Ben Dearnley
Don’t you ever boil cauliflower. The humble white vegetable deserves more to bring out all its nutty-flavoured glory. Roast cauliflower whole, head and all, or toss the cauliflower florets in spices and pop them into bright and colourful salads as a side dish or substantial main.
Cauliflower and cheese are a classic match for good reason – see the cauliflower mac and cheese, classic cauliflower cheese recipe, and our triple-cheese cauliflower bake to rule them all. And of course, there are easy cauliflower recipes to have on hand, such as a reliable cauliflower soup.
We also have Asian-style recipes for cauliflower, vegan dishes where the cruciferous veg is the star and a Kerela curry served atop cauliflower rice. Then, there are recipes with cauliflower roasted whole and served with a rich, tangy, fermented chilli butter. And if we had to pick the best cauliflower recipe in this collection? Well, it might just be Nik Hill’s show-stopping cauliflower cheese tart.
Here are our favourite, most creative cauliflower recipes.
Cauliflower and parmesan soup
A velvety and comforting classic updated with the addition of parmesan used three ways.
Harissa-roasted cauliflower with preserved lemon dressing
Zingy and spicy, the humble cauliflower gets an upgrade with this harissa-based spin.
Pilsener-braised beef short ribs with cauliflower mash and onion rings
Slow-cooked comfort at its finest.
Whole roasted cauliflower with rendang sauce
This fragrant roast cauliflower recipe makes for an impressive vegetarian dish.
Alex Wong’s roasted cauliflower with miso cream
Roasted cauliflower gets a glorious upgrade with umami-rich miso cream.
Baked cauliflower with Bûche D’Affinois cheese custard
Baked cauliflower gets a silky upgrade thanks to the Bûche D’Affinois custard.
Baharat cauliflower and walnut-bread sauce
A Middle Eastern spin on roast cauliflower that makes for a quick and easy vegetarian crowd-pleaser.
Fried cauliflower in baharat and tahini sauce
When done right, whole-roasted cauliflower is a textural dream: soft creamy middle with a golden outer crunch.
Dukkah-crusted cauliflower with tahini
Cutting cauliflower into thick, steak-like pieces and roasting it at a high temperature allows it to steam and brown at the same time, achieving a lovely creamy inside, and a crisp golden outside.
Harissa-roasted cauliflower with preserved-lemon dressing
A warm vegetarian salad that punches above its weight in the flavour stakes.
Cauliflower cheese
This easy cauliflower dish will soon become your new go-to side for any meal.
Tipo 00’s potato and cauliflower tortelloni
If there are black truffles in season, shave some on top – Andreas Papadikis, head chef at Tipo 00, promises a dish that becomes “something extraordinary”.
Cauliflower mac and cheese
For this recipe, we’ve added cauliflower to the classic comfort food. (And three different cheeses and crunchy rye breadcrumbs, too.
Triple-cheese cauliflower
Three cheeses (count them), soft baked cauliflower and crisp breadcrumbs. Now that’s a side dish.
Roasted cauliflower salad with yoghurt dressing and almonds
Roasted cauliflower adds extra depth of flavour to this hefty salad.
Roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprout and chickpea salad
A warm roast vegetable salad, brightened with chimichurri.
Nik Hill’s cauliflower cheese tart
The two best ways to cook cauliflower – in a cauliflower cheese, and whole-roasted – in one spectacular dish.
Whole roasted cauliflower with miso-almond cream
Your new favourite way to roast cauliflower.
Roasted whole cauliflower with wakame butter and toasted crumbs
It’s salty and buttery in all the right places.
Summer tomato curry with cauliflower rice
This tomato curry with cauliflower rice is a simple vegetarian meal. Add a dollop of yoghurt for richness if you like.
A classic cauliflower soup with cheddar toast
A good cauliflower and potato soup never goes out of style. We like to add a splash of dairy for extra-creamy results, every time.
Nik Hill’s Scotch egg & piccalilli
The Scotch egg that turned heads during Hill’s time at Sydney’s Old Fitzroy Hotel.
Roast garlic, cheddar and ale soup with fried cauliflower
With two whole bulbs of garlic, and then some, this is for garlic-lovers only.
Cauliflower and egg “fried rice”
A fast and easy way to up your vegetable count.
Cauliflower piccalilli with ham and buttermilk biscuits
You’ll fall in love with this turmeric cauliflower piccalilli. They’re a perfect match with sliced ham and buttermilk biscuits, the savoury American cousin to scones.
A lamb and cauliflower “shepherd’s pie”
This fresh take on the shepherd’s pie has slowly braised lamb shoulder down below, and a creamy cauliflower “mash” up top.
Cauliflower and bacon soup
Nothing says comfort like a bowl of soup when the weather starts to turn.
Whole roasted cauliflower with fermented chilli butter
Turn the humble vegetable into a dinnertime showstopper.
Kerala-style prawn curry with cauliflower rice
Cauliflower rice makes a fine alternative to the real thing, adding extra nuttiness to this fragrant Indian-style prawn curry.
Roasted cauliflower salad with chickpeas and dates
The nuttiness of roasted cauliflower, the creaminess of labne, the sweetness of dates. This salad hits all the right notes.
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