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Home Collections Quick Dinner Recipes

Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower

By Nagi Maehashi
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Published27 Sep '17 Updated10 Jul '25
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The most incredible cauliflower recipe ever –  Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower is quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious!

Try it for dinner tonight – as a side, or as the main. Or as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering!

Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower

This Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower is the low carb, healthier version of these Parmesan Crusted Potatoes I shared a few weeks ago. Because I felt so bad for everyone who left wailing messages along the lines of “I’m trying to be healthy! What are you doing to me!!!?”.

Then there was one sensible lady who calmly asked “This looks terrific. Do you have any suggestions for  other vegetables this could be made with?” And here is my sensible response – Parmesan Crusted CAULIFLOWER!!!

The most amazing cauliflower recipe ever – full stop!

Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

This is an unbelievably delicious way to roast cauliflower!

I must confess, I thought it would be as easy as swapping the potatoes for the cauliflower. But actually, it didn’t work that well, it came out quite soggy. Which, logically, makes sense because cauliflower has more water in it than potatoes.

So it took a few goes to get it right. I added a little panko breadcrumbs to add crunch, reduced the oil a touch (too much oil actually makes the crust soggy with cauliflower, unlike with potatoes), I bake it for a few minutes after turning the cauliflower to reveal the gorgeous crust to add a bit of extra crunch.

And the small yet big change I made was to eliminate salt altogether. Potatoes can take alot of salt.

Cauliflower cannot.

So the parmesan alone is enough salt for cauliflower. Though if you have a very salty palette, you may wish to sprinkle some on at the end. But try it first without adding extra salt, see what you think.

Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

How to serve Parmesan Crusted Roasted Cauliflower

I know the obvious way to serve this Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower is as a side. But I think it also makes a very satisfying vegetarian meal. Cauliflower is quite meaty, don’t you think? You can even make cauliflower steaks using this recipe. Imagine that!

This was actually my lunch on the day I photographed this – see below. I made some couscous, stirred through butter, salt, pepper and sliced spinach. Added tomatoes on the side, piled on the cauliflower.

Not a bad lunch! ~ Nagi x


More cauliflower recipes

  • Cauliflower Cheese

  • Garlic Butter Cauliflower Pasta with Pangrattato

  • Roasted Cauliflower with Almond Sauce (Ester Restaurant)

  • Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Crunchy Bread Chunks

  • Creamy, Dreamy Cauliflower Soup

  • Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower

Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

PS The crust is on one side only. So one side has nice browning from the roasting, and the other side is crusted with the parmesan. 🙂

Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower recipe video!

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Try this Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower for dinner tonight! Serve it as a side or as a main meal, or how about as a healthy, low carb snack at a gathering? It's quick, easy and off-the-charts delicious! recipetineats.com

Roasted Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 25 minutes mins
Total: 35 minutes mins
Side
Western
4.67 from 36 votes
Servings4 – 5 as a side
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Recipe VIDEO above. The healthier version of the popular Parmesan Crusted Potatoes! Try it for dinner tonight – as a side, or as the main meal. Or how about passing it around at a gathering? 

Ingredients

  • 1 large head of cauliflower , firm not old and floppy
  • 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • Black pepper
  • Oil spray (I use olive oil) (Note 1)
  • Finely chopped parsley , for garnish, if desired

Crust:

