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!
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.