Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (2024)

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This Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower recipe makes crispy cauliflower bites with garlic Parmesan breading. They are baked in the oven instead of fried. It's bound to become your favorite vegetable side dish!

Cauliflower is my favorite vegetable. When I don't roast it, I make Mashed Cauliflower and my Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (1)
Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients:
  • How to make roasted cauliflower?
  • How long does it take to roast cauliflower in the oven?
  • Helpful Tips!
  • Recipe FAQs:
  • More delicious side dish recipes:
  • Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Roasting cauliflower is my favorite way of preparing it. This underrated vegetable has so much to offer and roasting it definitely tops the list. It brings out its delicious flavor and paired with garlic, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs create an irresistible dish. To make crunchy breaded cauliflower bites, you can use one of two methods. The final result is irresistible crunchy cauliflower bites!

This Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower is the best idea for a side dish featuring this vegetable. Aside from turning it into a vegetarian, healthy Alfredo sauce, or mashed cauliflower of course.

Ingredients:

  • cauliflower - I used a medium size fresh cauliflower head. I do not recommend frozen cauliflower florets.
  • butter - Not only does it allow the breading to stick to the cauliflower, but helps the florets brown nicely.
  • garlic - Add flavor during roasting. I recommend using fresh garlic bulbs, but garlic powder works in a pinch.
  • bread crumbs - I used plain, but Italian style or even panko can be used. If you don't have any on hand, make my homemade bread crumbs. It's so easy!
  • Parmesan cheese - Adds toasted cheese flavor and crunch to the florets.
Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (2)

How to make roasted cauliflower?

  • First cut the cauliflower head into florets, roughly the same size. You can slice the big florets in half if needed.
  • You can either toss the cauliflower with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the breading mixture and stir to coat. I use this methodin my The Best Roasted Broccoli recipe. The other option, that helps prevent any breading from falling off the cauliflower pieces, is to dip each floret into melted butter and then into the breading mixture. I use this method in my Baked Artichoke Hearts recipe and it's perfect!

How long does it take to roast cauliflower in the oven?

The time of baking cauliflower in the oven depends on the size of the pieces. If you cut the cauliflower head into florets, bite-size pieces, you need to preheat the oven to 400 degrees F for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the breading is golden brown. The whole cauliflower will take longer and the timing again will depend on how big the cauliflower head is. For an average size head, it may take anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes. Cauliflower steaks take about 15 minutes of baking time.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (3)

Helpful Tips!

  • Cut the cauliflower into same-size florets so they all bake evenly.
  • To save time, you can use a zip loc bag to coat the cauliflower. Place it in the bag, drizzle with butter, and shake to coat. Add breading, shake again, and place all on a baking sheet.
  • After baking, drizzle hot sauce over the florets for the hot wings flavor!

Recipe FAQs:

Can I use frozen cauliflower florets to make this?

I recommend using fresh cauliflower. Frozen florets need to be thawed and will still have excess moisture. This can cause the cauliflower to burn and not roast properly.

Can I make this dish in an air fryer?

Of course! Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F and roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes. An air fryer will usually cut the roasting time in half. Make sure to not overcrowd the basket or tray. The air needs to circulate around the food.

Can I use panko bread crumbs?

Absolutely! Use them along with plain bread crumbs or on their own. They will add even more crunch!

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (4)

More delicious side dish recipes:

  • Garlic Parmesan Baked Eggplant Recipe
  • Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli Recipe
  • Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots Recipe
  • Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (9)

If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (10)

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower recipe

Author: Anna

This Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower recipe makes crispy cauliflower bites with garlic Parmesan breading. They are baked in the oven instead of fried. It's bound to become your favorite vegetable side dish!

4.88 from 161 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Calories 247 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 medium cauliflower head
  • ½ cup butter melted
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup Italian or plain breadcrumbs
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

    1 medium cauliflower head

  • Remove all leaves from cauliflower head. Cut cauliflower into florets, all roughly the same size. You can slice the large florets in half, if needed.

  • Melt butter and in a small bowl. Add garlic and stir in.

    ½ cup butter, 2 garlic cloves

  • Place breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in another bowl.

    1 cup Italian or plain breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • Dip each cauliflower piece into butter first, then to breadcrumbs.

  • Place each breaded piece on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until you use up all cauliflower.

  • Roast cauliflower for 35 to 32 minutes, or until the breading is golden brown.

Video

Notes

  • This cauliflower can be served as a side dish or an appetizer along with a dipping sauce, like Ranch.
  • This breading method prevents the coating mixture from falling off the cauliflower pieces. You can also pour the melted butter over cauliflower bites in a bowl and toss gently to coat. Then sprinkle with breading mixture and stir to coat. Bake as instructed in the recipe above.
  • Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.

Nutrition

Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 545IU | Vitamin C: 8.6mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment with rating below!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    Did you make this recipe? Let me know!

  1. Sailnsun says

    Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (15)
    Adding to my previous comment. Easy & delicious. We put the cauliflower florets close together on the cookie sheet. We had a lot of bread crumb and parmesan cheese mixture. Not much of the grated parmesan stuck to the florets, so we spooned the rest overtop of the cauliflower. That portion that fell to the side baked crispy and was delicious to eat too.

    Reply

  2. Sailnsun says

    Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (16)
    This recipe was easy to prepare and delicious. Initially I was going to make as appies for a party, but cut it as had too much food and not enough time to make 1 more thing. But I had bought the ingredients for it. Together my husband and I made it and that was our dinner. It was so tasty and I would definitely make this as an appetizer in the future. I think one could add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to add a little zing to it. Something I thought we could do another time. We will definitely be making this again. We are planning on making it as a vegetable side dish for Easter, but not with cayenne, don't think the grandkids would like that on their sensitive mouths. Easy & delicious.

