Savory, gluten-free donuts made from cauliflower that’ll turn vegetable haters into veggies lovers! JUMP TO THE RECIPE
If you follow healthy eating trends you’re probably familiar with cauliflower pizza, and the newest cauliflower trend, cauliflower wings, but I’d like to start another craze right here, right now, with these golden delicious, White Cheddar Cauliflower Donuts – they are to die for!
I know it sounds a little strange to turn cauliflower into donuts but it worked so well with hasbrowns (see my Hasbrown Donuts post) that I wanted to try the same recipe technique with another vegetable. I’m pretty pleased with the results and my family devoured them! Each one of these crispy White Cheddar Cauliflower Donuts contains the equivalent of 1 serving of cauliflower, so if you have a picky eater on your hands, this is a great way to sneak in a serving or two of veggies.
The only part of making White Cheddar Cauliflower Donuts that’s a bit of a pain is preparing the cauliflower. As much water as possible needs to be extracted from the cooked cauliflower before it’s combined with the other ingredients or else the donuts will be soggy and will lack a crispy exterior. To do this, you have to either wrap the cooked cauliflower in a clean dish cloth, or put it in a nut milk bag, and then twist/squeeze it until you can no longer wring out any liquid. I prefer using a nut milk bag for this job because it’s smaller, with enclosed sides, and is easier to clean than a dish cloth, which is much larger and will likely require laundering afterward.
White Cheddar Cauliflower Donuts are tasty on their own but are even more delicious dipped in Greek yogurt or sour cream for a bit of cool and creamy tang. These would be a fun party appetizer! The recipe as written only make 5 donuts but can easily be scaled up, just make sure you have enough donut pans!
If you make this recipe, snap a pic and tag me over on Instagram @QueenofMyKitchen. I’d love to see your creation!
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1-pound bag of frozen cauliflower florets
- ½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- ¼ cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray 5 cavities of a standard size non-stick donut pan with olive oil cooking spray.
- Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions. Let sit for 10 minutes and then, using a potato masher, or the tines of a fork, mash and break apart the cauliflower until only small pieces remain. Let cool to room temperature, or at least until it is cool enough to handle.
- Place the cauliflower on a clean dish towel or piece of cheesecloth and twist it tightly into a ball to wring out all the water. (You can also use a nut milk bag if you have one.)
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the bread crumbs, cheese, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Press the mixture into 5 of the cavities in the donut pan.
- Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Use the tip of a knife to carefully ease the donuts out of the pan.
- Serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

I’ve never thought to make savory donuts before- how creative and delicious!