The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes

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The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes

May 16, 2023
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The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes

The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes

Are you on the brassicas bus? if not, you should be. Here are our best broccoli and cauliflower recipes that are sure to make a veggie lover out of anyone. The great news is you can swap broccoli for cauliflower or vice versa in virtually any recipe – or even use their cousin, Romanesco.

California grows about 90% of the nation’s broccoli and cauliflower crops – that’s why we have so many fabulous recipes for both of them!

Let’s get to know these two cruciferous wonders:

All about broccoli:

Broccoli is loaded with healthy vitamins and nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It grows as a large, flowering head and both the head and stem are edible.

Gai lan, Kai-lan or “Chinese Broccoli” is a tender, long-stemmed variety that has a stronger and slightly more bitter flavor.

Broccolini is a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan, with a similar flavor to broccoli and smaller heads and longer, tender stems.

All about cauliflower:

Cauliflower is a superstar superfood. It’s high in vitamins C and K, is a good source of folate, and also contains choline and other nutrients.

While white cauliflower is the most common, there are varieties of the plant that grow bright purple, gold/yellow or orange, and neon green. The green variety is sometimes called “broccoflower” – even though it’s entirely cauliflower and not a hybrid. Romanesco is technically a variety of green cauliflower.

head of cauliflower
GTBG Cauliflower graphic

Now, let’s get cooking! Here are our favorite CA GROWN broccoli and cauliflower recipes, along with some delicious dishes from a few of our friends. And just remember, if broccoli can become noodles and cauliflower can become pizza crust, you can do almost anything too!

Broccoli Recipes you’ve got to try:

Broccoli Pesto on Toast - Jessica Lawson Big Delicious Life

Broccoli Pesto

This Broccoli Pesto recipe by Jessica of Big Delicious Life. Lightly steamed broccoli florets are whizzed together with fresh basil, garlic, walnuts, parmesan and lots of olive oil to give this traditional condiment and pasta sauce a fun twist. Stir gobs of it into pasta, slather it on sandwiches, dollop it on pizza or swirl it into your soup – the pesto possibilities are endless.

Broccoli Salad in a big serving bowl next to shredded rotisserie chicken and chopped bacon.

Easy Broccoli Salad

Brace yourself for the creamiest, most flavorful broccoli salad recipe on the internet! Our broccoli salad base recipe is a hearty one-bowl salad situation that is best suited as a side dish, but when you add shredded chicken and chopped bacon to the mix this side salad takes center stage as the easiest supper sized salad on the planet.

broccoli stir fry recipe

Simple Broccoli Stirfry Recipe

This broccoli stirfry from This Mess is Ours is an easy and nutritious weeknight plant-based meal that goes from start to finish faster than you can cook a pot of rice. This recipe is chock-full of crisp, tender broccoli with just the slightest char and a generous helping of our homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe that is free of refined sugars and loaded with big flavor!

cheesy broccoli chicken recipe

Easy Chicken Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Fresh herbs, broccoli, corn, two kinds of cheese, perfectly seasoned chicken, and rice topped with basil – sounds like perfection to us! This broccoli casserole recipe from Britney Breaks Bread has us feeling nostalgic for her revamp of this classic comfort food.

how to make broccoli noodles

Spiralized Broccoli Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Looking for a creative way to use broccoli stalks? Try our Spiralized Broccoli Teriyaki Chicken Bowl recipe on for size.

Turning tough broccoli stalks into tender veggie noodles is pure magic for the tastebuds that you have got to try!

easy mac and cheese with broccoli

Easy Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

Looking for a delicious and satisfying meal that is easy to make and perfect for any occasion? Look no further than this recipe for easy mac and cheese with broccoli from Dinner Cult. Made with simple ingredients and packed with flavor, this dish is sure to become a family favorite!

how to cook broccoli

The Best Broccolini Recipe

Tender and vibrant with caramelized red onion and garlic, our friend Kate from Kate’s Best Recipes shares her guide to how to cook broccolini for an easy weeknight side dish.

Incredible Cauliflower recipes everyone will love:

Crispy Baked Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Cauliflower

An incredible recipe for whole head of cauliflower stuffed with a cheesy spinach and artichoke filling, topped with crispy parmesan Panko breadcrumbs and baked to golden brown perfection – who wouldn’t want to try that? This recipe by Jessica of Big Delicious Life will definitely be on repeat. 

