Is cauliflower high in histamine?
Cauliflower is low in histamine: none was found in lab tests, and putrescine and the other related amines were low in every study that measured them.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 3 samples; putrescine averaged 3 mg/kg and tyramine 1.05 mg/kg. |
| Other studies in the 2018 review 1 | Five studies reported putrescine, averaging 3.7 to 9 mg/kg where an average was given; none reported histamine. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | Cauliflower is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cauliflower sold in Spain 1 (Table 1) | 3 | not detected | putrescine mean 3 mg/kg (1.61–4.58); tyramine mean 1.05 mg/kg (nd–1.71); cadaverine mean 0.16 mg/kg |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
The cauliflowers measured were shop-bought and raw. No study we use followed amines in cauliflower during storage. Ready-made cauliflower rice and frozen cauliflower were not measured; like any prepared vegetable, they are best used soon after opening.
No histamine in 3 raw samples; cooking does not create histamine. (measured)
The same vegetable, grated; not measured as such. (estimate)
Not measured; use soon after opening. (estimate)
Why we rate cauliflower 0
Cauliflower had no detectable histamine in the one study that tested it for histamine. A University of Barcelona team analysed three cauliflowers sold in Spain. Histamine was not found; tyramine averaged 1.05 mg/kg, putrescine 3 mg/kg and cadaverine 0.16 mg/kg. All of those are low.
Three samples is a small number, so the other studies collected in the team's 2018 review are useful here. Five of them measured cauliflower, mostly for putrescine only. Four reported averages from 3.7 to 9 mg/kg, and the fifth gave a range of 3.1 to 4.5 mg/kg. One also reported tyramine and cadaverine, each below 0.5 mg/kg. None reported histamine, but most did not test for it, so the Spanish figure is the only direct histamine result we have. Taken together, the six studies agree that cauliflower is low in the amines that were measured.
The cooking evidence for cauliflower is about putrescine. A study cited in the review found that boiling cauliflower moved some of its putrescine into the cooking water. Another found no significant difference between raw and boiled cauliflower, though its authors said that two samples per vegetable was too few to be sure. Histamine itself is heat-stable, so roasting or frying cauliflower neither adds nor removes it, and there was none to begin with.
Cauliflower does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review. Because that chart covers only some foods, we say that no diet in our sources excludes it, not that all ten allow it.
We rate cauliflower 0, "low". Its putrescine stays well under the 10 mg/kg average that would move it up a step on our scale. It is one of the more versatile vegetables on a low-histamine diet: roasted whole or in thick slices, mashed, blended into soup, or grated into "cauliflower rice" as a base for dishes that would otherwise sit on rice. Cauliflower cheese is a different matter, because aged cheese is one of the foods every published diet excludes.
Questions about cauliflower and histamine
Is cauliflower rice low histamine?
Cauliflower rice is grated cauliflower, which had no detectable histamine in lab tests. Ready-made and frozen packs were not measured; use them soon after opening.
Does boiling cauliflower change its amines?
There was no histamine to remove. For putrescine, one study found boiling moved some into the water, and another with only two samples found no significant change.
Evidence behind this page
- Three cauliflowers sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; putrescine averaged 3 mg/kg, tyramine 1.05 mg/kg and cadaverine 0.16 mg/kg. 1
- Five other studies reported putrescine in cauliflower, four with averages from 3.7 to 9 mg/kg and one with a range of 3.1–4.5 mg/kg; one also reported tyramine and cadaverine below 0.5 mg/kg. 1
- One study found boiling reduced putrescine in cauliflower by transfer to the cooking water; another, with two samples per vegetable, found no significant difference between raw and boiled cauliflower. 1
- Cauliflower does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. 2
Sources
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Rabell-González J, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Biogenic Amines in Plant-Origin Foods: Are They Frequently Underestimated in Low-Histamine Diets? Foods 7(12):205, 2018. doi:10.3390/foods7120205 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2018)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)