Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
on Oct 26, 2025
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Tender with perfectly caramelized edges, these roasted cauliflower steaks are an easy vegetarian recipe with bold flavor. I season the cauliflower with a mix of smoked paprika, cumin and onion powder before roasting it. Then I whip up roasted red pepper pesto with almonds. I spread that across a serving plate and arrange the cauliflower on top. This not only looks beautiful, but it’s the best way to get lots of sauce in each bite.
Also, try roasted cauliflower and crispy chickpeas with herby tahini.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’ve been roasting cauliflower florets, slicing this vegetable will change your life. I know that sounds dramatic, but the flat sides all touch the pan and brown really well. That caramelization makes this vegetable taste even better.
This red pepper pesto gives you a lot of bang for your buck because it doesn’t require much effort. Roasted red peppers are one of my antipasto favorites because they have so much flavor straight from the jar. You can make the pesto very quickly in a food processor or blender.
You can serve these cauliflower steaks as a vegetarian main dish or a side dish. They feel special no matter what else you are serving with them. What’s not to love about a versatile vegetable-centric dish?
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Cauliflower: Buy a large head of cauliflower. It can be any color, but it shouldn’t have any soft or brown spots. The only way to get those flat-sided, thick slices is to cut them yourself, which is very easy to do.
- Dried spices: I season the cauliflower with a blend of smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper. No surprise, the pesto also has some salt and pepper.
- Olive oil: You will use extra virgin olive oil for roasting the cauliflower and for making the pesto.
- Almonds: Pine nuts may be traditional in basil pesto, but for this version, I use roasted and unsalted almonds. If all you have are salted nuts, then leave out the kosher salt from the pesto and taste it to see if you think it still needs some seasoning.
- Garlic: The recipe calls for 2 garlic cloves in the pesto.
- Parmesan: Adding grated parmesan cheese to the pesto layers in more flavor and umami. If you’re vegan you can leave it out, or use a plant-based, dairy-free substitute.
- Parsley: To finish the cauliflower steaks, I sprinkle them with chopped fresh parsley and roughly chopped almonds.
How To Make Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
1. Cut the cauliflower. With a sharp knife, start from the center and cut it in half. Then slice each of those halves lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick steaks. The slices further from the center stem will break apart into smaller pieces, and that is fine. Put the cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. Make the marinade. Stir the olive oil smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper in a small bowl.
3. Marinate the cauliflower. Drizzle it with the spiced oil and then brush it all over. You can use a pastry brush or a silicone brush or your hands to rub it on.
4. Roast the cauliflower. Give it 25-30 minutes. Carefully flip over the cauliflower a little more than halfway through roasting. It should be golden brown and caramelized.
5. Make the pesto. Combine the roasted red peppers, garlic, almonds, Parmesan, kosher salt and black pepper in a food processor or blender. Finely chop the ingredients. Then with the motor running, drizzle oil in through the feeder tube, processing until the pesto is pureed.
6. Serve the roasted cauliflower steaks. Spread the red pepper pesto on a plate and put the cauliflower on top. Then garnish with chopped parsley and almonds.
Serving
You can pair this oven roasted cauliflower steak recipe with other dishes that have Mediterranean flavors and ingredients. Try salads like this baby arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette, this cucumber feta salad or this white bean orzo. I also will serve it with cannellini bean barley or mushroom broccoli rice.
Make-Ahead Tips, Leftovers & Storage
You can make the pesto up to 2 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in a mason jar. Be sure to take it out when you preheat the oven. That will give the pesto time to get to room temperature and lose the chill from the fridge.
For leftovers, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Either eat them cold with greens like a salad. Or reheat them in a 350-degree F oven. It is fine to warm both the cauliflower and pesto together.
Recipe Tips
- It’s very quick and simple to make the roasted red pepper pesto, but you can use store-bought hummus for a shortcut. Hummus comes in lots of flavors like raosted red pepper, spicy and roasted garlic. It is up to you.
- To get all large cauliflower steaks, you have to buy multiple cauliflower heads. It comes down to geometry. The further you cut from the stem, the more the cauliflower will fall apart. This is ok. The most important thing is that you slice the cauliflower, so all those flat sides make direct contact with the metal of the pan, maximizing their browning potential.
- You don’t need to line the baking sheet with parchment paper. The spice and olive oil mixture is enough to keep the cauliflower from sticking.
- If you’re a garlic person, you can add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to the dried seasonings. Remember that there is already fresh garlic in the pesto.
More Roasted Cauliflower Recipes
Cauliflower Kale Salad
Tahini Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
Roasted Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Salad
Harissa Roasted Cauliflower Couscous
Tahini Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Cauliflower Pasta with Spinach Pesto
Chipotle Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
If you love roasting vegetables, don’t miss my seasonal recipe guide for fresh ideas all year long.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Ingredients
For cauliflower
- 1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and bottom stem trimmed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For pesto
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, oil drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup whole almonds, roasted and unsalted
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For serving
- Chopped parsley
- Roughly chopped almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Cut the cauliflower head in half. Then slice each of those halves lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick steaks. (The slices further from the center stem will break apart into smaller pieces, and that is ok.) Arrange them in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Drizzle the oil-spice mixture on the cauliflower, brushing it all over, so the cauliflower is well-coated.
- Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping just over halfway through roasting, until the cauliflower is browned on the edges.
- For the pesto, combine the roasted red peppers, garlic, almonds, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a food processor or blender. Finely chop the ingredients. With the motor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil through the feeder tube, processing until the pesto is pureed and combined.
- To serve, spread pesto on a plate and arrange the cauliflower steaks on top. Sprinkle with parsley and chopped almonds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
