Cauliflower Steaks are roasted until tender and crisp, then drizzled with bang bang sauce for a tasty vegan dish that everyone will love! Perfectly spiced and easy to make.
Have you heard of cauliflower steaks before? In no way are they pretending to actually be meaty or steak-like, but they are completely delicious and a great way to celebrate the versatile vegetable that cauliflower is.
I don’t much care for raw cauliflower, but when you roast it in the oven, something magical happens. It becomes tender, crisp and downright irresistible!
To make cauliflower steak, we are going to slice off slabs of two heads of cauliflower, coat them with olive oil and spices and roast until tender.
Serve as a vegan main dish, a side dish or even a game day appetizer. Cauliflower steaks aren’t super filling alone, so I like to have some rice or potatoes (mashed or roasted wedges) on the side.
For holiday meals, consider swapping the bang bang sauce for vegan gravy, alongside some mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.
Ingredients needed
- Cauliflower – You will need two heads of cauliflower, large preferred.
- Olive oil – For coating the pans, you could use parchment paper instead, but greasing the pans will help the cauliflower get crisp and tender.
- Spray oil – You could just drizzle more oil, but spray is helpful to have, it helps all the spices/salt stick.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Salt
And for the vegan bang bang sauce, if using:
- Vegan mayo – use a store bought variety or homemade.
- Thai sweet chili sauce
- Sriracha hot sauce
- Pure maple syrup or agave
How to make Cauliflower Steaks
(This is simply an overview with photos. Scroll down to find the complete, printable recipe.)
- Wash and dry your cauliflower heads. Pull off the green leaves, then trim the very bottom of the stem, not too much as you need some stem for the steaks to hold together.
- Start slicing each head into 3/4-1 inch thick slices. The outer parts will fall off and become florets, while the very middle will become your steaks. You will likely get three from each head.
- Arrange on greased baking sheets in a single layer, and add the florets as well around the steaks. Or save them for another time.
- Spray the tops with oil and sprinkle with the spice/salt mix. Turn over and sprinkle the other side as well.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then carefully flip and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until tender, golden and a bit crisp. Drizzle with vegan bang bang sauce and serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
You can serve cauliflower steaks in a variety of ways. I like to serve them with something filling, such as brown rice, mashed potatoes, potato wedges or perhaps some baked beans. Or with any of the following sauces:
- Easy Vegan Gravy – Perfect for a holiday meal alongside some mashed potatoes, green bean casserole or brussels sprouts.
- Vegan Green Goddess Dressing – This dressing is full of herby flavor and pairs well with cauliflower. Serve with a great big salad as well, perhaps with chickpeas in it for a wonderful warm weather meal.
- Vegan Queso Blanco – For a Mexican themed dish. Sprinkle with some black beans as well and perhaps a side of Mexican rice.
- Simple Vegan Pesto – Pesto on cauliflower is delicious! Consider serving the steaks over pasta with pesto sauce.
- Vegan Peanut Sauce – Another wonderful option, so tasty.
How to store + reheating
You can store leftover cauliflower steaks and the florets in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or air fryer to make them crispy again.
Want more recipes featuring cauliflower?
- Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
- Orange Cauliflower
- BBQ Cauliflower Wings
- Sheet Pan Cauliflower Fajitas
- Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Cauliflower Steaks with Vegan Bang Bang Sauce
Ingredients
Cauliflower Steaks
- 2 large heads cauliflower
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- spray oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
Vegan Bang Bang Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo
- 1/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce
- 2 teaspoon pure maple syrup or agave
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and grease two large baking sheets with olive oil. Add the seasonings to a small bowl, stir and set aside.
- Pull off the green leaves from the heads of the cauliflower and trim the very bottom of the stem, but not too much as you need some to hold the "steaks" together. Slice each head into 3/4-1 inch thick slices. The outer slices will just fall apart, and you can roast these alongside the steaks if you’d like, or save and use them in another recipe or salads. You will probably get about 3 steaks from 1 head of cauliflower.
- Arrange the “steaks” in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Place the extra florets around the edges, if desired.
- Spray the tops with oil and sprinkle with half the seasonings. Turn them over, carefully and sprinkle the other side with the seasonings. You can use your fingers to rub the spices into the crevices as well for more flavor.
- Roast the cauliflower in the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes, then carefully use a spatula to flip each steak, then cook for another 10-15 minutes. They are done when they are golden on both sides, tender and a bit crisp.
Bang Bang Sauce
- While the cauliflower steaks are roasting, make the bang bang sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the vegan mayo, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce and maple syrup or agave until smooth.
