Roasted Cauliflower isn’t the sort of recipe that makes people jump up and down with excitement. Not in the same way as, say, um, Cauliflower Cheese. But once you know how to roast it well (and cut florets easily, for that matter), you’ve got a handy quick vegetable side up your sleeve at all times!
Delicious eaten plain. Magical used in this Ottolenghi Cauliflower Salad!
Welcome to Day 15 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve. Something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!!
Though not technically a salad as such, this is a good life skill to have and a precursor to a wonderful cauliflower recipe I’m sharing tomorrow:
Roasted Cauliflower
I’ve always said that cauliflower is one of the greatest vegetables to roast, transforming from dry and tasteless to soft, sweet and juicy with terrific caramelised edges.
It also requires minimal work to prepare to pop into the oven and is a lot less messy to cut than broccoli if you know the quick and easy way to cut cauliflower florets!
What you need for roasted cauliflower
Here’s all you need – cauliflower, olive oil, salt and pepper. Garlic is optional – but it really does make it even more tasty!
Parmesan flavoured option
In today’s recipe, I’m also providing a Parmesan flavoured option which also has a bit of breadcrumbs. The savoury boost from a sprinkle of parmesan along with the little bits of crunch from the Panko breadcrumbs really takes this to a level of serious tastiness!
This is what it looks like – see those little golden clumps of parmesan crunchiness?? SO GOOD!
How to make roasted cauliflower
The biggest mistake most people make with roasted cauliflower is roasting at too low a temperature. We need a hot oven of 220°C/425°F so the cauliflower gets nice browning on it before the inside turns into soggy mush!
I’m sharing today’s recipe ahead of a great Cauliflower Salad recipe I’m publishing tomorrow. But hand on heart, even cauliflower roasted with just salt and pepper really is delicious.
And if you wanted to tart it up a bit, serve it with a Tahini Drizzle from this Broccolini recipe, or a simple Lemon Yogurt Sauce from this Roasted Pumpkin recipe. Plate them up the same – pile the cauliflower up then drizzle with the sauce, finish with a sprinkle of parsley or coriander/cilantro. It’s wonderful! – Nagi x
What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?
This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!
These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??
Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂
Watch how to make it
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Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower , cut into florets (see my easy method)
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 tbsp parsley , roughly chopped, for sprinkling (optional)
Parmesan Flavour Option:
- 2 tbsp parmesan , finely grated (store bought, sandy type)
- 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan).
- Toss cauliflower in a large bowl with oil, salt, pepper and garlic if using. (You can do this on the tray, but you’ll need more oil). Add parmesan and Panko breadcrumbs at this point, if using.
- Spread on tray. Roast 20 minutes. Flip cauliflower, roast a further 5 minutes until you have golden edges and it’s soft all the way through.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with parsley if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
When Dozer sings… (that’s a nice way of saying “irritating constant barking, nagging me to play with him” 😖)
Nagi, you are my go to for everything I want to make and cook.
Yummy!
This is amazing! I was looking for a recipe to use up some leftover cauliflower and instead have created a new obsession. I do find though that the garlic burns at such a high temp and tastes a bit bitter, any tips for that?
It was delicious but the cheese and panko just fell off. I don’t know what I did wrong
Thank you….loved it. Added the freshly minced garlic and had wholemeal breadcrumbs mixed with store bought grated parmesan. It’s a no nonsense dish but had great flavour. Oh….by the way, when ever I add salt, I mix powdered fenugreek into it, ….its yummy!!
Loved this recipe! The entire head of cauliflower gets eaten! Sooo tasty!
Surprisingly good and I didn’t even add the optional extras. Will be making this regularly.
Thanks Nagi.
Really delicious. My husband couldn’t stop raving about it. I added the Parmesan and also a sprinkle of smoked paprika, as we love it. Can’t understand a few comments saying it’s dry and tasteless. Maybe they didn’t follow the recipe properly.
Hi Nagi – a question about cooking this with an overloaded oven. Can I par cook it for half the time – let it rest – then cook for final 10 minutes whilst the main courses are resting? I don’t have much space to do it all in the oven. Thanks
Amazing result – and now I can retire Cauliflower Cheese! Everyone loved the texture and taste, so easy and so good. Thanks Nagi
I added zucchini half way through the bake and tomatoes cut like a Lily.
Used purple cauliflower and this recipe was absolutely delicious!
Sensationally sooo delicious and easy. Thank you Nagi. Xx
Sorry forgot to rate. 5/5 stars.
Sensationally sooo delicious and easy. Thank you Nagi. Xx
Just 1 question. For the parmesan cheese, are you saying the green cap plastic jar type, or the fresh fine grated bag type ?
I’m sure she mean the store bought, sandy type from the refrigerator section (as apposed to the shredded or flaked Parmesan from the refrigerator section of the supermarket) that’s what I’ve always used, successfully.
I would be really shocked if Nagi used the vile stuff off the shelf, in the green tub.
Parmesan cheese for this recipe is the green-cap plastic-jar shelf-stable type, Nagi refers to it as the “store bought sandy type” . It makes an occasional appearance in her recipes!
Different league!!!!!
The best ever! And so easy. Throwing out all my other roasted cauliflower recipes. Want to try with broccoli or Brussels Sprouts too!
Good recipe. Rather than using a bowl I always toss most things in a used (clean!) plastic bag – usually plenty in a drawer.
Perfect roast cauliflower. Parmesan and breadcrumbs made all the difference!
This was so delicious! We didn’t have Parmesan so substituted with nutritional yeast. It worked great.