35 Cauliflower Sides Everyone Will Love On Your Holiday Table
We're giving thanks for cauliflower this Thanksgiving. 😉
While a great holiday centerpiece like a Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas ham is important, when it comes to holiday meals, we’re ALL about the sides. They’re truly the things that can make or break a great meal. Whether you want to add color and variety to your table that won’t be too heavy (gotta save room for cookies and pie!) or are living that low-carb lifestyle but still want to indulge, cauliflower makes it easy. Check out our 35 cauliflower side dishes for ideas—you’ll be amazed at everything you can make with our favorite cruciferous veggie.
The best thing about cauliflower is how versatile it can be. We especially love it as a replacement for traditional potato, pasta, and rice dishes. Try out our mashed cauliflower, our keto mac & cheese, our cauliflower au gratin, or our loaded smashed cauliflower. You might find you like them even better than their carb-y counterparts.
Cauliflower is also great on its own and is a fantastic blank canvas for a variety of spices and seasonings. Check out our roasted cauliflower (with Old Bay), our air fryer cauliflower (with turmeric and ghee), or our aloo gobi (with garam masala) for ideas, but really, feel free to get creative and season it however you like.
It should also be noted, cauliflower can make for an impressive vegetarian or vegan main, one that can compete with meat in presentation and serve as an additional veggie side dish for omnivores. Check out our balsamic-glazed roasted cauliflower or our Thanksgiving cauliflower to see what we mean, then make room in your oven alongside the main meat event.
Want even more veggie side dish inspiration for your holiday table? Check out our top butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, and pumpkin recipes too.
Roasted Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of our favorites to roast because, flavor-wise, it's very much a blank canvas. You can keep it simple with just salt and pepper or go nuts with a custom spice blend. Our recipe adds just a touch of color and zesty flavor with Old Bay seasoning, but feel free to get creative!
Get the Roasted Cauliflower recipe.
Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Cauliflower
A whole roasted cauliflower makes for a fantastic vegetarian main dish or a superb side for the whole table. This one is roasted around extra veggies and has a slightly sweet balsamic glaze over it. It's easy to throw together and will leave you feeling full, not heavy. Win!
Cauliflower Stuffing
This low-carb cauliflower recipe proves that you don’t always need bread to make an amazing stuffing. Cauliflower is basically a sponge: It’ll soak up the flavor of whatever you cook it with, so we recommend going heavy on the herbs (and the butter! 😈).
Get the Cauliflower Stuffing recipe.
Keto Mac & Cheese
If you're on keto, you know there are a lot of no-nos in classic mac & cheese. This version takes out all the trouble children (ahem, PASTA) without sacrificing flavor. The pork rind topping is totally optional, but we think it adds a pleasant crunch.
Get the Keto Mac & Cheese recipe.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This is a colorful side salad that will brighten up any meal. The roasted cauliflower here is perfectly spiced with just a little bit of heat, and the creamy avocado and red wine vinaigrette dressing help balance everything out.
Get the Roasted Cauliflower Salad recipe.
Cauliflower Leek Soup
Cauliflower soup on f(LEEK). Vegetarian? Skip the bacon.
Get the Cauliflower Leek Soup recipe.
Mashed Cauliflower
This cauliflower mash recipe is the perfect low-carb substitute to mashed potatoes. The secret to making steamed cauliflower smooth and creamy? CREAM CHEESE! (We're big fans, if you hadn't noticed 😉.)
Get the Mashed Cauliflower recipe.
Cheesy Cauli Bread
Breadsticks are a little untraditional for holiday dinners, but trust us, these will be devoured by all. Serve them with classic marinara or alongside gravy.
Get the Cheesy Cauli Bread recipe.
Pumpkin Chili
This "pumpkin" chili recipe actually uses *plot twist* kabocha squash. It eats like a cross between butternut squash and a starchy sweet potato. That combined with roasted cauliflower instead of meat makes this vegetarian chili something extra-special.
Get the Pumpkin Chili recipe.
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
We turn to cauliflower for all of our low-carb needs—including mac & cheese! But seriously, when it's slathered in a cheesy cream sauce, how could you even miss the pasta?
Get the Cauliflower Mac and Cheese recipe.
Loaded Cauliflower Salad
Having a Southern-inspired Thanksgiving this year and looking for low-carb swaps? This potato salad-inspired recipe is for you. It's also easily adapted to suit your mood: Add sliced jalapeño (pickled or fresh!) for some heat, skip the bacon to make it vegetarian, or add some ground spices for more flavor.
Get the Loaded Cauliflower Salad.
Green Goddess Soup
For this recipe, we took inspiration from one of our favorite salad dressings, green goddess. The creamy green dressing is wholesome, herbaceous, and can improve even the most lackluster of salads, so we knew it had potential to be an incredible soup. Eating your greens this Thanksgiving just got a whole lot easier and tastier!
Get the Green Goddess Soup recipe.
Loaded Cauliflower Bake
This combines the creamy, cheesiness of a classic macaroni & cheese and the amazing fix-ins (hint: BACON) from a twice-baked potato into one incredible low-carb casserole that's perfect for the holidays.
Get the Loaded Cauliflower Bake recipe.
Thanksgiving Cauliflower
Forget turkey—this impressive whole roasted cauliflower is the best vegetarian centerpiece or side dish this Thanksgiving. We've included a mushroom gravy recipe here as well. It's so good, no one will miss the meat.
Get the Thanksgiving Cauliflower recipe.
Cauliflower Au Gratin
Potatoes au gratin is a creamy, decadent dish that no matter how hard we try, we can never give it up. This version made with cauliflower lets us have the decadence on our holiday table without risking filling up on potatoes before dessert.
Get the Cauliflower Au Gratin recipe.
Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
Loaded with cabbage, cauliflower, bell pepper, and zucchini, this vegetable soup is a great way to get more veggies on your holiday table. Plus, it's made in your Instant Pot, so you can save that precious burner space for other dishes (like mashed potatoes and gravy!).
Get the Instant Pot Vegetable Soup recipe.
Garlicky Roasted Cauliflower Pasta
In this recipe, cauliflower gets mashed into a paste to create a light sauce for the pasta that adds a ton of flavor. It's simple, light, and perfect as a comforting holiday side that's not overly rich. The toasted walnuts on top add a nice crunch and really complete the dish, but feel free to skip or swap for another nut.
Aloo Gobi
Aloo gobi is a classic vegetarian Indian dish translating to potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi). Though it's a bit non-traditional for Thanksgiving, the color and spice it brings to the table will be welcome at any celebration.
Get the Aloo Gobi recipe.
Loaded Cauliflower Soup
Want to take your cauliflower soup to the next level? Roast your florets before pureeing them, then top the soup with all your favorite loaded baked potato fillings. We bet you and your holiday guests won't even miss the potato.
Get the Loaded Cauliflower Soup recipe.
Bacon Cauliflower Chowder
This chowder is always a crowd-pleaser thanks to the bacon and the fact that the cauliflower tastes surprisingly similar to potatoes (but with lower carbs!). Feel free to immersion blend this a bit before topping with bacon if you prefer a creamier soup.
Get the Bacon Cauliflower Chowder recipe.
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