Make this flavorful whole roasted cauliflower for the perfect meatless Monday main or as an appetizer that tastes as fantastic as it looks! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DeliciousSpeaksForItself #RaosHomemade #CollectiveBias Originally published October 2018. Last updated June 2023.
Have you ever slow roasted a whole head of cauliflower? It's easier than you might think and the result will look very impressive on your dinner table. Today, I've partnered with one of my favorite brands, Rao's Homemade, which also happens to be slow crafted and takes time. Let's get into it!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll also love my garlicky roasted bok choy or garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.
What does it taste like?
Put simply, eating vegetables that taste like pasta. Cauliflower is the perfect base to absorb layers of flavor. So you'll taste rich, buttery flavor notes and satisfying cheesiness. This cauliflower roast is also herby, and slightly earthy with bright citrus to balance everything out.
More Favorite Veggie Forward Recipes
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Soup
Garlic Green Beans and Mushrooms
Massaged Kale Salad with ACV Dressing
Smoky Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Cauliflower is essential for a good cauliflower steak recipe. Grab a whole head of fresh cauli not the florets!
Rao's Homemade Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce does the heavy lifting in this recipe. It is all-natural, non-GMO, and has no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. Made with high-quality stuff like cream, cheese, garlic, and butter!
Parmesan Cheese takes the presentation and flavor over the top. You can use shredded, or shaved parmesan or even a pecorino romano but I don't recommend grated parmesan cheese.
Olive Oil lends earthy, slightly fruity flavor to this recipe so be sure to use a good quality oil.
Lemon adds brightness and a little acidity to balance out the richness of the other ingredients. Fresh lemon juice is best but concentrated lemon juice will work, if needed.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients, measurements, and step-by-step instructions!
Why use Rao's Homemade in this recipe?
I always pick up a jar of Rao's Homemade roasted garlic alfredo sauce from the pasta and sauce aisle at Walmart. You can find just about everything at Walmart so add it to your list while grabbing boring adult stuff like triple A batteries or a pill organizer for your vitamins. Since Rao's is a great quality product, now available at Walmart for a fantastic price, you have no reason not to scoop up a jar and make this lemon alfredo whole roasted cauliflower.
Do I need to soak cauliflower before roasting in the oven?
No need to soak cauliflower before cooking. Simply remove the stem and leaves, marinate, and roast. My trick is to flip the head of cauli upside down and spoon the sauce all over so that it gets into every corner between the florets.
Tips & Tools
Prep for this dish is simple. Grab a sharp knife and cutting board. You'll also need a pan for roasting. I like to roast and serve in a mini cast iron skillet for presentation points but a regular baking sheet or casserole dish would do just fine, too.
How to finish the cauliflower? While the cauliflower roasts, mix up some olive oil, more fresh lemon juice, herbs, and parmesan cheese to drizzle over top once it finished. It all mingles with the roasted garlic alfredo for flavor perfection!
How to Serve
To serve this, you can slice it into steaks or (my preference) cut it into wedges. My herbed cauliflower roast gets all the presentation points, which makes it great for a dinner party spread. Wondering what to make for vegetarian holiday guests? Not only is it a delicious meatless Monday main dish, it's the best meat-free option for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving.
Looking to make a complete vegetarian meal? Add my Ghanaian rice & beans and spiced sweet potatoes to the party.
I hope you'll enjoy garlic alfredo roast cauliflower soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
Herby Alfredo Cauliflower Steak Recipe
📖 Recipe
Lemon Alfredo Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Equipment
- 1 knife
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 15 ounces Rao's Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- 2 lemons
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
To Prepare the Cauliflower
- Wash cauliflower head and pat dry. Pull off leaves and cut off bottom of stem so that the head can sit flat. Set aside.
To Make the Sauce and Marinate
- Mix roasted garlic alfredo sauce, and juice of one lemon together in a bowl until uniform (about 45 seconds).
- Flip prepared cauliflower head upside down and spoon lemon alfredo mixture over top so that it flows down in between the florets of cauliflower.
- Flip cauliflower head back over and spoon more of the alfredo mixture all over the over top. Place covered cauliflower into a bowl and let sit to marinate for about 20 minutes.
To Roast the Cauliflower
- While the cauliflower marinates, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add about 2 inches of water to a baking pan and place on the bottom rack of the oven. This will create steam to help cook the cauliflower more quickly.
- Transfer cauliflower to a pan or oven-safe skillet and place on center oven rack. Roast for about an hour or until a skewer easily pierces the center of the cauliflower head.
- While cauliflower roasts, mix up remaining lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan cheese, parsley, thyme, and sea salt.
- Remove roasted cauliflower from oven. Drizzle olive oil and herb mixture over top. Serve warm.
Bonnie says
Can this be cooked the day ahead and rewarmed for lunch or will it do well if left in refrigerator overnight before cooking?
Jazz says
Hi, Bonnie! I have enjoyed this up to two days later. Just note that the texture will be a bit softer when reheated. I have not tried making it ahead yet so can't make an informed recommendation on that but I think it should be ok overnight if you cover it in the fridge.
Stacy Barnes says
I've made this several times just in the past couple months - it's a family favorite and both my kids LOVE it (my youngest especially was not a cauliflower fan before!) This is so delicious and not hard - thanks for an Awesome recipe! (I'm making it again tomorrow!)
Kate says
This is the most delicious veggie I’ve ever eaten in my life—even my husband (a veggie avoider) ate every bite. Super easy, super delicious, and it presents beautifully!
Jazz says
Glad y'all liked it, Kate!
Batool says
zomg this looks perfect! Def gonna try this out!
Linda says
This sounds so interesting! Never thought of combining these two together and this would be perfect for Meatless Monday. I love Rao's and their meatballs. Sooo good!
Jazz says
I love Rao's, too--and hadn't thought of combining alfredo and cauliflower before this but now I'm like "Why didn't I try this sooner?!"
Jen Oliak says
Wow! How delicious does this look!! I’m a huge fan of Rai’s too. I must try this!
Cristina - Memories of the Pacific says
I'm not a big fan of cauliflower but it looks delicious with your recipe!
Katherine Fox says
I've been loooving cauliflower everything lately and I can't get over how delicious this sounds! So much flavor!! The presentation is beautiful, too, so that's just a cherry on top for the perfect roasted cauliflower. 🙂
Jazz says
Thanks, Katherine! I love how easy it is to make this and love how it turns out. The presentation IS the cherry on top lol.
jenna | the urben life says
This looks absolutely amazing! I've never had anything like it and now I'm dying to try it. Thanks for sharing 🙂