With cheese topping, this easy and simple whole roasted cauliflower head served with garlic cream sauce is a showstopper at any dinner table.
Roasted Cauliflower is one of the best meat substitutes for Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas or Holiday roast, or even as a finger food at a Super Bowl football party to serve your vegetarian and vegan family or friends.
About the Recipe
The roasted cauliflower recipe would be one of the best addition to any meal where meat eaters can have this as a side dish and vegetarians can have this main course.
The roasted cauliflower is crispy on the outside and tender with a melt-in-mouth texture on the inside. You can serve Roasted cauliflower with easy homemade garlic cream sauce making the whole dish gluten-free, keto-friendly, and low-carb. You can also easily make it vegan with a few substitutions, which I have discussed below, so check them out!
Ingredients
To steam cauliflower
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 Small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 inch Ginger, sliced or crushed
- 3 to 4 Garlic cloves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Bouillion (skip if using broth)
For the spicy mix (adjust to taste, extra seasoning can be stored in an airtight container)
- 2 tablespoon Onion powder
- 2 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Red chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoon Tandoori masala, curry, Creole powder, etc.
- ½ cup Butter, softened
- 50 g Cheddar, optional
For Garlic cream sauce
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 6 to 8 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 200 ml Heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Italian pizza seasoning
- 20 g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon Spring onions
- Salt, a pinch
How to make Easy Whole Roasted Cauliflower Head
How to steam cauliflower
Remove the leaves, cut the bottom flat, and nicely wash the cauliflower.
Add 1.5 to 2 liters of water in a pot along with ginger, onion, garlic cloves, lemon, and bouillon, along with the whole cauliflower head. Cover and steam it for 10 minutes.
Note: If you use vegetable/chicken broth instead of water, skip the above step. Bring the broth to a boil, place the cauliflower head over the trivet, and steam for 10 mins.
Making the spicy mix
Add onion powder, garlic powder, red chile powder, salt, and tandoori masala (or any spice mix of your choice) in a bowl. Mix the spices together and keep this aside.
In another bowl, add softened butter and 5 to 6 tablespoon of the spice mix from above and mix well.
Preparation of the easy and best spicy roasted cauliflower
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Transfer the steamed cauliflower to the baking pan.
Apply the spice mix over the cauliflower as much as possible. You can check the video here.
Bake it for about 12 to 15 minutes. Next, top it with cheddar or parmesan and bake for additional 5 minutes if desired. Adding cheese is optional.
How to make Garlic cream sauce?
Melt butter in a pan. Add garlic cloves and saute until lightly golden.
To this, add pepper flakes and heavy cream and bring it to a simmer.
Once the cream starts simmering, add Italian seasoning, cheese, a pinch of salt, and spring onions, and mix until the cheese is melted. Switch off the flame.
How to serve Whole Roasted Cauliflower?
Transfer the whole roasted cauliflower head to the cutting board using a fork and spatula.
Cut them into steaks, rounds, wedges, pies, or any desired shape and size. Drizzle the cheesy garlic cream sauce and serve!
Storage Suggestions
If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container and refrigerate them for 3 days.
Make ahead: You can also make this roasted cauliflower minus the cheese topping ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. Just reheat in the oven by following the instructions below. Then add cheese and bake for another 5 minutes, so the cheese melts.
Or you can even prepare the spice mix, steam the cauliflower and keep it in the refrigerator. Next day, mix the spice powder and softened butter, spread it over the cauliflower, and bake as per instructions in the recipe.
Reheating instructions: I agree it takes a lot of time, but I prefer reheating them in the oven to retain the texture of the cauliflower by covering it with aluminum foil and baking them at 350 degrees F or until heated through - it should take about 15 mins.
What to serve with roasted cauliflower?
I love to serve roasted cauliflower with garlic cream sauce, biscuits, or dinner rolls to suck up the gravy from the plate. Sometimes I even try it with aioli. These combinations are the best option as an entree for a vegetarian meal.
But you can also serve this as a side dish with steak, turkey, chicken, pork, or shrimp.
FAQ
Always use cauliflower that is nice, fresh, firm, and closely packed florets. Else they may fall apart.
