Roasted Cauliflower With Crispy Parmesan

By Ali Slagle

Updated Aug. 19, 2024

Roasted Cauliflower With Crispy Parmesan — Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(2,101)
Comments: Read comments

The key to well-roasted cauliflower, with frizzled edges and sweet and tender middles, is to cook it at a high heat on a rack near the heat source, mostly on one side. You could stop there or, toward the end of cooking, shower it with grated Parmesan to crisp and add a salty boost. Follow the instructions in Step 1 to cut the cauliflower through the stem to create lots of flat sides, which yields more surface area for browning and cheese — in other words, more of the good stuff.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1½ounces/¾ cup finely grated Parmesan

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

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Step 1
Arrange a rack at the bottom of the oven and heat to 450 degrees. With the stalk end facing up, slice the cauliflower in half through the stalk, then when your knife reaches florets, pull the pieces apart. (Pulling instead of cutting through the florets will prevent little buds from falling off.) Continue to slice through the stalks and pull apart florets until pieces are no thicker than 1 inch.
Step 2
On a sheet pan, toss the cauliflower pieces with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer, cut sides down. Roast, undisturbed, on the bottom rack until golden brown on the underside, 15 to 20 minutes. (Check pieces in the middle of the pan, because pieces at the edges brown faster.)
Step 3
Flip the cauliflower, sprinkle with the Parmesan, then roast until the cauliflower is tender and the Parmesan is melted and golden in spots, 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes for the Parmesan to crisp. Use a spatula to transfer the cauliflower and any cheese on the sheet pan to plates.

Ratings

4 out of 5

2,101 user ratings

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Comments

Dana2 years ago

Sounds great and will try this. However, I have noticed that any time a recipe calls for roasting vegetables, the instructions call for tossing the vegetables with oil on the sheet pan. It is so much easier and more effective to do this in a bowl first, with oil and seasonings, then place on the sheet pan. They are much more evenly coated and less oil mess on the pan.

DCCymb2 years ago

You could add a small amount of freshly grated lemon peel for brightness.

Kit Emory2 years ago

Best when topped with fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley after taking it out of the oven but before it cools. Adds a wonderful dimension of flavor.

Delicious plus modifications1 month ago

As other commenters suggested, I added some grated lemon zest from one lemon and a few sliced Sicilian olives while roasting and this made it delicious! I forgot to add the parsley and didn’t notice anything missing.

Es1 month ago

This started as a side dish and turned into a snack. Basically cauliflower popcorn--we couldn't stop eating it. I put the florets on a parchment-lined sheet pan and then tossed them with olive oil. Basically no clean up that way. I put the finished cauliflower in a bowl, tossed with more grated Parmesan while it was still hot, and boy, this was great and a fun way to eat cauliflower. Needed another side dish!

todd sf.2 months ago

I did this with Enzo lemon olive oil, and red pepper flakes the second time I made it- both versions were great. Both times, I added an extra bit of Parmesan because you can never have too much with Cauliflower….

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