Want More Flavorful Cauliflower? Treat It Like A Loaded Baked Potato With These Toppings

Of all veggies, cauliflower is among the most versatile. We've already given cauliflower the cowboy treatment by smothering it with compound butter and turned roasted cauliflower into mac and cheese. Now it's time to go for broke by giving it a loaded baked potato makeover. Think sour cream, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, and chives. Roasted cauliflower's subtly nutty, earthy flavor and buttery texture make it a delicious alternative to fluffy, tender potatoes. Sure, cauliflower doesn't have a convenient jacket to hold all the deliciousness where it belongs, but that's what those flat-bottomed pasta bowls are for.

With that problem solved, one method is to achieve a perfectly seared cauliflower steak (the air fryer is great for this), and then choose your toppings. A cauliflower steak is cut from the center of the head and cooked until golden brown and crispy on both sides, with a tender center. Of course, if you want a more classic "baked potato" experience, you can also do roasted or mashed florets. Roasted florets have crispy edges and plenty of spaces for toppings to sink in.

Meanwhile, cauliflower mash is the most similar to a baked potato, as it has a creamy, soft texture. Pile your buttery cauliflower mash into a shallow ramekin rather than using a big plate to keep all those yummy toppings contained. And knowing how to pair these toppings with different cauliflower poreparations is key to making this dish sing.

As mentioned, roasted, pan-seared, and mashed cauliflower are all delicious topped with traditional loaded potato flavors, but how you incorporate those toppings may depend on the cooking method. For instance, mashed cauliflower can be loaded up just like a baked potato, but you may want to incorporate the sour cream right into the mash, as it'll add tangy flavor and lots of creamy texture. For roasted or seared cauliflower, you might try using some milk to thin out your sour cream and blending it with chives to make a sauce that you can artfully drizzle over the roasted steaks or florets.

Additionally, while crumbled bacon is perfect for crumbling on top of or mixing into mash, getting it to stick to whole florets or steaks may be tricky. One solution is roasting or searing your cauliflower in bacon fat to get that smoky, salty signature flavor. Another is melting shredded cheddar onto the cauliflower and crumbling the bacon on top of that, which will help it to stick. Of course, there are lots of ingredients that can upgrade baked potatoes, so you're not limited to these traditional flavors.

A creamy beurre blanc sauce might be delicious with lemon pepper shrimp, while shredded buffalo chicken is amazing on cauliflower with a dollop of blue cheese dressing. If you're going the barbecued route, try topping pulled pork with some molasses-y baked beans, or go plant-based with baked beans alone or spicy roasted chickpeas and a pinch of cheesy nutritional yeast.