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Paleo Cauliflower Rolls
Cauliflower can do just about anything these days if you wish it hard enough! And these “Everything Bagel” flavored Cauliflower Rolls have been a magical recipe here on the site for over 7 years now! We’ve been re-making some of our most beloved recipes lately so more of you can find them, and these rolls definitely deserve top billing! While the recipe has stayed the same, we’ve added more tips and step-by-step photos to help you make it!
So you might be wondering…what are cauliflower rolls? And do they taste like regular rolls? And let me say straight off the bat, these are “rolls” made from cauliflower. They absolutely taste like cauliflower. So if you don’t like cauliflower at all, these might not be for you. If you are on the fence about cauliflower, or you are looking for ways to incorporate it more into your life then these are definitely for you.
This recipe uses finely processed cauliflower, bound together by eggs and baked up to make a really lovely side dish to serve along with dinner, or veggie-filled snack. Some people have had success in using it as a bun for a burger, but I much prefer to eat it as-is and served it with dinner.
This recipe is a healthy, low carb, paleo-friendly, roll alternative!
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh Cauliflower
- Eggs
- Almond Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
Common Substitution Questions
We’ve had lots of questions about substitutions over the years. If your question isn’t answered here, check out the comments thread!
Cauliflower: This recipe as written is only for fresh whole cauliflower. You cannot use pre-riced cauliflower as it isn’t fine enough. If you did want to use pre-riced cauliflower, you’ll have to process it more in the food processor. We do not recommend using frozen cauliflower, as it will have too much excess moisture.
Eggs: This is the primary binding ingredient for this recipe. Some have had success using a flax or chia egg substitute, but we imagine that it can be a bit crumbly compared to the recipe as written. Please feel free to share if you make an egg substitute for this.
Almond Flour: A lot of people have commented below about using alternative flours, so feel free to see what has worked for others. If you need this to be nut-free, oat flour should work in place of almond flour.
Coconut Flour: This is a very absorbent flour, so if you wanted to attempt to replace it, you will likely have to triple the amount of flour that you plan to use. For instance, there might be some success with using 3 tablespoons of additional almond flour, but we haven’t tried so we can’t guarantee it will work. Please let us know if you experiment.
Seasoning: Go ahead and swap out the Everything Bagel Seasoning for whatever type of seasoning you’d like!
How to Make Them
The most important step in this recipe is starting with the right kind and the right amount of cauliflower! Start with a fresh, whole cauliflower and pulse it in a food processor until it is finely ground, about the size of a grain of quinoa. You may have more than you need, so make sure to measure out only 3 cups. Set aside any leftover cauliflower for another use, such as adding it into an omelet or a smoothie!
Next add the 3 cups of fine cauliflower to a bowl along with the flours, some seasoning and eggs. Mix it up together until it’s well combined, and measure out about 1/3 cup of the mixture. Roll it into a ball and press down slightly to make a roll shape, since they won’t change shape in the oven. Then place on a baking sheet!
Then mix together your everything bagel seasoning, if you are making it yourself, or grab your store-bought seasoning and put about 1-1/2 teaspoons of the seasoning on top of each roll, and gently press it in to make sure it adheres while it’s baking.
And finally, bake in the oven until it’s lightly golden and set all over.
Cauliflower Rolls FAQ
We’ve had lots of questions of the years! We’ve added them here to help you have success with this recipe. If you have a question and you don’t see it answered here, feel free to add it to the comments below!
Does this have the texture of bread? Not quite! It’s cauliflower, and it’s really tricky to make cauliflower have the same texture as bread. This is, however, a healthier wheat roll alternative!
Does it taste like cauliflower? It does taste like cauliflower.
Can I use pre-riced cauliflower? No. This recipe needs finely processed cauliflower, and the stuff you buy at the store won’t be fine enough.
Can I use frozen cauliflower? Unfortunately no. It has too much moisture in it.
Can I use an alternative flour? We recommend sticking with the suggested flours. However, if you have a nut allergy, we’ve had success swapping in oat flour in our other recipes, so you might try that here, though we haven’t tested it on this. Check out the comments for more suggestions on flour alternatives that others have tried.
Can I omit the eggs? Eggs are the binding agent in this recipe, and they’re pretty important. However, some people have had some success with a chia or flax egg substitute. We haven’t tested it though.
How long will they last? These cauliflower rolls are best consumed fresh, the day they are made!
Watch the video here:
If you like this cauliflower recipe, check out these others:
- How to Make Cauliflower Rice
- Kimchi Fried Rice (Cauliflower Rice or White Rice)
- Cauliflower Baked Ziti
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Cauliflower Pizza Bites (Gluten-Free and Grain-Free)
'Everything Bagel' Cauliflower Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower about 1-1/2 lbs, cut into florets
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add cauliflower to a food processor, and pulse until the cauliflower is finely ground, about the size of a grain of quinoa. Add three lightly packed cups of processed cauliflower to a large bowl, and set aside any leftover for another use.
- To the bowl add in eggs, almond flour, coconut flour, garlic powder, and salt and mix together until fully combined.
- Scoop 1/3 cup of the cauliflower mixture, form it into a ball and place it on the baking sheet. Gently press to flatten it slightly. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Mix together poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and coarse salt in a small bowl. Divide the mixture evenly on top of the cauliflower rolls, pressing it in slightly.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove from baking sheet and let cool directly on a cooling rack.
