Best Whole Roasted Cauliflower
One of my favorite vegan dinners, this whole roasted cauliflower is easy to make and looks stunning at the center of a holiday table! Every person I have made it for has absolutely loved it – including meat eaters.
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The very first time I roasted a whole head of cauliflower, I made it for a holiday dinner and the whole family LOVED it.
It’s so dang good and tastes crazy similar to a traditional pot roast, while still being 100% vegan.
Admittedly, I could eat the gravy by the spoonful. The secret to making a “meaty”-tasting gravy is to use soy sauce and a little Worcestershire sauce (be careful not to get one that contains anchovies.)
I also add some smoked paprika for a little umami oomph. Smoked paprika is a must-have in my pantry! It’s what gives bacon alternatives that perfect smokey flavor.
Keeping up with the roast tradition, this cauliflower roast is surrounded by carrots and potatoes. I love how the potatoes just soak up all that savory gravy. Classic comfort food with incredible flavor!
Enjoy with vegan green bean casserole and baked mac and cheese for a traditional holiday meal.
Oven roasted whole cauliflower is the perfect vegan roast for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas or a Sunday dinner with family. While very simple to make, it does need a little TLC while roasting. I like to baste the cauliflower with the homemade gravy to keep it moist and really amplify the flavor.
The trick to getting even more flavor inside of the cauliflower is…putting the gravy literally inside. Place the cauliflower bottom-side-up and pour in some gravy. Then, give it a little shake to evenly distribute that yummy flavor between the florets. Set the cauliflower right-side-up and brush more gravy all over.
Ingredients
Reminder: You can find the full, detailed and printable recipe in the recipe card below.
For the gravy, you’ll need:
- Vegetable stock: Buy a carton at the store or make your own. You can also buy bouillon paste – it’s usually cheaper to make veggie stock that way!
- Soy Sauce: Adds a rich umami flavor to the gravy without using beef.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce: Traditionally, Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. However, many brands are anchovy-free. The Kroger store brand and Annie’s brand are vegan. You can also make homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Maple syrup: Adds a touch of sweetness.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, sage, smoked paprika, and pepper
- Cornstarch mixed with water for a cornstarch slurry to help thicken the gravy.
For the roast:
- Head of cauliflower: Choose a medium-sized whole cauliflower. A larger cauliflower will increase the cooking time.
- Carrots and potatoes: I love to add these for that vegan pot roast flair.
- Vegetable stock: To add moisture and help cook the veggies.
How to Roast Whole Cauliflower
Reminder: You can find the full, detailed and printable recipe in the recipe card below.
The Gravy
- In a medium-sized pot, whisk together all of the gravy ingredients EXCEPT for the cornstarch & water.
- Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. (This will allow all the flavors to marry.) Remove from the heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a cornstarch slurry.
- Once the pot is no longer simmering, slowly whisk the cornstarch slurry into the gravy a little at a time. Going slow will ensure that no clumps form.
- The gravy will begin to thicken as soon as the cornstarch is whisked in. Put the pot back on the stove and return to a simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
The Roast
- Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
- Arrange the potatoes and carrots in a roasting dish with the cauliflower in the center. Be careful not to overcrowd the dish.
- Place the cauliflower upside-down and pour 1/3 cup of the gravy into it. Give it a good shake to distribute the gravy.
- Place cauliflower right-side up and brush more gravy on the top to cover it (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
- Add 1/2 cup of vegetable stock to the bottom of the dish (this will help steam the veggies.)
- Pour about a 1/3 cup of gravy over top of the potatoes and carrots.
- Cover the dish tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, brushing the cauliflower with more gravy halfway through.
- Uncover the cauliflower roast and brush more gravy on. Bake for another 30 minutes (uncovered), brushing with more gravy halfway again.
- Remove from the oven and serve while hot.
Once the whole roasted cauliflower comes out of the oven, I recommend cutting it like you would a round cake. Serve alongside those potatoes and carrots, and perhaps some salad, green bean casserole or stuffing, and that’s a complete meal!
FAQ
If you have a larger-than-average head of cauliflower, allow for additional cooking time OR if it’s super large, steam the cauliflower for 10-15 minutes beforehand. Make sure to cover the roast tightly for the first 40 minutes of cooking time. This is really important to help steam the roast in the oven. To cover, I recommend using aluminum foil, a casserole dish with a lid, or a dutch oven. You could also cover your dish with a baking sheet if your dish is deep enough. Also, avoid overcrowding your dish. If you only have a small casserole dish or roasting pan, just cook the potatoes and carrots in a separate dish.
Make sure to bring the gravy back to a simmer after adding the cornstarch and water mixture (aka, cornstarch slurry). You can also make more cornstarch slurry to add to the gravy.
Coconut aminos or tamari are good substitutes.
Make a homemade Worcestershire sauce or just leave it out, it adds a nice touch but won’t compromise the overall flavor of the gravy if you don’t add any.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Please leave a comment and a ⭐ star review below!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
The Gravy
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1/3 cup soy sauce I use low sodium
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional, for sweetness
- 3 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce *
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 3/4 teaspoon thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 5 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
The Roast
- 1 whole cauliflower leaves and outer stalk trimmed off
- 4 large carrots chopped
- 4 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
Instructions
The Gravy
- In a medium-sized pot, whisk together all of the gravy ingredients EXCEPT for the cornstarch & water.
- Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. (This will allow all the flavors to marry.) Remove from the heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a cornstarch slurry.
- Once the pot is no longer simmering, slowly whisk the cornstarch slurry into the gravy a little at a time. Going slow will ensure that no clumps form.
- The gravy will begin to thicken as soon as the cornstarch is whisked in. Put the pot back on the stove and return to a simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
The Roast
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Arrange the potatoes and carrots in a roasting dish with the cauliflower in the center. Be careful not to overcrowd the dish.
