10 MINUTES and it's ready! Delicious, Tasty, Healthy, low calorie, low fat, low carb cauliflower! How To Boil Cauliflower.
This boiled cauliflower is ready to use for mashed cauliflower, cauliflower cheese or just to add butter, salt, pepper and enjoy!
Why This Recipe Works...
- EASY!
- FAST! Ready in under 30 minutes total time.
- Prepares you for so many other recipes OR ready to eat as is!
Here's How To Boil Cauliflower...
STEP 1.
Cut the florets from the main stalk.
STEP 2.
Place those in a sauce pan and cover with enough water to cover.
STEP 3.
Bring to a full boil and boil till fork tender 5-7 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions about How To Boil Cauliflower (FAQ's)
How To Boil Cauliflower
Place the cauliflower florets into a medium sized saucepan and cover with 1 quart of water. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat. Boil at a simmer for 5-7 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender. Drain cauliflower. Top with butter or flavored oil. Add seasoning. Serve hot.
How Long To Boil Cauliflower?
Boil Cauliflower 5-10 minutes depending on how big the pieces are and how tender you want your cauliflower. Boil Cauliflower florets 5 minutes and boil large pieces (¼ - whole head) for 10. When fork tender, it's done.
What Can I Use Boiled Cauliflower For?
Use Boiled Cauliflower for...
- Mashed Cauliflower (Cauliflower Mash).
- A delicious way to make a simple cauliflower side dish.
- Delicious recipes like preparing to Fry Cauliflower.
- As a preparation for Cauliflower Crust.
- OR for Cauliflower Chili!
What IS Cauliflower Anyway?
Cauliflower is a vegetable that is related to broccoli, brussel sprouts and collard greens. (Thanks Wikipedia!)
How Long To Boil Cauliflower?
This depends on several factors....
Fresh Cauliflower...
- A WHOLE HEAD of cauliflower will be ready when fork tender 10-15 minutes.
- Florets of cauliflower will be done in 5-10 minutes.
Frozen Cauliflower...
- Florets will be ready in about 5 minutes.
Riced Cauliflower..
- Frozen, only a minute or two.
- Fresh? It's already cooked.
Can I Boil a WHOLE Head of Cauliflower?
Sure!
- Cut the green parts off and the biggest part of the stalk.
- Place in a large boiling stock pot of water with enough water to cover.
- Boil for about 10 minutes until completely fork tender.
Can I Make Cauliflower Rice with Boiled Cauliflower?
Sure Can!
- Boil the florets (or even the whole head) as described in the recipes here.
- Then put sections through a ricer (see photo below)
(this is an affiliate link and I am an affiliate of Amazon, you can click the photo to go through to Amazon for purchase or to compare prices).
How To Boil Cauliflower in the Microwave
- Cut the cauliflower into florets
- Place in a large microwave safe bowl of water.
- Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
- Stir
- Repeat at 1 minute intervals until fork tender.
What About Those Black Spots on My Cauliflower Head?
- A few black spots on the surface of the cauliflower head are normal.
- Simply use a sharp knife to cut that area off.
How Can I Tell If My Cauliflower Is Bad?
- If the black areas go through the cauliflower, then the cauliflower is bad.
- Do you notice a rotten smell and does the cauliflower feel slimy? Then, it's bad.
How To Use Boiled Cauliflower to Make Mashed Cauliflower.
- Follow the directions for boiling the cauliflower.
- Use a potato masher and mash the cauliflower with
- 1 stick of butter,
- ½ Cup Sour Cream,
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- and enough heavy cream to make it the consistency you like.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mash everything together using a potato masher or using a hand mixer. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve Hot.
What Can I Serve with Boiled Cauliflower?
Cauliflower is a great side dish to almost any meat!
Try this crockpot pot roast or this garlic rosemary pork loin!
You could also eat it as your main dish if you are going lighter and it tastes excellent with Tennessee Onions and Broccoli
Tips & Tricks for Boiled Cauliflower.
- If you plan to eat right away, then you will want your cauliflower more tender (so that the fork easily goes through the entire piece).
