Loaded Cauliflower Salad Recipes

Looking for a tasty side dish for a lovely meal or just something to snack on? This naturally low carb loaded cauliflower salad will do the trick!

Salads are supposed to be a healthy thing judging by their popularity in the starch-based society. Those who love bread and pasta aren’t particularly overwhelmed when a bowl of salad is tossed on the dining table, even less if that’s all that is served.

Of course, if there are bits of croutons like with the chicken Caesar Salad, or chunks of other starch like potato is hidden under the thick oily egg dressing, joy starts to kindle in the depth of our eyes and we jump on the health bandwagon with joy.

Unfortunately, when we sign up for one of the now fashionable diets that promises the land of juicy meats and endless feast, we realize that not only life is better with a co-pilot but steaks too.

The fattier stuff -that were prohibited indulgence in past diets- we stuff into ourselves the more we miss the soft cajoling of white bread on our tongues. The crispy potatoes blending with our favorite burger while mindlessly staring out of our head into lands, sparkled with white crystals of pleasure.

When we deprive our body from all the goodies it thought granted new habits start to form and new favorites emerge from the available options. We do not even start to miss the once frowned upon healthy salads but they will become our new besties.

A bit of hidden starch here and there and we find ourselves binge eating on previously unimaginable dishes quite happily until we realize why we actually do what we do. Modern marketing practices and our primitive brains understand themselves quite well.

It’s a tiny bit annoying that many times they do their business behind our back. This communication negligence helps us in many cases when there is a need to run from lions and such but hinders our ability to stay lean and sane in times of abundance such as these.

Luckily, we have this neocortex part of our brain that let us learn, plan and think not only about the meaning of life but about what we should eat when we are hungry.

If we are able to plan ahead our meal, we can provide the necessary nourishment for our body while keeping our primitive brain from nudging us to get something high energy stuff quickly. Failing of planning ahead our meals will land our hand in bag of potato chips quite quickly.

One of the most difficult part of a low carb meal is replacing the so-called side dish. Funnily enough when we remove the side dish, the main meal doesn’t seem to be so important anymore. Is it because something has been taken away from us that has been ours or simply because our body is so fixated on carbs we may never know for sure.

It could be guessed though in the moment when we replace our side dish with low carb alternatives like this loaded cauliflower salad that would have never shot into such culinary heights if there weren’t low carb diets in the US.

Many parts of the world use cauliflower in their dishes but in the States, it only became recently popular, probably thanks to its healthy properties. Cauliflowers are about 90% water while the rest are nutrients and some slow absorbing carbs that makes it perfect for plenty of different diets.

Loaded cauliflower salads are basically the same as potato salads with the only difference that the potato is swapped to cauliflower. Sure, enough cauliflowers don’t give us the tickle to sneak out of bed after dinner for an extra bite or two, but with all the ingredients mixed and settled, it provides a quite tasty and enjoyable side dish with any meat that would go with potato salad.

 

Ingredients:

Type 1 Bacon:

• 5oz / 150g Bacon, Pancetta or Guanciale
• 1 lb / 500g Cauliflower (sliced or florets) (about half a head)
• 8-12 Radish (diced)
• 7oz / 200g Cheese of choice (Cured cheddar, gouda…)
• 2 stalk Celery
• ½ cup / 100ml Sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Mustard
• ½ Lemon juice

Type 2 Eggs:

• ½ cup / 150ml Oil for stir frying the cauliflower
• 6 Eggs (hard boiled)
• 1 lb / 500g Cauliflower
• (sliced or florets) (about half a head)
• 8-12 Radish (diced)
• 7oz / 200g Cheese of choice (Cured cheddar, gouda…)
• 2 stalk Celery (diced)
• ½ cup / 100ml Sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Mustard
• ½ Lemon juice

Type 3 Vegetables only:

• 1 cup / 250ml Oil for stir frying
• 1 lb / 500g Cauliflower (sliced or florets) (about half a head)
• 1 lb / 500g Carrot
• 1lb / 500g Peas
• 7oz / 200g Cheese of choice (Cured cheddar, gouda…) (diced)
• 1 cup / 200 ml Sour cream
• 2 teaspoon Mustard
• 1 Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Salt

How to make Loaded Cauliflower:

Type 1 Bacon:

1. Slice the bacon and place them into a frying pan.
2. On medium heat render out the fat for about 10 minutes.
3. Cut the cauliflower up into small florets or slices. Place them into the hot fat with the bacon.
4. Stir fry the cauliflower until getting some nice golden brown color here and there. It takes about 5 – 10 minutes on medium to high heat.
5. Take the bacon and cauliflower out and let the fat drip off.
6. Mix the cauliflower, bacon, radish, celery, cheese together in a bowl.
7. Mix in the sour cream, mustard, lemon juice and a bit of salt to taste.
8. Mix everything together.

Type 2 Eggs:

1. Hard boil 6 eggs. Shell them and cut each one up into six.
2. While the eggs are cooking cut the  cauliflower up into small florets or slices.
3. Pour oil into a frying pan and set it to medium to high heat.
4. Stir fry the cauliflower until getting some nice golden brown color here and there. It takes about 5 – 10 minutes.
5. Take the cauliflowers out and let the oil/fat drip off.
6. Mix the cauliflower, radish, celery, cheese and sour cream together in a bowl.
7. Add mustard, lemon juice and a bit of salt to taste then mix it together.
8. Don’t mix the cut up eggs into the salad as it will break apart. Add the eggs on top of the salad at serving or just place them on top of the salad in the bowl.

Type 3 Vegetables only:

1. Pour oil into a frying pan and set it to medium to high heat.
2. Stir fry the cauliflower, carrots, and peas for about 5 – 10 minutes. Depending of the size of the frying pan it probably needs to be done in batches. Alternatively it can be steam cooked in a steamer too.
3. Take the cauliflowers, carrots and peas out then let the oil drip off and cool down. In case of steaming just let them cool down but don’t rinse as that washes away precious nutrients.
4. Mix the cauliflower, carrots, peas, cheese and sour cream together in a bowl.
5. Add mustard, lemon juice and a bit of salt to taste then mix everything together.

Enjoy!

Note: Instead of Mustard and lemon juice mayo can be used. Check out how to make homemade mayonnaise among our Low Carb Condiments.

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