Cauliflower Cheese Dippers

  • 15MINS
  • 35MINS
  • Serves 4
  • 192KCAL

You can’t beat cauliflower cheese…unless it’s coated in a cheesy crust, baked to perfection and served with a gooey dip, of course! These scrummy dippers are almost as fun to make as they are to eat. We’ve rustled up a homemade sauce that’s far lower in calories than you’d think…with a fiery kick of Sriracha too!

  • Bakes and Roasts pinchofnom.com
  • Everyday Light pinchofnom.com
  • Snacks and Sides pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy Cauliflower Cheese Dippers pinchofnom.com

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories192
  • Carbs18g
  • Protein13g
  • Fat7.2g
  • Saturates3.2g
  • Sugars4.8g

The ingredients for Pinch of Nom's Air Fryer Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are laid out on a kitchen counter, ready to begin cooking.

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

If you already love cauliflower cheese, prepare to get obsessed with these Cauliflower Cheese Dippers. We’ve coated them in a layer of tangy Parmesan, panko breadcrumbs, garlic, paprika and mustard powder to give every bite an irresistibly punchy crunch.

Once they’ve turned golden in the oven, that’s your cue to serve your florets with a bowl full of homemade cheesy dip. We’ve rustled ours up in the microwave, but there’s nothing to stop you using a saucepan if you’d prefer – we’ve put the instructions in the ‘tips’ section of this page.

You won’t regret adding these fantastic florets to your meal plan. They make for a gorgeous savoury snack, or you can serve them on the side of lots of different dishes. 

Isn’t it amazing how versatile cauliflower is? You can tap here for even more floret-based inspiration.

What diets are these Cauliflower Cheese Dippers suitable for?

Cauliflower Cheese Dippers can be enjoyed on vegetarian diets, as long as you use a vegetarian alternative for Parmesan cheese.

Take extra care when cooking for people with allergies and be sure to use different utensils, cookware and preparation areas.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Cauliflower Cheese Dippers?

We’ve used panko breadcrumbs to create our crunchy coating, and they should be easy to find in the baking section of most supermarkets.

Bear in mind that a little goes a long way with panko, since they’re larger than typical flour breadcrumbs.

We love hearing from you, submit any tips or tricks you have for this dish and we’ll review them and add some of them here. Just click here.

SEND US a HINT & TIP, Or QUOTE for this recipe

THANKS
we have your picture

The process

  • Check Now we have your Hint & tip
    we’ll check them over.
  • Review We’ll review your Hint & Tip, and see if its suitable to use on the website.

Your details

  • Name: %name%
  • Recipe: %recipeName%

YOUR HINTS & TIPS

Your “QUOTE”

SWAG!

Due to the large number of submissions we recieve we’re afraid we’ll only inform you if we use it on the Recipe page - then we’ll send you some swag…

(Please remember others may of had the same idea as you!)

Close

This post contains affiliate links: what this means

Panko breadcrumbs are larger than flour-based versions, so a little goes a long way!

Durable mixing bowls are always useful for sweet and savoury bakes.

How many calories are in these Cauliflower Cheese Dippers?

Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are included in our Everyday Light category because they contain just 192 calories per portion. For more delicious dishes all under 400 calories, take a look at other Everyday Light recipes!

Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are ideal when following any of the larger diet plans such as Weight Watchers or counting calories.

The average woman needs around 2000kcal per day to maintain a healthy body weight, and men typically need slightly more at 2,500kcals, but you may want to reduce these if you are aiming to lose weight. You can find more information on the NHS website.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Step 2

In a bowl, combine the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, garlic granules, smoked paprika and mustard powder. Mix and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to another bowl.

Step 2 pinchofnom.com

Step 3

Dip a cauliflower floret into the egg allowing any excess to drip off. Then dip into the breadcrumb mixture, coating on all sides. Place onto the lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.

Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Spray with low-calorie cooking spray and pop the tray into the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the cauliflower over and cook for a further 15 minutes. The breadcrumbs should be crispy and cauliflower cooked through.

Step 5

When you’ve turned the cauliflower over, make the cheese dipping sauce. Add the flour to a microwavable bowl or jug and pour in the milk, mix with a balloon whisk until smooth. Pop into the microwave in 1-minute bursts until the milk and flour have thickened. Ours took about 2 minutes but this will depend on the wattage of your microwave.

