Crispy Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Garlic

Crispy roasted cauliflower topped with parmesan cheese on a white plate.

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Garlic

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Keyword: crispy cauliflower, roasted cauliflower

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 210kcal

This easy roasted cauliflower recipe is gluten-free and great for weeknight meals. It's crispy, and loaded with garlic and parmesan. Only 4 ingredients!

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Equipment

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower
¼ cup olive oil plus 2 tbsp
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ tablespoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place racks in the middle and upper thirds of the oven.
Remove the leaves and cut the cauliflower into quarters. Cut out the hard, bottom part of the stem, leaving as much of the florets connected to the remaining stem as possible.
Starting at the wide end, take each quarter and cut it into thin slices. You'll end up with some nice big fan-like slices of cauliflower, and work your way down to crumbly, tiny florets toward the end. This is good. This is where we get the crispies!
Divide the cauliflower between two sheet pans and drizzle each pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt, and toss to coat.
Roast the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes, until it is beginning to get brown and crispy on the bottom. Remove from oven, flip the cauliflower over, then rotate the pan that was on top to the middle and vice versa. Continue roasting for another 10-20 minutes until cauliflower is browned and crispy.
While the cauliflower roasts, grate the parmesan on the small holes of a box grater and set aside. Chop the garlic finely. In a small saucepan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until the garlic is softened and fragrant, but not brown.
Put the roasted cauliflower into a large bowl, add the garlic-olive oil mixture and most of the cheese, and stir to combine. Transfer to a serving plate (or don't...) and top with remaining cheese.

Notes

I like to get the largest head of cauliflower I can find. Especially if I am paying by the piece, not by the pound. Don't be afraid to dig around in that produce bin until you find a bigger one!
Roasting time for the cauliflower is approximate. How big it is, the amount of water in it, how thin you slice it, how much is on the pan, these will all affect the total time. It should start to brown around 20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it from there on out.
I prefer to grate my own parmesan cheese from the block with a box grater, and grate into thin strands, instead of grating into a powder. Pre-grated tends to get a bit dried out. Grating it yourself will give you better flavor over all and will also save you a bit of money.
This crispy cauliflower tastes great at room temperature. So if you're short on oven space, make it first, just wait to add the garlic-olive oil mixture until just before serving.

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