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Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Zaatar and Tahini Sauce– a healthy vegan side dish bursting with Middle Eastern flavors! Easy and delicious! This low-carb recipe Keto friendly! Video.
Looking for more? Check out our 33+ Best Cauliflower Recipes and our 50+ Easy Dinner Ideas!
In this easy recipe, Whole Roasted Cauliflower is seasoned with Zaatar Spice then roasted in the oven until tender and golden. When it comes out, it is fragrant and beautiful golden with a delicious crust. Drizzle it with creamy Tahini Sauce for a healthy, delicious vegan meal (or side dish) you will fall in love with!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower | 60-sec video
How to make Whole Roasted Cauliflower:
Step 1: Remove the leaves of the cauliflower, revealing the stem. Trim the stem of the cauliflower so it is level- and keep it upright for added drama, or simply slice it off for easier roasting.
Step 2: Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with zaatar and salt and pepper. Zaatar spice can either be made at home or purchased.
Step 3: After seasoning the cauliflower, pour a cup of water in the pan and cover tightly with foil.
Step 4: Roast in a 425F oven for 35-55 minutes, depending on the size. Either cover with foil or use a dutch oven.
Note: You can also cut the cauliflower into steaks or break into florets….but if wanting to try something different and fun, roast the cauliflower whole in the oven, allowing the crust to get a little crispy and golden.
Step 5: Remove the foil or lid then continue to bake another half hour until deliciously golden and crispy.
Top with fresh herbs like parsley and/or dill.
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Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: side dish, vegan side dish
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: middle eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Zaatar Spice and Tahini Sauce– a healthy vegan side dish bursting with Middle Eastern flavor. Easy and delicious! Allow 90 minutes roasting time!
Ingredients
- 1 whole cauliflower (large is best!)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon zaatar spice ( or try dukkah!) ( or try a mix of coriander, cumin and optional sumac)
- 1 cup water
- 1 Batch TAHINI SAUCE ( go to the recipe)
- Garnish with fresh herbs – parsley, dill and or mint, sprinkle with optional aleppo chili flakes, drizzle with this optional Tahini sauce!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Trim the cauliflower – either cutting off the stem (easier) to create a flat base, or leaving it intact, trimming and slicing the bottom so it stands up straight ( like a tree trunk).
- Place it in an ovenproof skillet or dutch oven. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil all over the cauliflower, sprinkle with salt and Zaatar spice. Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake. Cover tightly with the lid or foil and bake for 25-45 minutes– depending on size – or until just tender when pierced with a knife. Smaller cauliflower heads may only take 25 minutes, larger ones can take up to 60.
- Uncover. Very carefully take the lid or foil off, minding the hot steam (it will burn!). Drizzle with a little more olive oil, place back in the oven for 30 minutes, perhaps rotating halfway through. At this point it should be deeply golden, but if not, continue roasting until it is… please no pale cauliflowers here!!!
- Make this Tahini Sauce!
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle more zaatar if you like, fresh herbs, optional aleppo chili flakes, and either drizzle the tahini sauce over the whole thing right in the pan, or cut it up, like a cake, into wedges and serve the tahini sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
If purchasing Zaatar, make your own, or consider this Seattle brand– our favorite!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of a cauliflower with no tahini sauce
- Calories: 127
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 366.7 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.8 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: whole roasted cauliflower, how to roast whole cauliflower, whole cauliflower roasted, roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, zaatar cauliflower, roasted cauliflower with dukkah, roasted cauliflower with Zaatar Spice, how to roast a whole cauliflower.
This is addictive and I’m not vegetarian. That’s how good it is. Try it. You deserve happiness.
★★★★★
Haha! Love it Nancy- thanks so much!
We loved the combination of flavors but I found the texture too soft. I will steam it less next time but try to keep the browning.
★
Oh shoot Laurie! It is hard to gauge how long to steam because the size of cauliflower varies so much. The goal is for cauliflower to be slightly under cooked when removing the foil.
The flavors were fantastic, but I have to agree with the other reviewers that 1 cup of water and 35 minutes in a ditch oven made for a way too soft cauliflower! Perhaps less moisture and less time, then finishing it off uncovered (as I did). I had a huge cauliflower, and even so! Next time I’ll halve the time for the covered bake & see how it goes.
I adjusted the recipe- thanks Kara!
I was looking to recreate what I had at a restaurant last week but unfortunately, this didn’t hold up. The seasoning was great and the color was beautiful! However, 1 cup of water in the Dutch oven steamed it to overdone. I was hoping it would crisp up at the second browning but there was just too much moisture.
I put it in my ricer and made a delicious mashed cauliflower but I was hoping for more of a “meaty” main course.
★★
Sorry Dani, sounds like it steamed too long. Was it a very small cauliflower? I will note the recipe.
I’ve made this several times and it is so delicious (and easy). This time I used purple cauliflower, and for some reason it tasted even better than the white cauliflower. I kept it vegan by making your tahini sauce and adding tamari and some vegan Greek yogurt to it. I also put some fresh dill on everything. Yummy!
★★★★★
Sounds so delicious and I bet beautiful with the purple cauliflower!
Unfortunately my cauliflower came out very soggy. I cooked it in a Dutch oven. I think putting in a cup of water and cooking it covered ends up steaming the cauliflower rather than roasting it. So while the texture was disappointing, the sauce was very delicious.
Oh shoot Danielle- did you see the part about removing the lid and baking uncovered for last 30 minutes? It will give it a nice crust.
Hi Sylvia
I have been looking for a good Cauliflower recipe for
A while now and yours is the best. Absolutely perfect
A big hit with my wife . Thank you so much for sharing your
Recipe. I look forward to trying more and more of them.
Awwww… thanks Roger! Glad you both enjoyed!