I am a bit surprised that it has taken me this long to share a whole-roasted cauliflower recipe but I was waiting for the perfect version. Turns out, the perfect version existed with a little help from one of my favorite recipes on the site: tikka masala lentils. This paste is a vegan recipe's best friend. It's full of flavor, mixes well as a sauce or marinade, and freezes well (I always make a triple batch!)
This tikka masala cauliflower is perfect for dinner, either for a family or as a holiday addition. I would recommend serving this with a chickpea or lentil salad, for a boost of protein. You could also replace the millet with quinoa.
PrintWhole Roasted Tikka Masala Cauliflower
A lovely vegan main, this tikka masala is packed with flavor and is perfect served on almost any grain.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Cuisine: dinner
Ingredients
Cauliflower:
- [url]1 recipe for tikka masala paste∞https://naturallyella.com/red-lentils-and-spinach-in-masala-sauce/[/url]
- ¼ cup whole-fat coconut milk
- 1 medium to large cauliflower
- 2 cups millet, cooked
Herb Sauce:
- ⅓ cup packed cilantro
- ⅓ cup packed flat-leaf parsley
- zest from 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- Assemble the cauliflower marinade by mixing ¼ cup of the masala paste with the coconut milk. Prepare the cauliflower by removing the leaves and cutting off any extra base part. Make sure, however, to not cut too far into the cauliflower. You want all the florets to hold.
- Place the cauliflower in a small dutch oven and cover with the masala paste. Place a lid on the dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. The cauliflower should have darkened and be easily pierced with a knife.
- While the cauliflower cooks, place the herbs on a cutting board along with the lemon zest and salt. Mince the herbs together until well combined and finely chopped. Place in a bowl and measure in the lemon juice and whisk in the olive oil.
- When the cauliflower is done, place millet on a serving platter and top with the cauliflower. Drizzle the cauliflower with half the sauce and serve the remaining sauce alongside the cauliflower.
Notes
Tips & Tricks: Make the masala paste ahead of time and freeze for up to a few months. I use it in these lentils, this potatoes, or these smothered potatoes.
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: millet, cauliflower, herbs
Nutrition: see the information.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the cauliflower
- Calories: 371
- Sugar: 6.1
- Sodium: 839
- Fat: 22.4
- Saturated Fat: 5.1
- Carbohydrates: 38.8
- Fiber: 7.6
- Protein: 8.8
- Cholesterol: 0
Tikka Masala Cauliflower
variations
I don't deviate in the masala paste. I've been making it the same way for years and it's a family favorite. You can, however, switch around the grains and sauce. A couple options:
Herb Sauce: The sauce is more of a topping. It doesn't add a ton of sauciness to the overall dish. If you're looking for more sauce, I recommend making a cashew or tahini sauce and mixing the herbs into that.
Grains: As mentioned above, serve the cauliflower on quinoa or use a multigrain pilaf.
Spice-level: Adjust the masala paste to your liking. For my toddler, I leave the chili flakes out and it works.
Explore Cauliflower
Occasionally at the market, cauliflower will be sold by the head instead of by the pound. I seek out the largest head I can find and can easily make about 3 meals from it. This cauliflower salad is a nice, light recipe but a few other options:
Cajun Cauliflower with Cilantro Avocado Sauce
Cauliflower Pasta with Lemon-Almond Sauce
Curried Cauliflower Wrap
The VegHog says
This looks so good and warming, I would really love something like this right now.
Sabrina says
love this, I want to add more lentils to my diet by the prospects from my current recipes are dim! So, appreciate a much more flavorful Tikka Masala version with cauliflower, thank you!