Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Sesame and Ginger
Whole Roasted Cauliflower not only looks gorgeous, but it also tastes amazing too. This one is covered in Asian flavors and roasted until it is very dark and tasty. It's a delicious side dish or vegetarian main!
Do you think it's possible to overdose on cauliflower? Seriously, how much is too much?
I think that for most normal people a big head of whole roasted cauliflower would serve at least 4, so I've said that's how many this recipe serves. But, if you're anything like me and my handsome man and LOVE roasted cauliflower then this might only serve two. Just sayin'.
The whole cauliflower is massaged with a mix of miso paste, sesame oil, ginger, chili garlic sauce, and a few other tasty Asian flavors. It's then roasted in the oven till it's dark brown, nutty tasting and unbelievably delicious.
This whole roasted cauliflower is one of those wicked awesome recipes that are tasty and pretty enough to serve at a dinner party yet quick and easy enough to make when you get home from work during the week. Try it out this week before impressing your friends with it on the weekend.
When I make this whole roasted cauliflower, I like to roast it on a baking sheet then transfer it to a small cast iron skillet when I serve it. You could, of course, just bake it in the skillet and serve it straight from there, just warn peeps not to touch the stupidly smokin' hot skillet.
Tips for making whole roasted cauliflower
- Make sure the whole head of cauliflower is coated liberally in oil. The oil will help the cauliflower to brown and become extra delicious.
- Don't take the cauliflower out of the oven until it is dark brown and charred in spots. The dark spots are where all the flavor is.
- Make sure to season well with sea salt. There's tons of flavor here, and the salt helps coax it out.
- This cauliflower has just a little touch of heat. Feel free to add some chilies or extra Chinese garlic chili sauce if you'd like more of a bite.
Enjoy!
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More Delicious Cauliflower Recipes:
- Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower with Tahini Yogurt
- Garlic Brown Butter Mashed Cauliflower
- Golden Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower
- Baked General Tso's Cauliflower
- Blackened Cauliflower with Rosemary Garlic Panko
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Sesame and Ginger
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon miso paste, gluten-free if needed
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
- To serve: sliced green onions, toasted white and black sesame seeds, and sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the leaves and stem off the cauliflower so that it sits flat.1 large cauliflower
- In a small bowl, mix the sesame and cooking oil, miso paste, Chinese chili garlic sauce, and ginger. Using your hands, rub the mix over the cauliflower, making sure you get it everywhere, even the bottom.2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 tablespoon miso paste, 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
- Place the cauliflower in a cast iron pan or on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until it is soft and brown. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and season with sea salt. Sprinkle the green onions and toasted sesame seeds over before serving.To serve: sliced green onions, toasted white and black sesame seeds, and sea salt
Wow! This was truly phenomenal…we DID polish off the entire cauliflower between the two of us! 😀
Ha ha I love it! I feel better knowing I’m not the only one who can eat a ridic amount of cauliflower!
This is sooooo good – and I have always preferred my cauliflower raw. Was out of grapeseed oil, used all sesame instead. No garlic chili sauce -, added some garlic in with the Sriracha. No brown miso? Use red. I didn’t have both black and white sesame seeds… until I was done toasting them in the oven….. Oops. Used ’em anyway. Just make this, It is easy and it is awesome. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe! It’s one of my fav ways to serve cauliflower. 🙂
When it says Ginger, is that fresh or pickled?
wanting to make it tonight, excited to try!
Fresh ginger! 🙂
We tried this, devoured it, shared it, then made it again! I hadn’t tried whole roasted cauliflower before seeing this recipe, but it’s a regular thing in our house now. I bake it in one of our cast iron pans, and I have now tried whole roasted cauliflower with a few different flavour combinations too (eg mustard, paprika, lemon, olive oil etc). All yummy and a simple but impressive feature dish to serve friends for dinner. Thanks!
I’m so happy you like this recipe! It’s one of my favorite ways to serve cauliflower, too. 🙂
Can the cal flower be replaced by Brooklyn using same recipe
Not sure what you’re referring to. 🙂
Broccoli maybe? Darn auto correct.
You’re probably right!
Broccoli would turn out quite differently, but it would be delicious with the same spices.
I just came across this recipe and it looks very interesting. One question before I try it: I assume you are specifying toasted sesame oil – is that correct? Thanks!
That’s right! Toasted sesame oil will give the dish lots of flavour. 🙂
Well, this recipe still has life. I shared it on the SaltWorks Facebook page suggesting our fans sprinkle on a little Fusion® Thai Ginger Salt and got great responses and lots of shares. Thanks for inspiring us.
Thank you so much for the share! And your Thai Ginger Salt sounds amazing!!
I haven’t made it yet but from the pictures it looks delicious already. It is a great find since I been trying to incorporate healthy meals into dinner.
I do have a question, would this be grillable?
Healthy meals are the best!
I haven’t tried grilling this recipe, but I’m sure it would work. You’d want to keep a closer eye on it though to make sure the outside doesn’t burn before the inside cooks. You could always slice the cauliflower into ‘steaks’ and grill those with the same spices I’ve used. 🙂
This is really good, made it twice now, didn’t use as much oil though to keep kcal down.
But the pop up ads and promos on your site are horribly annoying!
So happy you enjoyed the cauliflower!
And thank you for your honest feedback about the ads. It’s a constant game of testing to see what works (so I can afford to keep the site running) while trying my best not to annoy anyone. I’ve partnered up with someone to take care of the ads so we’ll be making some changes over the next few weeks and will definitely pay attention to your feedback.
You guys sure know how to sell a recipe! Well, it’s in the oven right now so that’s pretty exciting! Thanks 🙂 Nicole and Gwendal in San Diego
I hope you liked it as much as I do!!
Wow, this was delicious – and so easy to make! This recipe is added to our favorites, and it’s my new way to cook cauliflower. Thanks!
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
Nutritional values? It would be helpful to post them with your recipe. Thanks.
Most of the recipe here on TEM have been updated to include nutritional values, but a few (like this one!) were missed along the way. I’ve put it on the to-do list.
In the meantime, you can paste the link to the recipe into My Fitness Pal to get the info.
Spectacular, Kristen, thank you! I subbed that special “Sochi” sauce and fresh garlic for my lack of Chinese chili garlic sauce. And, you’re right, one is not enough.
I’m so happy you liked it! I have to ask … what is Sochi sauce? I Googled it but nothing came up. I love finding out about new foods so I’d love to know. 🙂
Lovely photos and even lovelier recipe! So healthy and I love the Asian flavors 🙂
Thank you so much, Medha!!
I have seen recipes for roasting a whole cauliflower, and have yet to try it. Your recipe sounds delicious – it has all the types of ingredients that I love using – miso, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil… I will have to try this. I can eat a whole head of mashed cauliflower in one sitting!
I’m so happy to hear that I’m not the only one who can’t get enough cauliflower!
Very interesting this recipe. I’ll try it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Simona!
I’ve never whole roasted a cauliflower before.. and after seeing this recipe think it is something I must do asap. Looks delicious!
You totally should! Cauliflower is one of my favs and I love love love it roasted whole. 🙂
This is one BEAUTIFUL head of cauliflower!!!To be honest with you, I could probably eat a whole head of cauliflower no problem… but that’s just me 🙂 The flavor on this cauliflower dish looks incredible – pinned! 🙂
Thanks so much for pinning, you two! And so good to hear I’m not the only one who can eat crazy amounts of cauliflower. It’s so amazing!