You all probably know by now that whole roasted cauliflower has become a big deal in the past few years. Since I am always trying to keep my content fresh and new, I have yet to do my own version. However, I just absolutely had to share this sweet and spicy version of a vegan cauliflower roast with you! A simple spice rub made with brown sugar and ancho chile powder. Veggies tossed in olive oil and cooked with broth in the bottom of the roasting pan. Roasting at a high temperature for about an hour. All of this comes together to make this an incredible main dish for any meal!
This spicy vegan cauliflower roast is one of my longer cooking recipes, but the prep time and effort make up for the length it cooks. It takes just a few minutes to throw together the spice mix, and then you just rub it in all the nooks and crannies of the cauliflower. Toss some veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them in a roasting pan, pour broth over the top. Put the whole cauliflower on top of the veggies. Roast everything together. Voila! The broth cooks with the veggies to make a sauce that can be poured over the cauliflower making it even more flavorful!
You can have a complete meal in one shot. Or you can, like me, serve it for Thanksgiving/any other holiday you want really! It is so delicious with all the regular holiday side dishes and can replace the meat main dish super easily! The cauliflower gets brown and crisp on the outside, but nice and juicy on the inside. Some of the spice mix gets mixed into the veggies and broth at the bottom making the most amazing gravy type situation. All without any meat at all!
Spicy Vegan Cauliflower Roast
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower
- 1 Tablespoon Smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Oregano, dried
- Pinch of Cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 3 Large Carrots, chopped
- 2 Large Russet potatoes, chopped
- 1 Sweet onion, chopped
- 6 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable broth
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees(F).
- Trim the leaves and stem off of the whole cauliflower as much as possible, but keep it whole.
- Now in a small mixing bowl, combine the smoked paprika, brown sugar, ancho chile powder, salt, oregano and cinnamon.
- Then add the olive oil and stir to make a spice paste.
- Now place the cauliflower on a plate and then rub the spice paste all over the cauliflower. I like to use my fingers so I can get it into all the nooks and crannies. However, you can use a pastry brush if you prefer. Just make sure you spread it all over evenly. Set aside.
- Next, add the carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic to a large baking dish. Then sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Then pour the broth over the veggies.
- Place the whole cauliflower in the center of the veggies in the baking dish. Then roast for 50-55 minutes or until the cauliflower is brown and tender.
- Using a spoon or baster get the broth from the bottom of the pan and pour over the top of the cauliflower until you have saturated the cauliflower.
- Serve some sliced cauliflower with the roasted veggies and some more broth on top.
I made this today. It was very easy to make. I didn’t have brown sugar so I used coconut palm sugar. I also added cabbage to the base with the rest of the vegetables. I LOVED the rub. It was so tasty. Perfect recipe for the fall and winter. I will definitely make this again.
This was so delicious, I cannot WAIT to have the leftovers. Thanks for sharing 😊😊
This was SO good!!! The spice was just perfect! The only issue I had was lack of juice. I wondered if that was because I cut the recipe in half? I ended up adding several cups of vegetable stock to the pan while it roasted. I wondered if it should have been covered, and I did end up covering it after an hour because it still wasn’t done. I then pulled it out of the oven (I used a cast iron dutch oven), and placed on a burner. I mixed a slurry of more vegetable stock and flour. I added a tsp of Kitchen Bouquet and cooked on the burner just until it thickened like gravy. Husband raved about it! I felt bad that I messed it up, but the end result was fantastic! Definitely 5 stars!
Great Thanksgiving meal. I used Honey instead of brown sugar, sweet potatoes instead of russet potatoes, and added a red bell pepper….
Made for Thanksgiving. Very good and easy to make ! Thank you !
This was very, very good.. so simple and pretty hardy. I did not adjust a thing. , would like to play around with some other root veggies just for fun next time.
Really, really delicious! I doubled the amount of rub because I had a large head of cauliflower, plus I like extra spice. Also used sweet potatoes instead of Russet. I agree with other comments, you could really get creative with the veggies you add. I will definitely make again!
Hoping to make this for Thanksgiving but was going to do it in the crockpot to save on oven space. Any recommendations/conversions?