Low Carb Cauliflower Breadsticks
Melted cheese & fresh herbs make these Low Carb Cauliflower Breadsticks an indulgent treat that are even better than traditional breadsticks!
I am totally late to the cauliflower recipe trend, but I am jumping on board as fast as I can. These cheesy cauliflower breadsticks are just as good as a restaurant’s cheesy garlic bread. The kind smothered in melted mozzarella… but without all the carbs! Flavored with fresh, fragrant herbs, these “breadsticks” are the perfect appetizer or side dish for any Italian meal. Even my kids beg for me to make these (yes, I swear…my kids are begging for cauliflower!!!).
LOW CARB CAULIFLOWER BREADSTICKS
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Growing up, I was a HUGE fan of those cheesy breadsticks you can get delivered with pizza. (Let’s be honest, I‘m still a huge fan…). It’s really mind-blowing to me that you would order bread covered in sauce and cheese with a SIDE of more bread covered in cheese. Talk about carbo-loading!!
A few years ago I created a recipe to make homemade pizza dough breadsticks. To this day they are still one of my kids’ most requested family night dinners. But, this year, both my husband and I decided that we were going to try to cut out some carbs from our diets. So I decided to make a more low-carb, keto-friendly version of this cheesy treat!
This cauliflower bread sticks recipe is bursting with garlic flavor that will have you stuffing more and more onto your plate. Normally all the carbs of cheesy garlic bread would make my insides churn. Luckily these cauliflower breadsticks are low-carb and won’t leave you feeling icky like the takeout cheesy bread does!
Ingredients for Cauliflower Breadsticks
Cauliflower – for this easy cheesy garlic cauliflower breadsticks recipe you’ll want to start with a large head of raw cauliflower. All you need to do is core it and cut it up into small florets. Once you’ve got your cauliflower chopped up, throw it into your food processor and pulse it until the cauliflower is the texture of rice! Super super easy and quick.
Cheese – no cheesy bread “wannabe” recipe is complete without tons of cheese and these low carb breadsticks are no exception. The combo of some melty, bubbly mozzarella and salty parmesan is cheesy perfection!
Seasonings – in my opinion, the most important thing about the ingredients to cheesy cauliflower breadsticks is that you use FRESH herbs. Fresh basil, fresh garlic, fresh parsley, they really make all the difference and make your breadsticks taste like they are straight out of a five-star restaurant.
How to Make Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
In under 30 minutes you can prep, cook, and start eating some delicious low-carb breadsticks. It’s super simple, just follow these directions!
- I am ALL about being efficient, so before you even start prepping your cauliflower breadsticks, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This way, once your breadsticks are ready to cook, your oven will be ready to bake them!
- Then core the head of cauliflower and cut it into florets. Throw the cauliflower florets into a food processor and pulse it until it’s the texture of rice. No need to cook the cauliflower first. (If your cauliflower seems excessively moist, squeeze the riced, raw cauliflower into a paper towel or kitchen towel to help remove moisture.)
- Next, in a large bowl, mix the riced cauliflower, shredded mozzarella, parmesan cheese, egg, fresh garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley, and salt & pepper until it’s combined and holds together.
- Place the cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and spread out into a 9-inch x 7-inch rectangle that’s 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake your cheesy cauliflower breadsticks in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Then make them even better by adding MORE cheese! Remove the pan from the oven and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Then return the pan to the oven to continue baking until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden brown.
- Let it cool for about 10 minutes and cut into “breadsticks”. Garnish with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and enjoy!
What Sides Can you Eat on Keto?
Cheesy cauliflower breadsticks are the perfect side dish for any Italian meal. But, if you’re on the keto diet (or simply trying to cut down on carbs), finding other side dishes that are low in carbs can be tough! Here are some of my personal favorites for dishes that aren’t necessarily Italian!
Cauliflower Hummus – This yummy dip is great as an appetizer, but it also works perfectly as a keto-friendly side dish! Serve it with your favorite veggies and it’ll round out your meal!
Big Mac Salad – This salad is my GO-TO meal. It tastes just like a classic McDonalds Big Mac, but without all the guilt. I love serving this salad family style as a keto-friendly side dish.
Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) – Whether you’re making an Italian pasta dish or an Asian stir-fry, zoodles are the perfect way to cut carbs and still eat “pasta”!
Can you Freeze Cauliflower Breadsticks?
