Did you ever try roasting cauliflower? Raw cauliflower doesn’t excite me. However, I can eat roasted cauliflower right out of the skillet like French fries.
In the oven, raw cauliflower turns into golden, caramelized goodness. It makes a great snack when roasted with only olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The EASIEST and BEST oven-roasted cauliflower recipe. The florets are cooked to crisp-tender perfection after the butter and olive oil mixture caramelizes them. The finest feature of this dish is the fact that you can successfully adjust the spice by using what you already have on hand.
If you want fall and winter meals, this recipe for roasted cauliflower is the ideal straightforward side dish.
Roasted Cauliflower in Italian
My version, which is Italian-inspired, has a delicious, golden Parmesan cheese crust that is decorated with chopped parsley, lemon zest, and red pepper flake. If you like this take on its own, you’ll adore the cauliflower steaks. The Italian-style version was motivated by my dish of cauliflower steak with spaghetti marina.
Roasted Cauliflower from Mexico
The Mexican-inspired variation has roasted pepitas (also known to be green pumpkin seeds) on top and is seasoned with cumin and chili powder. After we toss the florets halfway through, we’re going to add raw pepitas to the pan so they toast but don’t burn. For the ideal Mexican side dish to go with my vegetable enchiladas, sprinkle with parsley and lime zest.
Cauliflower Roasted in India
For the version with Indian influences, we’ll roast the florets of cauliflower with turmeric powder and top it with new cilantro & red pepper flakes for heat.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets (about 8 cups)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
How to Roast Cauliflower
There are a few short tricks and instructions to help you roast cauliflower to perfection.
1) Slice to maximize flat edges.
Cut the vegetable into small pieces with lots of flat edges for best results. They will have a chance to caramelize because the flat sides will sit flush against the pan. We desire as much caramelization as we can since it increases the flavor.
This is how you do it: To create a flat base, first cut the cauliflower’s stem end off. On the chopping board, rotate the cauliflower so that the dome is facing up. To divide it into four equal pieces, slice it downward. For getting rid of the hard, fibrous stem, just slice off the inner core regions. After that, make 1/2-inch broad slices by cutting across each piece. Any fused florets should be separated. It’s simple to accomplish and it’ll all make obvious as you go.
2)Avoid cramming the pan.
Like many vegetables, cauliflower requires some room on the pan to breathe. If not, the florets won’t be able to produce enough steam to become crisp around the edges. Instead of packing too much food onto one pan, use two pans set up on different racks towards the center of the oven.
3) Use a moderately high oven temperature to bake the cauliflower.
High enough to produce golden, crispy edges. Not so high as to cause the olive oil to burn, which has a horrible flavor and smell. I advise using 425 degrees Fahrenheit for baking.
4) After half an hour of baking, turn.
Halfway through baking, we’ll turn over each piece so that each side may caramelize. We want to achieve as much caramelization as possible, as I already stated.
5) Roast the cauliflower until it is richly browned.
Avoid stopping too soon or you can miss some of the caramelization I keep mentioning. The florets should be roasted until the undersides are bright yellow with some brown patches. Keep an eye on the cauliflower towards the end because it will take between 25 and 35 minutes to prepare.
How long should cauliflower bake?
The dimension, thickness, and level of completion of your pieces will affect how long they should bake for in roasted cauliflower.
- You only need around 15-20 minutes for smaller chunks.
- Bake larger florets for 20 to 25 minutes until the head of cauliflower is yellow and caramelized.
Simple Roasted Cauliflower Servings
To add more taste, texture, and nutrition to many main dishes, you may also add roasted cauliflower. Here are some suggestions:
- Zucchini and lentils tacos with cream chipotle sauce, roasted.
- Regarding risotto: Risotto with Lemon-Roasted Cauliflower.
- For salads:Farro and Roasted Cauliflower Salad w Feta and Avocado.
- Regarding entire grains: Roasted cauliflower, freekeh, and greens with curried coconut quinoa and a garlicky tahini sauce.
- Within casseroles: Veggie Enchilada Casserole and Roasted Ziti with Roasted Veggies.
- Creamy Baked Cauliflower Soup even has it.
The Perfect Cauliflower Seasoning
Any seasoning works nicely with cauliflower. Even a basic seasoning of salt and pepper works great. The seasonings we adore most are these:
-
- We adore good sea salt.
- Black pepper, freshly grated garlic, garlic salt, or both
- A little paprika adds flavor and color (and goes a long way)
- Do you allow cheese? We adore topping cauliflower with cheese. For a cheddar roasted cauliflower, add 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese to the cauliflower in the final 5 minutes of cooking.
Easy Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
The EASIEST and BEST oven-roasted cauliflower recipe. The florets are cooked to crisp-tender perfection after the butter and olive oil mixture caramelizes them. The finest feature of this dish is the fact that you can successfully adjust the spice by using what you already have on hand.Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1/4 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
How to Roast Cauliflower
Slice to maximize flat edges.
- Cut the vegetable into small pieces with lots of flat edges for best results.
- They will have a chance to caramelize because the flat sides will sit flush against the pan. We desire as much caramelization as we can since it increases the flavor.
- To create a flat base, first cut the cauliflower's stem end off. On the chopping board, rotate the cauliflower so that the dome is facing up.
- To divide it into four equal pieces, slice it downward. For getting rid of the hard, fibrous stem, just slice off the inner core regions. After that, make 1/2-inch broad slices by cutting across each piece.
- Any fused florets should be separated. It's simple to accomplish and it'll all make obvious as you go.
Avoid cramming the pan.
- Like many vegetables, cauliflower requires some room on the pan to breathe.
- If not, the florets won't be able to produce enough steam to become crisp around the edges.
- Instead of packing too much food onto one pan, use two pans set up on different racks towards the center of the oven.
Use a moderately high oven temperature to bake the cauliflower.
- High enough to produce golden, crispy edges. Not so high as to cause the olive oil to burn, which has a horrible flavor and smell.
- I advise using 425 degrees Fahrenheit for baking.
After half an hour of baking, turn.
- Halfway through baking, we'll turn over each piece so that each side may caramelize.
- We want to achieve as much caramelization as possible, as I already stated.
Roast the cauliflower until it is richly browned.
- Avoid stopping too soon or you can miss some of the caramelization I keep mentioning.
- The florets should be roasted until the undersides are bright yellow with some brown patches.
- Keep an eye on the cauliflower towards the end because it will take between 25 and 35 minutes to prepare.
How long should cauliflower bake?
- You only need around 15-20 minutes for smaller chunks.
- Bake larger florets for 20 to 25 minutes until the head of cauliflower is yellow and caramelized.
Notes
Simple Roasted Cauliflower Servings
To add more taste, texture, and nutrition to many main dishes, you may also add roasted cauliflower. Here are some suggestions:- Zucchini and lentils tacos with cream chipotle sauce, roasted.
- Regarding risotto: Risotto with Lemon-Roasted Cauliflower.
- For salads:Farro and Roasted Cauliflower Salad w Feta and Avocado.
- Regarding entire grains: Roasted cauliflower, freekeh, and greens with curried coconut quinoa and a garlicky tahini sauce.
- Within casseroles: Veggie Enchilada Casserole and Roasted Ziti with Roasted Veggies.
- Creamy Baked Cauliflower Soup even has it.