Roasted cauliflower boasts flavorful parmesan, fresh herbs and seasoning for a mouthwatering bite. An easy, nutritious side dish your family will love.
What tastes better: Boiled asparagus or roasted asparagus? Sautéed sweet potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes? You get the point. Roasting is the perfect alternative to grilling veggies, so if you’re not currently taking advantage of this cooking method, you should start.
The method is simple. All you need to do is drizzle your vegetables of choice with olive oil, fresh herbs, seasoning and pop them in your oven. Unlike boiling veggies, roasting ensures none of the nutrients are lost. Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies to roast for a quick side dish because it’s versatile, hearty and naturally high in fiber.
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
To get started, first, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray it with nonstick spray. Second, grab a cutting board and cut and core your fresh cauliflower. The easiest way to do this is to cut the whole head into quarters first, then angle the knife to cut out the cores.
Third, break off the cauliflower florets and spread them evenly on the baking pan. Make sure you fill the baking sheet.
Fourth, drizzle olive oil on the florets. Olive oil — especially extra virgin olive oil — is one of the healthiest oils to cook with. It’s super tasty AND loaded with antioxidants, too!
Next, add salt and pepper and bake the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes or until it’s lightly browned. Roasting allows the natural sugars to caramelize, maximizing cauliflower’s flavor profile.
After you remove the freshly roasted cauliflower from the oven, grate parmesan cheese over the top. Yum! (At this point, you probably want to do a little dance as the cheese slowly melts!)
I love the fruity, nutty taste of parmesan cheese. Surprisingly, parmesan cheese is naturally lactose-free and has many vitamins and minerals. You might forget this recipe is nutritious for you, based on the delicious combination of flavors!
While the parmesan cheese melts, add chopped flat-leaf parsley on top to garnish. I love using fresh parsley from my garden!
Finally, sprinkle more parmesan cheese and parsley on top before serving. You can never add too much flavor with extra cheese, am I right?!
There you have it! Roasted cauliflower with parmesan.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love to pair roasted cauliflower with pasta. You can also use the leftovers the next day in a pita with hummus or taco with tahini sauce.
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes! After it cools, place the roasted cauliflower in a freezer bag. It can last frozen for up to three months. While you can store or freeze roasted cauliflower, the best way to reheat it is in the oven so that it crisps up.
If you love this roasted cauliflower recipe, you may also like to try these recommendations:
- Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Cauliflower
- Roasted Cauliflower with Jalapeño Caper Vinaigrette
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower
- Perfectly Roasted Parmesan Broccoli
- Cauliflower Vegetable Fried Rice
- Roasted Asparagus with Za’atar
Your fork is waiting.
Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 2 teaspoons olive oil extra virgin
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt or truffle salt
- ¼ teaspoons pepper or red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- flat leaf parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cut and core your fresh cauliflower. Spread cauliflower florets evenly across baking pan.1 head cauliflower
- Drizzle olive oil on top and add seasoning.2 teaspoons olive oil, ½ teaspoons kosher salt, ¼ teaspoons pepper or red pepper flakes
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Grate parmesan cheese and allow it to melt. Top with parsley to garnish.flat leaf parsley, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- To serve, sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Jamai
How would this be to substitue kale instead of spinach?
Liz DellaCroce
I don’t see kale or spinach in this recipe?