Recipe

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The perfect way to get more veggies into the lunchbox! Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, these cheesy cauliflower bites are so delish!

If you want healthy school lunch sides, then these cheesy cauliflower bites are the thing to pack! They’re highly addictive and a tasty way to sneak extra vegetables into your kids’ day.

Baked Cauliflower Bites for the Lunchbox

Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, these cheesy cauliflower bites are impossible to pass up! I add them to the lunchbox as a school lunch side to kick up nutrition with a veggie I never thought my kids were going to eat. Totally a win!

Sometimes, the way you serve a vegetable can be the difference between a child loving it or refusing to even try it. More often than I would imagined, I pack broccoli nuggets and cheesy spinach balls as a side and the lunchboxes come back home clean. Woohoo!

I tell you, kids who turn up their noses at steamed cauliflower just might be begging for MORE of these cheese, crunchy cauli bites. Add some ranch dressing, veggies, fruit, crackers, or a hard-boiled egg and you have a terrific school lunch packed with nutrition!

Ingredients

The trick to turn bland cauliflower into delicious cheesy bites the kids enjoy eating is adding cheese and seasonings. Below you’ll find the amounts, but first, check what you need and the little swaps you can make:

Water: for cooking the cauliflower.
Cauliflower: you can use pre-steamed frozen cauliflower to shorten cooking time.
Salt: for seasoning.
Seasoning: Italian seasoning, Creole seasoning, taco seasoning, or any other combo you enjoy, like garlic and oregano, or lemon pepper and dill.
Shredded cheese: Cheddar and mozzarella work great.
Parmesan cheese: this recipe is all about cheesy goodness!
Panko bread crumbs: regular bread crumbs will not work as panko; the bites will come out soft with no crisp at all.
Ground flax meal: optional for extra texture and nutrition.

How to Make Cauliflower Bites

Now would be a good time to mention the necessity of doubling the batch, because hot, cheesy, bite-size foods don't last long with kids around. Here’s an overview of how to make cheesy cauliflower bites the easy way:

Prep the oven
Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cook the cauliflower
Steam the cauliflower until it is fall-apart tender, about 15 minutes.
Make the bites
Once the cauliflower is cooked, everything gets mashed and shaped into tater tot-sized bites. Squeeze each one between your hands to remove excess moisture. Combine bread crumbs with seasoning and more cheese, and give the bites a quick roll.
Bake
Bake the cheesy cauliflower bites until they reach golden brown perfection.
Pack for lunch
Allow the bites to cool down before packing them in the lunchbox with your kids’ favorite veggies, fruits, and sauces.

School Lunch Packing Tips for Cauliflower Balls

Packing cheesy cauliflower bites that remain intact until lunch is possible if you follow these tips:

Allow to cool down
If you pack the bites when they’re still warm, they’ll release steam and goodbye crispiness, so allow them to cool down to room temperature before placing them in the lunchbox.

Pack them separately
To enjoy crispy cauli balls, pack them in a separate lunchbox compartment to keep them from absorbing moisture from other ingredients.

Add a dip
These bites are great for dipping! Pack a dip or sauce like Ranch dressing or homemade ketchup in a small leak-proof container to make lunchtime tastier and fun!

More Healthy School Lunch Sides

Sides like these cauliflower bites are a fun way to sneak tons of nutrition in the lunchbox so I know you want more easy ideas! To turn more no kid-friendly veggies into an appealing side, try my Broccoli Tater Tots Recipe or these veggie nuggets.

Other great school lunch sides that will win your kids are baked zucchini chips, cheesy spinach egg cups, and mini quinoa pizza bites.

Cheesy Cauliflower Bites

Servings: 18 bites

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 1

The perfect way to get more veggies into the lunchbox! Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, these cheesy cauliflower bites are so delish!

5 from 25 votes

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Ingredients

1 cup water
1 head cauliflower, cleaned and diced into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon favorite all-purpose seasoning, divided
¼ cup shredded cheese, either Cheddar or mozzarella will work
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
¼ cup gluten-free panko bread crumbs, plain will work, but panko is recommended
2 tablespoons ground flax meal, optional

Instructions

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepot over medium high-heat, steam the cauliflower in the water until it's tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the water and allow the cauliflower cool down to room temperature.

Make the mixture:

Drain any excess moisture from the saucepan. Add the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the seasoning. Using a potato masher, begin mashing the florets until smooth.
Add the Cheddar cheese and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese to the cauliflower and stir to combine.
In a separate, medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, flax meal (if using), remaining ¼ teaspoon of seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.
Using your hands, begin forming balls with the cauliflower mixture, approximately 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter.
Roll each ball in the bread crumb mixture, then place it on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cauliflower mixture and breadcrumb coating.

Bake:

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Notes

Note:

When forming the cauliflower bites, give each ball a squeeze between your hands to remove excess moisture. This will prevent them from falling apart.
My go-to all-purpose seasonings for this recipe are Garlic and Herb seasoning, Creole Seasoning, and Italian Seasoning.