You'll never think of cauliflower the same way again after one bite of this Oven Roasted Cauliflower recipe with roasted garlic and fresh thyme.
Cauliflower always gets a bad rap and oven gets treated like the ugly step sister of the vegetable world. But, this Oven Roasted Cauliflower recipe hits it out of the park.
One bite of this tasty side dish and your friends and family will be begging for you to make it. You heard that right, this easy cauliflower recipe will make a regular appearance on your dinner table!
Why this recipe works
- Roasting the cauliflower mellows the taste and brings out its natural sweetness. Add some roasted garlic and fresh thyme, and you have a dynamic combination - one that even cauliflowers haters will embrace.
- You can eat this for lunch, with pasta, add it to a salad, or keep it as a traditional side.
Ingredients
No need to make an extra trip to the store with this recipe, this list is short and sweet.
Ingredient Notes:
- Use a whole head of cauliflower for this recipe instead of the precut florets. This will allow you to cut even sizes for optimal roasting and get flat sides for good browning.
- Fresh garlic cloves are a must for this recipe. They truly make a difference.
Instructions
1. Clean cauliflower and cut into sections, making sure to have some sides flat so they can get crispy on the pan.
2. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower and garlic with olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spread cauliflower mixture on a roasting pan making sure it has enough space to cook. Flip it over half way through baking to get the other side brown.
FAQs
First remove large leaves from the base of the cauliflower head so the stem is exposed. Then cut around the stem and cut the cauliflower into even sized florets with at least one flat side.
No. Some nutrients may be lost when boiling cauliflower but roasting vegetables does not kill nutrients.
Your pan may be too small for the amount of vegetables that you are trying to cook. Make sure your tray is large enough for the vegetables to sit in a single layer. Overcrowding on the baking tray will steam the veggies instead of roasting them.
More roasted vegetables
- This Roasted Carrots recipe are sweet AND spicy with perfectly caramelized edges. There is no better way to eat carrots!
- This Roasted Delicata Squash recipe has only 5 ingredients and comes together in minutes. Bonus: NO peeling required!
- Want to spice up your brussels sprouts recipe? These Roasted Brussels Sprouts with a balsamic reduction are a decadent side to any dish.
- This Oven Roasted Tomato recipe is extremely versatile and can be used in appetizers, pasta or as a simple snack.
- Green beans don't need to be boring! These Oven Roasted Green Beans are nice and crispy.
- Check out all of our easy roasted vegetable recipes and side dish recipes!
Recipe
Oven Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower chopped into florets
- 4-6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 3-4 T Olive Oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Clean cauliflower and cut in florets.
- In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, olive oil, garlic until well coated.
- Season with salt and pepper and gently toss again.
- Spread cauliflower mixture on a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes turning over half way through to brown the other side.
- Toss with fresh thyme and serve.
Notes
VIDEO
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
Eat this Oven Roasted Cauliflower recipe for lunch, with pasta, add it to a salad, or keep it as a traditional side. Make cauliflower the star instead of the side show.
Kathy says
My family and I love this recipe. I make it all the time now. Tonight my son wanted broccoli too, so when it was time to flip the cauliflower, I added broccoli that was tossed in EVOO and salt and pepper. It turned out perfect. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Lisa says
How cool is it that your son asked for broccoli? I will have to try it. Thanks for your note!
Emma-Jane says
Thank you SO much! I just found this and made it for dinner, as basically the only thing my fridge had in it was a head of cauliflower and some turkey smoked sausage, so I made your recipe and the chopped up sausage in the pan too, with a sprinkle of chili powder. It was delicious and SO filling, I'm definitely making it again. Thank you 🙂
Lisa says
Hi Emma-Jane, Thanks so much for your note! What a great idea to add the turkey-sausage right to the pan! Sounds wonderful!
Ashley says
Thank you so much! I'm a new blogger as well as a newly wed so my skills in the kitchen are VERY minimal! This was the tastiest recipe ever!! I hope I did it correctly as I tried re-posting on my blog with the correct attributes so my friends/family can have it too! If there is something I should add please let me know so you get credit (this is so new to me lol I'm sorry).
Made it last night, and my husband who hates vegetables, ATE SOME! Still in shock....Thank you!
Lisa says
Hi Ashley- Thanks so much! I'm glad you were able to get your husband to eat some of it. Mine isn't a fan of cauliflower either 🙂
Pam says
I've been looking for a good cauliflower recipe. Thank you for this. Can't go wrong when it's got parmesan cheese and garlic.
Lisa says
Agreed! Parmesan and garlic make everything better!
Tracy says
I've never really liked cauliflower, but I'm growing some in my garden right now. I find if I don't like a veggie, like zucchini, if I grow it myself, I like it because it tastes so much better. Your recipe looks great, so I'll give it a try. Thanks!