Hold onto your hats, because this Mexican street cauliflower recipe is going to blow you away!
We’ve used cauliflower recipes to replace all sorts of our favorite carby foods, but this corn swap may very well be one of your favorite low carb side dishes!
This low carb cauliflower recipes fast and addictive, with easy, grilled cauliflower topped with salty cheese and bright lime juice! This is the perfect side dish for taco Tuesday or even a quick and filling snack!
Either way, this low carb recipes a crowd-pleaser. Ready to cook? Let’s go!
Looking for more keto side dishes? Check out my mashed cauliflower, cauliflower fried rice, or my cauliflower mac and cheese.
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What I Love About This Mexican Street Cauliflower Recipe
Well, it’s a healthy swap out for my elotes addiction, plus:
- Ready in under 30 minutes!
- 6 whole ingredients that are inexpensive and easy to find!
- All the flavors we dream about in traditional street corn, without the carbs!
Cauliflower Elote Recipe Notes
You have never had cauliflower like this before!
Ingredient Notes
Basic ingredients combined correctly = fantastic flavors!
Cauliflower – I love, love, love this veggie. It’s truly a superfood, packed with vitamins and nutrients, with very few carbs and calories. Plus, it’s so versatile. You can do so much with it, and you’ll love it styled like traditional Mexican corn.
Cotija cheese – This salty, crumbly, aged cheese has a sharp, funky flavor that’s really hard to match. It doesn’t melt, so it’s perfect for sprinkling on top of dishes like this. Can’t find it? You can swap our ricotta Salata or feta, but it won’t be quite the same.
Mayonnaise – If you haven’t tried making your own mayo from scratch, this is the recipe to go for it! If not, buy a good brand at the store like Hellmans or Best foods – you can taste the difference in this dish.
Tools To Make
Like many traditional dishes, the tools for this Mexican street cauliflower are simple!
- Grill – To make this grilled cauliflower, you can use a traditional barbeque or a grilling planchette on the stovetop. Mainly, we’re looking for the deep flavor that comes from the hot, direct heat, similar to street corn. Don’t have those tools? This dish is also spectacular with roasted cauliflower, so feel free to go ahead and bake your cauli steaks instead.
- Brush – while there are a lot of ways to get around this, a good silicone brush is a tremendous asset in the kitchen. It makes spreading oil or slathering on mayonnaise effortless and way less messy than other methods.
Cooking Tips
When grilling, you want to oil the steaks then let them sit on the grill for 6-ish minutes on each side and let them get a nice char. You may want to let them cook a little longer off the heat to soften up, it’s all your preference (we always do!).
Storing Tips
These taste dreamy, and like a dream, this Mexican street cauliflower fades fast. These are best served immediately. Thankfully, they’re ready in a flash, so you can whip them up fresh whenever you want them.
Serving Recommendations
Mexican street cauliflower is the perfect side dish for any meal, but especially alongside tacos or enchiladas! Maybe serve this atop a keto taco salad or with some keto tortillas for making tasty cauliflower tacos!
Recipe Variations
Want to add your own twist to this cauliflower elote? Here are a few ways to do so:
- Want your Mexican street cauliflower to use a different cheese? Cotija has a special, regional flavor, but you can use any keto cheese that you prefer.
- Believe it or not, lots of veggies can sub in on this dish. Try grilling some other keto vegetables and topping them with the traditional mayo, cheese and lime. There are some good veggie options in this cauliflower tabbouleh recipe.
- This recipe has all the ingredients to turn it into a cauliflower salad. Chop everything up and combine it for a south of the border version on my cauliflower potato salad.
- This is a great dish to add some meat, and you already have the grill out! Cook up some meat to serve on the side, or take a cue from the loaded cauliflower casserole and fry up some bacon!
More Side Dish Recipes
Side dishes are a great way to make a staple dinner recipe seem fresh! Try some of these keto sides to add bright new flavors to your table!
- Cauliflower Rice Casserole
- Keto Shrimp and Grits
- Cauliflower Hummus
- Cauliflower Stuffing
- Cauliflower Soup
Mexican Street Cauliflower (Elote)
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 Large Head of Cauliflower
- 1 Tablespoon Mild Tasting Oil (see notes below)
- 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 Cup Cotija Cheese crumbled
- 1/3 Cup Fresh Cilantro
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium.
- Remove the leaves and the bottom of the stem, so your cauliflower head (1 large) is able to stand up on your cutting board.
- Use a sharp knife to remove the rounded edges of the cauliflower on 2 sides, then cut the cauliflower into 4 thick cauliflower steaks.
- Brush each side of the steaks with oil.
- Cover and grill over direct heat for 5-6 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to char.
- Flip, cover, and repeat on the other side.
- Check the tenderness of the cauliflower with a fork. If you'd like the cauliflower to be softer, move it to indirect heat and continue to grill covered until it's soft to your liking. I usually cook over indirect heat for another 10 minutes.
- Remove cauliflower from the grill brush the steaks with mayonnaise.
- Sprinkle with chili powder (1 teaspoon), crumbled cotija (1/2 cup), and fresh cilantro (1/3 cup).
- Squeeze lime juice over the top of each, and enjoy!
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Lindsey’s Tips
- Mild Tasting Oil. You want an oil with a high smoke point and mild flavor — think avocado, vegetable, safflower, sunflower, peanut. Skip EVOO, coconut, or sesame oil.
- Nutritional information is based on 1 cauliflower steak if you make 4 steaks using this recipe:
