Today is a big day for my friends Jack and Jeanine—it’s book launch day! I hope you’re familiar with their blog, Love and Lemons. It’s one of my very favorites, and I’ve been looking forward to their second cookbook for a long time.
Their new book is called Love and Lemons Everyday (affiliate link), and it’s absolutely stunning. The new book offers “more than 100 bright, plant-forward recipes for every meal.” Jeanine’s cooking style is super fresh and often inspired by the farmers’ market, and it shows.
I love how she weaves tips between the recipes, like how to freeze quinoa, and colorfully displays seasonal variations for recipes like fruit crumbles (four ways)! She even offers a giant visual grid of salad dressings, which I’ll be referencing often.
To celebrate their new book, I’m sharing Jeanine’s recipe for whole-roasted cauliflower slathered in seriously delicious turmeric-spiced yogurt sauce. Somehow, I’ve never prepared cauliflower in this fashion, and it was both fun to make and fun to eat. Want to see how it’s done?
How to Make Whole Roasted Cauliflower
This recipe takes a while to make, but each step is simple. Here’s a rundown of Jeanine’s cooking method, which ensures that the cauliflower cooks through and really takes on the flavor of the seasonings.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil to catch the olive oil and lemon juice run-off. Slice off the cauliflower stem so the cauliflower sits flat on the baking sheet.
- Lightly drizzle some olive oil over the cauliflower and rub it in with your hands until the cauli is coated in a light, even layer. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and drizzle more olive oil into the crevices, then do the same with some lemon juice. Bake it for another 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt sauce, then brush a portion of it over the cauliflower. Bake for another 15 minutes, and you’re done.
- Top with more sauce, plus fresh herbs and toasted nuts.
How to Serve Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Jeanine suggests serving the cauliflower with a basic, lemony green salad, which is great. You’ll find those ingredients and instructions in the recipe below.
If you wanted to make this an even more hearty main dish, you could serve it all on a bed of warm whole grains, such as cooked farro, brown rice or wild rice, with chickpeas.
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Love and Lemons Everyday! And please let us know how the recipe turns out in the comments.
Turmeric-Spiced Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
This whole roasted cauliflower is slathered with the most delicious turmeric-spiced yogurt! You’re going to love it. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower (2 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 4 cups mixed spring greens
- ½ cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (any combination of cilantro, mint and/or parsley)
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and loosely line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Slice the bottom of the core off the cauliflower so that it sits evenly on the baking sheet. Drizzle 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil over the cauliflower and use your hands to coat it evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes.
- To make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, maple syrup, salt, and cayenne.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and use a fork to gently start to pull apart the crevices of the cauliflower. Pour another 1½ tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice over the cauliflower, especially into the crevices. Return the cauliflower to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and spread ¼ of the yogurt sauce all over. Roast for another 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the spring greens with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a pinch of salt. Set aside for now.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven. It should be tender outside and fork-tender inside. Top the cauliflower with more sauce and sprinkle with the herbs and toasted pine nuts. Slice into quarters and serve with the salad and the remaining sauce on the side.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Cheryle
Can this be made without yogurt? Looks awesome!
★★★★★
Kate
Check out the notes below the recipe! :) I haven’t tried, but I suspect that you could use plain vegan yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt. Please leave a comment if you try it!
Jon
Hi Kate
I tried your recipe using dairy free coconut yoghurt and it was scrumptious!!
Thankyou
Amber H
This looks sooo good! I preordered the cookbook and can’t wait to get it in the mail any day now!
Kate
Hooray!!! It is so good. Enjoy the cookbook! It’s so lovely.
Hayley Morrin
This cauliflower looks absolutely gorgeous! I love Jeanine’s blog too – fresh vegetarian recipes are kind of my favourite :) I hope to give it a try soon – I’m lactose intolerant, and I think coconut yogurt would work great here since it has a high fat content.
Kate
It’s really good! Let me know what you think when you try it, Hayley!
Connie
I made it last night using So Delicious plain unsweetened coconut yogurt, and it was absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
daniela
Love your recipes….this one particularly. Yummy….
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Daniela!
Devon
Hi Kate! I made this tonight sans the nuts and it was delicious! I prepped the sauce with the cauliflower, put the cauliflower in the oven and took the dog to the park. Having that first 45 minute cook with no further steps was great. It was easy, tasty, and the family all loved it. Thanks!
Kate
Happy to hear it was a hit, Devon!
