Cauliflower Breadsticks (Paleo, AIP, Gluten & Dairy Free)
These cauliflower breadsticks are perfect for snacking and dipping! They’re paleo, AIP, dairy free, gluten free, and nut free.
Breadsticks. Breadsticks are life. Well, breadsticks were life. I used to order from pizza places just so I could get breadsticks sometimes. Some well seasoned, cheesy, soft yet crispy breadsticks dipped in marinara sauce are just so good! Breadsticks are one of the things that I miss most!
There are a lot of recipes out there for gluten-free cauliflower breadsticks made with lots of cheese. It helps to hold the breadsticks together and makes it taste like pizza. But what about those of us who are dairy-free? We still want gluten and dairy-free breadsticks! That’s why I made these! These cauliflower breadsticks are dairy-free, grain-free, nut-free, and easy to make egg-free and AIP. They’re perfect for dipping in nightshade-free marinara sauce, serving as an appetizer on Italian night, and a great game day snack!
The Ingredients for Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Riced Cauliflower. I always buy cauliflower pre-riced and frozen for convenience. However, you can easily rice your own cauliflower by adding florets to the food processor.
- Arrowroot Starch and Coconut Flour. Though I prefer arrowroot starch here, you can use tapioca as well
- Nutritional Yeast. This helps make the breadsticks taste cheesy!
- Olive Oil. You can likely use avocado oil but olive oil has a much better flavor here.
- Egg. If you’re egg free, you can use a gelatin egg substitute. You’ll find the instructions in the recipe.
- Basil, Oregano, Garlic, Salt, and Parsley. For flavor!
- Baking Soda.
- Apple Cider Vinegar.
How to make Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Cook and strain cauliflower rice. Add the riced cauliflower to a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cover for 7 minutes to steam the cauliflower. Remove the lid, strain the excess water and allow the cauliflower to cool before using a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to remove all water from the cauliflower.
- Combine the dough.
- Flatten the dough on the baking sheet and form into a large rectangle.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crispy.
- Slice and enjoy! Remove from the oven and use a pizza roller to slice into 14-16 slices.
What do you serve this recipe with?
You can serve it with a main dish of your choice like pasta and salad, and a sauce on the side for dipping like nomato sauce!
Can you make these breadsticks ahead of time?
You can! They’re best fresh, but you can store them in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheat them in the oven.
Can you make these breadsticks coconut-free?
Coconut flour has a lot of unique properties and is hard to swap 1:1 for another ingredient. I haven’t successfully made this recipe coconut-free.
Can you leave out the nutritional yeast?
You can, though it breadsticks won’t have a cheesy flavor.
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Cauliflower Breadsticks (Paleo, AIP, Gluten & Dairy Free)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower, riced
- 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg (substitute gelatin egg for AIP, see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper.
- Add the riced cauliflower to a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cover for 7 minutes to steam the cauliflower. Remove the lid, strain the excess water and allow the cauliflower to cool before using a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to remove all water from the cauliflower.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add the riced cauliflower and stir to combine. Incorporate the olive oil, apple cider vinegar and egg (or gelatin egg) and stir until a dough forms.
- Flatten the dough on the baking sheet and form it into a large rectangle. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and use a pizza roller to slice into 14-16 slices. Serve warm with tomato sauce or nightshade free marinara.
Notes
For the gelatin egg substitute – Add 1/4 cup water to a small saucepot and slowly sprinkle in 1 tbsp of gelatin. Use a fork to gently mix any clumps. Set aside and allow the mixture to harden for 2-3 minutes. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat on low heat. Allow the mixture to become liquid. Once liquid, immediately remove from heat. Vigorously whisk the liquid until it becomes frothy. Pour it into the breadstick mixture immediately to swap for an egg.
All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 472
- Fat: 18.1g
- Carbohydrates: 70.2g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 9.1g
Originally published in 2019 and updated in 2022. Recipe by Michelle Hoover of Unbound Wellness, photos by Eat Love Eats.
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Small edit suggestion- At the end of the gelatin egg instructions you say to add it to the crab cake rather than the cauliflower breadstick dough. 🙂
These look yummy, btw!
