Need a healthy snack or quick side for dinner? This delicious roasted turmeric cauliflower recipe with garlic and cumin is the perfect healthy side dish that will have your whole family running back for seconds! {Gluten-free, low carb, & vegan}
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Turmeric Cauliflower Recipe
Turmeric has been receiving a lot of love lately, and for good reason! It has anti-inflammatory properties, yet it tastes amazing and gives anything a gorgeous vibrant yellow hue.
This turmeric roasted cauliflower is the perfect way to elevate humble cauliflower into something decadent and totally mouthwatering. I guarantee, everyone will be fighting over these tasty veggies!
Why We Love This Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
- Healthy: Made with just cauliflower, olive oil, and a handful of powerful spices, this recipe is a fantastic way to get more fibre and antioxidants into your diet.
- Quick & easy: This cauliflower and turmeric recipe just needs 30 minutes in a preheated oven, so it’s a great side dish to throw together on the fly!
- Versatile: This roasted cauliflower dish is often served as a side dish, but you could easily offer it as a flavorful appetizer, incorporate it into a roasted cauliflower salad or even mince it into the best cauliflower rice ever!
Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower: Start by cutting one large head of cauliflower or buying pre-chopped cauliflower bites from the store.
- Olive oil: To get crispy roasted cauliflower, you’ve got to use a little olive oil. It will caramelize in the oven for a delicious flavor. Avocado oil can also be used.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic tastes incredible with turmeric and cumin. You can substitute garlic powder instead if needed.
- Turmeric: Ground turmeric powder will add bright yellow color and earthy flavor.
- Cumin: Cumin is a natural mate for turmeric, giving this roasted cauliflower recipe a savory bite alongside a turmeric kick.
- Salt: Season your cauliflower to taste.
- Garnish: For an optional garnish and splash of color, sprinkle chopped cilantro or microgreens on top of the cauliflower.
How to Roast Cauliflower with Turmeric and Cumin
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, toss the chopped cauliflower with the olive oil until well coated. Next, add in the minced garlic, turmeric, cumin and salt. Toss until well combined.
- Spread cauliflower out evenly on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip cauliflower. Roast for an additional 10-20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and golden brown and crispy on the edges.
- Garnish with micro greens or chopped cilantro before serving, if desired.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Tips for the Best Roasted Cauliflower
- Cut the cauliflower florets into roughly the same size (approximately 1-inch florets) so that they cook up evenly.
- Be sure to roast the cauliflower in an even layer so that it gets nice and crispy along the edges.
- For easy cleanup, line your sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Use a little bit of sea salt or kosher salt instead of table salt. Because it has larger flakes, you can add more without making your delicious recipes too salty!
- If you’d prefer to use coconut oil, you’ll need to melt it before tossing your cauliflower and spices.
- Be careful when preparing this recipe as turmeric stains easily. Try to avoid getting it on your countertops (and yourself)!
Recipe FAQs
It’s always a good practice to wash and dry your produce before cooking. If your cauliflower is too wet with water, the oil will have a hard time coating the cauliflower pieces with the turmeric spice mixture. Let your florets dry completely before tossing them with the spices.
Roasting is such an easy cooking method, but it can be tricky to get it right every once in a while! It’s essential to have your oven set to the right temperature. You need to use a hot oven preheated to 400 degrees F.
You’ll also want to use fresh cauliflower that is still firm to the touch. Toss fresh cauliflower pieces in the oil and spice blend, then roast them on a baking sheet at a high temperature. Use a fork to see if it is tender enough before removing it from the oven. If it’s not fully cooked, allow it to roast for a few more minutes, checking it periodically. The cooking time may vary depending on your oven.
There are a couple of secrets to making the most delicious cauliflower. The first is to remember the salt! Without salt, cauliflower can taste bland. Salt draws out the flavors in cauliflower regardless of the preparation. I also recommend roasting cauliflower because the process of roasting highlights cauliflower’s sweet, nutty flavor.
Storage Guidelines
Store leftover cauliflower bites in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat, microwave or bake in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes until fully warm.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to serve this turmeric roasted cauliflower. I love it as an easy side dish to serve with dinner!
- Pair it with savory meat like these grilled chicken tikka kebabs or chicken breasts or thighs marinated in this curry chicken marinade
- For a plant-based meal, serve along with this vegan spicy black bean burger recipe or falafel wrap recipe
- Serve with a dip like roasted garlic spread, healthy tzatziki sauce, or spicy garlic hummus
- Add bite-sized pieces to a grain bowl
- Add to this roasted beet kale salad
- Serve it with steak marinated in this healthy steak marinade
Recipe Variations
- Roasted Cauliflower Rice: After roasting your turmeric cauliflower bites, blitz them up in the food processor for a flavor-charged rice alternative!
- For Some Tanginess: Add a squeeze of lemon juice (you can add some lemon zest too) when tossing with the oil, garlic and spices.
- Sweet & Spicy Roasted Cauliflower: Add a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to this roasted turmeric cauliflower for a sweet and spicy kick.
- Air Fryer Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower: Prepare the cauliflower following the instructions in the recipe card, but cook it in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, shaking halfway through.
More Tasty Vegetable Recipes
- Healthy Roasted Potatoes
- Cauliflower Veggie Tots
- Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Tacos
- Low Carb Cauliflower Soup
- Roasted Baby Carrots Recipe
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped cauliflower or one large head of cauliflower
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional garnishes:
- Chopped cilantro or microgreens
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the chopped cauliflower with the olive oil until well coated. Next, add in the minced garlic, turmeric, cumin and salt. Toss until well combined.
- Spread cauliflower out evenly on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip cauliflower. Roast for an additional 10-20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and slightly browned and crispy on the edges.
- Garnish with micro greens or chopped cilantro before serving, if desired.
Notes
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- Cut the cauliflower florets into roughly the same size (approximately 1-inch florets) so that they cook up evenly.
- Be sure to roast the cauliflower in an even layer so that it gets nice and crispy along the edges.
- For easy cleanup, line your sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Be careful when preparing this recipe as turmeric stains easily. Try to avoid getting it on your countertops (and yourself)!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in September 2018 and was updated in August 2023 to include more helpful tips and photos.
Insanely delicious. Just perfect. The only problem is my family devours this recipe so I always have to double it so I can have some too!
We now make it a main course and serve as a bowl meal on top of quinoa, with a dollop of plain yogurt on the side and some fresh greens and maybe sliced red cabbage for color. A brilliant recipe – many thanks to its creator!
So happy you’ve been enjoying this cauliflower recipe — we have a similar problem in our house! It’s always a battle for the roasted cauliflower haha! I absolutely love your idea for serving it up. I’ll definitely have to try that out :) Thanks so much for sharing your feedback!
Yum 😋 this recipe was so tasty. Almost sweet and salty. I love adding turmeric to my meals. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much Whitney — glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my favourite ways to eat veggies :)