Becki
I made the cauliflower tonight (without the pine nuts and salad greens) and it is a terrific recipe! I’ve always wanted to roast a whole cauliflower, it looks so spectacular. And this was so easy and so tasty. My husband especially liked the sauce (and it’s ‘just’ yogurt. Wow!) I’m looking forward to reading the cookbook – there’s a long holds list and I’m at the end right now, so it won’t be soon. In the meantime, thanks for the preview of the cookbook.
★★★★★
Kate
Fantastic to hear, Becki! You’re welcome, too. It’s a good cookbook!
Becki
You KNOW I’m going to compare it to yours, which is a favorite at my house!
Alexia
That is one beautiful dish! Looks great!
Kate
Thank you, Alexia!
Marcy
I made a dairy free version of this roasted cauliflower using silk brand soy plain yogurt, which is a staple in our house. It was delicious! We had leftover sauce that we added to quinoa and roasted vegetables for a second tasty meal.
★★★★★
Kate
I know others who need dairy-free will find that helpful!
Thera
Wow, yum! I kept going back for another serving! Even my husband, who is not a big cauliflower guy, thought it was pretty good!
★★★★★
Kate
Great the hear, Thera! Thanks for your review.
Paula
I agree, this is as fun to make as it is to eat! Brava!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for trying it, Paula!
Mary Beth
Made this for a dinner party last night and it was very good. I liked the combination of flavors. My cauliflower started to get a little too brown after the first 45 minutes so I tented it with foil until the last stage of cooking. It looks impressive when presented at the table whole. Thanks!
★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! Great idea with covering it!
Alison
Can you make the sauce ahead of time?
Kate
I think that would work fine. Just make sure to keep it refrigerated. :)
Cheryl
Loved this recipe. I was short on time so rather than cook the whole cauliflower I broke it up into pieces. It was delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing! I love the idea, Cheryl.
Cathy Aronson
This is absolutely delicious
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing, Cathy.
Hilary
Unbelievably delicious, and we’re not vegetarians! As the cauliflower is cut into large pieces, it feels like a really substantial meal. I didn’t have turmeric so substituted it with an additional 1/4tspn cumin. It was so good, i’m scared to do it with turmeric now! Served it with fermented ginger beets and mixed leaf salad topped with avacado, all on a large serving platter. The hot pink, green and cream looked amazing
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Hilary! I agree, it’s so good.
Livi
Hiya this was yummy! Made it with dairy free Soya Yoghurt and it was super good
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Livi!
Hayley
This was the recipe that made me super interested in getting Jeanine’s new book. It’s so unique and stunning. I got the book and made this recipe today but I wanted to leave a comment on this original post awing over it. It was so easy to make. I served it over brown rice to catch the extra sauce, and I use unsweetened coconut yogurt to make the recipe vegan (worked great). I may request my SO make this for my next birthday dinner. It was incredible!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy to hear it! It’s full of great recipes. Thanks for sharing, Hayley.
Libby
I made this recipe tonight and it was divine! I paired it with steamed green beans and a protein. So tasty and lemon zesty. Thank you for sharing…
★★★★★
Felicia
I have made this twice in the last two weeks. My daughter and I love it. I may bring it to Thanksgiving, maybe two heads. I’m wondering if you’ve ever puréed and made soup out of it. Seems like it would taste perfect that way.
★★★★★
Kate
I love that, Felicia! Thanks for your review.
elena
it was SOOOO good!!!!! I’m in love now.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Elena!
Jeanne Strathman
This looks so good. Would this work using a vegan mayonnaise instead of the yogurt?
Kate
You could try it!
Angela
Taste is perfect ! Thank you for a special addition to my veg recipes
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome!
Nicole
This recipe blew my husband and mine socks off. We loved the lemonany tartness of the sauce. The only thing I added to the sauce was 1/4 tsp of paprika for added kick and more garlic. We served this on a bed of brown rice and fresh cilantro. My husband asked me to make this again.
★★★★★
Michael Brain
I used cashew cream in place of the yogurt and it was phenomenal! I would highly suggest this substitution to anyone who wants to make this recipe dairy free, or just try something different :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Michael!
Kate
I used cashew cream too! Soooo good!!
★★★★★
Lorraine
I made this today and when I took the cauliflower out of the oven, my husband laughed and said “what are we supposed to do with that?”. I said “just try it; I’m only experimenting”. Five minutes later he said “oh this is lovely! – if I was wearing a blindfold, I’d never know it was cauliflower!”
