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Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal (Grain-Free & Dairy-Free)

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This Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal recipe is a grain-free alternative to oatmeal. It’s great for folks on paleo or grain-free diets, or if you’re looking to add a serving of vegetables to your breakfast.

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal cacao nibs

Cauliflower Oatmeal is Unusual, Yes!

Okay, so Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal falls into that category of weird-sounding foods. A sweet dish using cauliflower just sounds wrong, but I promise you that it’s really good! I’m not even the first person to try cauli oats, I also found this apple and cinnamon version from The Healthy Foodie.

This chocolate version I’m sharing with you today that makes for a nice breakfast that is grain-free and helps get more veggies into the diet. Watch the video to see how I made it!

 

Step-by-step photo guide for making this Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal

The first step is to start with a medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets:

cauliflower florets in a white colander

Thirty seconds in the food processor (this is the food processor I have; get it certified refurbished at a discount on Amazon!) makes rice, err “oats” in this case:

cauliflower rice in a food processor

It should look like this (OR, just buy cauliflower rice already made at your local grocery store in the refrigerated or freezer aisle):

cauliflower rice in the bowl of a food processor

If you are going to make this dish, you might actually want to prepare the rice the night before, otherwise it’s kind of a pain to do in the morning.

Just go ahead and put it in a sealable container in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it, you’ll get about 2-3 tightly packed cups from a medium to large-ish head of cauliflower. If you decide to use frozen cauliflower rice, you’ll need to give it a quick de-frost in the microwave or let it defrost overnight in the fridge. Be sure to squeeze out any excess water from the frozen version before making this dish.

cauliflower rice in a glass pyrex bowl

When it comes time to make the oatmeal, my preference is to use a non-dairy milk like my Vanilla Coconut Beverage (the little black dots come from the seeds of a vanilla bean). Almond milk (see my budget-friendly recipe here), cashew milk, or whatever your preference is fine. If you can tolerate dairy, feel free to use regular milk.

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe (eggs, milk, cocoa powder, collagen protein, cauliflower, and fruit):

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal ingredients

You’ll start by heating the milk to a low simmer:

almond milk simmering

Add the cauliflower rice, and cook it over low heat for a few minutes:

almond milk simmering with cauliflower rice

The last step is to stir in four whole eggs, cocoa powder, and some sort of sweetener like molasses or a non-nutritive sweetener if you really want to keep it low-carb. You just have to cook it a few more minutes so the eggs are done:

almond milk simmering with cauliflower rice and eggs

Serve hot, with fresh fruit for topping, if desired:

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal bowl with fruit

You can top it with whatever else suits your fancy. I used cacao nibs and coconut to give it more texture:

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal up close

Here’s the printable recipe for this grain-free Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal:

 

Print
Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal cacao nibs

Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal {Grain-Free, Dairy-Free}

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Paleo, Grain-Free
Print Recipe

Description

This recipe is a paleo and grain-free version of oatmeal using cauliflower rice.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup homemade vanilla coconut milk beverage or your favorite dairy-free milk
  • 2 – 2 1/2 cups cauliflower rice (about the amount that comes from a medium head of cauliflower)
  • 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
  • 1 scoop collagen protein
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 1/2 cup organic blueberries or chopped strawberries, for topping
  • your choice of sweetener, you’ll need the equivalent of 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup or molasses per serving

Instructions

  • Place your choice of dairy-free milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
  • Add the cauliflower rice and stir to combine. Let the mixture come back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in the eggs, cocoa powder, and collagen protein.
  • Cover the pot and let it simmer for 2-3 more minutes for the eggs to cook through. Stir once more before serving.
  • Top with chopped fruit and your choice of sweetener*.

Notes

*You can also stir the sweetener into the mixture before serving, if you prefer.

See, I bet you never thought I’d do that with cauliflower, ha ha. As healthy as I claim to be, I don’t love the flavor or texture of vegetables that much. That’s why I’m always working on ways to get them into my diet in unique and different ways. Thanks for putting up with my weirdness!

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Grain-Free Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal-2

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Comments

  2. Yum!!! You are a genius!!! I actually just bought a head of cauliflower yesterday so now I think I know what I’m going to do with it 🙂 I think pretty much everything I eat falls into the “strange but good” category, so I hopefully that translates into me being a “strange but good” person in general. Ha ha.

