My husband and I signed up awhile ago for a weekly CSA produce box delivery, with fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms.
Every Friday it arrives and I’m kinda like, “Hmm… that doesn’t seem like all that much food. How much did we pay for this?” And then Thursday night comes around again and I’m thinking, “Crap! How are we going to use up all this food before another box comes?!”
I’ve resorted to eating cabbage risotto and soba noodle salads for breakfast. Yummmm…
Last Friday morning, we still had a drawer filled with veggies from the week before that needed to be used up, to make room for the new bounty that was due to arrive in just a few hours.
So, I grabbed the head of cauliflower that I had been hemming and hawing over, and mashed it up with some chard that was on its last legs. A bit of nutritional yeast and a dash of minced fresh herbs later, we had a fancy-schmancy (more like shabby chic!) meal on our hands.
I threw together a quick sauce with what I could find in the fridge… namely some yogurt, cilantro, and cayenne pepper.
The combination might seem a bit odd at first, but I found that I really liked it a few bites in. So much, in fact, that I couldn’t imagine eating these without it the next time I made them.
My husband AJ, the smart man that he is, added ketchup on the side and brought it to a whole new level. Change it up to make it your own! The spicy cilantro sauce will also work with all kinds of vegetables, from potato fritters to crispy oven-baked green beans!
Print
Cauliflower and Chard Fritters with Spicy Yogurt Cilantro Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 fritters 1x
Description
A tasty recipe for vegan cauliflower and Swiss chard fritters! With an optional yogurt sauce that makes the best of a tangy-spicy mix. Easy enough to make for a quick lunch!
Ingredients
For the Fritters:
- 1 lb cauliflower florets
- 2 heaping Tbsp ground flax seed
- 6 Tbsp water
- 3 large leaves chard, chopped with stems removed
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- Pinch salt
- Cooking oil spray
For the Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Pinch salt
Instructions
For the Fritters:
- Steam the cauliflower in steamer insert made for a stock pot for 5 minutes. Remove and rinse under cold water briefly to stop the cooking. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Combine the ground flax seed and water and set aside to thicken.
- Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it is chopped (but not too much – you don’t want it to turn into mush). Alternatively, you can do this with a chef’s knife; it’ll just take a bit longer.
- Transfer the chopped cauliflower to a large bowl. Add the chopped chard, the flax egg, and the remaining ingredients. Stir until everything is well-coated and evenly combined.
- Place a skillet or griddle over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Let it warm for a minute or so over the stove.
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup or an ice cream scoop, take a heaping scoop of the cauliflower mix and compact it well. Turn it out into your hands and form it into a ball, then flatten a bit to form a patty. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- Place the patties on the hot skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until dark golden brown, cooking in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Flip, press down to flatten if necessary, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Set aside on a platter lined with a paper towel to drain. Add more oil to the pan and give it a few minutes to heat up again between batches.
For the Spicy Yogurt Cilantro Sauce:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
This is not a very sticky batter, and these can fall apart a bit when you’re cooking. I prefer the texture this way when I eat them – they tend to be a bit less filling and feel lighter. However, if you’d like a more substantial meal (and a batter that sticks together better), feel free to add an extra 1/4 cup of water and an additional 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour to the batter. They will take a bit longer to cook.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Fritters
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Appetizers
Keywords: cauliflower, swiss chard, yogurt, cilantro, vegetarian
What do you think of this dish with the yogurt and cilantro used together as a dipping sauce? Did you try these fritters out at home? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and please rate the recipe (next to the comments box below).
You’ll love to try our other fried goodies, like these ones:
Don’t forget to Pin It!
Fritter photos by Raquel Smith, fried kohlrabi photo by Kendall Vanderslice, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on June 2nd, 2014. Last updated: April 5, 2022 at 13:48 pm.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Raquel Smith
Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).
YUM!!!!! My boyfriend looooves cauliflower, but to the point where he feels like mashing it up/doing anything besides leaving the florets intact is completely ruining cauliflower. But I’ve been dying to make cauliflower patties and this will totally solve my problem 😀 Feel like it would go really great in a burger with some blue cheese…
How odd – I only like cauliflower when something is done to it! I’m not a big fan of the flavor of it on its own. And YES. Blue cheese burgers with this would be amazing. Let me know if you make it!
I’d say this is a fantastic way to use up those CSA veggies! They look delicious and I’m sure the ketchup made them even better. 😉 My husband can’t stand ketchup but I love it!!
Thanks, Sarah! Yeah I never used to like ketchup until recently, and now I only like it on certain things. But with these? YUM.
Hi Raquel – I’m a new visitor to your blog (via FBP) and just wanted to say I love your recipes! I’m a fan of cauliflower, so pinning this one!
Thanks, Anne! I’m slowly but surely learning to live cauliflower, too. I’ll have another recipe for you next week, in fact!
I need to find a CSA program! That sounds like so much fun, getting a box of different veggies each week! I’ve been trying to eat more cauliflower lately and find some tasty recipes to use it in. I can definitely get on board with these cauliflower fritters! And that sauce sounds so good 🙂
Thanks, Isadora! Definitely see if there is a CSA program in your area. It’s so fun getting the box every week – it’s kind of like a surprise present!
So good! And easy too! Thank you Raquel!
★★★★★