I feel like cauliflower is one of those ‘vegan foods’. Don’t know what I mean? ‘Vegan foods’ are one of those food that you ate before you were vegan, probably liked and enjoyed it, but found about 300 new ways to use it when you became vegan. Cashews, chickpeas and lentils are all examples of ‘vegan foods’ in my eyes. Cauliflower, although quite bland on its own, is one of the best vegetables for absorbing different flavours, making it really versatile in all different kinds of dishes. Today, we’re making a slightly smoky, crispy baked cauliflower recipe.
Now, this recipe involved essentially burning your cauliflower a little. It’s supposed to have black bits at one point. Don’t be alarmed if you accidentally set your smoke alarm off. I promise it’s all going to work out. Actually, if you’re the kind of person who usually accidentally burns everything, this one could become your signature dish.
Nutritional Information
This dish provides over 100% of your daily required vitamin C & A, and just under a third of your daily fibre per serving. It also contains 20% of your daily B2 & B5 and a third of your daily B6 and 40% of your daily vitamin E.
Crispy Baked Cauliflower Recipe
Smoky crispy baked cauliflower recipe, cheap, easy vegan recipe perfect recipe for beginners.
I served this with some Mexican grains, but you could also serve it with some salad, as a crispy filling to a tortilla, or as a side with some dips. Not a fan of the spices I picked? As I said at the start, cauliflower is great for absorbing any flavours, feel free to switch the spices out for an alternative of your choosing.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free and vegan.
Crispy Baked Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ tbsp oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 230°C and get out a large, oven-safe dish.
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Add chopped cauliflower to a large mixing bowl and top with the first tbsp oil, salt, syrup and spices. Toss to coat as evenly as possible.
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Heat your large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the remaining oil.
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Heat oil for 1 minute. Then add cauliflower (add only as much will fit comfortably in the pan — crowding will lead to soggy cauliflower) and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring / tossing occasionally until your cauliflower has a slight sear / golden brown exterior.
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Carefully transfer to the oven dish and place in preheated oven and bake on the top rack for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking, until the cauliflower is golden brown and cooked through. It should be tender with a slight bite and crispy edges.
Serve and enjoy! I recommend serving with some toasted seeds or nuts to add extra crunch.
Hugo was keen on trying this one.
Are you a cauliflower fan? Or if you’re that person that always makes everything that little bit too crispy, do you think this recipe would be a good one for you?
Until tomorrow,
Sophie
I’ll need to try this, I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes for cauliflower things & it looks good. I’m back after a long time, I got really into baking things and just lost track of time with this quarantine stuff!! Hope you’ve been well x
I absolutely love cauliflower and I’m always looking for new recipes to try with it so this is perfect! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
These sound so yummy, I’m more than sure that these are something that we will all enjoy in our household – thank you! I’m sending you so much love. Stay strong, stay home, stay safe. ♡
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
I like cauliflower like that ❤
I’ll have to try this! It sounds delicious!!
We have to go grocery shopping tomorrow and cauliflower is all we have left in our kitchen now. Might as well try to cook this dish, it looks amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Oo this looks so good! I’ve always worried about making cauliflower based foods as, like you say, it’s so bland on its own haha but I might try this!
Emily x
Puttheworldtowrites.co.uk
Smoked paprika and cumin are some of my favourite spices (although, tbh I like every spice haha). This sounds like such a great dish. I love that you mentioned putting it in a wrap/tortilla because I never would’ve thought of doing that but know I would love it! x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
I LOVE baked cauliflower! We’ve been making a recipe similar to this one for a while and it’s the perfect snack to enjoy while watching the movies without compromising your healthy eating goals. I am definitely intrigued by this recipe though – we’ve never used maple syrup before! I’m going to give this a try next time!
I love cauliflower, it’s so versatile! This sounds like such a tasty recipe
I’m going to make these one evening they look incredible xx
I’ve tried Cauliflower pizza before but wasn’t really a fan as it was quite bland. But this sounds delicious! I love ginger and paprika so I’m sure I’d love this.
Eve x
My mouth is watering, this sounds absolutely delightful! I swear I can almost smell it from your picture.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
I’m not usually a cauliflower person, not in its own anyway but I have tried it with lots of seasoning and it was amazing! Would defo love to try this for a change to the norm!
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk
Delicious! Already pinned for today’s dinner. Thank you!
Lindifique
This looks good! I’m normally not a fan of cauliflower, but it sounds nice covered in a spicy, crispy, sticky coating!
What a unique recipe! I laughed at the idea of setting off the smoke alarm, only because ours is so sensitive, all it takes is turning on the oven. I’d have to be extra careful with this dish. It sounds super yummy though. I’ll have to try it out soon with my husband!
Cauliflower is about as bland as they come, but you’ve made it look appealing, which is not something I thought I’d ever say about cauliflower.
This looks great! I used to work at a restaurant that served cauliflower poppers and they were the most popular item on the menu! Even the big meat-eaters were always ordering a few bowls of the cauliflower.
Ohh so nice! I would love to try cauliflower with a bit of spice.
http://www.fashionradi.com
OMG YUMMMMMMMMMM!!! That looks so good!!
Amazing I love cauliflower!!
Oh my god HUGO. I think Hugo should feature in all of your recipe a day posts tbh. Just a thought 😉 This looks delish though. I understand what you mean about cauliflower being considered a “vegan” food. I love cauliflower and I’d love to try this! xxx
I’ve had a cauliflower in the fridge for a few weeks now because I didn’t know what to do with it (you can only eat so much cauliflower cheese) so this recipe is a lifesaver. It reminds me of the cauliflower that you can get in Wagamamas, although I don’t think this is as fiery (which is a good thing) so yum, thank you, Sophie! Lisa xx
I love cauliflower any way i can get it (other than mashed). WIll have to try this out!
Crispy baked cauliflower sounds wonderful. I’m not going to lie, I eat a lot of cauliflower lol, and its definitely since I became a vegetarian a few years ago that I really enjoyed it. I have a vegetarian chinese recipe book and that has quite a few recipes that uses cauliflower so a favourite of mine is Kung Po Cauliflower which is basically cauliflower fried with a sweet and sour sauce and it’s just delicious. So any recipe with cauliflower in is high up on my list of what to cook for dinner haha.
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
I’ve only tried a cauliflower like this once and didn’t love it – I’ll have to try again x
This sounds like such an interesting & yummy dish. I’ve never thought of eating cauliflower crispy before but I’m definitely going to try it.