Why it’s so good!
These cheesy cauliflower steaks are one way to get a good dose of veg while still being comforting and delicious. Perfectly tender, perfectly seasoned results that are super flavourful and delicious!
This recipe for cauliflower steaks is incredibly easy to make. Simply slice the cauliflower, season, add the cheese and roast. Work on your main dish and any other sides while they bake, and dinner will be served in less than 1 hour, making this a wonderful option for busy weeknights.
This is a side dish that’s naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and low carb, too!
Try this cheesy broccoli bake too.
Never Miss a Recipe!
Get the latest recipes straight to your inbox!
Ingredients
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Cauliflower: While you can certainly get away with using a single cauliflower for this recipe, it’s worth buying two for nice evenly sized steaks that are less likely to fall apart. The offcuts can be blanched, frozen, and used as a side dish another day or in soup. I find a firm cauliflower works best.
- Vegetable oil: Use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil to roast your cheesy cauliflower steaks — I like canola oil or a light-flavoured olive oil.
- Onion powder: No need to worry about slicing and dicing a raw onion. Onion powder is perfectly fine for this cauliflower steaks recipe. I don’t think it needs it but just a little garlic powder would also work nicely.
- Salt & pepper: Just a bit of each to taste.
- Parmesan: Use finely grated parmesan cheese, and try to find a high-quality option. You really can taste the difference.
- Gruyère cheese: The same goes for the Gruyère. If you can’t find any, a really good cheddar cheese would also work. If you want a lighter flavour, you could certainly use shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Chives: To add a bit of colour and subtle onion flavour to the oven roasted cauliflower steaks.
How to make cauliflower steaks
This cheesy cauliflower steaks recipe has to be the quickest and tastiest way to serve up cauliflower. It’s mostly hands off, allowing the oven to do most of the work.
As you’re preparing your the steaks, don’t worry if some bits fall off — it’s unavoidable. This is why I like to use the centre portions of two heads of cauliflower rather than just one. If they do fall apart a little, simply rearrange them on the baking sheet and add a bit more cheese to hold them together.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Recipe prep
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the oil, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and mix until well combined.
2. Layer the parmesan & cauliflower
Generously sprinkle the baking paper with Parmesan cheese. Cut the cauliflower into six ¾-inch slices then lay them on top in a single layer.
3. Brush with seasoning mix & bake
Use a small silicone brush to apply the spices and oil mixture on top of the cauliflower.
Bake your cauliflower steaks for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.
4. Add more cheese & bake again
Top the roasted cauliflower steaks with Gruyère and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden and bubbly. Garnish with fresh chives, serve, and enjoy!
What to serve with cauliflower steaks
Baked cheesy cauliflower makes for a wonderful side dish for a variety of dishes. Create a wholesome meal and serve alongside some quinoa or couscous and a salad of leafy greens, or pair with grilled chicken or steak.
My favourite sauce for cauliflower steaks is either my romesco sauce (shown in the images below) or mojo verde — both are flavourful, colourful, and easy to make.
Tips and tricks
- To get nice, evenly sized baked cheesy cauliflower, buy two heads of cauliflower so you can use the centre most portions for the steaks. I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but it bears repeating! Don’t worry, the remaining pieces don’t need to go to waste. Just break them into florets and blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Transfer straight to a bowl of iced water, then once cool, dry them with paper towels and freeze. Blanched cauliflower can be used for roasting, in stir-fries, in soups, in the air fryer — there’s really no limit to the ways you can cook it. You can always just turn it into cauliflower rice too and skip the blanching altogether.
- Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheeses often have coatings to stop the shreds from sticking together, and these can mess with the way they melt. Plus, it’s more expensive, and you won’t get the pure cheese flavour that I love about this baked cheesy cauliflower.
- The measurements for the cheeses are just suggestions. While I give what I think is the right amount of cheese on the recipe card below, measure it with your heart. You really can’t go wrong with too much cheese for these baked cauliflower steaks.
Storing
If you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for 3-4 days.
To reheat, I recommend tossing the baked cauliflower steaks back in the oven at 160°C/325°F until heated through. You may want to cover them with foil so the cheese doesn’t burn.
FAQs
Begin by removing the base with the root and any remaining leaves. Then, slice the thickest part of the cauliflower into ¾-inch slices. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prevent the cauliflower from falling apart — the vegetable is full of small florets, after all. Remember that you can use those extra bits in a myriad of other dishes!
Oven roasted cauliflower steaks may come out tough if you undercook them. Make sure to follow the instructions carefully, and don’t skip the second roasting time after you’ve added the final layer of cheese. Baked cauliflower steaks really need about 35 minutes of roasting time in total.
I personally don’t soak my cauliflower before cooking — I don’t find it to be necessary for cheesy cauliflower steaks. I always give my veggies a good scrub before using, and because these roasted cauliflower steaks are just that (roasted at a high temperature), I don’t stress about germs. If it’s a real concern for you, you can certainly soak your cauliflower for up to 20 minutes in cold water before baking.
More recipes you’ll love
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Did you try this recipe for cauliflower steaks? Show it some love in the comments below.
Hungry for more? Subscribe to the newsletter for free recipes straight to your inbox. Also, follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 2 medium cauliflower (1 is ok but 2 is better, see notes 2)
- 1 tablespoon neutral flavoured vegetable oil (notes 1)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup finely grated Gruyere cheese (or really good cheddar cheese)
- chives, finely chopped
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- large baking sheet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced) / 400F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Cut the cauliflower 6 x ¾ inch thick slices being careful as some parts may fall away – it’s all good, just re-arrage them on the baking sheet. See notes for leftover cauliflower florets.
- Scatter parmesan all over the baking sheet and lay cauliflower on top in a single layer.
- Combine the oil, salt, pepper and onion powder in a small bowl then brush it over the top of the cauli steaks.
- Bake for 20 minutes until fork tender.
- Top with grated Guyere and bake another 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbly.
- Top with chives and serve.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Cauliflower: It’s worth buying 2 cauliflowers for nice evenly sized steaks that are less likely to fall apart. The offcuts can be blanched and frozen and used as a side dish another day or in soup. Also, make sure to buy firm cauliflower.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission for my referral, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Salt Magic.
