Cauliflower meatballs

These cauliflower meatballs are vegetarian meatballs made from well-drained cauliflower and spinach, blended onion, garlic and carrot, marjoram, oats, a little flour and one egg, pressed firmly into small patties and fried golden in butter or margarine and oil. The recipe serves 3 and takes about an hour, half of it spent letting the cauliflower and spinach drain.

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Last updated 9 October 2026

Recipe

Cauliflower meatballs

Prep

15 mins

Cook

20 mins

Total

1 hr 5 mins

Serves

3

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1 tbsp dried marjoram
• 3 tbsp rolled oats (gluten-free oats if needed)
• 2 tbsp wheat flour
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Margarine or butter, and oil, for frying

Method

1. Cook the cauliflower florets until tender, then put them in a sieve with the thawed spinach and leave both to drain well, about 30 minutes. They must be thoroughly drained, otherwise the mixture is too wet and you end up with cauliflower cakes instead of meatballs. Then chop the cauliflower finely.
2. Grind or blend the onion, garlic, carrot and spinach, and mix it with the cauliflower, marjoram, oats and flour.
3. Add the egg, stir well and season with salt and pepper.
4. Shape the mixture into small patties, pressing it firmly together. The harder you press, the better the meatballs keep their shape in the pan.
5. Heat a mixture of margarine or butter and oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs golden, turning them a couple of times along the way.

Step by step, in pictures

The six moves of the method, from draining the vegetables to frying the meatballs.

1. Drain the cooked cauliflower and spinach
2. Chop the cauliflower finely
3. Blend onion, garlic, carrot and spinach
4. Mix in oats, flour and the egg
5. Press the mixture firmly into patties
6. Fry golden, turning a couple of times

How to keep cauliflower meatballs from falling apart

Drain the vegetables thoroughly and press the meatballs hard. Those two points in the method decide whether you get meatballs or soft cauliflower cakes:

• Let the cauliflower and spinach drain well after cooking and thawing. If they are too wet, you end up with cauliflower cakes instead of meatballs.
• Press each meatball firmly together when you shape it. The harder you press, the better it keeps its shape while frying.
• Turn them a couple of times as they fry in the butter or margarine and oil, until golden.

Vegetarian meatballs: what replaces the meat

Classic meatballs are made from pork, or a mix of pork and beef. In this version cauliflower is the base, with spinach, carrot and onion for colour and flavour, and oats, flour and an egg to bind it. The same idea works with root vegetables, rice, lentils or nuts.

If the family is not quite ready for fully vegetarian meatballs, make half the mixture and combine it with minced pork, then shape and fry it the same way. For the all-meat version, see our Danish frikadeller.

Are these cauliflower meatballs gluten-free?

Not as written. Gluten-free oats are fine, but the card also has 2 tbsp of wheat flour. One Danish recipe for cauliflower frikadeller suggests chickpea flour instead of wheat flour for a gluten-free version (mandekogebogen.dk).

Can you bake cauliflower meatballs instead of frying them?

Yes, though this recipe fries them. The same Danish source bakes its cauliflower frikadeller at 200 °C for 20–25 minutes, turning them halfway.

What to serve with cauliflower meatballs

In the photo that used to sit on this post, they were served with a tomato salad with shallots and an oil-and-vinegar dressing, boiled new potatoes, steamed carrots and a parsley sauce. They also go well with a dip of your choice.