- Garlic: finely minced
- Grated cheese: Pecorino Romano is a must and I often use a combination of both Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano.
- Freshly chopped parsley
- An egg to bind the ingredients together
Ingredient List
- Cauliflower
- Breadcrumbs: unseasoned
- Grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese: or a combination of both as I prefer
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic
- Freshly chopped parsley
- Egg
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Cook the cauliflower
-Separate the cauliflower into florets and rinse well.
-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the cauliflower until tender, about 10 minutes.
-Drain well, transfer to a bowl and let cool.
2. Assemble the cauliflower meatballs
-Use a fork or potato masher to mash the cauliflower. Do not processor until completely smooth or mushy.
-Stir in all remaining ingredients (except for flour for dredging and oil for frying).
-If the mixture is too soft or wet stir in additional breadcrumbs as needed.
-Use a ¼ cup measure to scoop the mixture and shape into slightly flattened round or oval meatballs. Dredge all sides in flour.
3. Fry or bake
-To fry: heat olive oil in a large skillet. Over medium heat, fry the meatballs on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
-To bake: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Generously grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Place meatballs on the baking sheet and drizzle additional olive oil lightly over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown, flipping the meatballs halfway.
Recipe Notes
-This recipe also works well with broccoli.
-For a gluten free version, try replacing the breadcrumbs with almond meal.
Serve as antipasto (they are also tasty at room temperature!); as a side or vegetarian main dish.
Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degrees F oven until hot.
Wrap well with parchment paper separating layers of meatballs and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator and bake on a greased baking sheet until hot.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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Check out more delicious Italian meatball recipes!
- Traditional Sicilian Meatballs (prupetti)
- Zucchini and Ricotta Meatballs
- Italian Meatless Meatballs
- Italian Meatball Stew with Potatoes and Peas
- Baked Eggplant Meatballs
- Stuffed Meatballs with Mozzarella and Peas
- Pastina Soup with Tiny Meatballs
- Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sicilian Cauliflower 'Meatball' Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower about 500 grams
- ½ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 10 tbsp. Pecorino romano cheese or a combination of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano cheeses, grated
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup parsley freshly chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour for dredging
For frying
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
Prepare the cauliflower
- Separate the cauliflower into florets and rinse well.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the cauliflower until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain well, transfer to a bowl and let cool.
Assemble the meatballs
- Use a fork or potato masher to mash the cauliflower. Do not processor until completely smooth or mushy, you want the cauliflower to retain some texture.
- Stir in all remaining ingredients (except for flour for dredging and oil for frying). If the mixture is too soft or wet stir in additional breadcrumbs as needed.
- Use a ¼ cup measure to scoop the mixture and shape into slightly flattened round or oval meatballs. Dredge all sides in flour, shaking off excess flour.
To fry
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the meatballs a few at a time (without overcrowding the pan) until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil. Serve hot.
Notes
-For a gluten free version, try replacing the breadcrumbs with almond meal. Bake instead of frying: Preheat oven at 425 degrees F and generously grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Drizzle a little extra olive oil over the meatballs. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown, flipping halfway through baking. To Serve Serve as antipasto (they are also tasty at room temperature!); as a side or vegetarian main dish. Storage Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degrees F oven until hot. To Freeze Wrap well with parchment paper separating layers of meatballs and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator and bake on a greased baking sheet until hot.
Steve Maiolini
It sounds wonderful. You forgot the egg in the detailed recipe.
Nadia
Thank you Steve, and thanks for catching that. I reread and double check and still sometimes I’ll make an error. Corrected. Grazie!