Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic

This recipe for vegan Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic takes an ordinary head of cauliflower to a whole new level of deliciousness. Cauliflower florets roast alongside whole cloves of garlic to make this savory side dish super nutritious and perfect for your next family gathering.

Is Roasted Cauliflower Healthy?

I have been roasting cauliflower for many years with oil, salt, and pepper. Trying to boost our immune systems during the pandemic, I decided to add a a lot of fresh garlic to everything we eat! Cauliflower is an excellent source of fiber, folate, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Garlic is a powerful antioxidant, and it's used as an anti-fungal remedy to cure disease. I love this recipe!

How to Buy and Store Cauliflower

Choose cauliflower heads with clean, densely packed florets free of grey/brown spots and leaves that are crisp and green. Brown spots are indicative of age. If you're in the store and it looks like the brown areas were cut away, do not purchase.

To store your cauliflower, remove it from its original packaging and place it in a clean, sealed plastic bag. Preferably, you should leave it whole, but it will still be good for about two days if you cut it up.

Publix has organic cauliflower, which is always preferable if you're in the Florida Keys.

How to Prepare this Recipe

To make roasted cauliflower with garlic, chop the cauliflower into one or two-inch pieces. You can chop up and eat the stems or freeze them for vegetable soup at a later date. Discard the core and any green leaves. Wash the cauliflower under cold running water and then towel dry so when you add the oil, it clings to the cut-up pieces.

Separate the cloves of a whole head of garlic and discard the core and excess papery edges hanging off the cloves. You don't have to peel the cloves for this recipe, but you can cut off the woody end of each clove. The garlic can be tossed right into the mixing bowl with the cauliflower, oil, salt, and pepper. After the veggies are roasted, the peels will effortlessly slip off.

How to Get the Cauliflower Crispy

Roasting is a dry heat method of cooking, meaning that it needs hot air circulating all around the food to get it crispy.

Do not crowd the pan because your cauliflower will steam instead of roast.

This recipe is for one standard 15" sheet pan, half of a big cauliflower, or 4 cups of florets. For 6 cups of cauliflower, it would be best to use a half sheet pan. You can also use two sheet pans in the oven and rotate their positions halfway through the roasting process, so it doesn't burn.

You can see in this photo that there is plenty of room around the cauliflower and garlic and they caramelized nicely and got super crispy.

What to Do with Leftovers

Place leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Roasted cauliflower is a great salad topper. If you want to add cheese, evenly sprinkle a cup of grated parmesan or cheddar on top of the cauliflower for the last two minutes of roasting, or place the pan under the broiler after you remove the parchment paper.

Some Other Vegan Roasted Vegetables

This recipe for vegan Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic is healthy and tastes great! Try these other vegan recipes to add tasty roasted vegetables to your diet.

• Roasted Broccoli and Garlic
• How To Roast Brussels Sprouts
• Paleo Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Quick Oven Roasted Broccoli
• Roasted Baby Eggplant Poppers