  • 1/2 cup / 50g grated parmesan , the sand-like type (Note 2)
  • 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 3)
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano or thyme
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan/convection).
  • Mix Crust ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Break cauliflower into large florets. Cut very large florets into 1.5cm / 3/5″ thick slices, and the medium florets in half. You want a large flat surface area on each piece for the crust to adhere to.
  • Line a baking tray (30 x 40 cm / 12 x 16″) with paper.
  • Drizzle tray with oil. Use a cauliflower to spread the oil all over the paper (see video).
  • Sprinkle Crust mixture all over the tray, as evenly as possible. Don’t touch it once scattered.
  • Place cauliflower down on the Crust mixture, pressing down lightly. Don’t jam them right up against each other (they will steam and go soggy), keep a tiny bit of space between each one.
  • Spray generously with oil. Sprinkle with a bit of black pepper (optional).
  • Bake for 20 minutes until crust is deep golden.
  • Use tongs to turn the cauliflower so the crust side is up. Bake for a further 5 minutes.
  • Serve immediately, sprinkled with finely chopped parsley or other herb, if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. I prefer using oil spray rather than drizzling with oil because too much oil causes the crust to be a bit soggy. If you don’t have oil spray, I would recommend tossing the cauliflower with 1 tbsp oil and reducing the oil drizzled on the tray to 1 1/2 tbsp.
2. Please use the grated parmesan that has a sand-like consistency sold in the refrigerated section. I take no responsibility if you try this with the grated parmesan sold in the aisles!! However, a number of readers said they used the grated parmesan from the aisles for the Parmesan Crusted Potatoes (on which this recipe is based) and said it was delicious 🙂
For freshly grated, use 50g/1.75 oz parmesan and a fine grater (microplane). Don’t measure by cups because the volume of fresh grated parmesan is far greater than store bought for the same weight.
3. Panko Breadcrumbs are slightly bigger and fluffier than normal breadcrumbs, so they create a better crunch. It can be substituted with normal breadcrumbs but reduce to 2.5 tbsp.
4. CRISPINESS: This cauliflower version is not quite as crispy as the potato version, simply because cauliflower has a higher water content. To make it 100% crispy, you’d need to dredge in flour then egg then a crust with more panko in it. Which then makes this a completely different recipe – more labour intensive! 🙂
But there’s definite crispiness, you’ll come across patches of it in each piece, and some pieces are more crispy than others.
5. REHEATING: I find this doesn’t reheat as well as the potatoes, simply because the water content in cauliflower is higher. What I’ve been doing with leftovers to reheat them is to preheat a tray in an oven at 220C/430F then drizzle with oil and spread using hand/paper/brush then put the cauliflower crust side down on the tray. Bake 5 – 10 minutes – don’t cook too long, the soggier the cauliflower gets, the less crispy the crust is.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 135gCalories: 153cal (8%)
Keywords: cauliflower recipe, parmesan crusted cauliflower, roasted cauliflower
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

In case you missed it…

Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes!

Make these Crispy Roasted Parmesan Potatoes for your Sunday roast or pass them around at a party! recipetineats.com


LIFE OF DOZER

Size perspective – this is at the foot of my queen size bed…. He’s 40kg / 80 lb!!!!!

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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118 Comments

  1. Leah says

    September 28, 2017 at 4:56 am

    5 stars
    This is on my table for dinner tonight, along with a small (but plenty) ribeye. It doesn’t happen often, but this photo set made my mouth water! 🙂
    Like Naomi, Dozer Dawg makes my day!! What a softie he is.
    PS…love the new way of doing things on your main page Nagi, it looks great and loads Really Fast!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2017 at 7:45 am

      Rib eye for you too??!!! Dorothy is having rib eye too! Hmm, maybe I should change my dinner plans for tonight!! I’m so glad my main page is loading faster but I didn’t even DO anything! I really need a new logo though…. I may have to get input from everyone to help me! N xx

      Reply
      • Leah says

        September 29, 2017 at 11:42 am

        5 stars
        Had to pop in and let you know – this dish is so far past delicious, I can’t even find the word!!
        Followed the recipe to a T, but for adding a smoosh of roasted garlic granules (garlic hound that I am)..and truly would not change another thing. This is my go-to for cauli! Thanks Nagi, you Rock!!

        Reply
        • Nagi says

          September 29, 2017 at 8:05 pm

          WHOOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!! ❤️

          Reply
  2. Naomi says

    September 28, 2017 at 1:08 am

    Yum! This looks delicious. I love roasted cauliflower and most any other veggies that can be roasted. The parmesan just takes it to another level. Can’t wait to make this.

    Dozer is a big, sweet boy. He just makes my day!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2017 at 7:42 am

      He IS big, sometimes sweet and always makes my day too! 😂

      Reply
  3. Marissa says

    September 28, 2017 at 1:02 am

    5 stars
    We just roasted cauliflower last night, but it was ho hum compared to this! Buying a head of cauliflower today to give this a go!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2017 at 7:41 am

      Bah! Even plain roasted cauliflower is da bomb! 😘

      Reply
  4. Dorothy Dunton says

    September 28, 2017 at 12:26 am

    Hi Nagi! I love cauliflower, raw or cooked, in any form! This is making my mouth water! And, i just happen to have a large head in the refrigerator, as well as several nice ribeye steaks. Can you guess what we’re having for dinner? 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2017 at 7:40 am

      And now I’ve got a hankering for a BIG JUICY STEAK!!!!

      Reply
  5. jude says

    September 27, 2017 at 11:37 pm

    5 stars
    oh………..these look so good!
    What do you use for the oil spray?

    p.s. I just love Doozer

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2017 at 7:38 am

      Hi Jude! I use whatever I have on hand 🙂 Sometimes olive oil, sometimes canola! N xx

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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