Easy Roasted Cauliflower Recipe with sweet and spicy sauce

Make the perfect roasted cauliflower with this easy recipe. Crispy, golden, and bursting with flavor – it’s the ultimate healthy side dish! Ready in under 30 minutes.
A whole roasted cauliflower, golden-brown in color, is presented on a dark round plate atop a light-colored cloth. The roasted cauliflower is garnished with chopped nuts, green herbs, and a dash of sauce. Scattered pieces of nuts and herbs are seen on the cloth and plate.

About this recipe

Whole roasted cauliflower is a delicious and healthy dish that can be served as a side or main course. It’s simple to make and requires minimal ingredients.

This whole roasted cauliflower recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and completely delicious. It is easy, flavorful, SO good, and a must-try. Can you believe that cauliflower is full of vitamin C? Who knew? Not only do lemons have vitamin C, but you must also eat all kinds of vegetables.

This easy-to-make dish is an impressive centerpiece for any meal. It combines the vegetable’s nutty flavor with the delicious roasting and chili oil.

This dish is also a great way to get your daily servings of vegetables, as the cauliflower is cooked entirely and left to soak up all the yummy flavors of the spicy dressing. This recipe is perfect for a healthy vegan or vegetarian meal; this whole roasted cauliflower is sure to be a showstopper every time.

A head of cauliflower sits on a dark wooden plate placed on a light beige cloth. Surrounding the plate are five small bowls containing various ingredients: a light yellow liquid, a red paste, a dark brown liquid, a black liquid, and a small amount of light brown liquid—all perfect for making roasted cauliflower.

ingredients

  • Head of cauliflower
  • Vegetable oil
  • Toasted sesame oil
  • Soy sauce or tamari sauce
  • Maple syrup
  • Sambal Oelek or other chili paste
  • Cilantro chopped
  • Scallions chopped
  • Peanuts chopped; you could also use cashews, almonds, or sesame seeds.

How to choose the best cauliflower?

Look for a firm, heavy head with bright white florets; choose a tightly packed head with no brown or black spots.

The leaves should be fresh and green ( you can eat them too). Give the head a sniff; it should smell fresh and slightly sweet.

A person is pouring a reddish-brown sauce over a whole head of roasted cauliflower placed in a black cast iron skillet. A beige and white cloth lies next to the skillet on a white surface. The background is out of focus, highlighting the foreground preparation.

How to make whole roasted cauliflower head?

  1. With a pairing knife, remove all the leaves surrounding the cauliflower.
  2. Turn the cauliflower head upside down, and cut the thick part of the stem with the pairing knife. Do not cut very deep; you don’t want to loosen the florets. You need the tick part to keep them together.
  3. Season the inside and the outside of the cauliflower, the entire cauliflower, with the chili oil mix.
  4. Roast in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden and tender.
  5. Top with chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
A whole head of roasted cauliflower sits in a black cast iron skillet, covered with a reddish sauce. The skillet is placed on a white surface. A light-colored, folded kitchen towel is partially visible in the foreground on the right side of the skillet.

tips & tricks

  • I love to use my cast iron skillet for this recipe, but you can use an ovenproof baking dish or a Dutch oven.
  • Halfway through the cooking time, drizzle the sauce in the pan over the cauliflower as if you were basting it. You don’t want to lose all those juices, oils, and flavors.
  • Use any cauliflower color or even Romasco broccoli, which will taste amazing.
  • This roasted cauliflower can be used as a side dish, main dish, or appetizer.
  • Serve with steamed or fried rice, spring rollsquinoaroasted potatoes, or basil lentils.
  • If the sauce sticks to the pan, soak the pan in water for a couple of hours.
  • If the cauliflower head is taking longer than expected to cook, cover the pan with foil for 10 minutes, uncover and let it roast.
A whole roasted cauliflower head sits in a black cast-iron skillet. The roasted cauliflower is golden and slightly charred, with visible streaks of red seasoning. The skillet rests on a light beige cloth on a white surface, highlighting the vibrant colors of the dish.

Frequently asked questions

A whole roasted cauliflower, garnished with chopped green onions, nuts, and cilantro, sits on a dark plate. A slice of the roasted cauliflower, topped similarly, lies on a smaller black plate in the foreground. Lime wedges and cilantro leaves are scattered around on a white surface.
A roasted cauliflower sits on a rustic wooden plate, seasoned with spices and topped with green herbs, chopped nuts, and slices of green onions. A light-colored cloth is underneath the plate, with scattered herbs and nuts surrounding the roasted cauliflower on the white surface.

Roasted cauliflower

Alejandra Graf
Make the perfect roasted cauliflower with this easy recipe. Crispy, golden, and bursting with flavor – it’s the ultimate healthy side dish! Ready in under 30 minutes.
3 de 2 votos
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Vegetables
Cuisine Plant-based cusine
Servings 6 people
Calories 99 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cauliflower
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral tasting oil you like to use
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari sauce
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon sambal Oelek or other chili paste

for serving

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • With a paring knife or other small knife begin to cut the cauliflower greens. Cutting one at a time until you reach the stem of the cauliflower.
    Being careful not to cut more than needed, remove the thicker stem.
  • Put on the skillet or pan you will use with cut part down.
  • Mixing the remaining ingredients, cover the cauliflower with that mixture. Make sure all is well covered, use your hands to cover it very well and add the mix everywhere.
  • Put it in the oven for about 30 min. or until the top is golden and when pinched with a knife it is soft.

Nutrition

Calories: 99kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 197mgPotassium: 310mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin C: 47mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
Keyword roasted cauliflower tacos, spicy roasted cauliflower, whole roasted cauliflower

information

Nutritional information of this recipe is only an estimate, the accuracy for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe?Tag @piloncilloyvainilla on Instagram and hashtag it #alecooks so we can all see your creations.
Alejandra Graf
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3 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)
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