Thank you!!
These look terrific! Sorry to be a pain but any chance you have a substitute for egg/gelatin egg if you’re vegan?
You can try to do a chia egg 🙂
I cant find nutritional yeast. What can I substitute? Doesn’t have to be dairy free….
I buy nutritional yeast online. Not sure of what a good sub would be as it is fairly important for the structure. You can try to use some shredded cheese instead!
Thanks for your recipes. They are changing my life. Because of your suggestions, I am adding new items to the list of things I can eat without triggering an attack. The doughnut holes are fantastic. On the subject of bread, is there a store bought bread that is okay for Hashimoto’s? I found one that I can tolerate if I don’t eat too much. It is tapioca based. Thanks for all your information and recipes. Hashimoto’s has been relentless…fatigue, gastric distress, hair like straw and falling out, five iron infusions when ferritin crashed, stem cell infusion, and wildly fluctuating thyroid numbers. You site is the best I’ve found, one not driven solely by a desire to sell products. Thanks again! Merle Temple
Thank you so much, Merle! I don’t know of a storebought bread that I love… a lot of them have weird ingredients, but I honestly haven’t really looked in quite some time. I’m going to be trying to do a gluten free sourdough to add to the blog in the coming months 🙂
I can’t wait to try these! I have recently developed a sensitivity to almonds and so many gluten-free recipes use almond flour. I’m excited to give this one a try! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Maggie!! Hope you love it!
I tried making these the other night, but for some reason they never properly cooked. I ended up leaving them in the oven for over an hour (and they were still a bit wet in the middle). Perhaps I didn’t squeeze out all the water from the cauliflower or I made the dough too thick. I wasn’t sure how thin they should be. I will definitely have to try again. But despite all that, they tasted amazing. It really reminded me of breadsticks from a specific chain pizza place. Thanks for creating such a great recipe.
Glad it tasted good, Gina! Yes, I would try to squeeze out the cauliflower more. It releases a lot of moisture, so it’s best to really ring it out like crazy!
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Do you know if this would work with agar for a vegan AIP version? If so, do you have specific instructions on the agar (it tends to be hit and miss for me, sometimes if I use warm water it completely hardens up and is useless)
Thank you!
I haven’t ever worked with it so I can’t say if it would work… sorry!
Cauliflower measurement is 2C of riced not the florets correct?? Looks amazing, as always with your recipes!
Hi, This recipe looks great. I react to coconut and I was wondering if you know whether Tiger nut Flour would have the same absorbency and could be substituted . Thanks 🙂
Coconut flour has a lot of unique properties and is hard to swap 1:1 for another ingredient. I haven’t successfully made this recipe coconut-free!
Hi – can frozen riced cauliflower be used for the 2 C rice cauliflower?
Can’t wait to try these – they look delicious!
Thank you
We love these! And an answer to Leslie below…I made these yesterday with a 12 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower. Since I started late at night I cooked it stovetop, cooled, then placed in cheesecloth. Since it was so late I left it to drain over a colander overnight (ended up being about 4-5 hours). I wrapped the cheesecloth containing cauliflower in a paper towel and began squeezing. Since I had left it to drain I didn’t expect to have to squeeze so much but I thought the water would never stop coming out! Still a few drips left but I had to get them made! Anyway, they turned out great. I pressed the dough fairly thin and they didn’t really get crispy but I wanted breadsticks, not crackers, so they were perfect to me. I did use a regular egg, but my daughter has made them with the gelatin egg with good results. Good luck!
★★★★★
Hi. I’d like to try this recipe. Is there a substitution for the coconut flour? And if not, what would happen if I do not add it. Thanks for your response.
Patty Otanez
Coconut flour has a lot of unique properties and is hard to swap 1:1 for another ingredient. I haven’t successfully made this recipe coconut-free.
These sound so good… Im also wondering if they would work as an AIP pizza crust, if i baked it as a circle and didn’t cut it, and then put some toppings on at the end and toasted them in the oven for a few extra minutes. If nobody else has tried it, I might have to give it a shot lol
Totally! It’s not exactly the same texture, but it would basically be like a flatbread pizza.