Vegan Cauliflower Patties – Gluten-Free & Only 5 Ingredients

This week, I had a long discussion in the blog's Facebook group "Vegans Building Muscle" about whether the nutritional value of frozen vegetables is preserved or destroyed during freezing.

A nice guy vigorously argued that freezing completely destroys the nutritional value of vegetables and that it's always better to eat fresh vegetables rather than frozen ones.

For those who weren't part of the discussion, I'll say here that he is only partially right.

Why is he right?

Because it is always preferable to eat vegetables (and fruits) as fresh as possible.

What does "as possible" mean?

If we own a tree or a plot of land and can eat the fruit or vegetable as close as possible to the harvest time, that is highly recommended.

That way, we are exposed to the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals.

However, most of us don't have such a plot of land or a fruit tree, so we are forced to purchase our produce at supermarkets, markets, or directly from growers.

Just so you know, vitamins start to break down the moment the fruit is picked from the tree, which is why it's best to eat it close to the harvest.

Here’s where things get a bit complicated: we have no way of knowing if the fruit sitting on a market shelf or delivered to us has been sitting in cold storage for several days before reaching us.

Vegetables and fruits can, thanks to good storage conditions, look beautiful, firm, and even taste great, but they might contain fewer vitamins and minerals without us even knowing it.

But what about freezing?

Going back to that guy who claimed freezing destroys the values—I can reassure you and argue the opposite. Freezing actually preserves those values from breaking down because the freezing process is done very close to the time of harvesting.

This means that frozen vegetables often contain relatively high levels of vitamins.

• It's important for me to note that, as with everything, it's best to combine both fresh fruits and vegetables in our daily diet, and there is no reason not to include frozen vegetables as well.

What about the cauliflower patties?

A post shared by Haggai Leffler - Vegan Athlete (@haggai_leffler) on Aug 21, 2018 at 6:02am PDT

Alright, enough talk. Now that we've cleared that up, I’ll tell you a bit about the vegan cauliflower patties recipe I created in collaboration with Sunfrost.

They have released packages of frozen cauliflower crumbles that can enrich stews and patties with dietary fiber, significantly reducing the amount of carbohydrates and calories while speeding things up in the kitchen.

I used the cauliflower crumbles to make these baked vegan cauliflower patties. They are gluten-free, made from 5 simple ingredients, and turned out "diet-friendly," soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. They taste incredible, and it only took me a few minutes to prepare them.

________________________________________________________________

How to serve them?

3-4 patties can be an excellent lunch or dinner solution when paired with a large salad.

In my opinion, these patties are also perfect for hosting and pair wonderfully with a glass of wine or a cold beer.

________________________________________________________________

Nutritional Values:

Per one 40g patty:

80 kcal

3g Protein

9g Carbohydrates

4g Fat (of which 1g Saturated Fat)

2g Dietary Fiber

Want another cauliflower recipe? How about a cold Tzatziki-style soup?

Print

Vegan Cauliflower Patties

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 10 patties

Ingredients

• 160 g Sunfrost cauliflower crumbles 2 cups
• 150 g Cooked chickpeas 1 cup. See cooking instructions below
• 80 g Chickpea flour 1 cup. Lentil flour also works
• 1/2 cup Chickpea flour for coating the patties
• 1 Garlic clove
• 3 tbsp Olive oil

Instructions

1. Transfer the cauliflower crumbles to a colander and rinse under running water to thaw.
2. Squeeze well to drain any excess liquid.
3. Put the cauliflower crumbles, chickpeas, chickpea flour, garlic clove, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (out of the 3) into a blender.
   
4. Blend well until a uniform, sticky mixture is formed.
   
5. Preheat oven to 200°C on the upper grill (broil) setting.
6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease it with olive oil.
7. Pour the 1/2 cup of chickpea flour intended for coating into a deep bowl.
8. With wet hands, shape the mixture into patties, roll them in the bowl of chickpea flour until coated on all sides, and place on the baking tray.
9. Repeat until the mixture is finished and you have about 10 patties on the tray.
10. Don’t worry if the mixture feels wet and the patties seem delicate—they will firm up during baking.
11. Drizzle a little olive oil on top.
    
12. Place the tray high in the oven, as close to the upper grill as possible.
13. Bake for 8-12 minutes until the patties are browned.
14. Devour while hot!