    So if you’ve been looking to Dave Asprey, have you tried his Bulletproof Coffee too????

    Reply

    • Sarah, strange but good is def a good description for my personality, too! Happy I’m not alone in that regard. 🙂 Will you let me know what you think of this recipe? I would love to know how it turns out for you. And, yes, I’ve been doing the BP coffee for about the last 2 weeks and it’s been transformative…seriously! I will write about it soon. Have you tried butter coffee?

      Reply

      • See I always thought you seemed perfectly normal so maybe we are the normal ones and everyone else is strange 😉

        I wish I could test out your exact recipe, but sadly I can’t do coconut, cinnamon, chocolate, or eggs, so my version won’t be anything quite like yours… But I’m still going to try to putting it in my oats tomorrow – which I usually make with kale, but I bet this will add a nice creamy touch. I’ll let you know how my boring version turns out though.

        I’ve never tried the BP coffee with the butter and all and honestly it sounds rather gross to me. I am a black coffee drinker so pretty much any pollution in my coffee isn’t very appealing. I’ve heard so many people rave about it, so I’m anxious to read about your experience. I did try his coffee beans once to see if there was a difference, but I wasn’t a huge fan if them either since they are such a light roast. Much to my dismay, I’ve had to stop drinking coffee altogether because for some reason the caffeine started to make me even more crazy and I was getting the late afternoon these jitters and anxiety type attacks that even sent me to the emergency room a few times! I don’t know what the heck happened, because I never used to have that degree of caffeine sensitivity, but now I can’t even tolerate a few sips in the morning without feeling the effects in the afternoon/evening. I usually only had one cup in the morning, but it was my favorite part of the day and I’m missing it terribly. Not that you needed to know all this, but I am curious to hear about your experience with the BP coffee and if you notice any difference in terms of caffeine jitters etc. since I believe one of his clams about it’s benefits is that it won’t produce such an effect. I really can’t wait to hear about your coffee transformation!! I vote for it to be your next post!!!

        Reply

        • Ha ha, I like that, Sarah (we are normal, everyone else is strange). HA!

          So the weird thing is that I used to be TOTALLY intolerant of caffeine, especially coffee, it turned me into a huge jittery mess with sweating and anxiety and all of that. But, since I make it the cold-brew way, it really doesn’t seem to lead to any negative effects. I’m not buying Dave’s coffee beans either, I’m just buying the organic, fair-trade stuff from wherever I can find it at a good price. I can’t say for sure that it’s the cold-press that’s somehow making the difference, or that my gut lining is a lot healthier and so perhaps it’s just getting metabolized slower or something, or maybe a combination of the two? But, what I can say is that caffeine in the morning, either from tea or coffee, has made a HUGE improvement in my energy and mood issues, and so I’m a huge fan.

          I promise I will write about this in the future, but I need to let some more time pass so I can get an idea of the changes that are occurring and all of that. We can def discuss over e-mail if you like in the meantime?

          LMK how you like your cauli oats. Without the chocolate, coconut, and eggs, I’d probably throw in some peanut butter, though. 🙂

          Reply

  3. Wow, this looks really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing. I was wondering what purpose the eggs serve in the recipe. Do they serve as a binder? I would like to make this vegan, so I am wondering if it would still work if I just left the eggs out? Or do you have a suggestion for a possible replacement? Thanks! xo

    Reply

    • No comment myself but wanted to see Carrie’s answer and could not figure another likely way to do that.

      I would like to make it much lower fat myself, still use some sort of nut or seed milk but no eggs for me…different body, different needs 🙂

      Reply

      • Thanks for the note, Geoffrey. I know you are very well educated and wise when it comes to nutrition, I’d love know your thoughts on this high-fat, low-carb stuff, if you have looked into it at all. Take care!!!

        Reply

        • I have looked into it a lot actually, because I LOVE fat! Seriously, my favorite foods are things like peanut butter, almond butter, coconut milk. We won’t even go there on old favorites i.e. before pre-diabetes drove me to what I do now.

          From all I have read and experienced (friends doing this and that), high fat, and I mean low carb type diet (no clear line of what high is) definitely increases risks significantly of cardovascular blockage. A lot though depends on the body you are putting it in. And of course all the research points to plant fats being far superior in benefits and reduce risk compared to animal sourced fats.

