Everyone’s favorite low carb vegetable, the cauliflower, shows off it’s sweet side in these delicious grain free blueberry pancakes. This is just one of the many clever recipes you will find in Cali’Flour Kitchen by Amy Lacy, a new cookbook from Abram’s Books.
Amy Lacey is the founder of Cali’Flour Foods, which came into being after she was diagnosed with lupus in 2012. She started tracking the foods she ate to see which triggered her symptoms. Cali’Flour Foods products were developed to help those with food allergies and autoimmune diseases replace the foods that were aggravating their condition with healthful alternatives. In the Cali’Flour Kitchen you’ll not only learn how to make many of their base products at home, but also how to use them to create menu plans the entire family will want to eat.
I’m amazed at the versatility of cauliflower as demonstrated in the Cali’Flour Kitchen Cookbook. It is loaded with clever recipes like these grain free blueberry pancakes. Plus family favorites like pizza, lasagna, nachos, creamy soups and baked goods. Check out the index of the book and you’ll find the recipes sorted by eating type like: low carb and keto, Whole 30 and paleo.
Let me tell you, this book is a low carbers dream come true. If you only buy it to learn Amy’s methods for making cauliflower pizza crusts and how to top them, you’ll have made a good investment. But if you are willing to explore the other recipes you will find it much easier to stick to a restrictive diet without feeling deprived. I am in total admiration for the amount of research that went into developing these recipes.
By now I hope you’re curious about how to make the grain free blueberry pancakes with cauliflower. If you’ve followed a keto or paleo diet before you may already have the almond flour and tapioca starch you need. If not, they will be easy to find in the gluten free section of most grocery stores, or online.
The recipe calls for cauliflower rice. After trimming the leaves from your head of cauliflower, cut it into quarters and remove the core, then bust the florets into smaller pieces and pulse them in a food processor until fine and mealy. Since the recipe only calls for a cup of cauliflower rice I chose to grate mine using the smallest holes on my box grater. You’ll only need a quarter to a third of the cauliflower to make the necessary amount of rice. Use the rest for another meal from the book or try one of these flexitarian cauliflour recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup 130 grams cauliflower rice
- 1/2 cup 60 grams almond flour or almond meal
- 1/4 cup 35 grams tapioca flour or starch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil plus more for frying
- 3 tablespoons canned unsweetened coconut milk (shake well before opening the can)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup 80 grams fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Prepare and measure the cauliflower rice and put it into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl measure the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Then add to the cauliflower rice and stir well to mix.
- Whisk the eggs together with the melted coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to form a smooth batter.
- Gently stir in the blueberries and lemon zest.
- To make the pancakes, heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Give the pan time to come to temperature.
- Make the pancakes two at a time. For each one, add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of batter to the skillet. It's ok to use the measuring cup to spread out the batter to make a round, even shape, about 4 inches (10 cm) wide.
- Cook the first side for 1 - 2 minutes. When you see small bubbles form on the top and the edges begin to form a crust it's time to turn them. Use a large spatula to do this. Cook on the second side for another minute or so or until both sides are golden brown and the pancake is fluffy. Transfer to a plate to hold.
- Add another teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan and repeat the process until all the batter has been used. You get 8 - 10 pancakes depending on how you measured the batter.
- Serve with your choice of toppings, like fresh fruit, honey, jam, maple syrup, etc.
I was totally impressed with my pancakes. While they obviously weren’t made from flour, they were still fluffy without being gummy like some others I’ve tried. Probably most important, they didn’t taste like cauliflower although I admit to having my doubts because the batter definitely smelled like it.
I recommend The Cali’Flour Kitchen Cookbook to my low carbing flexitarian friends as well as anyone who wants to try healing their bodies with food.
Wow, I’d never think to make pancakes using cauliflower. I have all the ingredients except the cauliflower, so I’ll need to pick some up soon and give these a try. Just to clarify, the cauliflower rice is raw when it goes into the batter? Even though I use cauliflower on a regular basis for a wide variety of things, I’m not sure if I can talk my husband into trying cauliflower pancakes!
I was surprised too! Yes, the cauliflower rice is raw. Shred or chop it as fine as possible so it cooks through.