While my family will devour an entire batch of cauliflower breadsticks in under 10 minutes, other less indulgent people may have some leftovers. Haha. If you find yourself with some extras, just let them cool completely. Then you can pop them into a freezer-safe bag, and put them in the freezer! When you’re ready to eat some cheesy cauliflower breadsticks, let them defrost and then crisp them back up in the oven!
How Many Carbs in Cauliflower Breadsticks?
While they’re not technically NO-carb breadsticks, these definitely are LOW-carb breadsticks! With about 2 grams of carbs per serving, these breadsticks are perfect for anyone on the keto diet or really for anyone! I promise you, you won’t miss the carbs at all…. these breadsticks are delicious!
Try these other tasty low carb recipes!
- Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
- Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes
- Low Carb “Fried” Pickles
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
- Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Chowder
- more APPETIZER recipes…
Tools used to make this Low Carb Cauliflower Breadsticks recipe
Silicone Baking Mat: I love this mat because NOTHING sticks to it. It saves my baking sheets from becoming brown, burnt messes.
Food Processor: I’ve had this food processor for years and I absolutely love it!
*This post originally posted on 01/03/2016.
Low Carb Cauliflower Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shaved, plus more for garnish
- 1 large egg
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon fresh basil chopped, plus more for garnish
- ½ tablespoon fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Rice the cauliflower by coring the head and then cutting it into florets. Then place it in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it is the texture of rice. (If your cauliflower seems excessively moist, squeeze the riced cauliflower in a paper towel to help remove moisture.)
- In a large bowl, mix the riced cauliflower, 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper until combined and holds together.
- Place the cauliflower mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Spread it out into a rectangle that's about 9-inches x 7-inches and 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and top with 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and return to oven to continue baking until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
- Cool about 10 minutes and cut into 'breadsticks'. Garnish with fresh herbs and more Parmesan cheese. Serve with your favorite red sauce and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are a couple more of my favorite low carb recipes I think you will enjoy too…
Easy Low Carb Chocolate Mousse
Are you not squeezing the moisture out of the cauliflower crumbs? Doesn’t your dough get awfully soggy?
The cauliflower is raw when you rice it. There is no need to drain it. 🙂
Mine was really soggy and it was raw when I put it in the food processor. I found the recipe tasted delicious but the texture wasn’t quite there.. like those above, mine was more of an omelette consistency.
I don’t know why this cauliflower bread sticks recipe doesn’t have five stars, because it is a-MA-zing!
I’ve made it multiple times now, using two eggs for preference, and made it as cheesy bread sticks and as pizza. It’s so easy and delicious, especially with fresh herbs from the garden. Thank you!!!
Question: Do you rice the core as well as the florets? Or just the florets? I’ve mastered making cauli mash “potatoes” and cauli spanish rice but have never attempted to make the cauli into something that should resemble a bread product..this will be a fun challenge!
Hi Kell, no I remove the core. I hope that helps!
Hi! Do you know approx how many cups of cauliflower yours was? I find the organic heads are much smaller…
Hi Karmen, it was 3-4 cups. I hope that helps.
As a long time Type 1 Diabetic I am always looking for low carb recipes that don’t taste bland so I made this recipe today. I found it was overpowered by the raw garlic taste, I could occasionally taste the cauliflower but otherwise all I tasted was raw garlic. I’m not going to give up so next time I try it I’ll suet the garlic for a minute before I add it to the mix and see If that makes a difference.
Do you know how it would turn out if I cooked a big batch and then Froze them for a later date?
Good to have a quick fix ready in the freezer:)
Wow…so yummy!
Just wish you would include the nutrition info so I know how many net carbs there are in a serving… Even if you’d just post the net carbs per serving 🙂
This looks wonderful. I am anxious to make it. Can you tell me how many carbs this would be as made per recipe.
Thank you
Judy
Love your recipes, I am a diabetic and need all the low carb recipes I can get. Thank you for your post.
It tastes okay, sort of bland for my taste. Also, I have to eat it with a fork and can’t dip like traditional breadsticks. Did anyone else have this issue?
Yes, mine was basically a cauliflower omolette, nothing like bread at all. I wonder where we went wrong!
In other cauliflower recipes they often include a step of squeezing the juice out of the cauliflower. Next time I make this recipe I will include this step, because I also had a ‘wet’ breadstick which was difficult to pick up. I think if I would have included this step then it would have been able to get crunchier.
I just pulled mine out of the oven, waiting on it to cool so I can cut and taste. I wish I had known about squeezing the water out. I did notice when I was mashing it down before placing in the oven that there was a lot of water…..here’s hoping for great results!!
