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!
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 Cauliflower Cheese Scones, or Cauliflower Pomegranate Salad with Yogurt Dressing . Or this more recent recipe, Cauliflower Tabbouleh with Pomegranate.
The idea for this Healthy Fish Pie with Cauliflower Topping came from my Cauliflower 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!
Easy fish pie recipe
This healthy fish pie recipe 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!
Start by making 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 and set aside.
Arrange the fish pieces in your pie dish, drizzle over lemon juice and season. Make a quick creamy white sauce (see notes below), pour over the fish, then cover with the cauliflower mixture. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 30 minutes.
How did I make this fish pie recipe 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 cream is really not essential for making creamy sauces!
Low fat creamy sauce
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!
Can I adapt this recipe
Yes you can! I used a combination of salmon and cod in this healthy fish pie recipe but you could also use haddock. But if you prefer to use just one type of fish that’s absolutely fine too.
For another fish pie recipe with a twist see also this Fish Pie with Avocado and Tarragon!
- 500 g salmon/cod/haddock skinless, boneless, chopped into chunks
- 1 very small cauliflower, or half a medium cauliflower
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus zest of 1 lemon
- 40 g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 3 tbsps breadcrumbs
- fine sea salt and pepper to taste
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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).
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Place the fish pieces in the pie dish, season lightly, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle the zest over the whole thing. Set aside.
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Roughly chop the cauliflower, place in a blender and whizz briefly until the mixture becomes crumbly (take care not to overblend and turn into mush). Combine with the breadcrumbs and cheese, season, stir and set aside.
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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 lightly, turn up the heat again and stir until the mixture has thickened and starts to bubble up, all the time using the whisk.
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Pour the sauce over the fish, cover with the cauliflower mixture (do not press down!), drizzle the remaining olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) over the whole thing and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Pin Healthy Fish Pie with Cauliflower Topping!
MORE EASY, HEALTHY MEAL IDEAS
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RECIPE LINK PARTIES
I am bringing this Healthy Fish Pie with Cauliflower Topping to #CookBlogShare, which I have the pleasure of hosting this week. If you’ve got a recipe this is the place to show it off so come back tomorrow morning and link up! Next week #CookBlogShare will be hosted by Jenny@Apply To Face Blog.
Also sharing with Recipe of the Week. Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons.
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.
I am not sure as I’ve never used chickpea crumbs, but you could also use gluten free breadcrumbs.
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.
I need to look for these chickpea crumbs!
Such a clever idea, using cauliflower! Love how you’ve made it healthier AND easier!! Eb x
Thanks Eb! Healthy and easy is my middle name!
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!).
Thanks Michelle! Mixing potatoes and cauliflower is a good idea. It’s hard to fool kids, isn’t it?
This definitely deserve a title of healthy pie.
Thanks Balvinder!
That is a SERIOUSLY healthy fish pie! Love the topping ‘twist’ – sounds amazing xx
Thanks Kate! Glad you like it:)
love the cauliflower idea with the fish
YUMMY
Thank you!