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” 😖)
Gosh this was SO SO good! I mixed in halved brussels sprouts as well though just because I needed to use them.
YUM! What a great idea Sue!! N x
Could you mix broccoli in with this also Nagi?
Yes 100% Deb!! N x
Yum. Easy and tasty. I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic as I was being lazy. Winner.
WOOT!! That’s awesome Candy! N x
Didn’t realise how nice this would be … so tasty I will definitely be cooking again soon, I made this with your honey and mustard drumsticks and your smashed potatoes!
Simple and delicious. Hubby kept grabbing the raw ones from the tray while the stove was preheating. The combination of bread crumbs, parm and garlic is really tasty.
Absolutely sublime. So easy and so delicious. Thank you Nagi.
I was looking to add more vegies every day..wow this was surprising! So easy and so yummy! Can’t wait to grab a few out of the fridge cold..instead of chips!
Dear Nagi, Greetings from the snowy Austrian Alps! I can’t believe there are only 2 comments here. ‘Course, cauliflower lovers are few and far…I used parm, fresh thyme, paprika, and panko. The leftovers made a fabulous soup, simmered 30 mins with beef Knorr jelly (now available worldwide, thanks to Unilever) and some leftover homemade stock. Fabulous!!
Beatrice I was thinking of soup after I roasted up my cauli! Yumm! Can’t wait to make my next grocery order!
Yes Nagi, you did it again! Roasting at a higher temperature – soooo much better. Thank you thank you….
Great to see all the salad recipes going to try and make them my advent calendar countdown to Xmas
Loved the celery salad always have some in the crisper and hate to see it go into the compost