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Cauliflower - Jessica Lawson, Big Delicious Life

Ultimate Recipe for Cauliflower Steak

Brace your tastebuds for a vegetarian “steak” that you can really sink your teeth into! Our recipe for Cauliflower Steak is easy to make, perfectly tender, and full of flavor thanks to a slathering of Blue Cheese Butter.

Try our friend Sarah’s Sicilian-inspired Cauliflower steak recipe too! 

Two plates with cauliflower steaks topped in blue cheese butter.

Buffalo Cauliflower

This recipe for Buffalo Cauliflower is a hearty appetizer or side dish that the whole family will enjoy! Spicy and health-conscious, this recipe will satisfy all the hearty appetites at your table.

buffalo cauliflower recipe

Bang Bang Cauliflower

If you’ve never had Bang Bang sauce, you’ve yet to live your best life. Bang Bang sauce is creamy, sweet, spicy and ridiculously easy to make. Jessica of Big Delicious Life uses it as a dip all the time for chicken, veggies, shrimp, anything that needs a dunk. Try this Bang Bang Cauliflower recipe today!

bang bang cauliflower recipe

Cheddar Parmesan Baked Cauliflower

This Cheddar Parmesan Baked Whole Cauliflower is cheesy, delicious and totally gluten-free from our friend KC of G-Free Foodie. It’s also so yummy that you might forget to share…or maybe you just don’t want to. No judgment.

whole baked cauliflower with cheese recipe

Cauliflower Parmesan

No complicated three-step breading process. No messy, splatter-y stovetop deep-frying. Sarah of The Delicious Life‘s recipe for Cauliflower Parmesan is melty mozzarella cheese with those burnt bubbles, toasty panko breadcrumbs that stay crisp, and cauliflower instead of chicken.

The best of both worlds – Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes:

These recipe have both broccoli and cauliflower – and they’re so delicious!

Farmers Market Pot Pie

Farmers Market Pot Pie

Loaded with carrots, broccolini, cauliflower, and other California veggies, this Farmers Market Pot Pie recipe is everything! Plus, the crust is premade puff pastry, so it’s next-level easy to make.

Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole

This recipe for Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole is a delicious side dish from the Pioneer Woman. Perfect for anyone who just wants a veggie dish without all the rice and potatoes to carb it up. 

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« Back to CA Grown Blog

The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes

Are you on the brassicas bus? if not, you should be. Here are our best broccoli and cauliflower recipes that are sure to make a veggie lover out of anyone. The great news is you can swap broccoli for cauliflower or vice versa in virtually any recipe – or even use their cousin, Romanesco.

California grows about 90% of the nation’s broccoli and cauliflower crops – that’s why we have so many fabulous recipes for both of them!

Let’s get to know these two cruciferous wonders:

All about broccoli:

Broccoli is loaded with healthy vitamins and nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It grows as a large, flowering head and both the head and stem are edible.

Gai lan, Kai-lan or “Chinese Broccoli” is a tender, long-stemmed variety that has a stronger and slightly more bitter flavor.

Broccolini is a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan, with a similar flavor to broccoli and smaller heads and longer, tender stems.

All about cauliflower:

Cauliflower is a superstar superfood. It’s high in vitamins C and K, is a good source of folate, and also contains choline and other nutrients.

While white cauliflower is the most common, there are varieties of the plant that grow bright purple, gold/yellow or orange, and neon green. The green variety is sometimes called “broccoflower” – even though it’s entirely cauliflower and not a hybrid. Romanesco is technically a variety of green cauliflower.

head of cauliflower
GTBG Cauliflower graphic

Now, let’s get cooking! Here are our favorite CA GROWN broccoli and cauliflower recipes, along with some delicious dishes from a few of our friends. And just remember, if broccoli can become noodles and cauliflower can become pizza crust, you can do almost anything too!

Broccoli Recipes you’ve got to try:

Broccoli Pesto on Toast - Jessica Lawson Big Delicious Life

Broccoli Pesto

This Broccoli Pesto recipe by Jessica of Big Delicious Life. Lightly steamed broccoli florets are whizzed together with fresh basil, garlic, walnuts, parmesan and lots of olive oil to give this traditional condiment and pasta sauce a fun twist. Stir gobs of it into pasta, slather it on sandwiches, dollop it on pizza or swirl it into your soup – the pesto possibilities are endless.

Broccoli Salad in a big serving bowl next to shredded rotisserie chicken and chopped bacon.