I did add a little more maple syrup to my sauce as it was a bit sharp for me – but then when I served it with the cauliflower, it seemed to taste sweeter than I’d expected so next time I will follow the recipe to the letter! Thank you for this recipe!
Jennifer Litow
Perfection! Had a whole roasted cauliflower in a great restaurant, have been craving it ever since and this was BETTER. Followed to a t. Thank you Kate and keep them coming!
★★★★★
Mrs Helen Proudfoot
can I use low fat yoghurt or will it split??
Kate
Hi there, I think low-fat yogurt will work well enough!
Paige
This dish is amazing !!! The sauce brings all the right flavors to the dish!! The simple lemon salad pairs well with it.
Thanks !!!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Paige. I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Eliza Sherman
Hi Kate! I used your recipe using Kite Hill’s unsweetened almond milk yogurt and it was delicious!
Eliza Sherman
Hi Kate! I used your recipe using Kite Hill’s unsweetened almond milk yogurt and it was delicious! Thank you so much!
Emily
Really delicious. I woke up the next morning wanting to eat more for breakfast!
★★★★★
Reese
I just made this with Vegan Forager unsweetened yogurt and it can put awesome! Thank you for the recipe
Kristin
This was so delicious! Ten times better than similar dishes I’ve had at restaurants. My husband loved it too. We will be making this again – and again!
★★★★★
Lydia
It takes a lot longer than the recipe suggests but is great otherwise.
I used coconut yoghurt – lovely
★★★★
Julia
This was fantastic! Takes some time to cook, but came out wonderfully. The sauce was delicious as well. I accidentally bought vanilla Greek yogurt and was worried it would ruin the sauce, but didn’t notice any significant difference (incase someone else has made this mistake).
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Julia!
Lara
Made this for Father’s Day and it was the highlight of our meal. Such a lovely recipe!
★★★★★
Miranda
Did this last night and had some sceptics at the table, but wow, what a great recipe! Looked very impressive and tasted great! We did it as an accompaniment to Prawn Curry and Rice. Has gone straight to the”pool room” of recipes! It’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Laurie
Loved this recipe so much that I ordered the cook book! I used limes because I didn’t have lemons on hand. This was so flipping yummy. I will make again and again.
★★★★★
Tania
Just made this cauliflower dish tonight. Came out great!
I would definitely make this recipe again. Next time, I would roast it a little longer than the recipe recommends.
★★★★★
Christine
I’ve made roasted cauliflower several times in the past — it’s something I love but not something my husband loves. Tonight he commented how good this was – goes straight to the top of my list! :)
★★★★★
Siobhan
I’ve tried 30+ recipes on this site, but this is my absolute favourite! Never tried a whole roasted cauliflower before but it’s so good. If your cauliflowers are really big I’d recommend doing 1.5x the sauce. If you’re sensitive to salt I’d decrease the salt in the sauce a bit too
★★★★★
Robyn
This was as delicious as it is beautiful!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it!
Nathalie
A very stunning dish indeed! Mine was not as pretty as yours on the pictures, although I had a purple (giant : 1,5kg!!) cauliflower: the florets broke apart after about 30 minutes in the oven so it was no more a “ball“. I think I should have cut the bottom further as the florets didn’t truly sit on the baking sheet. Next time I will also lower the oven temperature, as I had to remove the cauliflower too soon for the final slathered sauce to bake nicely.
An easy and tasty supper, thank you Kate!
★★★★
Emilie Benda
Just made this last night, and it was my first time roasting a whole cauliflower. This turned out to be one of the BEST dishes I’ve ever made. Absolutely amazing! The yogurt sauce was so good, I could eat it alone or use it as dipping sauce for other veggies.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad it was a hit, Emilie! Thank you for your review.
Peter
Good recipe. I added more chilli but otherwise the same. It’s delicious.
Rasa
I substituted cashew cream for yogurt. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Rasa!
Mags
I cook for two people and a whole cauliflower would be too much, can you store leftovers ?
Kate
Hi! You can store the leftovers, although I find it’s best right away.
Mirry
Can you cut this up and roast it the same way? Any tips on how to do that?
Kate
Hi Mirry, I haven’t tried it. I would suggest Roasted Cauliflower (Four Ways!) recipe for guidance if you do!
Sierra Dawn Redfern
So delicious! I’ve made this several times and it always comes out great! I use dairy free plain/unsweetened coconut yogurt (So Delicious brand) and it works perfect. Recently I’ve been cutting the cauliflower into florets so it cooks faster and just halfing the cooking times.
★★★★★