Step 5 pinchofnom.com

Step 6

Add the cheese, mustard powder and Sriracha and mix, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 6 pinchofnom.com

Step 7

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and serve alongside the dipping sauce.

Pinch of Nom's slimming-friendly Air Fryer Cauliflower Cheese Florets are served freshly-baked and golden brown on a bright green plate, with a dollop of cheesy dipping sauce coating one of the florets.

What could I serve with these Cauliflower Cheese Dippers?

These Cauliflower Cheese Dippers include a delicious cheese sauce for dipping. You can enjoy them as they are as a light snack, or add them to the side of any of these slimming-friendly dishes:

Hunter’s Sausages pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 1HR 15
  • 422KCal
Cajun Spiced Stuffed Chicken pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 25MINS
  • 232KCal
Cheesy Topped Chicken pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 30MINS
  • 324KCal
BBQ Roast Chicken pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 1HR 5
  • 377KCal

How do you know when Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are cooked?

You’ll know these dippers are ready when they’re golden and crispy, and the cauliflower florets are thoroughly cooked through. This will take around 30 minutes in the oven. 

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe. 

How long can you keep Cauliflower Cheese Dippers in the fridge?

These Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are best served and enjoyed immediately. Once you’ve served this recipe, you’ll ideally need to eat it within 4 hours.

You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Make sure that you allow them to cool before putting them into an airtight container. 

Can I freeze Cauliflower Cheese Dippers?

Because this recipe is made with fresh veggies, we don’t recommend that you freeze it. This dish tastes best when it’s freshly made as it could go soggy if frozen and reheated.

How do I reheat Cauliflower Cheese Dippers?

These Cauliflower Cheese Dippers can be reheated from chilled. Simply pop them onto an oven tray and reheat in the oven until they are piping hot and crispy.

ORDER Our NEW cookbook Air Fryer NOW

Cauliflower Cheese Dippers

Crunchy, scrumptious and lower in calories than you'd think, these Cauliflower Cheese Dippers are almost as fun to make as they are to dip!
  • Prep Time
    15 MINS
  • Cook Time
    35 MINS
  • KCals 192
  • Carbs 18G

Ingredients

  • 15 g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
  • 25 g panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 medium eggs beaten
  • 300 g cauliflower cut into florets
  • low-calorie cooking spray

For the cheese dipping sauce

  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 200 ml skimmed milk
  • 40 g reduced-fat mature Cheddar cheese finely grated
  • ¼ tsp mustard powder
  • ¼ tsp Sriracha sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

Please do not screenshot this. Recipes are updated often

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
  2. In a bowl, combine the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, garlic granules, smoked paprika and mustard powder. Mix and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to another bowl.
  3. Dip a cauliflower floret into the egg allowing any excess to drip off. Then dip into the breadcrumb mixture, coating on all sides. Place onto the lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.
  4. Spray with low-calorie cooking spray and pop the tray into the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the cauliflower over and cook for a further 15 minutes. The breadcrumbs should be crispy and cauliflower cooked through.
  5. When you've turned the cauliflower over, make the cheese dipping sauce. Add the flour to a microwavable bowl or jug and pour in the milk, mix with a balloon whisk until smooth. Pop into the microwave in 1-minute bursts until the milk and flour have thickened. Ours took about 2 minutes but this will depend on the wattage of your microwave.
  6. Add the cheese, mustard powder and Sriracha and mix, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  7. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and serve alongside the dipping sauce.

Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?

With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.



We agreed with Slimming World to remove their trademarked terms from our website

Find out why here

Recipe notes

Tip: You can cook the cheese sauce in a saucepan if you’d rather. Add the flour and milk, and mix until smooth. Place the pan on a low heat for 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally.  When the sauce has thickened, add the cheese, mustard powder and Sriracha. Mix until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

We love seeing your photos of Cauliflower Cheese Dippers, don’t forget to tag us in your creations on Instagram or in our Facebook group.

ORDER Our NEW cookbook Air Fryer NOW

If you like these…try these

Cauliflower Hot Wings pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 50MINS
  • 154KCal
Cauliflower Cheese Fish Pie pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 43MINS
  • 307KCal
Cauliflower Cheese Balls pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 55MINS
  • 223KCal
Cauli Mac and Cheese pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy
  • 30MINS
  • 396KCal

Join the conversation

Comment or ask our advice

Leave a Reply

Our newsletter

Get the latest pinch