Mine were a little crumbly. Back into oven for a bit
Yes, That’s exactly how mine turned out. So good though!
The recipe is great!! I used the cauliflower crumbles. I baked it a little longer due to my oven. I also flipped over the “breadsticks” so the bottom could get crunchier. I put it in an additional 10 minutes like that. Delicious and making again this weekend!
I’ve just found your blog & every dish I see I want to make!!! My mouth is watering! 🙂
Can I make this the night before? Do you think it will hold up over night and half the day tomorrow? I’m sure it will just courious 🙂
I saw this one on italian.wikidee while investigating referrals coming from this site (never heard of it) and when I looked around your recipe title caught my eye. Pinned, stumbled Yummed etc. Very nice recipe that has me wishing it wasn’t almost time for bed where I live!
OMG!!! This was amazing and so easy. I had my doubts with cauliflower, kind of like when I try to make French fries out of carrots or squash, it’s just not happening. But this was terrific. It’s cheesy and it’s true, you barely taste cauliflower. I used parmesan and havarti since I don’t have mozzarella. Perfect. My husband is taking it to lunch tmrw. Thank you.
You made my day, Marleigh, with this amazing review! I’m so glad you love it! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 🙂 Have a super week! ~Marion
Marleigh, I find very few people with your name!! My oldest daughter’s name is Marlie. <3 I love this recipe! I made it to go with with spaghetti squash lasagna.
Kristal, do you have a recipe for the spaghetti squash lasagna? I’ve been wondering how that would work…
Is it possible to add brocolli?
Yes! The color of course will be different, but I’ve riced broccoli instead of cauliflower in a number of recipes. The flavor is milder, and kids are more likely to eat it.
What do you suggest doing for someone who doesn’t own a food processor?
You can chop it by hand or use a cheese grater. I also recently saw Cauliflower Crumbles in the freezer section at the grocery store! I haven’t tried the product yet, but if you thaw them and squeeze out any moisture, it could be a time save when making this recipe 🙂
I’ve used the crumbles before (the ones i got were from green giant and with the refrigerated veggies) and it’s a little chunkier than the texture needed. There’s directions on the back for pizza crust but the crust won’t hold well if you follow them. I ended up putting the crumbles in a blender and kept pulsing to get it more of a minced consistency and then squeezed out excess moisture and it held much better.
It’s better if you DIY because store bought cauliflower crumbles have a lot of stem in them. When you do it yourself ditch as much stem as you can since that is where the stinky part of the cauliflower lives.
I haven’t used the crumbles n this recipe but I have used them in others….make a good sub for rice in meals
It’s so great because they really do a great job of taking on flavors for so many dishes. Hope you try this one!
Trader Joe’s sell rice cauliflower!
Use cheese grater
You can buy cauliflower frozen or fresh at the grocery store already rice.
Hi! Do you put the oven on Bake or Broil? I followed your directions, put mine at 425 degrees, has been over 15 mins and still looks raw. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?
Hi Maria, I have the oven on bake. Keep in mind, oven temps can vary wildly, so you might have to adjust the time according to how your oven behaves.
It’s DELICIOUS! My husband made it for me the other day!
For the breadsticks do you cook the cauliflower before ricing it?
No. You don’t cook it first. I hope that helps, Dawn 🙂
I’m sorry… after you “rice” the cauliflower do you cook it then mix it all up? I am new to the cauli world. I’m baking mine now (did not cooking of the cauliflower first) and it’s looking awfully raw…
I’m making a slightly different version of this recipe. The ingredients are the same but I’ve read that the ‘breadsticks’ can be soft. The trick is after riceing it up you bake it for 20 minutes at 375 and then place it in a tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. You will actually remove a cup of water or more. Then continue on with the basic recipe shown here.
Awesome, I have done it this way a few times. I also blot off excess moisture. It works great! Thanks for the hint.
I tried the “bread” sticks and they still taste like cauliflower…albeit “laced” with garlic..sorry not my favourite..trying to go carb free but cant seem to get on track..
Amy I double the cheese in this recipe and after I rice it I put it in a towel to absorb the moister first what a difference
How do you Rice it
I never tried everything like this before
Hello Fran! You would put the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse it until it resembles rice. You can also buy it at many stores already “riced” if you don’t have the food processor.
No you dont cook before ricing. If you cook the cauliflower first you will not be able to do the ricing instead it will become mashed instead.
Just wondering if I can replace cheddar cheese for the mozzarella?
Absolutely, just keep in mind it changes the flavor profile slightly!