This recipe for roasted cauliflower will be your go to when you’re looking for a healthy side dish to pair with dinner. Oven roasted cauliflower is topped with a simple tahini yogurt sauce and sweet pomegranate. It works lovely paired with chicken, fish or even in a vegetarian rice bowl!
Hey guys! We are already thisclose to the weekend again. Can I get a woot woot?
Growing up, the most common way we’d enjoy veggies was usually boiled or steamed (for the record, boiled veggies are particularly popular in Newfoundland…hello jigg’s dinner). Have you ever heard of jigg’s dinner?
It’s a traditional Newfoundland meal consisting of salt beef and a whole whack of boiled veg – potatoes, carrot, turnip, cabbage, parsnip with pea’s puddin’.
The meat and veg are cooked together and the salty beef flavours the veg. Though, I’m not a regular jigg’s dinner cooker, I do enjoy it when my mother or grandmother prepares every so often. These days, it’s more roasted veggies like this oven roasted cauliflower recipe.
What Does Cauliflower Taste Like?
Cauliflower is pretty neutral in flavour and comes in a variety of colours, like orange, purple and green. White, however, is the most commonly found form of cauliflower.
Like most veggies, when cauliflower is roasted it takes on a little more flavour and those crispy, caramelly bits are my absolute fave!
Cauliflower is low in carbs and can be enjoyed raw, roasted (like this healthy cauliflower recipe), boiled or steamed.
These days, cauliflower is even used for pizza crusts, meatless wings and as a rice substitute. It’s particularly popular among those who are enjoying a low carb diet.
Hungry for more? Subscribe to the Girl Heart Food Newsletter!
How to Roast Cauliflower
- Cut cauliflower into florets. This is a great guide to cut cauliflower.
- Place cleaned and dried florets in a bowl and toss with oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread florets on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven.
- Baked for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once.
- Carefully remove from oven, enjoy as is or with a delicious tahini yogurt sauce.
Tahini Yogurt Sauce
While the cauliflower is roasting, get on with the tahini yogurt sauce.
It’s creamy, dreamy and simple to whiz up. Let out your inner artist and drizzle that sauce over the veg.
For this tahini yogurt sauce you just need –
- Greek yogurt
- Tahini
- Maple Syrup
- Stock
- Garlic
- Salt & pepper
Combine all ingredients and drizzle over the oven roasted cauliflower! Easy, right?
Leftover sauce works wonderfully as a dressing for a green salad too!
Recipe Tips
Cut the florets into roughly equal pieces so they cook evenly.
Rinse and dry your cauliflower florets. This ensures they roast nicely. Either spin them out with a lettuce spinner or pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towel.
If you want a little more (or less) bite to the cauliflower, reduce (or increase) bake time accordingly. The time for this recipe worked perfectly for us, though.
Don’t have pomegranate? No worries! They do add a lovely pop of colour and sweetness, but are not completely necessary. If you still want sweetness, try some dried cranberries instead.
The darker your sheet pan, the more colour you will have on your roasted cauliflower.
Speaking of sheet pan, for easier clean up you can line your sheet pan with parchment paper, but you may not get quite the same colour. No biggie, but something to keep in mind.
More Low Carb Sides You May Enjoy
- Garlicky Green Beans – This simple veggie side dish has plenty of garlic and tender crispy green beans. So delicious!
- Mashed Turnip {rutabaga} – This root vegetable recipe has brown butter and roasted garlic. Such a great low carb side for a special occasion.
- Oven Roasted Root Vegetables – Mix and match with your favourite root veggies and make this easy sheet pan vegetable side.
Hope you love this oven baked cauliflower recipe as much as we do!
Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon.
Dawn
Make this recipe for roasted cauliflower? That’s awesome! Love it if you left a comment below. Many thanks!
Let’s Be Social!
Like Girl Heart Food on Facebook & Follow on Instagram for all the Latest!
Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower (with tahini yogurt sauce)
looking for a healthy side dish to pair with dinner. Oven roasted
cauliflower is topped with a simple tahini yogurt sauce and sweet
pomegranate. It works lovely paired with chicken, fish or even in a
vegetarian rice bowl!
Ingredients
Oven Roasted Cauliflower
- 5 cups cauliflower , cut into florets (roughly half a head)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Tahini Yogurt Sauce
- 1/3 cup greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted vegetable broth or water (or more, depending on desired consistency of sauce)
- 1 clove garlic , finely minced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Garnish
- 2 to 3 tablespoons pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss (rinsed and patted dry) cauliflower with oil, salt and pepper. Place on sheet pan and roast 25 to 30 minutes, carefully stopping to turn half way through.
- While cauliflower is roasting, make tahini yogurt sauce. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, whisking to combine. Drizzle over roasted cauliflower and sprinkle with pomegranate. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cut the florets into roughly equal pieces so they cook evenly.
- Rinse and dry your cauliflower florets. This ensures they roast nicely. Either spin them out with a lettuce spinner or pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towel.
- If you want a little more (or less) bite to the cauliflower, reduce (or increase) bake time accordingly. The time for this recipe worked perfectly for us, though.
- Don’t have pomegranate? No worries! They do add a lovely pop of colour and sweetness, but are not completely necessary. If you still want sweetness, try some dried cranberries instead.
- The darker your sheet pan, the more colour you will have on your roasted cauliflower.
- Speaking of sheet pan, for easier clean up you can line your sheet pan with parchment paper, but you may not get quite the same colour. No biggie, but something to keep in mind.
Nutrition (estimate only)
I love roasted vegetables and cauliflower is one of my favourites. Your recipe sounds so tasty and perfect to add a mid-week vegetable dish, topped with that delicious tahini yogurt sauce!
Thanks so much, Emily! Cauliflower is a fave in our home too 🙂
Yum, roasted cauliflower is amazing and topping with Tahio Yogurt Sauce and enjoy! This is so delicious!
Thanks Eileen 🙂 It really is tasty!
What a wonderful winter side dish! The sauce looks so good, a great addition to the cauliflower.
Thanks so much, Sharon 🙂