Sauced-Up Roasted Cauliflower is a delicious and filling main or a side, featuring oven-roasted cauliflower smothered in creamy dairy-free sauce and topped with smoked almonds and dates. Roasting cauliflower is an easy way to enhance its flavour — roasting it brings out the natural sugars and creates slightly crunchy, nutty nuggets of cauliflower goodness. If you’ve never tried roasting before, you’ll be surprised at how such a simple treatment results in such a radical transformation. This is extra good with our Sweet & Spicy Caramelized Pearl Onions, which you can cook while you’re roasting the cauliflower.
TL;DR

The Ingredients

Sauced-Up Roasted Cauliflower is made with just a few ingredients: cauliflower (of course!), a bit of olive oil for roasting it, smoked almonds, dates, and a creamy dairy-free sauce made with the Mother Mix or its components: almond flour, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, and salt.
Roasting cauliflower is an easy way to enhance its flavour – roasting it brings out the natural sugars and creates slightly crunchy, nutty nuggets of cauliflower goodness.

Making Sauced-Up Roasted Cauliflower
Start by chopping your cauliflower into roughly even pieces. We usually cut them into about 1-inch sized bites. The cauliflower will shrink when it’s roasted.
Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

Pop the cauliflower in the oven and while its roasting chop the almonds and dates, and set aside. Check on your cauliflower after about 15 minutes and give it a stir.
The sauce only takes a few minutes, so you can start making it when the cauliflower is almost done. For this recipe, we’re using the Mother Mix on its own to make a simple cream sauce that’s a perfect backdrop to the roasted cauliflower, smoked almonds, and dates. To make it, either toss the Mother Mix in the blender with the water, or measure out the individual ingredients. Blend it for one minute on high, transfer to a saucepan and heat for a few minutes until it’s thick and stretchy. When it’s done, just set it aside until your cauliflower is ready.
You’ll know your cauliflower is ready when the edges are starting to get brown and crispy and the cauliflower is golden brown.

Once the cauliflower is roasted, stir it into the sauce.

That’s it!
Serve topped with the smoked almonds and dates, and optionally some Sweet & Spicy Caramelized Pearl Onions.

All Recipes that Use the Mother Mix
We love the Mother Mix! Check out all the recipes that use it. And we’re always working on more.
- Acorn Squash Mac and Cheese (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Broccoli Cheese Soup (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Sauced-Up Roasted Cauliflower (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Crazy Easy Vegan Queso (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Corn Chowder (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
- French Onion Dip (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Green Pasta Sauce (Vegan, Vegetarian, and Meat versions)
- Hot Spinach Dip (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Mexican Corn Chip Casserole (Vegan with jackfruit, or with Chicken)
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers (Vegan, Vegetarian, and Meat versions)
- Mushroom Tetrazzini (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Refried Bean Quesadillas (Dairy-Free, Vegan) – in free ebook.
- Savoury Vegan Cheesecake (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Scalloped Potatoes (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Veggie Pot Pie (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
- Zucchini Fritters (Vegan)

Printable Recipe Card

Sauced-Up Roasted Cauliflower (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dates, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons smoked almonds, roughly chopped
- 2/3 rds cup Mother Mix + 1 cup water {See instructions for link to mix recipe.}
Optionally, if you haven't made the Mother Mix
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optionally, 1 cup of Sweet and Spicy Caramelized Onions {See instructions for link to recipe}
Instructions
- If using, make the Sweet and Spicy Caramelized Onions. {The recipe makes 2 cups and you only need 1 for the cauliflower, but see the onion recipe for lots of great uses for the remaining cup.}
- Make the cauliflower: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop cauliflower into approx 1 inch cubes. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with oilive oil. Roast for about 25-30 minutes, until the edges are brown, and smaller pieces are looking crispy.
- Prepare the sauce using the pre-made Mother Mix and water (or the individual ingredients). Blend for one minute, and then transfer to a small saucepan. Heat to medium and stir until sauce is thickened and stretchy, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn heat off and set aside until cauliflower is ready.
- Combine the roasted cauliflower, sauce, dates, almonds, and onions if using.
Notes
Storage and Reheating
We think this is best when the cauliflower is hot out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, you can reheat in the microwave or oven. If you have leftover sauce, you can reheat in a small saucepan.Time Saving Tips
This recipe doesn’t require a lot of prep time, but to make preparation even quicker, you could use packaged chopped cauliflower. We don’t recommend using frozen cauliflower.About the Mother Mix
The Mother Mix gives you a jumpstart on a number of recipes on this site. It’s vegan and gluten-free and made from all natural ingredients. You can find the recipe for this awesome pantry staple here.Nutrition
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17 comments
[…] plant-based cheeze sauce is quickly becoming a staple around my house. We’ve eaten it on cauliflower, turned it into grilled cheeze, and used it for an awesome dairy-free spinach dip, with more recipe […]
I love your addition of smoked almonds! They are one of my favorites, but I rarely cook with them!
Thanks! I’ve been on a bit of a kick with them lately! Putting them in everything!
I am finally making this for dinner tomorrow. Cannot wait. I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
I hope you like it! I eat a lot of it!
It was delish! Our cauliflower was huge, though. I could have used a double batch of the magical cheez. And pearl onions down here also seem to be huge, which was odd. We didn’t manage to eat the whole head, but I’ll polish it off in my lunch tomorrow.
Yay! I’m glad you liked it! My cauliflower was about 4 cups so that’s a bit of a guideline. And I didn’t know pearl onions could be huge! Good to know! Thanks for letting me know how it want! I have a tomato recipe coming soon! I know you love your tomatoes!
I hate to say this as cauliflower is not my favorite vegetable, Because I am about change. I will try this challenge.
Hi 2020! Have you tried roasting cauliflower before? It really does make a big difference to the flavour. And of course the addition of the cheeze sauce, with the almonds and dates and onions adds to the experience too! I hope it makes you a convert! Let me know!
[…] TAKE THE “I ATE A WHOLE HEAD OF CAULIFLOWER” CHALLENGE! [CHEEZY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER] […]
[…] already got the recipes posted for Cheezy Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Almonds and Dates, hot chili grilled cheeze, and this awesome dairy-free spinach […]
[…] you are looking for more cheezy recipes, check out Cheezy Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Almonds and Dates, hot chili grilled cheeze, and this awesome dairy-free spinach […]
[…] you are looking for more cheezy recipes, check out Easy Cheezy Broccoli Soup, Cheezy Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Almonds and Dates, hot chili grilled cheeze, and this awesome dairy-free spinach […]
[…] you are looking for more cheezy recipes, check out Corn Chip Casserole: Two Ways, Cheezy Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Almonds and Dates, hot chili grilled cheeze, this awesome dairy-free spinach dip, and Easy Cheezy Broccoli […]
[…] Subtly sweetened with maple syrup and a tiny kick of hot chili powder, these caramelized pearl onions are perfect for a plant-based appetizer platter, or as a topping for entrees like this Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower. […]
I made this before and forgot to leave a review! Oops! Delish!
Thank you!