This recipe for roasted cauliflower will be your go-to when you’re looking for an easy, tasty side dish to pair with dinner. Oven-roasted cauliflower is topped with a simple tahini yogurt sauce and sweet pomegranate arils. It works lovely paired with chicken, fish or even in a rice bowl!
We are already so close 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; it’s called Jiggs Dinner). Have you ever heard of it?
It’s a traditional Newfoundland meal consisting of salt beef and a whole whack of boiled vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage, parsnips with pease pudding.
The meat and vegetables are cooked together and the salty beef flavours the veg. Though, I’m I don’t regularly cook Jiggs Dinner, I do enjoy it when my mother or grandmother prepares every so often. These days, I enjoy mostly 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 can be enjoyed raw, roasted (like this 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.
How To Roast Cauliflower
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Cut cauliflower into florets.
- Place cauliflower florets into a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread florets onto a baking sheet and roast.
- Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once.
- Carefully remove from the oven, and serve 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 cauliflower.
For this tahini yogurt sauce you just need:
- Greek yogurt
- Tahini
- Maple Syrup
- Stock
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients and drizzle over the oven-roasted cauliflower! Easy, right?
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Cut the florets into roughly equal pieces so they cook evenly.
- If you want a little more (or less) bite to the cauliflower, reduce (or increase) bake time accordingly.
- The darker your sheet pan, the more colour you will have on your roasted cauliflower.
- For easier cleanup you can line your sheet pan with parchment paper, but you may not get quite the same colour. No biggie, but it’s something to keep in mind.
More Veggie Sides
If you make this recipe for roasted cauliflower, be sure to leave a comment below.
Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
Oven-Roasted Cauliflower
- 5 cups cauliflower florets, approximately half a head of cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Tahini Yogurt Sauce
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon water or milk, or more (depending on desired consistency of sauce)
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- pinch salt
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a bowl, stir together the cauliflower, olive oil, black pepper and salt.
- Place cauliflower florets onto a large sheet pan and spread them out in a single layer. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully stopping to turn the cauliflower florets halfway through cooking.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, make the tahini yogurt sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, tahini, maple syrup, water, garlic, salt and black pepper until well combined.
- Transfer the roasted cauliflower to a serving dish. Drizzle tahini yogurt sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle with pomegranate arils. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cut the florets into roughly equal pieces so they cook evenly.
- If you want a little more (or less) bite to the cauliflower, reduce (or increase) bake time accordingly.
- The darker your sheet pan, the more colour you will have on your roasted cauliflower.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
© Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are copyright protected.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Vanessa Vickery says
This looks amazing and the great recipe for the gut cleanse I am doing. I would need to sub the greek yoghurt as we cannot have dairy. Do you think coconut yoghurt would work instead?
Girl Heart Food says
I bet that would work just perfectly! Hope you love it 🙂 Thanks Vanessa!
Julie says
I love tahini. LOVE tahini. We put it on/in everything from appetizers to meat marinades to all our desserts. This is so up my alley – can’t wait to slather it on cauliflower now, too!
Girl Heart Food says
Woo hoo! Thanks Julie 🙂
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Yum, I love cauliflower!! This is my kind of recipe, looks so easy, healthy and yummy! Pinning to try this week!
Girl Heart Food says
Love it too! Thanks Sam – enjoy 🙂
Nicoletta Sugarlovespices says
Love cauliflower! And as Italians, we like to roast our veggies, so this is just perfect. Full of flavor and incredibly healthy.
Girl Heart Food says
Same here – so yummy! Thanks Nicoletta 🙂
Shannon says
I’ve never heard of a jigg’s dinner before. Definitely sounds like something I would enjoy! I love a large helping of vegetables especially if it includes roasted veggies like your tasty looking cauliflower. Thanks for sharing!
Girl Heart Food says
It’s a classic Newfoundland dish and so yummy! I bet you would 😉 Thanks Shannon!
Renee Gardner says
I can always use another cauliflower recipe and I think this one is just the ticket! Sounds delicious!!
Girl Heart Food says
Yay! Thanks Renee 🙂
Anna Hettick says
Ok, I see Tahini everywhere lately and I’ve never had it! This Tahini Yogurt sauce looks so good on the roasted cauliflower though! Just might have to give it a try!
Girl Heart Food says
Yes! So yummy! Hope you love it, Anna 🙂
Shelley says
Oh, Dawn! I’m so excited about this recipe! I absolutely adore roasted cauliflower, and the unique tahini-yogurt sauce here sounds phenomenal! Plus the sweet-tart little flavor bursts from the pretty pomegranate arils! Brilliant! Bonus – it’s so darn easy, too – perfect easy on busy weeknights! Yay!
Girl Heart Food says
Yay! So happy to hear that, Shelley 🙂 It’s a favourite for sure!
Courtney says
Roasting cauliflower is my favourite way to prepare it. Love all the flavours in this sauce! It sounds like a topper for roasted cauliflower!
Girl Heart Food says
Love it too! Thanks Courtney 🙂
lauren says
Yes yes yes! Roasted cauliflower is THE BEST. I have a head in my produce drawer and now I know what to do with it. Thank you!
Girl Heart Food says
So yummy, right?? Thanks Lauren – enjoy 🙂
Gloria says
Oven roasted cauliflower is the BEST. Love the sweetness it produces, along with a little savoury char as well. This looks like the perfect side dish, or fun appetizer with that sauce.
Girl Heart Food says
It is! Those little brown, crispy bits are my fave 🙂
Sylvie says
It looks delicious! When it comes to oven roasted veggies, Im a sucker for butternut squash with a little bit of balsamic vinegar to help caramelise. So yum!
Girl Heart Food says
Thanks Sylvie! Yum! Gotta love butternut squash too 🙂
Kay says
I LOVE roasted cauliflower! My sister and I are obsessed with roasting it after rubbing it in harissa at the moment. We are eating so much we’re worried we willget bored of it but this Tahini yoghurt dressing sounds incredible and like it could mix up things a little for us. I can’t wait to give it a go! Thanks so much 😀
Girl Heart Food says
Yum! Harissa sounds awesome with it! Hope you enjoy this one. Thanks Kay 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I love roasted vegetables, especially broccoli and brussels sprouts. This looks delicious!! I can eat the whole sheet pan in one sitting. I never heard of jigg’s dinner, but it sounds really good!
Girl Heart Food says
Love those too!! I did eat this whole pan of cauliflower for lunch, lol. It was too good 😉 Thanks Thao!
Matt says
Looks delicious! Yogurt sauces are seriously some of the best out there! Never thought to try with roasted veggies. Great recipe!
Girl Heart Food says
They totally are 🙂 Thanks Matt!