- Are you using it in a recipe that will be cooked more? Then only boil it until a fork can pierce the cauliflower but doesn't want to go completely through.
- Cauliflower is brittle when raw, it breaks easily and can not be pierced with a fork at all (it will split and crumble).
- You will notice that it turns a slightly different color when cooked, a greenish pearly translucent color. This is normal.
- Save the water you boiled the cauliflower in if you are making a sauce, it can be used to thin and flavor the sauce.
PRO TIP: The smaller the pieces of cauliflower are, the more quickly they will cook, no matter HOW you are cooking them. Be careful so as not to over cook the cauliflower. Drain it well to remove the extra water.
If You Enjoyed This Recipe for How To Boil Cauliflower, You Might Also Enjoy...
How to Cook Canned Green Beans
How to Cook Canned Pinto Beans
OR try ANY of our DELICIOUS Side Dishes!
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How To Boil Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 quart water or enough water to cover the cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the florets from the cauliflower and set the stalks aside for some other use.
- Place the cauliflower into a medium sized sauce pan and cover with water. Add more water if 1 quart doesn't cover all of the pieces.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Heat on high for 5-7 minutes until the water is simmering.
- Allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes, then check the cauliflower by piercing it with a fork. If you are using this cauliflower for another cooked recipe, then the fork should barely pierce the exterior of the cauliflower. If you plan to eat the cauliflower as is, cook it until a fork goes easily through the entire piece (10 minutes or so).
- While the cauliflower is cooking, melt butter in a small sauce pan and add the garlic powder and onion powder to the butter, stir well. Turn the heat off when the butter is fully melted.
- When cauliflower is cooked the way you want, pour into a colander to drain initially and then place on paper towels to drain on paper towels.
- Once drained, place in a bowl and pour the melted butter mixture over the top. Taste and add salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
- If you plan to eat right away, then you will want your cauliflower more tender (so that the fork easily goes through the entire piece).
- Are you using it in a recipe that will be cooked more? Then only boil it until a fork can pierce the cauliflower but doesn't want to go completely through.
- Cauliflower is brittle when raw, it breaks easily and can not be pierced with a fork at all (it will split and crumble).
- You will notice that it turns a slightly different color when cooked, a greenish pearly translucent color. This is normal.
- Save the water you boiled the cauliflower in if you are making a sauce, it can be used to thin and flavor the sauce.
Nutrition
A VERSE TO SHARE
Not everyone LOVES vegetables, I know so well. It always reminds me of this verse from Proverbs...
Proverbs 15:17
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred.
Patricia Karcher says
The only thing I did was once cooked i put into a butter bath for about 3 minutes. Drain.the cauliflower keeping a quart.of water. Put the florets back in, add enough butter ( I use 3 tbs.) , salt and pepper to taste.
I keep cauliflower hot by adding some to the serving dish! Use a slotted spoon to serve.
Kyme says
I was originally looking for idas for cauliflower, however once I started reading discovered you had so much more to offer! Fantastic tips and recipes, Thankyou so much 🙂
Wendi Spraker says
Awwww.Thank you!
Paulette says
Thanks for the clear instructions for various kinds of cauliflower. I’m using florettes to make cauliflower salad in which I replace the potatoes with cauliflower.
Wendi Spraker says
Hi Paulette, Sounds like a great idea!
fly says
GOOD. Ended up making cheese butter cauliflower mashed potatoes.
needed cooking time.
Wendi Spraker says
Great! I'm glad this helped!
Eileen Lagan says
Can I freeze cauliflower after boiling it? Fully drained and cool.
Wendi Spraker says
Yes! you absolutely can! Just put in a freezer safe container, get as much air out as possible and put in the freezer.
Wendi Spraker says
aggregate test rating test
Flexus says
@Wendi Spraker, Weird flex but ok.
Wendi J Spraker says
@Flexus, There is a bug with some of the back end stuff on my website and this is how I have to test to make sure that the comments section is working, so, I know it looks weird, but it's just what happens.