- Drizzle cauliflower steaks with the sauce and serve immediately. Reheat any leftover cauliflower in the oven or air fryer to crisp it back up. You can also serve with vegan gravy, vegan goddess dressing, queso blanco, vegan pesto or peanut sauce.
Notes
- The nutrition calculation is as estimate only and was calculated if you were to use all the sauce as well, which you might not. It includes all of the cauliflower, even the florets.
- If you want to use less oil, line the baking sheets with parchment paper, and just spray a little oil on each side, enough so the spices will stick to it.
- Make sure you don't cut off all the stem, or the "steaks" will fall apart too easily. See the photos in the post above for reference.
Hi Nora! Is this sauce spicy or sweet? I’m not a fan of spicy! Thanks so much😊
The sauce isn’t too spicy but you can easily turn down the heat by using only 1 teaspoon of Sriracha or omitting it entirely. Hope this helps!
This was delicious! I followed the recipe, aside from cooking the steaks in the air fryer vs. the oven. The sauce stole the show , of course. The steak were tender and the seasoning did add even more to this dish. I served it with rice. I will definitely make this again.
Hi Jen. I agree the sauce is fabulous! I’m so glad that you loved the recipe! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review!
Wonderful, thank you!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing!
This is one of my new favorite dinners. The sauce is perfect, and the cauliflower alone is tasty. I feel annoying because I keep commenting on your recipes, but everything is just so easy and delicious! This one is especially good and I’ve made it 3 times in the last 2 weeks for dinner with roasted veggies and brown rice.
Your feedback and continued support is very much appreciated, Kelly! Thank you for leaving such wonderful reviews! I’m so glad you loved the cauliflower 🙂
So so good! Really enjoyed this meal served over brown rice and a side of roasted broccoli. Drizzled the sauce over everything and it was heaven. Thanks so much for this meal!!
Your meal sounds delicious! I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thank you for sharing your review and comments!
Hi, Nora! Love how easily available the items on the recipe are! I’ve recently gone vegan (overnight, at that), and finding things to eat or cook can be a bit of a struggle, I’m so glad I found websites like yours to make the change easier. Really excited to have my first vegan, cauliflower meal 😀
I’m so glad my website is helpful for you, and that you are enjoying the recipes! Thank you for sharing your review! Happy cooking!
So delicious! I’ve been looking for another quick and easy way to prepare cauliflower. This was perfect! The cauliflower came out crisp and packed with flavor. I’m definitely going to remember the “Bang Bang” sauce recipe and use it on other roasted veggies.
Thank you!
Nora
P.S. I can’t claim to be another fully vegan Nora, but I’m vegetarian and try to make vegan meals several times a week. Your website is my go-to now and I love everything I’ve made so far!!
Hi Nora! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the cauliflower and the sauce. I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes here, vegan or not.
Hi Nora,
This was my first attempt at Cauliflower Steaks and they were absolutely delicious 🙂 I will definitely be making them again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Regards, Mel
Thanks for sharing your great review! I’m glad you loved the cauliflower steaks!
Yet another FANTASTIC recipe Nora!! This is soooooo delicious! I made my first batch last night using commercially purchased Vegan Mayo before I realized you provide your own recipe. I’ll try it your way next, but it works well with purchased vegan mayo.
Thanks so much!
Thank you for taking time to share your review! The sauce does work well with vegan mayo. I’m so glad you loved the recipe! It’s a fun one! Thank you for using my recipes!
I’ve been making these on repeat and have shared the recipe with friends. So good!
Hi Leanne. I’m glad you love the cauliflower steaks! Thank you for using my recipe, and for sharing with your friends! I appreciate you taking the time to share your comments!
These were so good! I had my doubts because the seasoning was so simple but they were super tasty, and the sauce was awesome too!
Oh great, I’m glad you enjoyed the cauliflower steaks!
This is an amazing dish!! We are approaching 2 years vegan with 3 children under 10! We’ve been successful because of your site! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
You’re so welcome!
So good…sauce looked a little different than pictured but was good..served with spinach and veggie potstickers…yum
I expected this to be good but it was GREAT!! 10/10
That’s so great to hear!!
I was so happy to see this recipe in my email today! All simple ingredients and so easy to throw together. I served it with baked potatoes and asparagus, it was a huge hit! And I have leftover bang bang sauce to dip with onion rings tomorrow??
Thanks for making dinner so much easier!
Love your blog!
You’re so welcome!