Beautifully crusted on the outside and moist-tender inside, this gorgeous preparation of whole spicy cauliflower will make a star centerpiece at any dinner party. Whole30, Keto-friendly and Vegan dish, this masterpiece is easy to make and guaranteed to impress your guests!
Whole roasted cauliflower is a delicious, simple to make. It is guaranteed to impress everyone who eats it. It has a superb meaty texture. So even your carnivore friends will enjoy it along with you.
Lovely LOW CARB and VEGETARIAN main course! You will fall in love with this moist, tender and super delicious preparation.
This is my favorite Thanksgiving Dinner Recipe. It looks festive and tastes amazing. Plus it is suitable for vegan and gluten free guests. Here is how our typical menu looks like
- VEGAN CREAMED SPINACH
- HOMEMADE VEGAN CORNBREAD
- EASY CRANBERRY SAUCE
- VEGAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
- HARVEST KALE SALAD
- CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- CARROT ALMOND PUDDING
- CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD
HOW TO COOK WHOLE CAULIFLOWER ?
Rinse the whole cauliflower under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. You’ll need to carefully trim the outer leaves. If necessary, cut the stem. It can thus flush with the rest of the head so your cauliflower sits straight on its own.
Make sure not to cut through the core. It will end up breaking up the florets and your cauliflower would completely fall apart. You want it to look like a nice little dome!
We then flash cook the cauliflower either in Instant Pot or stovetop. Then you apply a delicious marinade over it. You then broil it in the oven at a high temperature for few minutes. You can also use your Crisp-Lid to broil it.
The result is an amazingly delicious dish that’s as dramatic in presentation and tastes superb!
INGREDIENTS USED
1 medium sized Cauliflower head – clean and rinse well
For Tandoori Seasoning/ Marinade:
Olive Oil
Minced Ginger
Minced Garlic
Red Chili Powder – adjust to taste
Turmeric Powder
Garam Masala Powder– adjust to taste
Dry Mint Leaves – Crush them lightly on your palm.
Rice flour or almond flour (for keto option)
1 Lemon juiced
Himalayan pink salt– adjust to taste
To garnish : Fresh mint leaves, lime wedges and green onions
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
(If using Instant Pot ) Put 1 cup of water in the InstantPot main container. Select SAUTE on High and bring water to a rolling boil. Cancel Sauté.
In the meantime, prepare cauliflower by rinsing under cold water and cut the outer leaves. Place it on the trivet.
Carefully insert the trivet in the boiling water. Close the lid . Set the valve to SEALING. Choose Steam mode and select 1 min. Once IP done cooking and beeps, wait for 3-5 minutes and release leftover pressure. Lift the trivet handle and take the cauliflower out very gently and carefully. Let it cool down.
(If using stovetop)- bring 3 cups of water in stockpot to roaring boil. Put the whole cauliflower on the steamer basket. Let it steam covered for 5 mins.
Check the tenderness by simply pressing against thumb against it . It should be firm but tender. Turn off the heat and remove the whole cauliflower from steamer basket. Let it cool down.)
Meanwhile combine all ingredients under marinade and whisk them well. Add 1 tablespoon of water to make it smooth paste.
Carefully move the cauliflower to the oven proof sheet. I prefer to use cast iron skillet.
Marinate and Broil – Gently slather the marinade paste to entire cauliflower. Use your fingers to spread it evenly and completely. Alternatively you can use the pastry brush.
Set the oven to broil setting. Place the skillet of cauliflower under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until its top gets beautifully golden brown. I highly recommend you put a timer and be nearby watching the oven/ broiler for this step as things can burn very quickly in broiler. Once it’s turned crisp golden brown, turn off the oven and carefully take the skillet out.
Now CAREFULLY transfer the cooked cauliflower to a serving platter and garnish with a handful of fresh mint leaves, lime wedges. A little drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil will be great too. Enjoy your beautiful, delicious creation.
PRO TIPS
Most chef created recipes on the internet suggest to blanch the cauliflower in the salty water. To reduce excessive salt and blanching efforts, I prefer to steam it instead. After you broil it, the cauliflower tastes amazing regardless. So easy does it for me.