          But as I mentioned above, much depends on the body. Some people need more fat than others. Some, like me, have their bodies, liver, etc sort of choke up on higher fat intake. And then there is therapy for specific conditions and diseases. For example if I developed cancer I would almost certainly do a full bore ketogenic diet for awhile until I got it knocked way back and did significant detox etc. But for the long haul I would be inclined toward Dr Fuhrman’s recommendations in terms of fat intake. Animal fat I would treat as a risky and rare indulgence rather than a regular food.

          As an example, I have good friend w/ severe T2 diabetes as example. He has long used very low carb diet (Bernstein’s) to control his blood sugar levels to good effect. Also, he nearly died a couple years ago (and is now somewhat disabled as after effect) from a 2nd massive heart attack. The first one, maybe 10-12 years ago, was what put him on notice that he had advanced diabetes! So though he has been controlling sugar, other factors may add
          up to do him in prematurely.

          So then there is you w/ PCOS (that is your “issue” yes?). Complex and difficult but doable. My limited understanding is that prime drivers are too much insulin and too much testosterone. Very large insulin dumps are provoked by animal protein i.e. beef etc so there is that.

          You have undoubtedly done a huge amount of your own research and are threading the needle with trying to balance out hormone levels so I don’t have much I can advise there though if it were me, I would likely be looking directly at body fat % i.e. body composition, finding BodPod or some such locally to semi-accurately monitor and get in the lower end of what Dr Fuhrman would call healthy. (Don’t remember the number off hand) I have found that for me, I put on visceral fat in quantity long before it shows anywhere else and 5 lbs or so over my ideal weight (at current body comp.) gives me significant insulin resistance. So for me, low calorie, very moderate fat intake to keep my body fat low, and lots of strength/hypertrophy work to maintain and build muscle mass so I don’t look like an Xray; been there and it ain’t pretty. I have found that I really need fairly strenuous exercise to get the body comp I need to stay healthy likely due to my funky diabetic tendency genetics (lot of it in close relatives).

          There are other factors as well that drive body comp. and I am working on that end as well. Major player is systemic inflammation from whatever cause. That must be dealt with to get visceral fat down… I have a Naturopath friend who gained 25 lbs in just a few months months without changing diet or exercise at all just because he went through and deep deep detox from Qi Gong practice. As soon as the detox let up and the inflammation it was causing went away, the extra 25 lbs also just melted off in a couple months with again no changes in routine.

          Hope that helps somehow, food for thought etc. At least this food is zero calorie and fairly non-toxic 😉

          Reply

          • Just notice you mentioning protein in post after this one so did quick search to verify what I thought to be true and it seems to be:

            http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem.81.11.8923841

            Effect of dietary protein intake on insulin secretion and glucose metabolism in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

            DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jcem.81.11.8923841
            Published Online: July 01, 2013

            Abstract
            Adult-onset insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is associated with significant residual insulin secretion. The process leading to the ultimate destruction of B cells may be influenced, among other factors, by the quality and amount of ingested protein. Using a standardized food questionnaire, we matched 13 individuals with normal protein (NP; 0.74 +/- 0.08 g/kg.day) and high protein (HP; 1.87 +/- 0.26 g/kg.day) intake from a sample of 117 newly diagnosed IDDM patients according to sex, age, body mass index, and energy intake. Nondiabetic control subjects were also selected. Dietary habits did not change significantly over an observation period of 1 yr. Glucagon-stimulated C peptide was significantly higher in the NP compared to the HP group (0.71 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.50 +/- 0.04 nmol/L; P < 0.002). NP food was associated with higher overall insulin sensitivity in both patients and nondiabetic subjects. Hepatic glucose output was significantly increased in individuals with HP intake [HP IDDM, 14.8 +/- 0.6 vs. NP IDDM, 12.7 +/- 0.7 (P < 0.01); HP control, 12.2 +/- 0.5 vs. NP control, 10.9 +/- 0.5 (P < 0.01 mumol/kg.min). Insulin-mediated suppression of hepatic glucose production was impaired in diabetic patients with high protein intake, but not in patients with normal protein diet. Gluconeogenesis estimated from 13C enrichment in breath and plasma was increased in individuals on a HP diet. We conclude that a NP diet is accompanied by delayed progression of the continuous loss of endogenous insulin in IDDM. This phenomenon is possibly due to decreased insulin demand on the B cells and/or reduced hepatic glucose production favoring enhanced insulin sensitivity.

