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Home » Recipes » Vegetables and Beans

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Side Dish

Published: Mar 8, 2013 · Updated: Jan 17, 2024 by Marye

Tender, spicy roast cauliflower is delicious as a side dish or as an appetizer with Ranch or Bleu Cheese dip. Try it just once and you will be addicted.
Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 45 minutes minutes
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Closeup of roasted cauliflower.

Spicy roasted cauliflower is a  unique side dish that takes cauliflower to a whole new level of flavor. Perfect with pretty much any main dish it's kinda sweet, kinda spicy, and all kinds of yum.

Roasted vegetables are appearing on menus everywhere - and with good reason. They are easy to make and the roasting process brings out more flavor than you can even imagine.

spicy roasted cauliflower

I happen to love cauliflower. To be honest, there aren't many vegetables I don't like - I am not a big meat eater at all. Anyway, cauliflower has been a favorite my whole life. My mom use to cook it in milk and when it was done she would ladle it into a bowl, add a creamy, yellow pat of butter, and a few twists of pepper. It would come to the table, fragrant, milky steam wafting up from the bowl, the butter melting and creating puddles of color in the whiteness of the dish.

It was beautiful to behold.

This spicy roasted cauliflower recipe was obviously inspired by God. I am not being disrespectful - I am being honest. Tender and sweet cauliflower is bathed in a spicy olive oil and then roasted to perfection.

When I was in Birmingham I met the folks that create Gourmet Garden herbal products. These things are amazing. They are fresh herbs made into a paste and stored in tubes - like a tube of hand lotion. You squeeze out the amount you need for the recipe - all ready minced and ready to go. They stay fresh in the refrigerator, too. You can find them in the produce section of your store. If your grocer doesn't carry them I would strongly suggest begging, pleading, and offering cupcakes as an incentive. They are really that good.

spicy roasted cauliflower

Funny story - In Birmingham at the conference I stopped to chat and taste some of the product that Gourmet Garden had displayed. I immediately reached for the chili paste and was promptly warned that it was super spicy. I smiled and said, "Eh, I'm from Texas." You know, like that explained everything, right? So help me, I don't know why they thought it was terribly spicy - they must have been from Maine or something. Anyway I could have licked the plate, it was so good.

spicy-roasted-cauliflower


So, basically you cut the cauliflower into small florets, mix up the marinade, and then roast the whole shebang for about 15 to 20 minutes. What comes out of the oven is deliciously aromatic, beautiful to behold, and will knock your socks off - especially if you add too much spice.

spicy-roasted-cauliflower-5

I promise you that as I am writing about this my mouth is watering. OMG, it is just that addictively good. And you know I don't lie - especially not about food!

Roasted cauliflower will go with anything. The roasting brings out sweet flavor and adds a nice texture and color because of how it caramelizes around the edges. Even though there is olive oil on the vegetables it isn't oily or greasy.

Have I mentioned how good this stuff is? O.k... Have I mentioned how easy it is?

spicy roasted cauliflower

You can leave the spicy roasted cauliflower florets a little bigger and use this as an appetizer - just serve with blue cheese or ranch to dip the cauliflower in. Ready to give it a try?

Yeah. I thought so.

📖 Recipe

Closeup of roasted cauliflower.

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

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Tender, spicy roast cauliflower is delicious as a side dish or as an appetizer with Ranch or Bleu Cheese dip. Try it just once and you will be addicted.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings:6 - 8 servings
Calories:86
Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower, , washed and broken into florets
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, (don't scrimp on quality)
  • 1 tablespoon of Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of Gourmet Garden Chili Paste, , hot or mild (if you like heat use the Hot Chili Paste but add it a little at a time.)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450F.
  • Brush a cookie sheet with a little olive oil.
  • Mix the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and herbs until well blended.
  • Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
  • Pour over the cauliflower and mix gently so that all of the florets are covered with the oil.
  • Let the cauliflower rest in the oil for 20 minutes or so.
  • Spread florets out on the cookie sheet.
  • Place in oven and roast for about 20 minutes or until tender and the florets have begun to caramelize.
  • Stir the cauliflower often during roasting - don't allow it to burn.

Notes

Gourmet Garden products are available in the produce section of many grocery stores. If you can't find the products substitute fresh minced garlic and Sweet Thai chili or hot sauce to taste.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

 

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About Marye

Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

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  1. Lauren @ Wicked Spatula says

    March 26, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    I usually use cauliflower as a sub for rice, risotto, and mashed potatoes but never have them as a star themselves like this. This look delicious!

    Reply
  2. Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen) says

    March 26, 2015 at 11:29 am

    I'm on a cauliflower kick lately (this is the 3rd cauliflower recipe I've read today!), and this one is so easy and sounds so good, I'm adding it to my "must make" list. Yum!!!

    Reply
  3. Heather | girlichef says

    March 26, 2015 at 8:19 am

    I believe it, my mouth is watering just thinking about eating this. I love cauliflower too, but especially roasted. I bet the hint of spice really does make it incredible. And yeah, I don't think that paste is spicy, either - but I like it. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Monica says

    March 11, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    We had this last night with dinner... YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'll try it again with frozen cauliflower (fresh cost nearly as much as the ribs I bought!) and maybe try a broccoli/cauliflower combo. This DEFINITELY goes into my normal recipe file.

    Reply
    • Marye Audet says

      March 11, 2013 at 12:53 pm

      I am so glad. Not sure how it will work with frozen because of the moisture content. Let me know. 😉

      Reply
Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

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NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

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