Whole roasted cauliflower, a great vegan alternative for the holidays, special occasions or everyday cooking. It’s a delicious side or main dish.
Many people I know don’t like cauliflower and I think it’s because they don’t know how to make delicious recipes with this amazing veggie. I used to hate it as well, but it has become a staple in my kitchen and I couldn’t live without it.
Whole roasted cauliflower is a great vegan alternative for the holidays. It’s healthier, lower in fat, so I prefer to eat it as a side dish or with some kind of starch or plant-based protein like for example our vegan Hasselback potatoes.
This recipe is not only for Christmas, but also for special occasions or everyday cooking because the cauliflower is ready to bake in just 5 minutes and then just only need to bake it until golden brown. Besides, it goes well with everything and is delicious with any spices or herbs you have on hand.
LOOKING FOR MORE CAULIFLOWER RECIPES?
- Cauliflower pizza crust
- Creamy vegan cauliflower soup
- Cauliflower rice risotto
- Buffalo cauliflower wings
- Aloo Gobi Matar (potato, cauliflower and pea curry)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
Whole roasted cauliflower, a great vegan alternative for the holidays, special occasions or everyday cooking. It’s a delicious side or main dish.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp water
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 large cauliflower (2 pounds or 900 g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC.
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except the cauliflower) until well combined.
- Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.
- Rub the marinade all over the cauliflower, then place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown. We don’t like our cauliflower super soft, just al dente, so feel free to bake it longer if you want.
- Top the whole roasted cauliflower with some chopped fresh parsley and almond flakes (optional) and serve.
- Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you prefer to use oil instead of tahini, add 3 to 4 tbsp of oil and omit the water.
- Add your favorite spices and herbs.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 196 mg
- Fat: 4.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.5 g
- Fiber: 6.7 g
- Protein: 6 g
Made this for lunch and it was delicious. I had a large cauliflower so it cooked for 1hour in the oven, I also put a bowl of water in the oven along with it when cooking. My sauce didn’t dry out, it was all perfect…..so perfect I ate 3/4 of it in one sitting. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Samantha! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoy it!
Can you add to the recipe to precook the cauliflower.. no diner for me tonight 🙁
Hi Thomas! You don’t need to precook the cauliflower. If you follow all the stepts it works. If the cauliflower is not soft, just bake it longer (every oven is different). Have a nice day!
I’ve been looking for a flavorful cauliflower recipe. So happy to have found this!
Hi Dana! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
Would like to confess that since childhood I am a carnivor but the colliflour recipe was just fantastic and please go the extra mile to get thahini makes a lot of difference.
Hi Keith! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
I followed the recipie and baked the cauliflower for over an hour but it was still quite hard in the middle and we found the dish rather dry. I think I would steam the whole cauliflower for 10 to 15 minutes before coating it in the paste and then roast it next time. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Mary! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. Try to use a smaller cauliflower or bake at a higher temperature. Hope it helps!
The spices are a great combination but somehow this didn’t work for me. The tahini paste dried like a shell on the cauliflower which after an hour was still pretty raw in the middle. At that point I chucked some water over it and put a lid in and bunged it in the hot Aga oven for 15 mins. Cauliflower now softer but the hard shell just cracked off.
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Hi Anna! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. Did you use the same ingredients and followed all the steps? You could bake the cauliflower at a lower temperature or cover it with some foil. Hope it helps!
Made it tonight with smoked paprika….awesomely good. So easy.
Hi Patricia! So glad you liked it 🙂
The flavours are great, but I found it a bit dry, even after roasting for 1.15 hrs. I think I will drizzle oil on the cauli before the spices next time
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Hi Sue! Our cauliflower wasn’t dry at all, you could roast it for 45-60 minutes instead, but feel free to add some oil if needed 🙂
I love tahini and this is a perfect recipe for me. I added extra lemon because I always enjoy my broccoli and cauliflower that way.
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Hi Tulip! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you liked it!
This was absolutely delicious 😋
My book Cauliflower, which was an early Christmas gift, got misplaced at my Moms. I had bought cauliflower to start making some of Oz Telems recipes. After a google search I came across your blog, and am so happy I did!
Thanks
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Hi Ruth! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I just made this roasted cauliflower tonight after I got back from yoga class it was so so good I just wrote the whole thing with coconut oil and then put all the spices on it was fantastic I ate practically the whole thing I will be making it again thank you so much
Hi Dorothy! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
I added maple syrup to the marinade and covered the cauliflower with foil after 20 mins to stop the marinade burning. Ate the left overs cold the next day. Yum!
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Hi Tamara! So glad you liked it 🙂
Sounds wonderful and I’ll give it a try. I like to make cauliflower steaks with a dijon, liquid amino, nutritional yeast glaze.
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Hi Nancy! Hope you like it 😀
Hi, I love whole cauliflower and I can’t wait to try your version. If I was making this as a main, what would you suggest as a side, I’m always at a loss for ideas?
Hi Laura! I would serve it with some healthy carb (rice, potatoes) and a source of protein (tofu, beans). Hope you like it!
I think sort sort of magic must occur in the time that raw, unglamorous cauliflower goes into the oven, whole and comes out so wonderful. This looks like another fab way to try whole roasting a cauli.
Thank you
★★★★★
Hi Alex! You’re so welcome 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
What could I use as a substitute for the tahini? We have a sesame allergy
Hi Katie! You could use any other nut or seed butter or even oil 🙂
LOVE the simplicity of this recipe, but it’s also so impressive! I used to dislike cauliflower too, but you’re totally right in that people most often just don’t know what to do with it. This looks amazing!
Hi Sara! Thanks a lot 🙂 Have a beautiful week!