Okay, it’s official– I’m hooked on smoked paprika. Thanks to my friend Erika’s genius recipe for Smoked Paprika Chicken, I’m finding all kinds of creative ways to use the spice. One night back in November, I had some cauliflower in the fridge. I mulled it over, trying to think of a healthy but creative way to cook it. I like roasting vegetables because it brings out their natural flavors, but I wanted to try something a little bit different.
Voila! My Smoky Roasted Cauliflower was born. Super easy, so tasty. The combination of roasted cauliflower, olive oil, smoked paprika and salt is pure magic. The cauliflower roasts up smoky, and it has a creamy, almost buttery quality to it. Awesome. If you’re not a huge fan of cauliflower, give this one a go– I’ve always found it a somewhat boring vegetable, but not anymore.
I served this at my Thanksgiving feast and it was a huge hit. I wasn’t sure if people would go for it with all of the rich and yummy holiday items on the buffet, but believe it or not, the cauliflower disappeared before anything else did!
Did I mention that it’s healthy, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, pareve, and takes only minutes to prepare? 🙂
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Smoky Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup, if desired. 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 out the cauliflower on your baking sheet or pan.
- Drizzle the florets evenly with 1 tbsp olive oil. I use a measuring spoon of olive oil, 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 step.
- Sprinkle the cauliflower evenly with smoked paprika and salt to taste. Be generous with the salt-- smoked paprika really sings when it's combined with salt.
- Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and let the cauliflower roast for 10 minutes.
- Take the baking sheet out of the oven. Stir the cauliflower on the baking sheet, moving pieces from the outside of the sheet towards the inside, and vice versa.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven. Let the cauliflower roast for 10-20 minutes longer until very tender. When it's ready you will be able to pierce it easily with a fork. Keep a close eye on the cauliflower, it can go from brown to burned fairly quickly if you're not careful. Serve hot.
Nutrition
I have made this for a few family get togethers and everyone absolutely loves it! Honestly has become the only way I will eat cauliflower now. Thank you for sharing!
Instead of sprinkling oil and paprika all over the sheet pan, I put the cauliflower florets in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle on the paprika, tossing to coat. And I use garlic salt rather that plain salt.
Absolutely delicious. Made this tonight and Squeezed a bit of lime juice over. Ate with a goodly amount of hummus, and some home made sourdough tortillas. New favourite. Thanks for the recipe.
I noticed in one of the reviews they asked how you would make it ahead of time and how it would do if you had to keep it warm for 1 or 2 hours, I hadn’t noticed a reply.
I would like to know the same thing, I am bringing this to a dinner as I have to bring a vegetable, I wanted to cook it at home and keep it warm until the food was served at my friend’s house, will it be okay or will it go mushy or?
It should be fine as long as you don’t overcook it on the first go-around. It is best reheated in the oven at 325 degrees until heated through. I’m not sure how long you’re planning on keeping it warm or how, so tough to advise on the mushy issue.
5 stars! the star rating would not work…..
This dish was super easy and gave the usually boring cauliflower a yummy kick. My pickiest eater (hubby) even ate it. Initially, i only cooked half of the head of cauliflower since i didn’t know if my kids would eat it. Needless to say, I had to cook the other half as the first batch was gone before dinner was even served!
Wow my new favourite way to prepare cauliflowers. Thanks, loved it 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight & it’s definitely going into my vegetable rotation. Absolutely delicious & so easy!! Thanks
I just want to say that I found this absolutely delicious and very easy to make, which is important as I am a complete novice in the kitchen (having now made one soup, one salad with roasted veggies, one lasagna, and this). I had to get some Smoked Paprika for the salad, and as it cost a small fortune, I was very happy to come across this recipe which allowed me to use some more of it. I made this recipe as a side for the lasagna, and it was the first time I tried actually making two recipe-things for one meal. And to my amazement, it worked for me. Both got done at about the same time, both were delish, and I got the meal on the table within 10 minutes of the appointed hour. So thanks very much for your wonderful contribution to my early successes in my grand new adventure. I look forward to trying some of your other offerings in months and years to come.
Really quick and east to prepare. I used a tablespoon of the smoked paprika. I have a fettish for smokiness. I will certainly make this again!