Cauliflower Thins – Healthy Bread Alternative For Kids (GAPS)
Cauliflower thins that can be used as sandwich bread substitute, mini pizza crusts or pitta bread for dipping in the favorite sauce. These cauliflower flats/ thins are gluten free, grain free and starch free, great for kids as young as one year old as finger food (including baby-led weaning) or adults. By ingredient lists they also can be enjoyed by kids on GAPS diet.
Cauliflower Thins Great For Toddlers & Kids
For an easier meal prep make sure you have these premade cauliflower thins waiting for you in your freezer. This recipe makes 15 (3-inch cauliflower thins), so you can keep the leftovers for later. They also make the perfect base for piling on toppings, for dipping in a sauce, enjoyed along with a soup or plain as a snack for school lunch-box.
Related: Beet Fritters
Ingredients For Cauliflower Thins Recipe
- Cauliflower – 1 large head – about 3 – 3.5 lbs. You can also use frozen cauliflower just make sure to squeeze the liquid well.
- Eggs – as the binding agent in the recipe.
- Cheese – I used a mix of mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese for better flavor.
- Fresh onion and garlic – these will be finely chopped along with cauliflower or you can use the dried versions (powder).
- Seasonings – sea salt, paprika, ground coriander – to brighten up the flavors.
- Almond flour – to absorb any of the moisture left in the cauliflower and to ensure a crispier surface. You can substitute this with ground sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Or regular flour if you don’t have a problem with gluten.
- Ground flax seeds – will help absorb some of the moisture and bind ingredients better.
Related: Sweet Potato Fritters (Latkes)
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How To Make The Cauliflower Thins
- Rice the cauliflower: Rinse the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves, and separate it into smaller florets.
- Now you have a few options to cook the cauliflower before ricing. I prefer steaming (best way of preserving its nutrients) but you can also roast.
- Once cooked and cooled a bit, transfer the florets to a food processor (do this in batches if needed) and process until it’s a rice consistency.
- Move to a nut milk bag or a large bowl lined with a clean sheer cloth towel an squeeze the juice out, do this a few times with breaks in-between, you’ll get a lot of liquid coming out.
- Mix the ingredients to form the “dough”: Transfer the riced cauliflower to a large bowl along with all ingredients. Mix to combine into a “dough”.
- Form the cauliflower thins: take about 1-1.5 tablespoon of the cauliflower mixture (easier to use an ice cream scoop) to a parchment-lined baking tray and shape into 3 inch flat rounds. For that I prefer to cover them with a plastic wrap (it keeps the crumbs from spreading) and roll with a rolling pin (see image below).
- Bake the cauliflower thins: transfer (by sliding) the parchment paper with the cauliflower thins on the baking sheet. Bake them for 10 minutes, at 450F /230C, flip on the other side and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool a bit before handling.
Other Ways To Make Cauliflower Rice
- Manually shred the raw cauliflower using a box grater – then steam or roast.
- Use a juicer to squeeze out the juice and use the pulp.
Mix Add-Ins / Substitutions
- Dairy-free: vegan cheese can work in this recipe as long as it’s able to melt like Violife Or Chao). Or to avoid processed foods, omit it entirely.
- Egg free – you’ll need some more ingredients with binding properties: add 1 more tablespoon of flaxseed and replace the almond flour with a starchy flour (like arrowroot flour) or regular white flour. You can also add 1-2 tbsp of melted ghee (butter), it will help with browning and flavor.
How To Store
- Store leftovers for 4-5 days at room temperature.
- Freeze up to 3 months in an airtight container.
- Thaw / reheat – just pop them out of the freezer and place them back on a parchment covered sheet. Cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 170C /350F until heated through. Alternatively use the defrost option of your toaster.
Need more finger food recipes for your toddler? Check out the finger food category for more ideas!
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Cauliflower Nuggets Baby Finger Food (BLW)
- Cauliflower For Baby Ways To Cook & Serve (BLW)
- Prune Avocado Cauliflower Puree For Baby (Stage 2)
- Cauliflower Puree For Baby + Combination Ideas For Stage 2
Have you tried this cauliflower bread alternative recipe? Your feedback is really helpful, please rate and leave a comment below recipe card!
Cauliflower Thins – Healthy Bread Alternative (GAPS Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower (about 2.5 cups riced cauliflower, liquid squeezed)
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup almond flour (sunflower seed or pumpkin seed flour will work too)
- 1.5 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp coriander (seed powder)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (or smoked paprika)
Instructions
Rice the cauliflower
- Rinse the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves, and separate it into smaller florets.
- Now you have a few options to cook the cauliflower before ricing. I prefer steaming (best way of preserving its nutrients) but you can also roast.
- Once cooked and cooled a bit, transfer the florets to a food processor (do this in batches if needed) and process until it’s a rice consistency.
- Move to a nut milk bag or a large bowl lined with a clean sheer cloth towel an squeeze the juice out, do this a few times with breaks in-between, you’ll get a lot of liquid coming out.
Mix the ingredients to form the dough
- Mix the ingredients to form the “dough”: Transfer the riced cauliflower to a large bowl along with all ingredients. Mix to combine into a “dough”.
Form the cauliflower thins
- Take about 1-1.5 tablespoon of the cauliflower mixture (easier to use an ice cream scoop) to a parchment-lined baking tray and shape into 3 inch flat rounds. For that I prefer to cover them with a plastic wrap (it keeps the crumbs from spreading) and roll with a rolling pin (see image below).
Bake the cauliflower thins
- Transfer the parchment paper with the cauliflower thins (by sliding) on the baking sheet. Bake them for 10 minutes, at 450F /230C, flip on the other side and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool a bit before handling.
Notes
Other Ways To Make Cauliflower Rice
- Manually shred the raw cauliflower using a box grater – then steam or roast.
- Use a juicer to squeeze out the juice and use the pulp.
Substitutions:
- Dairy free: vegan cheese can works in this recipe as long as it’s melting. Violife mozzarella, Chao or Daiya are some of the options. To avoid any processed food, just remove the cheese entirely and add more seasonings for flavor.
- Egg free – you’ll need some more ingredients with binding properties: add 1 more tablespoon of flaxseed and replace the almond flour with a starchy flour (like arrowroot flour) or regular white flour. You can also add 1-2 tbsp of melted ghee (butter), it will help with browning and flavor.
Nutrition
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Hello! Do you bake them on the parchment paper? Or slide the off directly to the sheet? I read it both ways in the recipe 🙂 and want to follow it correctly.
Thank you!!
Hey Cat! You just slide the parchment paper (with the cauliflower thins on it) onto the baking sheet.
The best of all the recipes I’ve tried! Only wish they were as brown and crispy looking as yours. I left them in longer and it helped but I probably didn’t get all the moisture out like you said. 😔
Thank you for this great recipe. Great presentation!
Yes, most probably they has some cauliflower liquid left.