This healthy fish pie with cauliflower topping has all the qualities of a great, hearty comfort food dish but with a lot less calories. Plus it comes with a vegetable already in it so there is no need to make a side dish!
This delicious, healthy fish pie without potato is super quick and easy to throw together. Just make a simple 4-ingredient sauce, pour over the fish, cover with the cauliflower mixture and bake!
Healthy fish pie with cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of the most versatile vegetables I know. It is delicious in a huge number of very different dishes. They include snack recipe ideas to soups, salads and main dishes. I am constantly finding new ways of incorporating cauliflower into my dishes.
My love of cauliflower is well documented in recipes such as these hugely popular healthy cheese scones with cauliflower rice or Cauliflower Pomegranate Salad with Yogurt Dressing . Or this more recent recipe, Cauliflower Tabbouleh with Pomegranate.
The idea for this no potato fish pie with cauliflower topping came from my cauliflower rice crusted chicken recipe I made a while ago. The cauliflower rice crust gave this recipe a bit of crunch while the chicken underneath was deliciously tender and moist. Just as it should be.
I wanted the same crunchy topping effect for my healthy fish pie recipe. Crunchy on top and deliciously creamy on the inside. And it was!
How do you make fish pie healthy?
Well, simply by making a few healthy swaps, which in no way compromised the flavour!
The most obvious healthy swap - the cauliflower - happily replaced traditional mashed potatoes. The added crunch works extremely well with the creamy filling!
I swapped butter for olive oil, both in the sauce as well as the topping. Delicious. Turns out butter is not essential in pies!
I used semi-skimmed milk to make the sauce. Works great. Turns out heavy cream is really not essential for making creamy sauces!
How to make easy fish pie recipe: step-by-step
This cauliflower fish pie is very easy to make and requires a lot less preparation time than traditional fish pie. There is no need to peel and cook potatoes as there aren't any in this recipe!
1.Start by making the cauliflower rice. Simply put roughly chopped cauliflower in a blender and blitz to obtain a crumbly mixture. Take care not to overblend as it may become mushy. Combine with breadcrumbs and cheese, season to taste and set aside.
2. Arrange the fish pieces in your pie dish, drizzle over lemon juice, season and scatter the lemon zest.
3. To make the sauce in a small saucepan heat up the oil, add the flour and whisk quickly until the mixture thickens. Add the milk and bring to the boil whisking all the time. When the sauce thickens remove from the heat.
4. Pour the sauce over the fish (the sauce will be thick).
5. Top the pie with the cauliflower mixture (without pressing down). Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 30 minutes.
Can I adapt this low carb fish pie recipe
Yes you can! I used a combination of salmon and cod in this low fat fish pie but you could also use haddock. But if you prefer to use just one type of fish that's absolutely fine too.
Top tips
- Use salmon and/or any white fish.
- Process the cauliflower briefly, until crumbly. Do not overblend the mixture.
- The sauce I used in this recipe is a very basic white sauce, which you can use in a huge number of dishes. Check out ALL my recipes where I’ve used this simple white sauce. You won’t believe how versatile it is!
- It is important to season the fish, the sauce as well as the cauliflower topping.
- Best served immediately.
- Freeze the pie, uncooked, covered, for up to 3 months.
More one pot healthy fish recipe ideas
If you are into fish pies you might also like this nutritious salmon pot pie with leek, spinach and sweet potato as well as fish casserole with vegetables. You might also like leftover salmon and potato bake and easy tuna bake with butternut squash.
You might also like this collection of 13 healthy, easy one pot chicken recipes!
Keep in touch!
If you make this fish pie recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Recipe
Healthy Fish Pie with Cauliflower Topping
Ingredients
- 1.1 pounds (500 g) salmon/cod/haddock skinless, boneless, chopped into chunks
- 10.58 ounces (300 g) cauliflower roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch/corn flour
- ½ cup (125 ml) semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus zest of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup (40 g) cheddar cheese coarsely grated
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- fine sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5. You will need a medium size oven/pie dish (at least 6 cm deep).
- Place the fish pieces in the pie dish, season, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle the zest over the whole thing. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the cauliflower, place in a blender and blitz briefly until the mixture becomes crumbly (take care not to overblend and turn it into mush). Combine with the breadcrumbs and cheese, season, stir and set aside.
