Cauliflower Ceviche

Cauliflower Ceviche
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(1,041)
Notes
Read community notes

On the hottest summer days, this is the dish to make because it requires zero cooking. A quick marinade of lemon juice, seaweed and fresh vegetables sets up a flavorful, no-fuss ceviche that tastes like the sea despite having no seafood in it. Store-bought minced or “riced” cauliflower won’t work for this dish. You have to start by grating or mincing a fresh whole head of cauliflower — that extra step will be more than worth the work it requires. ¡Buen provecho!

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
  • Print Options


Advertisement


Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1small cauliflower (2 pounds), leaves removed
  • 1serrano chile, seeded and minced
  • ½cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 large lemons), plus lemon wedges for serving
  • ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2teaspoons minced nori sheets, nori flakes or granulated kelp
  • 1teaspoon wakame, minced or crushed (optional)
  • 1teaspoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
  • 1teaspoon hot sauce, plus more for serving
  • Coarse sea salt and black pepper
  • 2ripe medium Hass avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
  • 1medium beefsteak tomato, cored and cut into ¼-inch dice
  • 1Persian cucumber or ½ English cucumber, cut into ¼-inch dice
  • ¾cup packed finely chopped cilantro
  • 12corn tostadas or 7 ounces tortilla chips (about 10 cups), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1071 calories; 62 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 17 grams polyunsaturated fat; 120 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 1364 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Grate the cauliflower against the large holes of a grater, rotating to grate all the florets and stopping at the core. Alternatively, cut off the florets then mince with a knife or pulse in a food processor until it resembles a riced texture.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl and add the serrano chile, lemon juice, olive oil, nori, wakame, liquid aminos and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Season again to taste; it should be slightly salty. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.

  3. Step 3

    When ready to serve, add the avocados, tomato, cucumber and cilantro, and mix well. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve over tostadas or with tortilla chips, with lemon wedges, salt and hot sauce.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,041 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

We really liked the idea of this. I made the recipe exactly as written, although we ate it as tacos with avocado and tomato as toppings. When I make it again, I will omit the kelp and wakame. It's much better as a vegan riff on tacos rather than ceviche, which honestly I don't think can be improved upon. But we really enjoyed it! So healthy, and vegan, which our over-fished world needs.

Can anyone before I try this tell me why store brought riced cauliflower won’t work?

I agree with Susan. I made it and while I enjoyed the mix on tostadas, it did not suggest ceviche even with the wake error and nori. A great meal, but a different title is needed.

Never peel or pit an avocado. Simply cut in half longways, remove the pit by dropping a large knife sharp edge into the long axis of the pit and lifting it ( or leave the pit in if you only need half). Then gently slice or cube the avocado down to the skin and scoop out with a spoon. Voila. Use the empty skin to cover the other half if you are not using it right away. It will not go brown

We really liked the idea of this. I made the recipe exactly as written, although we ate it as tacos with avocado and tomato as toppings. When I make it again, I will omit the kelp and wakame. It's much better as a vegan riff on tacos rather than ceviche, which honestly I don't think can be improved upon. But we really enjoyed it! So healthy, and vegan, which our over-fished world needs.

Sub'd limes and store bought Furikake seasoning for the nori and seasonings. Used as filling for a nori burrito: nori sheets, spread crushed avocado and topped with sprouts and hot sauce. Very easy and yummy!

It's meant to be fish-less. Commercial fishing is decimating the world's oceans.

For anyone planning on using this as a taco filling, I would suggest significantly reducing the lemon juice. I really enjoyed the nori and wakame flavors and would add more next time.

Great idea, which I tweaked, adjusting the Mexican angle a bit more: lime juice for lemon, minced green onions and some chopped Manzanilla olives. I did not use the Asian ingredients, however when I added the small amount Tamari (soy) aesthetically you loose the bright white color. If you want that flavor, go for it, I will hold off next time around. Great idea!

I swear by this recipe - it checks the box for salty, sour, spicy, creamy, and crunchy! It's so good, I can't tell that it's healthy. I often simply eat it with tortilla chips.

We made this and found it to be a tasty approximation of ceviche, because of the nori addition. Recommend making it "by the book" first, especially if you are usually a fish eater.

They probably assumed store-bought riced cauliflower would be frozen and therefore too wet. If your store sells fresh riced cauliflower that's less than a day old, I can't see why it wouldn't work.

Here yo say that store bought riced cauliflower worked just fine!

I think because author says: "no-fuss ceviche that tastes like the sea despite having no seafood in it."

I know it's a vegan recipe, but I think fish sauce would be delicious in place of the soy if you aren't fully vegan. I didn't have any nori on hand so omitted, and I believe it would have added a nice touch. I loved not turning on my oven and having something satisfying, healthy, and quick. I will definitely repeat this idea!

Used jalapeños (2) instead of Serrano pepper. We added shrimp—yum and great on tostadas.

Needed more lemon/lime juice and olive oil to make it moist. Decent recipe, but it loses its zing overnight. I would not marinate the first set of ingredients for longer than an hour or so, certainly not overnight.

I liked this! It was a tangy, slightly spicy cauliflower salad that was delicious with black beans and corn tortillas. As other have suggested, it does not really suggest ceviche (but since I didn’t have the wakame or nori, I assumed that was why. Perhaps not?) Still a great recipe and a tasty way to eat some cauliflower without heating up the kitchen.

The citrus overwhelmed the other flavors, esp after the rest time. Taste more like tabouli than anything else and will be a great addition to falafel night. It was better before resting so you could taste the nori. Good, but calling this ceviche is a huge stretch.

This is fabulous.... like all recipes you use it as a template.... and it is a great one... perfect for a super hot night! THANK YOU NYT! once again...!

Ate this in lettuce leaf wraps rather than with chips.

I like cauliflower, which is what drew me to this recipe. I don't like fish, so I left out anything fishy. I added fire roasted canned corn. Subbed red cabbage for the cucumber because I didn't have one on hand. Used lime juice instead of lemon. Otherwise I made the recipe as stated. It was very refreshing and will make again!

Can this be made omitting the avocado?

Add more spice as suggested. It's very light and fun to have for vegetarians and as a non-meat starter. It's very mild.

I swear by this recipe - it checks the box for salty, sour, spicy, creamy, and crunchy! It's so good, I can't tell that it's healthy. I often simply eat it with tortilla chips.

I made this recipe as it was written. I really loved the idea of a cauliflower ceviche but after I tasted it, I really thought that the nori and wakame was overwhelming and the fresh taste of the lemony cauliflower was lost so I started again and made it without those ingredient it and it was a great success. I served it with scoop shape tortilla chips as an appetiser. I also served it with flour tortillas with either shrimps or flanks steak strips with more hot sauce, delicious.

Seems I’m late to this recipe. Made as recipe provided except as others recommended kept out the nori. Would definitely make again even as a light, refreshing side salad for vegans and non. After grating the cauliflower, the rest comes together quite quickly. Probably would use half lime/lemon. Not sure who is eating this that it’s a recipe for 4 - it’s very generous!

Here yo say that store bought riced cauliflower worked just fine!

This was closer to pico de gallo than ceviche. I was intrigued by the mix of ingredients, but most got lost. This dish is okay, but nothing more. For something ceviche-like, I recommend the Green Peach Salad.

Nice dish for a summer day, which is fresh and clean-tasting. We didn’t have wakame, so just used extra nori. To make it “fishy” it needs more seaweed, so we will add more next time. Will make this again!

Private notes are only visible to you.

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.