Tender caramelized roasted cauliflower florets with savory garlic and Parmesan are a simple yet healthy side dish.
Garlic Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is for roasted cauliflower- this time with garlic and Parmesan, one of my favorite flavor combinations.
In recent years I have really come to love roasted veggies as my side dish, especially when the weather cools sufficiently to run the oven. I recall the days when eating cauliflower was either plain with salt and pepper (blech!) or drowned in some sort of yellow sauce someone tried to convince me was cheese. And in those days, the cauliflower was either boiled or steamed. Steamed being the slightly better as it was a little less water-logged, but it was still soggy.
I didn’t even want to eat Brussels Sprouts back then. Not only were they squishy, and overcooked, chock full of cooking water, those in particular really would stink up the place. And cauliflower tends to be like that too if only less so, all of these belonging to that group of cruciferous vegetables.
But roasting really cuts down on the smell. And also, roasting starts to caramelize the vegetables, which adds a little sweetness and depth of flavor. You just can’t get that boiling the bejeezuss out them, 1960’s style.
Just look at the bits of caramelized color on them in the photo. It reminds me of when I cook old-fashioned pan fried cottage potatoes- and the browned bits are what everyone wants the most.
And the garlic and cheese in this mean you don’t need a sauce whatsoever. Which makes this side the perfect foil for serving with an entree that does have a sauce or gravy, such as Salisbury steak, or roast chicken with pan sauce.
Since it has such a light color similar to other starches, I recommend serving this with another green vegetable, which will also cut down on the carbs and make your supper that much more healthy. Something like a kale salad or spinach souffle would be the bomb. But even a garden-variety tossed salad will do.
Garlic Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
Method:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil.
- Place cauliflower in a mixing boil and drizzle with oil, then toss to coat evenly.
- Sprinkle with remaining ingredients and toss again until evenly seasoned.
- Place cauliflower on the baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, then give it a stir and continue to roast for 20-25 minutes more or until lightly browned and tender.
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com

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I’m pinning this for later! I love roasted vegetables, especially in the fall and winter, and the addition of parmesan will make my kids happy 😉
Thanks so much for linking this to First Monday Favorites. And I’m with you on the roasted Cauliflower. In fact, I did some this week. No yucky yellow sorta cheese sauce for this gal. There is just something more’ish when it comes to roasted veggies.
I’ve been on a huge cauliflower kick. Adding this to my list!
I love the garlic parmesan combo!
I can totally relate to your feelings about roasted veggies. Why didn’t they exist back in the day? This sounds delicious.
Cauliflower is on my “to roast” list for 2019, and I love the garlic and parmesan flavors together. Looks so good!
Roasted cauliflower is so delicious. It’s always better when you add cheese.
I love roasted cauliflower. I also love garlic and parmesan. So, this is pretty much the perfect side dish for me!
Oh my gosh, our mothers did like to cook vegetables right to death didn’t they? I never realized I liked vegetables other than corn until I got married and started cooking them for myself.