Looking for a show-stopping side or a hearty plant-based main dish or appetizer?
This Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce and Pomegranate Seeds is your answer. With its golden, crispy exterior and tender, flavorful center, this simple yet impressive recipe transforms an everyday veggie into the star of the table.
I didn’t always love cauliflower. As a kid, I was never a huge fan. However, that was because I had never prepared it properly.
As an adult, I love both raw and cooked cauliflower, especially when it’s done correctly.
This whole roasted cauliflower is the yummiest appetizer!
This Whole roasted cauliflower is one of those dishes that feels fancy but is secretly effortless.
It looks impressive coming out of the oven, golden brown, crispy around the edges, and lightly caramelized, but requires minimal prep and just a handful of ingredients. It’s the kind of dish you can plop in the center of the table and watch everyone ooh and aah over, even if they’re hardcore carnivores.
How to Make Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Start by stripping away the tough, large leaves from your cauliflower and trimming off a little bit of the stalk. It’s okay for a few smaller leaves to remain.
Take a sizable saucepan and fill it with enough water to completely cover the cauliflower. Season the water with kosher salt. Heat the water until boiling, then gently lower the cauliflower into the pot. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for about 3 minutes, or just before it becomes tender.
While the cauliflower is boiling, preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare the marinade in a bowl, mixing together the olive oil, lime juice, salt, minced garlic, paprika, dried parsley, dried basil, and ground black pepper.
When finished boiling, turn off the heat, drain it well, and place the cauliflower into a seasoned cast-iron pan with the core facing up. Pour about one-third of the marinade over the bottom of the cauliflower so it can drip down the core and inside.
Turn the cauliflower over so that the head is facing up. Use a basting brush to spread the remaining marinade over the entire cauliflower head.
Cover the cast-iron pan with foil and place it in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue roasting for an additional 10 minutes. Cook until the cauliflower is golden brown on top and tender.
Note: Depending on how small or large your chosen cauliflower is, you’ll want to adjust the cooking time according to your desired level of firmness or tenderness.
About 5 minutes before the cauliflower is ready, prepare your agave tahini sauce in a bowl, combining the tahini, water, lemon juice, agave syrup, minced garlic, and salt. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Once the cauliflower is done, take it out of the oven and put it aside
Gently transfer the roasted cauliflower to a serving plate, either on its own or over plain hummus, as pictured, or over a potato dish or a bed of grains, such as rice or quinoa.
Drizzle the agave tahini sauce over the cauliflower and finish with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley.
Cut the cauliflower into 4-6 wedges and serve.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower With Tahini Sauce and Pomegranate Seeds
This Whole Roasted Cauliflower With Tahini Sauce and Pomegranate Seeds is the perfect, vibrant, plant-based appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large sized cauliflower head
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Tahini Sauce
- 3 tablespoons tahini (runny)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Instructions
1. Start by stripping away the tough, large leaves from your cauliflower and trimming off a little bit of the stalk. It’s okay for a few smaller leaves to remain.
2. Take a sizable saucepan and fill it with enough water to completely cover the cauliflower. Season the water with kosher salt. Heat the water until boiling, then gently lower the cauliflower into the pot. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for about 3 minutes, or just before it becomes tender.
3. While the cauliflower is boiling, preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare the marinade in a bowl, mixing together the olive oil, lime juice, salt, minced garlic, paprika, dried parsley, dried basil, and ground black pepper.
4. When finished boiling, turn off the heat, drain it well, and place the cauliflower into a seasoned cast-iron pan with the core facing up. Pour about one-third of the marinade over the bottom of the cauliflower so it can drip down the core and inside.
5. Turn the cauliflower over so that the head is facing up. Use a basting brush to spread the remaining marinade over the entire cauliflower head.
6. Cover the cast-iron pan with foil and place it in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue roasting for an additional 10 minutes. Cook until the cauliflower is golden brown on top and tender.
8. Once the cauliflower is done, take it out of the oven and put it aside
9. About 5 minutes before the cauliflower is ready, prepare your agave tahini sauce in a bowl, combining the tahini, water, lemon juice, agave syrup, minced garlic, and salt. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
10. Gently transfer the roasted cauliflower to a serving plate, either on its own or over plain hummus, as pictured, or over a potato dish or a bed of grains, such as rice or quinoa. Drizzle the agave tahini sauce over the cauliflower and finish with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley.
11. Cut the cauliflower into 4-6 wedges and serve.
Notes
Depending on how small or large your chosen cauliflower is, you’ll want to adjust the cooking time according to your desired level of firmness or tenderness.
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