            And another you have to fetch the .pdf to read for some reason I can't copy/paste from the pdf:

            http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin_Busch2/publication/12247509_Effect_of_long-term_dietary_protein_intake_on_glucose_metabolism_in_humans/links/00b49529402033955a000000.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm2LtHbeyoB7A3C8AuDxN1nqVRUakQ&nossl=1&oi=scholarr

            Long term effects of dietary protein intake on glucose metabolism in humans
            T. Linn, et al

          • Geoffrey, thank you, I knew I could count on your for thoughtful and engaging input. I do think that I increased my protein intake too much after I stopped eating a vegan diet and didn’t realize until recently that protein can be converted to glucose very easily (I guess I should have consulted my biochem notes earlier, eh?). So, I think that’s why a more low to moderate protein approach seems to be appropriate for insulin-sensitivity impaired folks, and that combined with low-carb and high fat seems to help as well. In regards to the cardiovascular risk and saturated fat, I’ve been really trying to dig into this issue and understand the changes that seem to be coming forth from the scientific community. I am finding it all to be fascinating and just brought home from the library a book called The Big Fat Surprise.

    • Hi Alison! I’m so glad you asked that question about making this dish vegan. The eggs definitely serve as a binder, but they also add protein, so a couple of flax or chia eggs would probably be a good way to make it plant-based. I personally would probably want to add some nut butter as a topping if I left out the eggs, though, just to make it a little more filling. LMK how it turns out! 🙂

      Reply

      • I finally made this with some flax and chia meal in place of the eggs. It was delicious! I’ve missed having oatmeal in the mornings and this is the perfect replacement. In fact, I like this even better since I feel good after I eat it. Plus it’s a great way to get in extra veggies. I’m playing around with savory versions for my hubby. Thanks for this wonderful recipe, Carrie!! xo

        Reply

        • Ohhhh, so glad you liked it, Alison! For a savory version, I’ve been steaming the cauli, adding butter (you could use a plant-based fat instead), and a dash of salt, oregano, and thyme. Then, I blend it really, really well in the Blendtec and it’s like mashed potatoes. I don’t eat it for breakfast, but I make this 2-3 times a week to go with lunch. 🙂

          Reply

          • That sounds delicious, Carrie. Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried a few savory cauliflower “rice” dishes, but I have yet to try a mashed cauliflower or a savory “noatmeal” dish. I might try something with curry since my hubby loves that flavor so much. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything good. 🙂

  5. No more spots for direct reply to specific msg above but I just wanted to tag on to what you posted about saturated fat and protein both. From all I have read it seems that high fat from plants mostly non-coconut, seems pretty safe so far as cardiovascular risk is only an issue for me in that it is so calorie intensive. Dr Fuhrman seems to think fairly high intake of fat is fine so long as you are burning it as fuel and not storing it as excess and that matches how it feels in my body. Probably one of my biggest “problems” with it is that I really like to eat and I like to eat a lot, so if I am going to indulge that and feel satisfied, I need to keep the calorie density low enough that I can pack in some volume :()

    Reply

    • Yeah, totally, Geoffrey, I was initially drawn to Dr. Fuhrman’s approach because of the ability to eat very large amounts of food. However, I have noticed that with an increased amount of fat, even more than I ever ate while a nutritarian, I am feeling satiation like I have never experienced. To be honest, I feel like I’m doing a version of nutritarianism, except with the addition of butter and eggs. I am even experimenting with intermittent fasting again, but having a lot more success because I shifted my “feeding window” to later in the day. I really do appreciate your continued thoughtful input…thank you!!!

      Reply

      • Funny how different bodies are from each other. I do feel more satiation w/ more fat but at least for now I get IR if I put on any weight and I have experimented. If I eat more than an ounce or two of nuts I start to pudge and get IR.

        But the funny is how so many people seem to prefer eating lunch/dinner or at any rate, later in the day. I like that for social reasons but I go a bit nutso w/ hunger doing that and if I eat in the morning, right after I finish my work-out, and then 4 hours or so later, I am good to go until next day.

