Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

Lightly golden brown with a flavorful and cheesy coating, this Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower is one of our go to side dishes. 

We’re always trying to eat more veggies and the parmesan cheese makes cauliflower so much more enjoyable!

This cauliflower is great served with Italian Baked Chicken and Eye of Round Roast.

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese Recipe

Adding parmesan cheese to roasted cauliflower is a such a great flavor combination.  We all know that eating vegetables is important, but isn’t always easy.  This recipe makes eating your vegetables much easier! 

So easy to make with a head of fresh cauliflower and only three other ingredients this roasted veggie is very satisfying!

Just like our Air Fryer Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Parmesan Broccoli I actually crave this recipe.  My husband will happily eat anything that’s prepared for him, so he’s the easy one in the group.  We all enjoyed this so much that we are going to make another head cauliflower to enjoy with hamburgers tonight.

Our son wouldn’t eat vegetables without regular encouragement and he didn’t mind this recipe, so that’s a win!  The baby is just beginning to pick up and eat food on her own, so this soft vegetable is great for her. 

Why This Recipe Works:

• Roasting vegetables really makes the flavor bloom unlike any other preparation method.  I might even like roasted vegetables better than grilled vegetables. 
• Only 4 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of prep time and this easy vegetable side dish is on the table with very little fuss.
• With parmesan cheese as a slight enhancement to fresh cauliflower this recipe has so much flavor.
• The light coating makes eating veggies easier for kids, so there’s less complaining at the dinner table.

Ingredients Needed:

• Head of Cauliflower – can cut up the pieces a day or two ahead of time to help with meal prep
• Grated Parmesan Cheese – this is our favorite cheese for this recipe, freshly grating parmesan on top of the warm roasted cauliflower is another option, but it takes a lot more time to distribute evenly
• Italian Bread Crumbs – the Italian seasoning creates a more dynamic flavor. We have tested this recipe with panko bread crumbs and the flavor was very disappointing, so be sure to use flavored bread crumbs for best results.
• Olive oil – we like extra virgin olive oil, but vegetable oil or avocado oil also work fine.

Easy Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower

We love how simple and easy it is to coat the cauliflower with olive oil and mix with parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and a sprinkle of garlic powder.  Roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes and you have a warm, wonderful side to accompany almost any meal.

Cheesy roasted cauliflower can be kept warm for about 20 minutes, but is best served right away.

For a vegetable side dish with cauliflower that travels better I like our Baked Vegetable Medley.

Can Frozen Cauliflower Be Roasted?

This recipe works best with fresh cauliflower because it is safer to cut evenly, coat with oil and season before baking.

If you have frozen cauliflower to use I would recommend trying one of these recipes:

• Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole  
• Crock Pot Keto Cauliflower Casserole
• Crock Pot Buffalo Bacon Cauliflower
• Air Fryer Frozen Cauliflower

Can Broccoli Be Added?

This recipe can be made with a mixture of cauliflower and broccoli. Just keep in mind that when pieces are the same size broccoli will cook a little more quickly.

So when adding broccoli I like to make the pieces of broccoli slight bigger than the cauliflower pieces.

Or if using similar sized pieces put the cauliflower on the tray for about 5 minutes, remove from the oven and add the coated broccoli to finish roasting.

Step By Step Instructions

I like to cut out the leaves and big stalk in the center before washing.

Rinse head of cauliflower and shake dry.

I use a large cutting board to being cutting florets while the head air dries a bit.

Then I’ll leave the cauliflower spread out on the cutting board to finish drying while taking care of a few other household tasks.

Place dry cauliflower in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Use a large spoon to toss the cauliflower in oil and try to coat as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle Italian seasoned bread crumbs over the cauliflower. Then add the grated Parmesan cheese.

Toss again until all of the floret are as evenly coated as possible.

Spread in an even layer on a large baking sheet. I use a baking sheet that is 12″ x 18″.

A layer of foil can make clean up easier, but a plain baking sheet is fairly easy to clean in this recipe.

If your oven has a roast setting, set to 425°F. Roast for 10 – 15 minutes and stir and turn the cauliflower.

Continue to roast another 10 – 15 minutes until the cauliflower is tender and golden brown.

Serve warm right away for best results.

Recipe Tips & Tricks:

• I like to use a large mixing bowl and long handled metal spoon, but a gallon sized plastic bag works well to coat the veggies too.
• Since heads of cauliflower come in different sizes I like to have a large baking sheet on hand like this one.
• I like to cut, air day and refrigerate on the weekend or during my meal prep routine ahead of baking.
• Oil will not stick to wet veggies. A light coating will help the bread crumbs and cheese stick well. Too much oil will make the cheese soggy and not enough oil or an uneven coating will prevent the breading from sticking well.
• At 425°F on the bake setting it takes about 25 minutes to roast vegetables, where the roast setting may knock a few minutes off of the total cooking time.
• This cauliflower reheats well in the air fryer at 350°F f or 3-5 minutes.

More Easy Side Dish Recipes:

Farmhouse Baked Mac and Cheese is a special side dish or main dish that is super cheesy and delicious!

Broccoli Mushroom Casserole combines chopped broccoli with mushrooms, onion, cheese and cream of mushroom soup to make a cheesy and delicious side dish!

Pineapple Casserole is a surprisingly enjoyable combination of pineapple, cheddar cheese and nuts.

Bacon Butter tastes so good on a slice of bread to go along with about any meal.

Originally published November 4, 2017 with pictures updated on April 24, 3023.