Pan seared cauliflower is a perfect low carb side dish and the flavor gets kicked up with bacon bits and garlic. You will love how easy this recipe is to make.
What a beautiful day in Florida! It started out with MaryJo taking a two-hour bike ride with the group from our Park. They went into downtown Dunedin to go to the library or the farmers market or the Home Plate restaurant for brunch. I walked to the grocery store to get the fixings for pan-fried cauliflower with bacon and garlic!
So I was fixing this delicious side dish and ended up eating the whole batch for my breakfast/lunch.
When MaryJo got back, I told her I ate the whole thing. That didn’t go over well, since she’s my go-to taste tester. I had to fix up another batch. No problem since this is easy and I’d help her sample another plate too.
Pan-Seared Cauliflower With Bacon And Garlic
The health benefits of cauliflower are numerous. It’s low calorie but high in vitamins C, K, and B6. It has good fiber content too.
All you need to make this dish is, cauliflower, bacon, garlic cloves, and olive oil if necessary.
Cook the bacon then remove it from the skillet. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of bacon grease. Add the cauliflower florets and sear them on medium heat until browned. Stir in the garlic right at the end and add the bacon. Serve this hot as a side dish.
Some other low carbohydrate recipes are:
- Fried Cauliflower Patties
- Roasted cauliflower with Buffalo Sauce
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup
This is a great way to kick up cauliflower and make the nutty flavors of this vegetable come forward. By pan frying you can get a great sear and paired with the crunch of bacon and spice of garlic it is a wonderful side dish. Try this with roasted chicken or with a small steak.
Pan Seared Cauliflower with Bacon and Garlic
Ingredients
- 6 cups cauliflower florets (one large head)
- 3 slices thick cut bacon , cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic , slivered or coarse chopped
- olive oil as needed
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a cast iron or heavy skillet on medium heat, fry the bacon until crispy
- Remove and drain on paper towel
- In the same skillet, remove most of the bacon grease leaving about 1 tablespoon and add cauliflower
- Stir the florets in the remaining grease to lightly coat
- Cook while stirring until the cauliflower is browned, add more olive oil (or reserved bacon grease) for additional browning if needed (5 to 6 minutes)
- Add the reserved bacon and garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute
- Lightly salt and pepper
- Serve immediately
Notes
- Reserve the excess bacon grease to add to the cauliflower while cooking if necessary.
Nutrition
This recipe post has been updated on November 18, 2021.
Sounds delicious! Last night I made cauliflower steaks … Sliced inch-thick “steaks” of cauliflower, held together by the base or stem, salt, pepper, olive oil in the pan to brown both sides, then put in 400 degree oven on foil lined pan for 15-20 min (with some minced garlic on top). Adding the bacon and just using florets and one pan sounds very good, too! Hi to MaryJo who we know from SPBC.
I loved the flavor! Making this recipe on the stove top is much faster than oven roasting cauliflower but you achieve the same great taste. Definitely greater than the sum of its parts.