Have you ever tried roasting cauliflower? This healthy, easily customizable vegetable side dish is surprisingly delicious. Ditch your basic steamed and boiled cauliflower. The easy method outlined below produces the best roasted cauliflower – tender, caramelized, sweet and delicious. I’ve also included a video so you can watch the whole process, step by step!
When you roast cauliflower, it’s transformed into something so tasty, you almost forget you’re eating veggies. All you need is a touch of oil, salt and pepper to turn ordinary cauliflower into something extraordinary. The dry heat of the oven makes the cauliflower perfectly tender, and the roasting pan caramelizes the flat surfaces and edges.
Before we dive into the recipe, here are a few important points about cauliflower.
Is Cauliflower Healthy?
Cauliflower is really healthy! Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower are known to lower your risk of cancer, and nutritionists recommend that you eat them at least 3-5 times per week. It’s full of antioxidants, loaded with fiber, and brimming with anti-inflammatory properties. Even so, I was never too excited about cauliflower… until I discovered the magic of roasting.
How do you Cut Cauliflower for Roasting?
The key to getting the most flavor out of your roasted cauliflower is to make sure you have lots of flat surfaces on your florets. The more the flat edges come into contact with the hot baking sheet, the more caramelization you’ll achieve. Caramelization = flavor. I’ve provided instructions below for how to slice your cauliflower to ensure that you have lots of flat surfaces on your florets — this will maximize your caramelization.
How Many Florets are in a Head of Cauliflower?
It’s difficult to measure cauliflower florets (more technically known as curds) in cups because of their bulk and strange shape. I prefer to measure them by weight. Here is a rough guide that will tell you the weight of florets that differently sized cauliflower heads will produce. Keep in mind that each head of cauliflower is different, so this chart is a rough estimate:
1.5 lbs. cauliflower head = 1 lb. florets
2 lbs. cauliflower head = 1.5 lbs. florets
2.5 lbs. cauliflower head = 2 lbs. florets
3 lbs. cauliflower head = 2.5 lbs. florets
If you need to know how many cups of florets you’ll have, an average sized cauliflower (2 lbs.) will produce roughly 3-4 cups of uncooked florets. After roasting, the florets shrink up quite a bit.
How to Season Roasted Cauliflower
Olive oil, salt and pepper are really all you need to make mouthwatering roasted cauliflower. You can certainly add other ingredients to enhance the flavor; I’ve suggested a few ideas below. Parmesan cheese is popular. Garlic adds a lovely aroma. Italian seasoning, za’atar, turmeric, cumin, curry powder and cajun seasoning all give distinctly different flavors. Depending on the type of meal you’re making, you can enhance your roasted cauliflower with a variety of herbs and spices (smoked paprika is a favorite of mine). Feel free to get creative. However you dress it up, roasted cauliflower is downright delicious. Enjoy!
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How to Roast Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Pull the leaves off of the cauliflower base. Cut off the lower part of the stem.
- Cut the head of cauliflower into four quarters.
- Slice each quarter into 6-8 pieces. You want as many flat surfaces as possible on each floret-- the flat surfaces caramelize best. Caramelization is the key to giving the roasted cauliflower flavor.
- Give all the florets a thorough rinse in a colander. Shake them dry.
- Spread the florets out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Reserve any small bits of cauliflower that have fallen away from the florets in a small bowl. (Please note - in this tutorial the baking sheet is lined with foil, but I no longer use foil for this process--I simply use a plain baking sheet).
- Drizzle the florets evenly with 1 tbsp olive oil. I use a measuring spoon of olive oil for this step, which makes it easier to gauge how much oil I'm using, rather than pouring straight from the bottle. Toss the florets to coat them fully with oil-- I use clean hands for this.
- Sprinkle the cauliflower florets evenly with salt and pepper. At this point, you can also sprinkle them with your choice of optional herbs or spices. Some ideas include - garlic, oregano, spicy red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, za'atar, turmeric, cumin, curry powder, or cajun seasoning. Sprinkle seasoning on to taste. If using parmesan or lemon juice, sprinkle those on at the very end of roasting.Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and let the cauliflower roast for 10 minutes.
- While cauliflower is cooking, drizzle 1/4 tsp of olive oil into the small bowl of reserved cauliflower bits that have fallen away from the florets and toss to coat. You will add these to the sheet a little later so they won't burn.
- After 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use tongs to turn over the florets, making sure that the florets with flat surfaces are pressed directly against the baking sheet. This will enhance caramelization.
- Sprinkle the reserved cauliflower bits onto the baking sheet.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven. Let the cauliflower roast for 10-20 minutes longer until tender. When it's ready you will be able to pierce it easily with a fork.
- The flat surfaces should be nicely caramelized at this point.
- If you plan to add parmesan cheese and/or lemon juice, now is the time. Sprinkle evenly to taste.Serve hot.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Note: nutritional information above is for 1 standard head of cauliflower divided into 4 servings, with 1/2 tsp salt added. Nutrition will vary based on size of cauliflower, amount of salt added, and any additional ingredients used.
Very easy…very nice and tasty with garlic flavoured olive oil and oregano..served with a Mediterranean lentil bake…
What about the issue of possible bugs in fresh cauliflower, usually only use the frozen cauliflower
We always rinse the individual florets carefully and check each one. You can roast frozen, but the results won’t be quite as caramelized as roasting fresh. If you choose to use frozen, preheat the sheet pan in the oven and carefully add the frozen vegetables to the hot pan before roasting.
Great, thanks 🙂
Recipe is similar to mine. i just cut the florets in half. Use olive oil in a glass casserole, add spices etc. really, everything but the kitchen sink.
Options, add Parmesan cheese, cheeze whiz, vegetarian gravy (poutine), or whatever turns you on!
Same recipe for broccoli. And I happen to be 83 yrs young!
For some reason I followed the steps but the cauliflower is not fork tender should I boil it or cover with foil?
Hi Dana, this means it didn’t cook long enough. Does it appear to be browned? Every oven is calibrated slightly differently, you may need to cook it longer at a lower temperature to achieve the desired result.
I tried this recipe and it was delish. I will be
Doing this alot more Now. And I’ve got different spices I’m gonna be trying with it also. Who knew cauliflour could so good, and it’s healthy too.
Thanks Tori
You’re welcome!
My friend told me about this recipe. I was about to just wash my cauliflour and freeze it
But then I thought I’d try roasting some to go
With my fish for lunch. I’ve discovered a new
Love for cauliflour, so this should be really good.
Delicious!
Looking forward to using this recipe. I just bought an amazingly beautiful and very large head of cauliflower at a farm stand on the North Fork of Long Island. I want to use this recipe and serve it on Thanksgiving which is ten days from now. Can I roast it today and freeze it until then. If so, should I thaw it and then put it in the oven again just before serving? Any tips on this are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Maureen, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Yes you can freeze the cauliflower and I would highly recommend reheating it in the oven before serving. Please keep in mind that freezing the cauliflower may change the texture a bit.
After I roasted the cauliflower, I put it in a pot of buffalo sauce on the stove, then back in the oven for about 10 min.
DELICIOUS!!!!
Thank you for the roasting idea!!!
There are no limits!!!