How pretty is this! You can prepare this whole roasted cauliflower recipe with multiple layers of deliciousness in 1 hour AND impress your guests! Served with an easy pumpkin hummus, popped quinoa & a savoury roasted garlic cashew sauce! This whole roasted cauliflower is:
Quite Quick And Simple To Make
Despite Looking Very Fancy
It’s Perfect For The Holidays
And So Much Can Be Prepared Ahead!
Quick And Simple Whole Roasted Cauliflower
I love that this dish has so many layers of colours and textures but all the components are quite simple and quick to prepare!
- The cauliflower roasts for 45 minutes.
- For a quick tutorial on how to core a cauliflower and keep the head in tact for roasting check out our YouTube short.
- You can make the pumpkin hummus ahead and in 10 minutes or less!
- Popping quinoa takes 1-2 minutes!
- And the roasted garlic cashew sauce can be prepared ahead as well!
The element of this dish that I find to be the most time consuming is the roasted garlic cashew cream. Blending the ingredients together only takes 5 minutes. BUT there is some prep work involved…
- Roasting a bulb of garlic takes about 30-35 minutes.
- And soaking cashews takes either 15 minutes in boiling water OR can be done overnight in the fridge.
Tips For Making The Cashew Cream Easy To Prepare
- For the wonderfully prepared cook… roast the garlic ahead of time! Quick soak the cashews and blend the sauce while you roast the cauliflower for this recipe.
- You could try roasting the garlic in the oven with the cauliflower and quickly blending the sauce right before serving.
- Semi roast the garlic by cooking it in a skillet on the stove-top for about 15 minutes to soften and caramelize while the cauliflower is in the oven (crisp up the sage leaves in the leftover garlicky oil!)
- OR… skip the roasted garlic cashew cream and make a different drizzle. Our Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing would be a perfect drizzle for this cauliflower and only takes minutes!
The Pumpkin Hummus
I love the punch of colour that the pumpkin hummus gives this dish! I essentially make my everyday 5 Minute Creamy Hummus and simply add canned pumpkin puree!
As the holidays are busy and our lives are busy in general you can absolutely make this quicker by purchasing a store-bought hummus and simply stirring pumpkin puree into it if you need to!
A few reasons I love making this pumpkin hummus recipe from scratch:
- The extra savings
- Controlling the flavour to my preference
- AND it makes a large quantity so everyone can add more to their plates!
This whole roasted cauliflower recipe can be a complete meal because the hummus, the quinoa, and the cashew all provide protein. For this reason, I like having extra of all the components so each person can feel like they have a full meal on their plate.
Serving This Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Although it looks beautiful to serve the whole roasted cauliflower this way… when you slice into it and scoop pieces onto individual plates it can look a little messy!
SO… the work around! Since each component of this recipe will make extra:
- Spread a generous portion of hummus onto each plate,
- Sprinkle the hummus with the leftover popped quinoa,
- Slice off “steaks” of the cauliflower and place them on the individual plates,
- Drizzle with extra cashew cream,
- And sprinkle with the extra pomegranate and pistachios!
This way each person gets a well presented and filling plate!
Recipe Cost
This whole roasted cauliflower recipe serves 6 and costs us approximately: CAD $15.36 ($2.56/serving)!
I will, of course, tell you what each individual component costs!
- Preparing just the cauliflower costs us: $5.31
- The fresh pomegranate, pistachios, and fresh sage cost us: $5.45
- Our easy Pumpkin Hummus costs us: $2.60
- The nifty Popped Quinoa costs approximately: $0.41
- And the Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream: $1.59
What do you think? Will you be making this whole roasted cauliflower recipe around the holidays? Let me know in the comments below how you like this recipe and how you adapt it to make the preparation the most convenient for you!
If you’re looking for another beautiful plant based main dish that can be served around the holidays… you might love our Hasselback Butternut Squash Tray Bake!
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Whole Roasted Cauliflower A Beautiful Main Dish
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A whole roasted cauliflower recipe to wow your guests! Served with pumpkin hummus, popped quinoa & a savoury roasted garlic sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 whole cauliflower*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup popped quinoa
- Crispy sage leaves (1 teaspoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt)
- ⅓ cup pomegranate arils, optional*
- ¼ cup pistachios, chopped, optional
1 batch Pumpkin Hummus
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (cook from scratch for extra thriftiness)
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
- ¼ cup + 2 – 5 tablespoon aquafaba (chickpea brine, alternatively use water)
- ¼ cup tahini
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 small clove of garlic, optional (or ¼ tsp garlic powder)
- 1 tbsp olive oil, optional (or more as desired)
1 batch Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream (see notes for alternative)
- 4–5 cloves roasted garlic*
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked
- ½ cup fresh water (plus more to thin if needed)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ – 1 teaspoon lemon juice
*Ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- To prepare the cauliflower; cut off the bottom stalk and trim the very centre of the core a little bit. Careful not to cut out too much because you don’t want the cauliflower to fall apart! For a quick tutorial on how to core a cauliflower without breaking it watch my short video here.
