Cauliflower Steaks are roasted until tender, crisp and perfectly golden for a plant forward main or side dish. Perfectly seasoned with an olive oil-garlic-spice mixture and best served with a sauce such as chimichurri, bang bang sauce or gravy.
Looking for more incredible recipes featuring cauliflower? Check out my Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, Orange Cauliflower, Cauliflower Cheese and Bang Bang Cauliflower.
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, garlic 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
- Olive oil
- Fresh garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt
- Black pepper
How to make Cauliflower Steaks
(This is simply an overview with photos. Scroll down to find the complete, printable recipe.)
In a small bowl, stir the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper until well combined.
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.
Brush the steaks with the olive oil mixture, getting into all the crevices as much as possible.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then carefully flip and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until tender, golden and a bit crisp.
Serving suggestions
You can serve cauliflower steaks in a variety of ways. I personally love them with chimichurri. I often serve them with something filling, such as cooked rice, mashed potatoes, potato wedges or perhaps some marry me chickpeas or marinated tofu. 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.
Frequently asked questions
They will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven, air fryer or even a pan (microwave would work as well) until warm and crisp.
Cauliflower steak is not pretending to be real steak, but it is a delicious way to eat cauliflower! It tastes a lot like roasted cauliflower and consists of thick slabs of cauliflower that are oven roasted with olive oil, garlic and spices.
Yes, you can air fry cauliflower steaks instead of roasting in an oven. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Air fry in a single layer at 400 degrees F for around 10 minutes, or until crispy, golden and tender.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Ingredients
Cauliflower Steaks
- 2 large heads cauliflower
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and grease two large baking sheets with olive oil. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper together until well combined.
- 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 3-4 steaks from 1 head of cauliflower.
- Arrange the steaks in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the olive oil mixture over the cauliflower steaks on both sides, getting it into all the crevices as much as possible.
- 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.
- Serve immediately with chimichurri, bang bang (recipe in notes) or any sauce of your choice. Reheat any leftover cauliflower in the oven or air fryer to crisp it back up.
Notes
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For bang bang sauce: Mix 1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, 2 teaspoons Sriracha and 2 teaspoons agave in a bowl.
- Other sauce ideas: Serve with vegan gravy, vegan goddess dressing, queso blanco, vegan pesto or peanut sauce.
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You can also sprinkle some parmesan on top of the steaks during the last few minutes of baking.
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The steaks can also be grilled instead of baked. Grill for about 5 minutes on each side.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published in 2020 and has been changed slightly in 2024, now using real garlic and a bit more olive oil, as well as giving you multiple sauce options.
So delicious! We have this once a month!
Any suggestions for replacing the oil? We are oil free but would love to make this.
My friend Shane here (Blackened Roasted Cauliflower) uses maple syrup + water instead of oil, perhaps that could work!
Made this for a picnic, and everyone loved it!
Hi Donna. I’m excited the steaks were a hit! Thanks for sharing your positive review!
Amazing dish! Super easy to make and so delicious. Really appreciate your weekly recipes.
AMAZING!
These were easy and absolutely delicious! Cauliflower is miraculous.
Perfecto! I cheated though and used Trader Joe’s vegan Buffalo dip. 😉 The cauliflower was delicious even without the sauce and I’ll be making this again!
So glad you loved the cauliflower steaks! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review!
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 🙂
Def a keeper in rotation! I had cauliflower steaks at a restaurant that I was trying to recreate, this was just about as close as I was going to get. Thanks Nora!!!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe and that’s going on your meal rotation! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback!
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!
Great recipe Nora, thank you. It tasted great – not too hot. I omitted the salt, because there is plenty of flavor without it. The sauce is a bit sweet, so next time I will omit some of the Agave syrup. It is easier to make than typical Buffalo cauliflower recipes, which have all the dredging steps for the larger number of cauliflower pieces. A nice thing about cauliflower steaks is that you get to eat parts of the cauliflower that otherwise gets cut off and put into the compost pile. I will steam the irregular pieces that get created by cutting the steaks out of the head of cauliflower. Thanks again.
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!