- Place the cauliflower upside-down and pour 1/3 cup of the gravy into it. Give it a good shake to distribute the gravy.
- Place cauliflower right-side up and brush more gravy on the top to cover it (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
- Add 1/2 cup of vegetable stock to the bottom of the dish (this will help steam the veggies.)
- Pour about a 1/3 cup of gravy over top of the potatoes and carrots.
- Cover the dish tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, brushing the cauliflower with more gravy halfway through.
- Uncover the cauliflower roast and brush more gravy on. Bake for another 30 minutes (uncovered), brushing with more gravy halfway again.
- Remove from the oven and serve while hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Thanksgiving Recipes:
It was very salty which we didn’t like. I think the soy sauce was too strong but you do not say what kind of soy to use. Mine was dark soy sauce. If I do this again I will use light soy sauce. I put the potatoes in a separate pan and roasted them rather than them all being steamed.
turned out great! the only thing missing to me is the nutritional info-mainly calorie count. but I know that may be spoiled to even wish that. 🙂 and I can figure it myself.
I just made this recipe and although I under cooked mine it tasted great! The only thing I would change next time is to cut down on the soy sauce because it was very salty and heavy soy sauce tasting. 5 stars!
While the cauliflower had good flavour the dish was way to salty to the point that the potatoes and carrots were almost inedible.
This is by far one of my all time favourites!! I’ve made it several times with different variations. I’ve added onions, celery and vegan beef-less cubes for a stew like meal. I usually break the cauliflower down to florets and mix it in with the potatoes and carrots and that gravy so delicious !
Amazing! I will definitely use onion in the roast next time!
Holy crap! I just made this for the first time and it was amazing!!! I added some onions along with the carrots and potatoes this time but next time will maybe try other root vegetables. I forgot how delicious the onions are in a pot roast!!! I can’t rave enough on how fantastic this was! I am going to make this for Thanksgiving at my family’s dinner.
Made this today and was awesome, however I don’t know is it sage or thyme I don’t care for – slight bitterness which I have noticed before when using those. Next week I will leave both out of the gravy and I might add quartered red onion too. Thank you for a really nice recipe@
Easy recipe wonderful tasty roasted cauliflower
Have you tried this in an insta pot?
I haven’t yet!
I am so making this, you’re a genius, period.
Made this for the first time on NYE and it was delicious! I personally did not like the taste of the gravy on its own (and was concerned), but on the cauliflower and veggies, it married perfectly-I wouldn’t change a thing! Will definitely make this again, and have shared the recipe a half a dozen times with friends! 🙂
That was amazing!!! I followed the recipe exactly and wow!!! I can’t wait to make it again for Christmas dinner for my family!!! Don’t change a thing. Perfect the way you have it!!! Yummy!!
So my mom just tried it and could not believe the awesomeness!!! She actually said that if anyone ever tried this and didn’t love that they probably should go to the hospital because something is wrong with them!!! LOL!!
This was excellent, made it for Thanksgiving and will make it again for Christmas. My family barely left enough for me and they preferred your gravy over the traditional stuff. I added 2 TBS of nutritional yeast to the gravy. Excellent recipe! Thank you!
Oh so yummy. This ones a keeper@
trying this tonight will be back to let you know
Do you think this recipe will do ok if I make the night before I plan to serve it?
It should be fine. To heat it up, I’d stick it in a 400F degree oven for 20-30 mins.
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious!! I will definitely be making this often. I would only recommend keeping it covered longer and uncovered less time. I felt that a lot of the gravy evaporated.
So simple and absolutely delicious, and you could easily make variations on this with different spices.
Do you put the cauliflower on top of the potatoes and carrots or put the cauliflower down and put the potatoes and carrots around the outside of the cauliflower?
Around the outside.
Do you think I could brine this before roasting? I’m really intrigued by brining but the recipes all appear to be for a much lower oven temp: https://skillet.lifehacker.com/brine-a-cauliflower-just-as-you-would-a-turkey-1830285457
Any thoughts?! I plan to make this for my family’s vegan Thanksgiving!
That’s interesting! I have never brined it but it sounds like it would work.
My recipe is basically a pot roast with the carrots and potatoes, which is why I have the higher oven temp.
I was so excited to make this, and followed the directions, but it didn’t come out looking like or, I’m quite certain, tasting like yours. I didn’t have any cornstarch, and had to use tapioca starch, so I’m thinking therein lies the problem. The gravy just didn’t soak into the flowerettes like it did in your pictures, consequently, the cauliflower did not have that much flavor like I think it should have. i wonder if the consistency of the gravy made with tapioca starch didn’t allow it to penetrate into the flesh of the cauliflower. What do you think?
Hmm, I haven’t made it with tapioca starch so I’m not certain but I think it would still work. The gravy starts to soak into the florets when basting during the cooking process after the cauliflower starts to soften. Was your cauliflower tender?
OMG, this was sooooo good! Even my husband, who’s not a cauliflower fan, loved it. 🙂 I made a few adjustments to the gravy due to necessity and preference, but this was just perfect and I’ll definitely make it again. It would make a lovely main dish for Thanksgiving. Thank you. XO
Are you using ground sage in this recipe or dried/rubbed sage? Thanks! Looks delish, can’t wait to try it!
Rubbed!
I have been a vegetarian for almost 20 years. I can honestly say that this is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!!!! Absolutely fantastic. I can’t even explain how good this is!!!! While a little time consuming, it was super simple. I added button mushrooms to the veggie portion also. I was literally drinking the gravy from the plate. I already can’t wait to have left overs tomorrow. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making this often. So so delicious!!!!
I love hearing this! Thank you for leaving your thoughts!