Calamari cauliflower stew is a light, brothy bowl with riced cauliflower standing in for the usual potato. Calamari quick-cooks in fish stock, white wine, and oyster sauce before collards and spinach wilt in at the very end. It is a twenty-minute-to-table stew that tastes far more coastal than its forty-minute timeline suggests.
Calamari Cauliflower Stew
(Total Time: 40 MIN| Serves: 4)
Ingredients:
1.5lbs (680 g) calamari, cleaned and sliced
2 cups (480 ml) riced cauliflower
2 cups (480 ml) fish stock
1 cup (240 ml) collards
1 cup (240 ml) spinach
1 chopped onion.
½ cup white wine
2 tbsp. (30 ml) low sodium oyster sauce
salt and pepper
Directions:
Mix everything but the cauliflower, collards and spinach in your Instant Pot.
Seal and cook on Meat 5 minutes.
Depressurize naturally.
Add the cauliflower and seal again.
Cook on Stew 5 minutes.
Depressurize naturally.
Wilt the greens into it and serve.
Per Serving (Calories 190 | Total Fats 2g | Net Carbs: 4g | Protein 38g |Fiber: 2g)
Pro Tips for Success
- Cook the calamari first and add the cauliflower in a second cycle — the two need very different times and one pot has to juggle them.
- Wilt the greens in off the heat at the end; residual warmth is enough, and boiled collards turn army green and bitter.
- Clean the calamari thoroughly and slice it into even rings so it cooks in exactly the five minutes the recipe allows.
- The oyster sauce is doing quiet work here — it deepens the fish stock into something rounder without making the stew taste of the sea in one note.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen calamari?
Yes — thaw it fully and pat it dry first, or it waters down the fish stock and steams instead of braising in the broth.
What can I use instead of oyster sauce?
A splash of coconut aminos plus a pinch of salt keeps the depth while staying strictly paleo; the stew will be a touch sweeter.
Does this stew freeze well?
The broth and calamari freeze fine for a month, but add fresh greens when you reheat — frozen-thawed spinach turns watery and dull.
Can I swap the collards for something else?
Kale or chard both wilt in beautifully in the final minute; collards just hold their texture the longest in the hot broth.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Mix everything but the cauliflower, collards and spinach in your Instant Pot. Seal and cook on Meat 5 minutes. Depressurize naturally.
- Add the cauliflower and seal again.
- Cook on Stew 5 minutes. Depressurize naturally. Wilt the greens into it and serve. Per Serving (Calories 190 | Total Fats 2g | Net Carbs: 4g | Protein 38g |Fiber: 2g)