- Serve as a snack or as a roll along with dinner!
Notes
Nutrition
DELISH!!!! – This is the closest I have come to enjoying anything close to the bagel flavor I miss so much – amazing – thank you so much for sharing this!
best,
Linda
Huntington Beach, CA
I am in process of making these and I think I have a failure. They were fun to make – my 3 yo son and I made them. The consistency seemed good and we formed them easily. But after I put them in the oven I came back and looked at your picture and mine are way big… probably too big….I made 4, but maybe I should have done 6? they look and smell delicious! The outside is turning a nice color and is drying out, but the inside is still really wet. Not like gloppy wet, but what I would consider doughy if these were a real dough. Fingers crossed….I am cooking them longer in hopes they just keep drying out. Apparently I super-sized mine. LOL…
How’d they turn out?
Oh my, Lexi. I am so glad I stuck with them! I had to leave them in th oven for a total of about 40 min. They were pretty big but they did star becoming dried out inside and had a bread like consistency. My husband had TWO th dinner (thank God it really wasn’t a roll – would have been carb overload!). He loved them. I had mine cut in half with tomato sauce and cheese on top, like a mini pizza bagel. It was great. The consistency is not exactly like bread (only bread is!) but they are really darn close. Thank you so much. Will definitely make again (perhaps smaller next round). Definitely worth it. Up next: sweet potato buns!
I loved these “everything” bagels/rolls! I used them as buns for turkey burgers tonight and my fiancé loved them too!! I’ve made several of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Keep the creative recipes coming. 🙂
I am so happy to hear that you both liked them! Thanks so much for taking the time to write 🙂
Lexi-I loved these! I made them using a donut pan and they came out like mini cauliflower bagels. Though my love for everything bagels will always be with the Montreal kind and not the fluffy NY bagels (sorry!) I think you may have swayed me toward a new version, cauliflower bagels!
You really are a genius 🙂
Almond flour should be just fine!
they are so damn delicious and unbelievable easy to make! I fell in love immediately! pure cauliflower heaven! I really love your creations ♡ can’t wait to try every single recipe! xx
I made these today and they were OK. The problem I had with this recipe is not knowing how much riced cauliflower to use. It calls for 1 head. Well cauliflower varies in size so it was hard to judge. I made 8 bagels when it states it yields 4. The first 6 I made in a silicone mold and the other 2 I free formed them. I made them when I was having a friend over for lunch and she said they were good with the turkey soup I made but I’m not convinced. To me these didn’t taste anything like a biscuit or a bagel but are OK for a substitute for a potato at dinner. Maybe I had too much cauliflower, I just don’t know.
Hi Joy!
I just added a note on how to deal with different size cauliflowers. They are definitely intended to be cauliflower rolls, rather than bread. The ‘everything bagel’ simply refers to the topping coated onto them. Sorry if you were hoping they would be just like bread. We do enjoy them as a substitute, and although they gain somewhat of a bread-like texture, they are definitely not a bread/roll recipe – rather a nutritious cauliflower roll that many enjoy as a sub for bread!
How would you store these lovely rolls? They look so good I can’t wait to try them!
Fridge or freezer!
Genius idea. I will have to make these. Maybe in a donut pan, or even muffin pan. I LOVED everything bagels due to all the seasonings, and I’m sure with cauliflower it’ll be just as good. Thanks for the idea.
This seriously just made my day! I avoid bread and bagels as much as I can, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love and crave them, so my belly will thank you for these. 🙂
Do you know how many Net Carbs are in one of the Everything Buns. I am new to Low Carb eating and adding Nutritional Information to the recipes are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Joy! I don’t, but feel free to enter the ingredients into any free online calculator as I don’t put that info on the recipe!
I have a cauliflower just begging to be made into these–genius idea!
Lex! Do you think these would work if I doubled the recipe and tried to make them into bagels? I’ve been seriously craving an everything bagel!
What a great idea! I did cauliflower biscuits. I liked them but I didn’t love them. I’ll have to give these a try!
Definitely do! They were a huge hit in my house, and have gotten great reviews 🙂
What a fun idea! Thank you for the feature love! Can’t wait to check out the others 🙂 Happy Friday!
These were absolutely delicious and super easy to make! Lexi your a genius for creating this recipe. I can’t wait to see and try what you come up with next!!!
– Sassy
Thank you love!
Do you need to remove any moisture for the cauliflower at all? Also do you know if these freeze well?
Nope, you don’t need to remove the moisture since it isn’t cooked before! And I didn’t freeze any, but I bet they would be totally great.
This is probably a silly question, but is the cauliflower cooked before you rice/grate it?
No silly questions ever! Nope, just grate it raw 🙂
I had the same question! Thanks!
Not silly I was about to ask when I read yours lol
Mine are in the oven, it’s been 1 minutes, they are just starting to dry out. Thank you all for your comments, my questions were all answered above. I was going to throw them out after20 minutes, but it seems to be getting better.
Ive died and gone to heaven. The only bagel I ate as a kid was everything (except for my loved chocolate chip ones) haha 🙂
Haha YES, me too! 🙂
Do you think that 2 TBSP ground flax seed could replace the 2 TBSP almond flour?!
Definitely!
hi 🙂 can I use something other than eggs to bind the cauliflower buns? thanks I am allergic to eggs
Flax egg!