The steamed whole cauliflower is quiet ready to take on seasoning of your choice. You can season it to whatever you prefer. I introduced it the Indian ( Masala Gobi) spiced style. However any seasoning you like will work.
You can choose fresh herbs, Italian seasoning mix or even Greek or Mediterranean spice blends. We would love to hear how you spiced yours. Leave us a comment and do let us know.
If you’ve never tried a Whole Roasted Cauliflower before, you have to do it, right now ! Perfect Thanksgiving or summer BBQ recipe, this is a picture perfect, unique recipe. My kids call it Instagram Style Presentation ! I am confident that you’ll be completely sold on it once you make it.
In case you are looking for some beautiful off beat dishes to add to your menu planning, check out few of our popular recipes on the blog.
- APPLE PIE OATMEAL
- VEGAN STUFFED CABBAGE STEW
- CREAMY MUSHROOM PASTA
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH BLACK BEAN STEW
- BEETS PESTO PASTA
- THAI PUMPKIN PEANUT CURRY
- CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD
- MOROCCAN LENTIL STEW
- VEGAN MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Join us on Pinterest and FACEBOOK . You will love all our delicious, wholesome, plant based recipes from around the world.
★ If you make this VEGAN WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER RECIPE do let us know how you like it by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Whole Roasted Cauliflower - Tandoori Gobhi
Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower head- medium size clean & rinse well
For seasoning/ marinade:
- 2 tablespoons Oilve Oil
- 1 inch Ginger minced
- 2 cloves of Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder - adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder- adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried and crushed mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon rice flour or almond flour for keto version
- 1 Lemon juiced
- Himalayan pink salt- adjust to taste
- Fresh mint leaves lime wedges and green onions for garnish, optional.
Instructions
- Put 1 cup of water in the IP main container. Select SAUTE on High and bring water to a rolling boil. Cancel Sauté.
- In the meantime, prepare cauliflower by rinsing under cold water and cut the outer leaves. Place it on the trivet. Carefully insert the trivet in the boiling water. Close the lid . Set the valve to SEALING. Choose Steam mode and select 1 min. Once IP done cooking, wait for 3-5 minutes and release leftover pressure.
- Lift the trivet handle and take the cauliflower out very gently & carefully. Let it cool down.
- ( If using stovetop, bring 2 cups of water in stockpot to roaring boil. Put the whole cauliflower on the steamer basket. Let it steam covered for 5 mins. Check the tenderness by simply pressing against thumb against it . It should be firm but tender. Turn off the heat and remove the whole cauliflower from steamer basket. Let it cool down.)
- * Instructions below are same for either the method used above
- Meanwhile combine all ingredients under marinade and whisk them well. Add 1 tablespoon of water to make it smooth paste.
- Gently move the cauliflower to the oven proof sheet. I prefer to use lightly oiled cast iron skillet.
- Gently slather the marinade paste to entire cauliflower. Use your fingers to spread it evenly and completely. Alternatively you can use the pastry brush.
- Set the oven to broil setting. Place the skillet of cauliflower under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until its top gets beautifully golden brown. I highly recommend you put a timer and be nearby watching the oven/ broiler for this step as things can burn very quickly in broiler. Once it's turned crisp golden brown, turn off the oven and carefully take the skillet out.
- Now CAREFULLY transfer the cooked cauliflower to a serving plate and garnish with a handful of fresh mint leaves, lime wedges. A little drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil will be great too. Enjoy your beautiful delicious creation.
Tempting Recipe
Loved this recipe of Roasted Gobhi. Thanks for such amazing recipe.
Dana | Mama Needs Cake
I love cauliflower and this dish looks beautiful! The ingredients all look so good, I bet it is really tasty!
Traci
What a perfect recipe for cauliflower. I lovvve every spice you used here…I swear I can almost taste it. Thanks for sharing!
Sonal
I am in love. Will be trying this recipe soon.
fiona saluk
okay this sounds AMAZING and I can’t believe I haven’t made a whole roast cauliflower yet! This is so beautiful it would be perfect as a main for vegan thanksgiving!
Lauren Vavala | DeliciousLittleBites
I love cauliflower and all these flavors! I’m fairly certain I could eat the entire thing all by myself!