Delicious, crispy, AND healthy Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower is the ideal low-carb side dish! Serve it with all your favorite meals or as a yummy vegetarian dish!
Cauliflower has been all the rage over the last few years and it’s totally deserved! It’s versatile, healthy, and when cooked right, seriously YUMMY! Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower recipe is a go-to side dish in my house – I love that it’s low-carb, my husband loves the crispiness, and my kids love the cheesiness! Sometimes my kids even choose Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower over their other favorite, french fries!
Let’s keep it real. Notice I said SOMETIMES. They are kids after all.
Once you’ve tried it and you’re a cauliflower convert like me, you have to try these BBQ Cauliflower Bites for your next card night with friends or the big game!
CHEESY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
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If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be choosing to eat cauliflower on the regular, I’d have told you that you were crazy. My mom tried to get me to eat it as a kid. That only happened covered in tons of cheese sauce. I had a friend that did all the cauliflower instead of everything to lose weight – no thanks… I’ll keep those extra pounds.
Then I suddenly started seeing cauliflower popping up all over the place. Recipe after recipe online, frozen cauliflower crust at my favorite specialty grocery store, it’s like the universe was trying to send me a sign – “give it a try, it’s good, we promise!”
Well, I decided to finally listen to the universe (sorry Mom, I’m giving the universe credit for this one, not you…) and give that “stinky” little vegetable a try. BOY OH BOY am I happy that I did. It’s light, tasty, and a great way to cut down on your carb intake without sacrificing flavor!
Now that I’ve figured out how to cook it, cauliflower is a staple in our house and one of our favorites is this oven-roasted cauliflower recipe. It smells amazing while it’s in the oven and it’s so simple to make, practically a no-brainer.
What are you waiting for? Get roasting!
Ingredients for Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
You won’t need any crazy or specialty ingredients for this dish, just some fresh cauliflower, and a few other pantry staples! It’s fast, only 30 minutes, super easy and has great flavor!
- Cauliflower florets
- Garlic (you can use garlic powder if you’re in a pinch)
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Grated parmesan cheese
For a little heat, you have the option of adding a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
If parmesan isn’t your thing try grated cheddar cheese instead. Just add it when you take the cauliflower out to stir.
How to Roast Cauliflower
This basic roasted cauliflower recipe is SO simple to make, it’ll only take about 5 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes to roast… couldn’t be easier or faster!
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To start, preheat your oven to 450°F and grabbing your favorite large rimmed baking sheet. (My favorite ceramic baking dish is linked below!)
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Cut the head cauliflower into florets. Add the florets and minced garlic to a large bowl
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Drizzle the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt & pepper into the bowl. Toss the cauliflower until it’s coated.
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Transfer the cauliflower to the baking sheet. Make sure to spread the cauliflower out into a single layer, if it’s stacked on itself then the cauliflower will become soggy and not crisp up the way you want it to!
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Roast for about 15 minutes, then stir once. You don’t want to stir too frequently because the real crispiness comes with time. Stirring just once allows you to flip the cauliflower so that both sides of it get a chance to get crispy!
- Place back in the oven to roast for another 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
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Take the tray out of the oven and sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese over the top. The heat from the cauliflower will make sure that the cheese is melted.
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Serve immediately (not that you’ll be able to wait… it’s going to smell AMAZING, you’ll need to taste it right away!)
How long to roast cauliflower
For people who haven’t spent too much time cooking cauliflower, it can be a bit of a guessing game when trying to figure out when your dish is actually cooked. I’ve found that the sweet spot for this roasted cauliflower recipe is right around 25 minutes. You want the cauliflower to be toasty and crisp, but not burnt. You’ll know the cauliflower is cooked to perfection when the florets are a nice golden brown!
What to serve with roasted cauliflower
I’ve found that oven roasted cauliflower can really be paired with anything! It’s such a delicious way to get some veggies into your diet, sometimes I even just eat this dish as my main meal! I know not everyone can live on just cauliflower alone, so here are some of my favorite pairings:
- Red meat – I love grilling in the summer and roasted cauliflower goes great with burgers or steak (like these Rosemary Steak Skewers with Balsamic Glaze).
- Chicken – this lean meat goes perfectly with cauliflower for a healthy, simple meal. I love paring cheesy roasted cauliflower with this Grilled Romaine Salad with Pesto Chicken. The parmesan cheese in the cauliflower and the pesto on the chicken are a match made in heaven!
Reader Favorite Cauliflower Recipes
- Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Healthy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
- Buffalo Cauliflower Dip
- Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Chowder
Looking for some more healthy side dish recipes to try? Check out these Real Housemoms favorites!
- Roasted Asparagus
- Winter Spinach Salad
- Wild Rice and Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Roasted Green Beans with Cremini Mushroom Sauce
- Bacon Broccoli Slaw
- More SIDE DISH recipes…
Tools to make this Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
Roasting Dish: I use this ceramic roasting dish for countless recipes, it’s definitely one of the most versatile things in my kitchen!
*This post originally posted on 06/06/2013.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower trimmed and cut into florets
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Combine cauliflower and garlic in a large bowl.
- Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Transfer cauliflower to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread into a single layer.
- Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring once after 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Liz says
Thank you and have a great week!
Gloria @ Simply Gloria says
This DOES look so appetizing that I would even pass the fries…which is really hard for me to do! But I bet this would do the trick! Love how simple it is!!