        Reply

          • IR=Intermittent Fasting

            I have been using the Fast-5 approach for about 1 1/2 years now. At first it was torture and I pace the floor wringing my hands while obsessing about food every morning until my eating window opened at 1 pm. That went on for several months without relief (I am a stubborn dude!). Finally I got smart and switched to opening the window in the morning, right after my workout, about 8 a.m. and felt instantly much better and within a couple day was totally fine with 2 meals per day in 5 or 6 hours. Recently I have felt hungry for more food sooner so my window has reduced itself to 4 hours or so with no effort or thought on my part!

  6. HAHAHAHAHA just reread my post that prompted your IR question and as in real estate location is everything, here context is everything.

    In that post IR=Insulin Resistance

    Sorry for the confusion

    Reply

    • That makes much more sense, I was so confused. :0) That’s awesome that you’re doing so well with IF…I am also having much better results this time around, but mostly because I’m doing the butter/MCT/gelatin coffee thing in the morning and then two meals later in the day. I’ve already seen an improvement in my blood sugars, yay!!!

      Reply

        • I so agree and I’m working with a functional medicine doc to track everything. I even bought a home glucose/ketone meter, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I am sooooo curious to see my ketone levels…have you done any of that type of testing?

          Reply

          • When figuring my way out of pre-diabetes I measured bg frequently. I have link to study if you want but bottom line is it seems that single best measure of diabetes and damage risk is the 1 hour postprandial (1 hour after you START eating) which is really a proxy for highest point your bg ever hits. I tested all around it and found that for me, 1 hour is pretty darn close.

            Only tested ketones a few times w/ pee sticks when started Fast 5 and never showed any at all. Would be fun to do that during a longer fast but I may never fast again! Might do but certainly not looking for an excuse to; at 65 years old it just takes too damn long and too much work to regain the muscle mass lost.

          • Cool, thanks for the tip on testing BG, Geoffrey. I’m just starting to delve into this world of self-testing and appreciate hearing from you on that. I’ve been reading this book called Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore and am learning about the whole ketosis thing. What fascinating pieces of machinery human bodies are…so much to learn and we are all definitely a bit different. Good stuff!

  7. HI Carrie,
    This sounds and looks absolutely delicious and filled with health. I never thought of putting chocolate and cauliflower rice together and making a tasty, healthy breakfast or dessert. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!

    Reply

  9. really?? it’s good??? I may just have to take your word on this one Carrie lol, I love cauliflower and chocolate but not sure I’m brave enough to attempt this one yet lol….. it does look good to the eye that’s for sure 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks, Debbie! I know, it’s one of my strangest recipes. When I was able to eat eggs, I really enjoyed this one!!! Probably my only complaint was that it didn’t fill me up as much as regular oats. That said, it tastes really good, I promise!!!

      Reply

  14. OMG, this looks so good! I love finding new Paleo porridge ideas and my kids go bonkers over something like this. This will definitely be on our list of things to change up breakfast time!

    Reply

  15. I had to read the title of this recipe twice! I was like: there’s cauliflower in there?! Sounds great – I’m not usually a great fan of cauliflower but I’m intrigued to find out how it tastes in this oatmeal. Thanks for the inspiration, will try it out!

    Reply

  17. The cute comment about adding different sweeteners for family members with different preferences made me smile. So true!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  18. Wowzers!! What a fun recipe! Cauliflower seems to be making it’s way to everything and I love it! It’s so nutritious and amazing flavor.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  22. Wow! I’ve got a mental block thinking about adding chocolate to cauliflower but this could convince me. Any suggestions for me to get over it? Do I just need to try it and see? 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ha ha, I get that Darryl! Since cauliflower is so mild in flavor, another great option is to throw a few frozen florets into your next chocolate smoothie. You won’t taste it at all and it might be good starter combo of cauliflower and chocolate. 🙂 Other than that, you could try doing a 50/50 porridge of cauliflower rice and something like buckwheat to help mask any of the cauliflower flavor.

      Reply

  27. What does the protein collagen do and do you need to add it? I’ve never heard of it but am willing to try.

    Thanks
    Angela W
    Stockton Ca

    Reply

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