- To make the sauce in a small saucepan heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the flour, lower the heat and quickly stir using a whisk until well combined and there are no lumps. Add the milk, season to taste, turn up the heat again and stir until the mixture has thickened and starts to bubble up, all the time using the whisk.
- Pour the sauce over the fish, cover with the cauliflower mixture (do not press down!), drizzle the remaining oil over the whole thing and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use salmon and/or any white fish.
- Process the cauliflower briefly, until crumbly. Do not overblend the mixture.
- The sauce I used in this recipe is a very basic white sauce, which you can use in a huge number of dishes. Check out ALL my recipes where I’ve used this simple white sauce. You won’t believe how versatile it is!
- It is important to season the fish, the sauce as well as the cauliflower topping.
- Best served immediately.
- Freeze the pie, uncooked, covered, for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Tracy Abraham says
I love this recipe. Sometimes I follow it exactly and sometimes I use extra like today, I have spinach to use up so I stirred it into the sauce
Monika says
Adding spinach is a great idea:)
Paula Dutton says
Oh my goodness this was so tasty. I made the mistake of trying to grate the lemon after juicing it (d'oh) and didn't get any zest for the fish haha. It made no difference to the taste, it was amazing. I had to make my own gluten free breadcrumbs for the first time ever and they were perfect.
Monika says
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it:)
Maeve Bell says
Is it possible to prepare cauliflower crumbs a day before needing to use them please
Monika says
I haven't tried it so can't make any guarantees, but I think if you cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight it should be fine. If it becomes a little moist you can always add a bit more breadcrumbs. Hope it works out ok:)
T MYERS says
Could you use canned salmon in this recipe?
Monika says
I haven't tried it so I am not sure if it would work. It might and I think it's a question of personal preference.
Linda Morrison says
I added a pinch of mustard powder, a knob of cream cheese half a veg stock cube with garlic and herbs to the sauce to make it super tasty and the stirred some baby spinach leaves into the sauce.
Love the touch of green.
One of my friends won't eat cheese..
Monika says
Love all these tweaks, especially the addition of the spinach!
Sarah says
I cooked this tonight and it was amazing. The lemon on the fish also gave it a beautiful flavour
Monika says
Thank you for your feedback, glad you enjoyed this recipe:)
Brian says
Hi Monika - just wondering if the bottom of the pie is "mushy" ? it looks like there is some water at the bottom of the dish in your picture. Thanks ! \Brian 🙂
Monika says
Hi Brian, fish releases water as it cooks but the white sauce will balance out the moisture so the sauce will have the right consistency. As this is a healthy, low fat pie I didn't use very much sauce but you can add more if you like.
Liz says
I wonder if you could use chickpea crumbs instead of bread crumbs for a gluten free version? Think I will try ti. Thank you for bringing to FF.
Monika says
I am not sure as I've never used chickpea crumbs, but you could also use gluten free breadcrumbs.
Liz says
I wonder how the cauliflower would be mixed with chickpea crumbs instead of bread crumbs??? Think I will try it.
Thank you for bringing this to FF.
Monika says
I need to look for these chickpea crumbs!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
Such a clever idea, using cauliflower! Love how you've made it healthier AND easier!! Eb x
Monika says
Thanks Eb! Healthy and easy is my middle name!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
This fish pie looks like pure decadent comfort food—but it's lightened up: yay! I love swapping pureed cauliflower for mashed potatoes whenever I can, although I often have to do a mix of both (my kids figure it out, otherwise!).
Monika says
Thanks Michelle! Mixing potatoes and cauliflower is a good idea. It's hard to fool kids, isn't it?
Balvinder says
This definitely deserve a title of healthy pie.
Monika says
Thanks Balvinder!
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
That is a SERIOUSLY healthy fish pie! Love the topping 'twist' - sounds amazing xx
Monika says
Thanks Kate! Glad you like it:)
JBS says
love the cauliflower idea with the fish
YUMMY
Monika says
Thank you!
Edmund Davies says
I added some lamb mince into mine and it was delicious !
Monika says
Glad to hear it:)