Parmesan roasted cauliflower is a great way to serve this tasty vegetable! Add a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs for extra crunch and you have a delicious side dish that pairs perfectly with your favourite roast!
Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables! I love it when it's steamed until just tender, and I could eat a plate of cauliflower cheese by itself for a light supper. But I think that this oven-roasted parmesan-encrusted cauliflower will take some beating. For extra crunch I've added a few tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs, which elevate this dish to even greater heights.
What I love about this parmesan roasted cauliflower is how easy it is to make. You simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl, spread them onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 25 minutes until the edges are charred and golden and the cauliflower is tender.
I also love how the cauliflower cooks perfectly in the oven without becoming mushy. Because we are roasting the cauliflower, there's no danger that it will overcook and become water-logged as can happen if you boil it. If you leave it in the oven for too long, the worst that can happen (apart from burning obviously) is that it will become extra crispy!
As a bonus, the bits of panko and parmesan cheese that fall off the cauliflower, crisp up on the oven tray and can be sprinkled on top of the cauliflower for extra crunch.
Cauliflower roasted with parmesan cheese makes a great dish to serve with all manner of meals. I love to serve it alongside these pan-fried lamb chops with garlic and rosemary or my chutney and mayonnaise chicken bake, and the cheesy flavour goes perfectly with these parmesan-encrusted pork chops.
Of course, as we all know, cutting up cauliflower can cause quite a bit of mess on the work surface, but even that will be a thing of the past if you follow my easy steps for cutting up a cauliflower below.
What you will need
Equipment
You won't need much in the way of equipment! Just a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the cauliflower, a bowl to mix it all together, and a baking tray.
I use the sheet pan that I use for baking biscuits, but any baking tray will do. The only criterion is that it should be large enough to arrange the cauliflower in a single layer.
I do like to line my baking tray with baking parchment to make cleaning up easier, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to.
Ingredients
The ingredients as stated in the recipe will feed 4 people as a side dish.
- Cauliflower - it sounds obvious, but buy a cauliflower large enough for the number of people you are feeding! The one in the picture looked enormous in the shop with all the outside leaves on it, but once I'd stripped all those away it turned out to be not quite as large as I'd imagined. It was only about 4 inches in diameter, but it fed 2 of us with a little left over. Another thing I would recommend is that you use fresh cauliflower rather than frozen for this recipe (see FAQ below).
- Olive oil - I used extra virgin olive oil to make this recipe, but you could get away with using sunflower oil if that's all you have.
- Panko bread crumbs - I get mine from Amazon, I find them much cheaper than my local supermarket. Panko is made from light Japanese white bread which has been turned into crumbs and dried, and they are ultra-crispy.
- Parmesan cheese - this should be finely grated. What I would say is to buy fresh parmesan from the chilled section of your local supermarket and grate it yourself. You can buy tubs of ready-grated 'something labelled as parmesan' from the shelves but I wouldn't recommend it.
- Salt and pepper - this is for seasoning.
**You can find the actual measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
What to do
Start off by cutting up your cauliflower. This is how I do it with the least mess.
Strip the leaves from the cauliflower and then cut it in half, top to bottom. Using a sharp knife, make 2 diagonal cuts along the side of the inner core and remove it.
Once the core is removed you will see that the florets are compact but separate. Simply break them into individual florets. If some of the florets are too large you can cut them in half through the middle.
Place the florets into a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
This is where you need to get your hands in and mix thoroughly to cover each floret with the mixture.
Arrange the florets on a baking tray (optionally lined with baking parchment) and sprinkle any remaining cheese and panko over the top.
Bake in a preheated oven (200C / 400F) for 20 minutes until the cauliflower is starting to char.
Use a spatula to flip the floret and return to the oven for a further 5 to 7 minutes until nicely browned.
Transfer the cauliflower to a serving dish, sprinkle with the parmesan and panko that has fallen onto the baking tray and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately as a side dish.
Hint: be sure to spread the cauliflower on the baking tray in a single layer to ensure there is sufficient room for it to bake rather than steam.
Variations
You could vary this dish by using a mixture of cauliflower and broccoli.
Here are a few other variations:
- Make it spicy - mix half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the raw florets before roasting.
- Give it an Indian twist - swap the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs for a tablespoon of your favourite curry powder blend. Garnish with finely chopped coriander.
- Make it herby - mix a teaspoon of Italian herbs with the raw florets before baking.
- Add some garlic - you may also like to mix in a clove of crushed garlic before roasting the cauliflower.
Do be aware of the salt content of any seasonings you may add. Parmesan cheese is already quite salty so you don't want to overdo things.
For a heartier version, why not try this baked cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake!
Storage
I'm not a lover of freezing cooked cauliflower as it tends to become mushy and release a lot of water once defrosted.
However, this roasted cauliflower is not cooked in water which means it has a firmer texture. If you would like to freeze it, place the baked florets on a baking tray and open-freeze until solid. Transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.
To use, spread the frozen florets on a baking tray and reheat in a hot oven for 6 to 7 minutes until defrosted and heated through.
You can also store leftover roasted cauliflower in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat either in the oven or in a frying pan on the stove.
FAQ
No, the cauliflower does not need to be parboiled. 20 to 25 minutes in a hot oven is sufficient time for the cauliflower to cook through.
In my opinion, fresh cauliflower yields the best result in terms of texture and flavour. You can use frozen cauliflower, but please bear in mind that frozen cauliflower will probably release more moisture during cooking. Be sure to defrost the frozen cauliflower and then pat it thoroughly with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible before seasoning and roasting.
If you don't have parmesan cheese to hand you could substitute with finely grated cheddar or any other cheese that melts well.
To prevent the cheese from burning, you could sprinkle it over the cauliflower during the last few minutes of roasting. Alternatively, you could cover the tray with tinfoil for the first 10 minutes of roasting time. Bear in mind that lightly browned cheese will add more flavour than cheese that has just been melted.
Save for later
If you would like to try this parmesan roasted cauliflower why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
Here are a few other ideas for side dishes that you may like to try:
You can find all these plus many similar recipes on my vegetable recipes page.
📋The recipe
Parmesan roasted cauliflower
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
- Small mixing bowl
- Baking tray
- Baking parchment optional
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower approx 6" diameter
- 3 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Strip the leaves from the cauliflower and then cut it in half, top to bottom. Using a sharp knife, make 2 diagonal cuts along the side of the inner core and remove it.1 medium cauliflower
- Once the core is removed you will see that the florets are compact but separate. Simply break them into individual florets. If some of the florets are too large you can cut them in half through the middle.
- Place the florets into a mixing bowl and add the breacdrumbs, olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.3 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Mix thoroughly to coat each floret with the mixture.
- Arrange the florets on a baking tray (optionally lined with baking parchment) and sprinkle any remaining cheese and panko over the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven (200C / 400F) for 20 minutes until the cauliflower is starting to char.
- Use a spatula to flip the floret and return to the oven for a further 5 to 7 minutes until nicely browned.
- Transfer the cauliflower to a serving dish, sprinkle with the parmesan and panko that has fallen onto the baking tray and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately as a side dish.1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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