Easy Broccoli Salad

Brace yourself for the creamiest, most flavorful broccoli salad recipe on the internet! Our broccoli salad base recipe is a hearty one-bowl salad situation that is best suited as a side dish, but when you add shredded chicken and chopped bacon to the mix this side salad takes center stage as the easiest supper sized salad on the planet.

broccoli stir fry recipe

Simple Broccoli Stirfry Recipe

This broccoli stirfry from This Mess is Ours is an easy and nutritious weeknight plant-based meal that goes from start to finish faster than you can cook a pot of rice. This recipe is chock-full of crisp, tender broccoli with just the slightest char and a generous helping of our homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe that is free of refined sugars and loaded with big flavor!

cheesy broccoli chicken recipe

Easy Chicken Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Fresh herbs, broccoli, corn, two kinds of cheese, perfectly seasoned chicken, and rice topped with basil – sounds like perfection to us! This broccoli casserole recipe from Britney Breaks Bread has us feeling nostalgic for her revamp of this classic comfort food.

how to make broccoli noodles

Spiralized Broccoli Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Looking for a creative way to use broccoli stalks? Try our Spiralized Broccoli Teriyaki Chicken Bowl recipe on for size.

Turning tough broccoli stalks into tender veggie noodles is pure magic for the tastebuds that you have got to try!

easy mac and cheese with broccoli

Easy Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

Looking for a delicious and satisfying meal that is easy to make and perfect for any occasion? Look no further than this recipe for easy mac and cheese with broccoli from Dinner Cult. Made with simple ingredients and packed with flavor, this dish is sure to become a family favorite!

how to cook broccoli

The Best Broccolini Recipe

Tender and vibrant with caramelized red onion and garlic, our friend Kate from Kate’s Best Recipes shares her guide to how to cook broccolini for an easy weeknight side dish.

Incredible Cauliflower recipes everyone will love:

Crispy Baked Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Cauliflower

An incredible recipe for whole head of cauliflower stuffed with a cheesy spinach and artichoke filling, topped with crispy parmesan Panko breadcrumbs and baked to golden brown perfection – who wouldn’t want to try that? This recipe by Jessica of Big Delicious Life will definitely be on repeat. 

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Cauliflower - Jessica Lawson, Big Delicious Life

Ultimate Recipe for Cauliflower Steak

Brace your tastebuds for a vegetarian “steak” that you can really sink your teeth into! Our recipe for Cauliflower Steak is easy to make, perfectly tender, and full of flavor thanks to a slathering of Blue Cheese Butter.

Try our friend Sarah’s Sicilian-inspired Cauliflower steak recipe too! 

Two plates with cauliflower steaks topped in blue cheese butter.

Buffalo Cauliflower

This recipe for Buffalo Cauliflower is a hearty appetizer or side dish that the whole family will enjoy! Spicy and health-conscious, this recipe will satisfy all the hearty appetites at your table.

buffalo cauliflower recipe

Bang Bang Cauliflower

If you’ve never had Bang Bang sauce, you’ve yet to live your best life. Bang Bang sauce is creamy, sweet, spicy and ridiculously easy to make. Jessica of Big Delicious Life uses it as a dip all the time for chicken, veggies, shrimp, anything that needs a dunk. Try this Bang Bang Cauliflower recipe today!

bang bang cauliflower recipe

Cheddar Parmesan Baked Cauliflower

This Cheddar Parmesan Baked Whole Cauliflower is cheesy, delicious and totally gluten-free from our friend KC of G-Free Foodie. It’s also so yummy that you might forget to share…or maybe you just don’t want to. No judgment.

whole baked cauliflower with cheese recipe

Cauliflower Parmesan

No complicated three-step breading process. No messy, splatter-y stovetop deep-frying. Sarah of The Delicious Life‘s recipe for Cauliflower Parmesan is melty mozzarella cheese with those burnt bubbles, toasty panko breadcrumbs that stay crisp, and cauliflower instead of chicken.

The best of both worlds – Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipes:

These recipe have both broccoli and cauliflower – and they’re so delicious!

Farmers Market Pot Pie

Farmers Market Pot Pie

Loaded with carrots, broccolini, cauliflower, and other California veggies, this Farmers Market Pot Pie recipe is everything! Plus, the crust is premade puff pastry, so it’s next-level easy to make.

Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole

This recipe for Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole is a delicious side dish from the Pioneer Woman. Perfect for anyone who just wants a veggie dish without all the rice and potatoes to carb it up. 

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