    Reply

  3. Donna Beasley says

    Wonderful recipe! However, I throw away sooo much breadcrumb/parmesan mixture. I can never seem to reduce it enough to avoid waste. I eat gluten free so the breadcrumbs are both expensive and a little difficult to find (the good ones). I would caution others on this one exception to an otherwise terrific recipe! I will try to remember to cut back even more the next time.

    Reply

    • Anna says

      Hi Donna! Thank you for making my recipe! I'm so glad you enjoy it. To save the breadcrumb mixture, simply toast in in a pan over medium low heat, cool completely and store in a jar. It's a delicious topping for pasta or salads! Hope this helps!

      Reply

  4. Przyprawionesercem.com@gmail.com says

    Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (17)
    Thank you Anna for this wonderful recipe. I will be happy to make it for my family

    Reply

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Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (2024)

FAQs

Why is my roasted cauliflower tough? ›

Have you roasted cauliflower before and it came out tough or mushy? A common problem is either roasting it at too low a temperature or stopping once the cauliflower is tender—both mean that the florets do not caramelize.

How do you keep cauliflower from getting soggy? ›

"Be sure to give each floret a bit of room so that the they have space for airflow. I'd also recommend baking them on a silicone baking mat," says Blay. The edges will get much crispier than they would if you baked them on parchment paper.

Why is my cauliflower mushy? ›

First, take care not to overcrowd your pan; if the cauliflower is packed in rim-to-rim, the moisture will not be able to escape as the florets cook, which will result in soft steamed cauliflower instead of roasted.

How to get purple cauliflower? ›

Don't worry. Purple cauliflower is not dyed. Its signature color comes from the same antioxidant found in red cabbage and red wine: anthocyanin. Sun exposure further exaggerates its effect on the cauliflower, resulting in bright purple heads.

Why do you soak cauliflower before cooking? ›

If you're planning to roast the cauliflower whole or slice it into steaks, slice off the thick stem at the base. Drop the whole cauliflower head upside-down into cool, salted water. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove dirt, residue and bugs.

What does baking soda do to cauliflower? ›

Baking soda is often used as a natural cleaning agent, and it can be used to brighten up your veggies too. Sprinkle a little in the water before boiling to prevent cauliflower from yellowing and make corn look more vibrant.

How to keep roasted vegetables crispy? ›

Moving the pan closer to one of the elements can help. I find that I get lots more crispy edges when I roast vegetables on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Use the convection feature on your oven, if you have one. The fan helps better circulate hot air.

Should cauliflower be washed before roasting? ›

The separated florets have to be washed properly under a tap. This removes dirt and large parasites such as worms. The next step is cleaning the cauliflower in mildly warm water in which a little salt was dissolved. This process – which should last 10-20 minutes - destroys several microbes and large parasites.

Why are my cauliflower bites not crispy? ›

Moisture Content: Excess moisture on the cauliflower can prevent crisping. Ensure the cauliflower is thoroughly dried before coating it with batter or seasoning. 2. Coating Consistency: If the batter or coating is too thick, it may result in a soggy texture instead of crispiness.

How much time to cook cauliflower? ›

Cooked cauliflower florets keep their shape best when steamed (5-10 mins) – remember to place them upright in the steamer. It can also be boiled (takes 5-10 mins for florets; around 10 mins for a whole cauliflower).

Why does my cauliflower taste horrible? ›

The classic bitter taste of Brassica vegetables is commonly thought to be due to compounds called glucosinolates. When we chew a big mouthful of broccoli or cauliflower these molecules are converted into a chemical called isothiocyanate, which is responsible for the pungent flavor many struggle to overcome.

What color cauliflower is healthiest? ›

Purple. Purple cauliflower is the healthiest option, with numerous advantages. The purple hue is due to the antioxidants called anthocyanins. These are the pigments present in various other plants and plant-based products, including red cabbage and red wine.

Can dogs eat cauliflower? ›

Yes, dogs can eat cauliflower in moderation, either raw or cooked. Cauliflower is a source of dietary fiber, vitamin K, and vitamin C for dogs. Some dogs may dislike the slightly bitter taste of cauliflower. Avoid cauliflower with seasonings or oils, as they can cause upset stomach.

What is rainbow cauliflower? ›

Made with purple, green, orange and white riced cauliflower, Rainbow Riced Cauliflower is sure to brighten up your day and steal the spotlight at mealtime.

Why is my cauliflower not roasting? ›

The biggest mistake most people make with roasted cauliflower is roasting at too low a temperature. We need a hot oven of 220°C/425°F so the cauliflower gets nice browning on it before the inside turns into soggy mush!

Why is my cauliflower not firm? ›

Soft Spots - if the cauliflower has any mushy spots it is too old to eat. The mushy spots may be the same color as the cauliflower or light brown. Discolored Leaves - if the leaves around the cauliflower head are turning yellow or have mold on them, check the cauliflower head before consuming.

How do you keep roasted vegetables from getting mushy? ›

Don't crowd the baking sheet.

If you crowd and overlap the veggies, they will steam and get mushy, not what we want! Roast vegetables at a high heat, 425 degrees F and make sure you preheat the oven so it is HOT when the veggies go in!

What happens if you overcook cauliflower? ›

Overcooked cauliflower has a strong odor and yellowish color due to sulfur compounds that are released. Cook cauliflower rapidly to preserve color and flavor.

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