You know you’re on to something good when you’re cooking vegetables, but it smells like there’s a pizza in the oven. And for some reason, this Smoky Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower smelled exactly like pizza.
I guess it was something about the garlic, oregano, and Parmesan that made this Smoky Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower smell so much like pizza, but it doesn’t matter. After smelling that for 30+ minutes I was ready to devour the cauliflower as soon as it came out of the oven. Did it taste like pizza? No, not really, but it had its own killer flavor. The smoky paprika, nutty Parmesan, and hints of oregano and garlic were to die for.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What to Serve with Roasted Cauliflower
You can serve this Smoky Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower as a side dish (it would go great with a pasta dish like Garden Vegetable Lasagna Roll Ups), or it can be served as an appetizer with some dipping sauces, like ranch dressing, chimichurri, 5-Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce, or pizza sauce.
Can I Substitute the Smoked Paprika?
If you’re just not into smoky flavors, this recipe is actually still really delicious (just a different flavor) if you leave the smoked paprika out. The combination of garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and Parmesan is still amazing with cauliflower. If you want to add some sweet paprika for color, you can do so.
Can I Use Frozen Cauliflower?
If you’ve been around Budget Bytes for a while, you probably know that I love to roast frozen broccoli florets. While you can use the same technique with this recipe using frozen cauliflower, it does create a softer, wetter end result. I like how the Parmesan crisps up really well when you use fresh cauliflower in this recipe.
Are you ready to make some pizza-smelling, mouth-watering cauliflower??
Smoky Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Servings 4 to 6 servingsIngredients
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.36)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1 head cauliflower ($2.49)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil and misting lightly with non-stick spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill), and grated Parmesan.
- Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, then cut into small florets. Place the florets in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the florets until they are evenly coated in oil. Add about 3/4 of the Parmesan spice mixture to the bowl and toss the florets until coated again.
- Spread the florets out over the surface of the baking sheet, making sure they are in a single layer. Add any Parmesan and spices left in the bottom of the bowl to the top of the florets, then sprinkle the remaining, unused portion of the Parmesan spice mix over top.
- Roast the cauliflower in the fully preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the cauliflower is tender. The parmesan will melt slightly and become crispy. Serve hot out of the oven.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Chef’s Knife
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Try These Other Roasted Cauliflower Recipes:
- Curry Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad
- Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Roasted Cauliflower Taco Bowls
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bow, mix together 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp salt, some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill), and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.
Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower, then cut it into small florets. I’m not sure how best to describe the size, just keep in mind that they will shrink a bit as they roast so you don’t want them TOO small, but larger florets will take longer to roast.
Place the florets in a large bowl and drizzle 1.5 Tbsp olive oil over top. Toss the florets until they’re evenly coated in oil. Add almost all of the Parmesan spice mixture and toss again. Save about 1/4 of the Parmesan spice mixture to sprinkle over top just before baking.
Spread the seasoned florets over a baking sheet covered in foil and lightly misted with non-stick spray. Sprinkle any Parmesan mixture from the bottom of the bowl, as well as the reserved portion, over top of the cauliflower. That kind of creates a crust on top.
Roast the cauliflower in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until they’re browned on the edges and the Parmesan has become a little crispy. Usually I stir vegetables at least once or twice while roasting, but this time I let it be so that the parmesan gets nice and crispy-brown on the bottom of the florets. It was SO GOOD.
Feed this to any self-proclaimed vegetable hater and then see what they say.
Also good dipped in a variety of sauces. NOM.
Just a heads up to make sure your pan is well oiled! I lost a significant amount of cauliflower to it being stuck on.
So I made this with reasonably priced cauliflower, why is it so expensive??
Husband professes to hate cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, peppers, the list goes on and on. He also hates the smell of any of those vegetables cooking…
Anyway, I made this according to your directions, and husband loved it! He said, “I will eat cauliflower if you fix it like that every time.” And I have been fixing it, and he is eating spices he also professes to dislike!
Yay! I love converting people who think they don’t like certain vegetables! Haha
Do you happen to have the nutrient facts on the recipe? Like calories, net carbs, protein, and fat contents? This came up in a search for Keto and I’m curious to know
No, I’m sorry, I do not have a reliable source for nutrition information. The calculators online that most websites and bloggers use are very inaccurate and I don’t feel comfortable posting numbers that I can’t verify.
I made this recipe and while cooking, my husband thought I was making pizza. Unfortunately , my husband didn’t like it. He is not a huge fan of cauliflower or vegetables. Welp, more for me I enjoyed it a lot! I devoured the entire pan by myself lol. If I make this again, I will add more salt or garlic salt for taste.
I thought you’d enjoy hearing that my 7-year-old son declared “anyone who likes candy would love this broccoli. I mean cauliflower.” He asked me to start making it on a daily basis.
He is a bit of a health-nut, but that’s still pretty high praise!
Hahah, that’s so cute!! :D I love it when kids enjoy vegetables!
