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This Spicy Roasted Cauliflower recipe features cauliflower roasted to crispy perfection in an easy chipotle sauce making it a healthy and delicious low carb side dish!
Let’s take a minute and talk about how this roasted cauliflower is life.
Okay, that might be a teeny bit dramatic, but I’m not messing around when I say this is the best roasted vegetable I’ve ever made. Love at first bite. Let me count the ways…
- it’s roasted to crispy crunchy perfection
- it’s slathered in a smoky/spicy/buttery chipotle sauce
- it’s finished with sprinkle of lime juice for a little acidity
- chopped cilantro makes everything better
- it makes me want to eat all my vegetables!
Picture this – a big bowl of spicy roasted cauliflower, some salty sauteed leafy greens and a nice helping of creamy polenta. Now that’s a Meatless Monday meal even the biggest meat eater will love.
This recipe is so easy to make, I’m kinda sad I hadn’t thought of preparing cauliflower like this sooner. All those nights when I ate bland steamed cauliflower – gone. wasted. can’t get ’em back. But I can’t dwell on my past mistakes. I must learn from them and remember that roasting veggies is sooo much tastier (and just as easy) than steaming them.
I know what you’re thinking.
These food blogs always say their recipes are easy to make, but they’re not. They have a million ingredients and require so much prep work, I’d rather just pop a bag of steamable veggies in the microwave and call it a night.
Believe me, I totally get it. When I read some recipes online, I think the exact same thing. And I’m a food blogger.
But this recipe is no joke. It really is easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you do.
How to make spicy Roasted Cauliflower
- Cut the cauliflower: Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and cut it into slices. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Make the chipotle sauce: In a small blender, add olive oil, melted butter or ghee (or coconut oil if you want to make this vegan), a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, garlic powder and salt. Blend until mostly smooth.
- Brush sauce on cauliflower: Brush both sides of the cauliflower with chipotle mixture.
- Roast: Bake in a 400°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender and golden brown on edges.
- Garnish: Squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle chopped cilantro over them before serving.
Seriously life changing.
A word of warning – it’s spicy. Not like I-can’t-feel-my-tongue-someone-get-me-a-glass-of-milk spicy, but like Frank’s-Red-Hot-buffalo-sauce spicy. If you like chipotle peppers, you’ll love it. If you don’t then this might not be for you.
Personally, it’s my favorite kind of spicy. Flavorful heat that keeps me coming back for more. And more. And more.
Friend.
If you’ve lost faith in delicious vegetables, this spicy roasted cauliflower recipe will restore all hope.
Do it.
More vegetable sides
Spicy Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee, melted
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove and discard the leaves from the cauliflower and cut it into slices. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- In a small blender or food processor, add olive oil, melted butter or ghee, chipotle pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Brush both sides of the cauliflower slices with the chipotle mixture and roast in the oven for 18-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and golden brown on the edges.
- Top the cauliflower with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To make this recipe vegan, use coconut oil or more olive oil instead of butter or ghee.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
thank you for doing low carb. Love all your recipes but cannot have many due to carb content. I hope you continue offering more low carb.
Haven’t made this yet, but will. However, waste not, want not. Why discard the cauli leaves? The smaller ones are high in calcium and cook up a treat and go really crispy (other recipe).
This was an excellent surprise. You are right, best low carb dish ever! Crowd pleaser. Thank you for another great dish!
Made this today for my family and loved it.
Yay! I love this side dish. Super flavorful!