Learn this trick to cook crispy cauliflowers in 12 minutes, served with a scrumptious orange sauce! {vegan, gluten-free, paleo friendly}
Cauliflower is one tricky vegetable to roast.
I’ve been trying out different roasting temperatures and none are perfect. Whether I use a lower temperature, such as 350 F, or a higher temperature, such as 400 F or 450 F, the cauliflower is too tender when they crisp up.
Until I found out this one secret!
The ultimate solution to roast crispy cauliflowers
I didn’t invent this method. I learned it from Lady and Pups.
If you haven’t heard of Mandy, subscribe her blog and follow her on Instagram now. She is a Hong Kong based food blogger and artist. Her blog is a visual feast and my source of inspiration. Her recipes are super creative and generate amazing results.
When I saw her charred cauliflower recipe, I thought “that must be the perfect solution!” I wasn’t surprised when it turned out just as great as I imagined.
The idea is you place the tray of cauliflower onto the rack of the oven and broil it in a very short time. It might seem like a super high roasting temperature, but it delivers magical result.
Not only it will brown the cauliflower perfectly without overcooking the inside, it only takes 10 to 12 minutes to roast a big batch! It is an incredible time saver for cooking a weekday dinner.
By the way, I created a step-by-step collage for you, to show you how easy it is to cut cauliflower into even-size florets. (This promotes even roasting)
Orange sauce – not just a stir-fry sauce
This recipe is a part of the stir-fry sauce series, which shares tips and tricks on how to create a fresh and delicious dinner without fuss.
In this post I want to show you that you can use a stir fry sauce to accomplish many things in the kitchen. Including making roasted vegetables.
You only need three steps:
- Roast vegetables by using your usual method.
- Heat up and thicken the stir fry sauce on the stove.
- Mix the vegetables and the sauce together.
That’s it!
You’ll love “stir fried” roasted vegetables once you try them. Because it minimizes your active cooking time to create one-bowl healthy dinner, it’s a perfect way to cook dinner when you feel lazy, or on any busy weekday evening.
Not only you can use this method to make orange cauliflower, you can make roasted orange brussel sprouts, roasted broccoli, roasted peppers, and the list goes on.
If you go to this post, you can see how to make orange sauce in bulk to save you more time, and a list of vegetables that go with the sauce, so you can make any roast vegetables with whatever ingredients you have on hands.
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How to roast frozen cauliflower
I always keep a few bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer just in case I need to whip up a healthy dinner when I’m out of fresh produce. Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorites.
Here is how:
- Turn on the oven and set 280 C (550 F, or highest oven setting) and adjust oven rack to top.
- Spread 2-pounds frozen cauliflower onto a baking sheet into one layer.
- Transfer cauliflower into the oven without waiting the oven preheated. Thaw until the oven is heated (you should hear a “beep”).
- Remove the cauliflower. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Turn on broiler. Return the tray to the oven.
- The cauliflower will be perfectly charred in 5 to 7 minutes (no flipping required).
The best part of this method is, you can preheat the oven and thaw the cauliflower at the same time. Any moisture on the cauliflower will evaporate before you coat with oil. It will crisp up perfectly on BOTH sides without flipping.
You can use this method to cook orange cauliflower too with even less prep time.
Happy cooking!
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Roasted Orange Cauliflower (and how to crisp them in 12 minutes)
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (or 2 pounds frozen cauliflower (Footnote 1))
- 1 big onion, sliced (Optional)
- 4 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup homemade orange chicken sauce
Topping options
- Chopped parsley (or cilantro, or green onion)
- Hot sauce homemade chili oil, or Sriracha sauce
- Roasted peanuts (or other nuts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 280 degrees C (550 F), or the highest setting. Adjust oven rack to the upper level, so a baking sheet will be 2-inch below the broiler.
- Separate cauliflower into bite size florets and place onto a large baking sheet. (Read blog post above to see how to cut cauliflower easily) Toss with 4 tablespoons olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper.
- When oven is preheated, turn on broiler. Broil cauliflower until the top side is browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Flip and roast until the other side is browned, 3 to 4 minutes. You should set a timer for every 2 to 3 minutes, and keep an eye on the cauliflower during the cooking to prevent from burning.
- Heat the homemade orange sauce in microwave for 1 minute or until hot, but not bubbling.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven. Pour sauce over the cauliflower and toss to coat well.
- Garnish with nuts, chopped parsley, and serve with hot sauce, if using.
Notes
- Read the blog post above to see details of how to roast frozen cauliflower.
Now leave a comment and share with us “what is your favorite roast vegetable?”
Maggie, I LOVE your roasting tips in this post, especially on how to roast straight from frozen. That’s brilliant!
And of course it goes without saying that the orange sauce sounds amazing.
That looks gooood! Especially the pairing with orange sauce.
Thanks also for the reco to Lady and Pups. What an amazing blog!
I love the directions to cook frozen cauliflower! It’s much easier for us to keep on hand and frequently less expensive, but I’ve never been happy with the results when I roast it. I’m going to try that ASAP. Thanks for sharing.
Happy cooking Jennie! I always keep a few bags of frozen cauliflowers as well, and this methods come in handy many times! Let me know how’s your dish turns out 🙂
Fantastic.