Turned out delicious! A great fancy vegetable side dish. Instead of 40+minutes in the oven, these were done in 12 minutes in my air fryer (400*) Second batch I sprinkled with lemon juice which added a nice zip. Also, for Parmesan cheese flavor without the cost, I substituted 1 tsp Brewer’s yeast (bought as a nutritional supplement) stirred into the spice mix. Three adults ate the entire head of cauliflower in one sitting and could have eaten more. Great recipe–thanks!
Flavorful, but super mushy. Sad!
Made this tonight, and it was absolutely delicious!
So glad the price of cauliflower dropped recently where I am in Canada, they were at almost 7$ a head a few weeks ago, but this week I was able to snag some for 2$ each.
i am going to try this! and I bet it will work with frozen cauliflower flowerets too.
This plus some light tahini sauce drizzle = WOW
Oooh, I like the way you think!
We made this tonight and 40 minutes at 400 degrees was way too long. After 15 the cheese on the bottom was burned. Are you sure this is the right cooking time and temp?
That’s the time and temperature I used, but every oven is a little different. You can try lowering the temp 25 degrees and using parchment instead of foil, which will slow the cooking on the bottom.
I’m definitely gonna try this soon! Looks absolutely delicious.
I made this and overcooked it and the florets shrunk to half their original size. They were still edible, although definitely not “tasty”. I’m not making this again. It was a lot of work for a tiny bowl full of popcorn-sized nuggets.
I was wondering if these would taste good room temp? I feel like they might make a good movie theatre snack.
In my opinion, they’re best straight out of the oven.
Great premise; was not thrilled with the seasonings personally. I made a double batch and the result desperately needed some sauce. There were leftovers that I will probably pair with a marinara dipping sauce.
I could eat this all day, every day! Thanks so much, Beth! It’s a close second to my all time favorite, your Firecracker Cauliflower :-D
Yes, the idea for this actually came from the Firecracker Cauliflower! :D I wanted to do a mild version of that. I still like the Firecracker the best, though. ;)
Yum!!! I am making this for the 2nd time this week. I have tried a couple other roasted cauliflower recipes and have been disappointed. My husband loves it, too, and I also wanted to have it leftover, but it was gone that night!!
I made this and dipped in some homemade marinara sauce I thawed out – YUM! Very nice. I find cauliflower a bit boring so this really jazzed it up nicely. I was going to save some to eat cold but it was so good I ate the whole batch. Definitely will try again.
This cauliflower was so good! My husband groans when he sees me buy ANOTHER head of cauliflower (in his defense, he knows I will prepare it in a mushy gross way). He was so impressed with me that I made it not only edible but delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
Ohhh, I started a keto diet relatively recently, and I was bemoaning the fact that I wouldn’t be able to have most of the recipes from my favorite food blogs, and then you post this and totally pull through for me! :D Cannot wait to make this!
You found a good combination with this recipe – tasty and not too costly.
I have been looking for a good recipe for cauliflower for a while! I can’t wait to make this, looks delicious.
So good! This recipe was so quick and easy with a great flavor impact. I can’t eat pizza because of a dairy intolerance, so I used sheep milk Parmesan reggiano and I got the flavor of pizza on a healthier note. Thanks for the delicious recipe. I have a feeling this will become a staple in my house. :)
Just picked up a large bag of cauliflower florets from Costco to give this a try this week. Verrrrrrry excited.
Best roasted cauliflower yet! Trying to go low carb is usually so boring, but the was/is an excellent side dish. Had no smoked paprika so used hot instead. Too hot for my wife, but I will tone it down next time. Great flavor and aroma. Thanks.
I just served this alongside the skinny chicken Parmesan from skinnytaste.com and it was GREAT. Thanks for everything you do!
I’m definitely going to keep this in mind for the next cauli our CSA gives us! So good.
Seeing this just made me EXTREMELY hungry! YUM!
If I used frozen cauliflower for this, would I have to do much differently? Or can I literally just replace the broken up fresh head of cauliflower with the frozen florets? Thanks!
Frozen vegetables don’t work very well for roasting because they tend to be very wet (they’re usually blanched in hot water before freezing). The vegetables need to be fairly dry to get that roasted effect. If you want to try it out anyway to see if you still like it, definitely let the florets thaw and then dry them with a paper towel as much as possible first.
Thank you for your reply! :)
I wouldn’t use frozen cauliflower for this — frozen veggies are usually way too soft for roasting.
How tender are they? I like my cauliflower *really* tender, most people would call it overcooked, and I’ve yet to find a way to get it that tender without boiling water being involved. Do you think I could pre-steam them a bit, then dry, add the seasonings and continue?
Correct, they’ll never get that tender with roasting because it’s a dry cooking method. I’m honestly not quite sure how it will work if it’s pre-steamed, but you’re right that you’ll need to at least dry them off first for the seasoning to stick. :)
Mmmmmmmmm!!!! I LOVE cauliflower dipped in ranch!! This is perfect for a snack, and I’m definitely looking forward to making them!!! :-)
I love the taste of roasted cauliflower and your additions sound wonderful. Thanks, Beth!