- You can submerge the cauliflower in a bowl of salted cold water for 2 minutes then rinse it under cool running water to clean it if needed. Pat dry with a clean dish towel.
- If you have a roasting pan with a rack, place the cauliflower on the rack and fill the bottom of the roasting pan with a cup or two of water. If you don’t have a roasting pan you can place the cauliflower on a baking sheet and place a casserole dish with water on the lower rack. The water will help the cauliflower steam and cook more evenly and quickly.
- Combine olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Use a basting brush to dab half of the salted oil all over the cauliflower. Make sure to get all the way to the bottom of the cauliflower. I prefer this method to rubbing or pouring oil over the cauliflower because I find it easier to control and ensure the oil gets into all the nooks and crannies.
- Roast for 35 minutes, check the cauliflower and baste in the same way with the remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for an additional 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and fork tender. Make sure to poke all the way through to the stem to ensure it won’t be too tough on the inside. *The stem will still be a little firm but I find that if it cooks for too long it will fall apart as soon as you cut into it. Keeping it a little more firm will ensure it holds its shape when you serve your cauliflower.
- While the cauliflower cooks make the roasted garlic cashew cream sauce, pumpkin hummus, and popped quinoa.
- See my blog post for Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream for detailed instructions. Add roasted garlic, soaked cashews, ½ cup fresh water, ¼ teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice to your blender. Blend until smooth and set aside or chill in the refrigerator.
- See my blog post for pumpkin hummus for detailed instructions. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Stream in more liquid (aquafaba, oil, or water) as needed to achieve a smooth consistency.
- See my blog post on how to pop quinoa for more detailed instructions. Heat a dry skillet over medium high heat. The skillet needs to be quite hot (almost to the point of smoking). Add ⅛ to ¼ cup quinoa to the skillet. It will start popping immediately. Shake the skillet to keep the quinoa moving and after just 1 minute or so when the seeds have popped pour them immediately into another bowl to get them off the heat. Repeat with the remaining quinoa.
- Finally, lower the heat on your skillet and allow to cool to medium low. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil and add the sage leaves. Stir until just wilted and crispy. Sprinkle with salt and set aside. *If you don’t want the leaves to brown at all when you crisp them up you can blanch the leaves for a few seconds in boiling water before adding them to the skillet. Try to allow the leaves to dry before crisping them up so they’re not too watery. This step isn’t completely necessary but can help prevent any browning of the leaves.
- To serve the roasted cauliflower; spread a generous amount of pumpkin hummus on your serving dish (I like that the recipe makes quite a bit. This way you have enough to display the cauliflower but can also dress individual plates with more hummus and popped quinoa so that each person gets a nice serving). Sprinkle popped quinoa all over the pumpkin hummus. Lay the cauliflower on top of the bed of hummus and quinoa. Drizzle the cauliflower with roasted garlic cashew cream (thin with more water if needed and reserve the rest to drizzle over individual plates). Sprinkle the cauliflower with fresh pomegranate arils and chopped pistachios. Garnish the perimeter of the hummus with the crispy sage leaves and enjoy!
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $15.36 ($2.56/serving). The cauliflower with the pomegranate, pistachios, and sage costs us roughly $10.76 ($5.31 to prepare just the cauliflower). The pumpkin hummus costs us roughly $2.60; the popped quinoa $0.41; and the roasted garlic cashew sauce $1.59.
Alternatively, you can slice your cauliflower into steaks and roast them flat on a baking sheet. This way you can serve individual plates instead of a whole roasted cauliflower. Dress each plate with a bed of pumpkin hummus, sprinkle with popped quinoa, lay the cauliflower steak on the hummus and quinoa. Drizzle with cashew cream and garnish with pomegranate, pistachios, and sage leaves!
Feel free to use a different hummus or dip base and a quicker drizzle if needed! Our easy, Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing would be lovely in place of the roasted garlic cashew cream and is ready in minutes!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Darla
I made this recently for a dinner party and it was delicious. I took your advice and prepared as many of the elements in advance as I could to cut down on the prep day of. It was delicious and such a talking point. Everyone loved how beautiful it was although we did kind of destroy it once we started slicing into it. It was nice to have enough hummus that everyone could add extra to their plates. Thank you for a fun recipe!
Kathryn Alexandre
Haha yes it does get a little destroyed once you dig into it but at least you got those initial beauty points! Thank you so much for trying it and I’m glad those ideas for preparing elements in advance made the preparation more manageable for you. Thank you for the lovely star rating!