To make this recipe vegan, use olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter. Use vegan cheese in place of cheddar cheese. Use cashew cream or soy-based cream to prepare the cream sauce. All other ingredients remain the same.
Overcooking the cauliflower makes it mushy, but undercooking is also not good. It may look crispy on the outside but remains tough and uncooked inside. So the best way is to steam it and then bake it.
Especially if you are using organic cauliflowers, soak the cauliflower head/florets in salt water for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking. Soaking in salted water will remove any worms or bugs that are found in organic vegetables. Just rinse it under cool running water before cooking.
Video
Check out here on making whole roasted cauliflower head.
Some more popular vegetarian dinner recipes
- Cheesy loaded cauliflower casserole
- Green bean casserole
- Corn cheese casserole
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Oven roasted potatoes
Recipe card
Best Whole Roasted Cauliflower Recipe with Garlic Cream Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Pot with lid
Ingredients
To steam cauliflower
- 1 Medium to Large Cauliflower head
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 Small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 inch Ginger sliced or crushed
- 3 to 4 Garlic cloves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Bouillion (skip if using broth)
For the spicy mix (adjust to taste, extra seasoning can be stored in air tight conatiner)
- 2 tablespoon Onion powder
- 2 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Red chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoon Tandoori, curry or Creole powder
- ½ cup Butter, softened
- 50 g Cheddar, optional
For Garlic cream sauce
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 6 to 8 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 200 ml Heavy cream (approx 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon Italian pizza seasoning
- 20 g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon Spring onions
- Salt, a pinch
Instructions
How to steam cauliflower?
- Remove the leaves, cut the bottom flat, and nicely wash the cauliflower.1 Medium to Large Cauliflower head
- Add 1.5 to 2 liters of water in a pot along with ginger, onion, garlic cloves, lemon, and bouillon, along with the whole cauliflower head. Cover and steam it for 10 minutes.2 Bay leaf, 1 Small onion, roughly chopped, 1 inch Ginger sliced or crushed, 3 to 4 Garlic cloves, Juice of 1 lemon, 1 Bouillion (skip if using broth)
- Note: If you use vegetable/chicken broth instead of water, skip the above step. Bring the broth to a boil, place the cauliflower head over the trivet, and steam for 10 mins.
Making the spicy mix
- Add onion powder, garlic powder, red chile powder, salt, and tandoori masala (or any spice mix of your choice) in a bowl. Mix the spices together and keep this aside.2 tablespoon Onion powder, 2 tablespoon Garlic powder, 1 tablespoon Red chile powder, ¾ teaspoon Salt, 3 to 4 tablespoon Tandoori, curry or Creole powder
- In another bowl, add softened butter and 5 to 6 tablespoon of the spice mix from above and mix well.½ cup Butter, softened
Preparation of the easy and best spicy roasted cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Transfer the steamed cauliflower to the baking pan.
- Apply the spice mix over the cauliflower as much as possible. You can check the video here.
- Bake it for about 12 to 15 minutes. Next, top it with cheddar or parmesan and bake for additional 5 minutes if desired. Adding cheese is optional.50 g Cheddar, optional
How to make Garlic Cream Sauce?
- Melt butter in a pan. Add garlic cloves and saute until lightly golden.2 tablespoon Butter, 6 to 8 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- To this, add pepper flakes and heavy cream and bring it to a simmer.¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes, 200 ml Heavy cream (approx 1 cup)
- Once the cream starts simmering, add Italian seasoning, cheese, a pinch of salt, and spring onions, and mix until the cheese is melted. Switch off the flame.1 teaspoon Italian pizza seasoning, 20 g Cheddar cheese, grated, 1 tablespoon Spring onions, Salt, a pinch
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Shelby
This comes out as the best side dish! And I love the extra veggie on the table.
Jenna
Oh wow, this looks and sounds amazing! Perfect for a main dish for vegetarians. This would also look beautiful on the table at any gathering (thanksgiving, Christmas, dinner party, etc.) Thanks for sharing!
LaRena Fry
I love all the layers of flavor. Looks stunning
Rachael
That garlic cream sauce...yum!
nancy
this whole roast cauliflower recipe turned out really flavourful. it was easy to make and looks awesome for presentatioN!