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Murielle Banackissa
Whole roasted cauliflower with sauce poured on it

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Rosemary Garlic Creamy Sauce

Print recipe
1 hour 30 mins Prep: 30 mins Cook: 1 hour
Serves 4

This whole roasted cauliflower is incredibly easy to make; it is rich and flavorful and melts in your mouth. It’s also a great center piece for a dinner party or can be prepped on Sunday and enjoyed for a few days in a row (you won’t get tired of this, I promise!).

Ingredients

  • 1 medium cauliflower head
  • cup melted unsalted vegan butter
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary , chopped
  • 2 tsp whole grain mustard
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Rosemary Garlic Sauce

  • 3 garlic cloves
  • ½ cup raw cashews , soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp filtered water
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375ºF and choose a baking dish – I opted for a cast iron skillet.

  2. Step 2

    Rinse and dry your cauliflower. Trim cauliflower leaves and carefully remove the end of the stalk, making sure not to cut off a cauliflower floret. Place in baking dish and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Add vegan butter, rosemary, mustard, salt and black pepper into a small bowl and mix to combine.

  4. Step 4

    Using a silicone brush, brush your cauliflower head then flip and brush the under of the cauliflower, letting some of the sauce drip into the core of your cauliflower.

  5. Step 5

    Flip the cauliflower back to its initial position. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Wrap in foil the 3 garlic cloves that will be going into your sauce and bake on your oven rack for 20 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    After 20 minutes, remove from the oven, unwrap, peel off the skin and add to a high speed blended along with drained cashews, water, nutritional yeast, rosemary, salt and pepper.

  8. Step 8

    Blend until smooth. Set aside.

  9. Step 9

    After 35 minutes of cooking the cauliflower, remove the foil, increase heat to 400ºF and bake until fork tender (about 15-20 minutes).

  10. Step 10

    Remove from the oven and serve immediately along with the rosemary garlic sauce.

  11. Step 11

    Garnish with chunky sea salt, black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary. Enjoy alongside mashed potatoes and other holiday vegetables.

Common Questions & Swaps

  • Make sure you cook this cauliflower through! I know, I have been tempted in the past to take out of the oven a roasted cauliflower when it was almost cooked through and I totally regretted it... When cooked properly, this cauliflower head will melt in your mouth! I promise, so really be sure to test the doneness on this beauty with a fork multiple times... especially the center part, which tends to be the part that cooks slower.
  • Could I replace the fresh rosemary with dried rosemary? You probably could, but I have not tested it that way and therefore could not say that the results would be the same. I would say, try to get your hands on the fresh rosemary especially for the sauce - that is where it will make the biggest difference I think.

  • What if I don’t have vegan butter? I would not suggest doing this with margarine, but you could try with avocado oil. Although I have not tried this variation myself, I have a feeling it would still be successful.

Whole roasted cauliflower with sauce poured on it
Whole roasted cauliflower with slice taken out
Roasted cauliflower on a plate
Whole roasted cauliflower with creamy sauce going down the sides