Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with a light, spicy Asian dressing. Forget the side dish, this could be the star of your dinner table! This is incredible! 

Honestly, if I could only live with one thing: vegetables or meat, I’d choose vegetables. No doubt about it. Roasted, raw, blended in a pesto, sautéed, with pasta, grilled or even in a smoothie, I’m all about the vegetables!

Cauliflower is one of my favorites. Cauliflower pesto, grilled cauliflower steaks, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower fried rice, cauliflower macaroni and cheese and more!

The first time I tried roasting a whole cauliflower, I loved it. Not only is it stunning and beautiful but it’s delicious! You can certainly chop up the cauliflower and roast it in a shorter amount of time but if you are looking for an amazing dish for a dinner party or just something special, you have to try this!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with an Asian Dressing

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower
• olive oil
• lemon pepper seasoning
• freshly cracked pepper
• smoked paprika
• kosher salt

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon Korean red chili pepper flakes, "Gochugaru"

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Break off and discard the outer leaves from the cauliflower. Cut off the bottom of the stem, and then use the tip of a small, sharp knife to cut off the leaves close to the stem. Carefully cut out the hard core of the cauliflower, near the bottom, leaving the main stem intact and make sure you don't cut through any of the florets.
• Place the cauliflower in a cast iron skillet, core side down, and drizzle on the olive oil and season generously with the lemon pepper seasoning, pepper, smoked paprika and kosher salt. 
• Cover the skillet with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for one hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for just a few minutes. 

For the dressing:

• Whisk together all of the ingredients until blended. Drizzle over the roasted cauliflower and enjoy! 

Notes

If you're following a Whole 30 approved diet, use Coconut Secret Organic Coconut Aminos in place of the soy sauce and skip the sugar or maple syrup. 

The Asian dressing recipe comes from my friend, Joe Lee. He was watching Chef & My Fridge (Netflix). On this Netflix series: “some of the best chefs of Korea compete to create impromptu dishes that feature ingredients found inside the guest stars’ personal refrigerators.” Joe got this dressing from this series! Who else has watched?