Name: Roasted Cauliflower with Pesto
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 head Cauliflower; 1 tbsp Avocado Oil; Salt + Pepper (to taste); 2 tbsp Vegan Pesto

This easy roasted cauliflower with pesto makes the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish. Low carb, vegan, and ready in just 45 minutes!

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Potatoes are so last year. Cauliflower is the trendier, healthier, low carb alternative you MUST make this Christmas. Trust me, you will be the talk of the party.

Creamy cauliflower gets roasted in the oven until crisp and caramelised, then jazzed up with a quick basil pesto. This dish is packed with texture and flavour - no one will know it's vegan!

A peice of roasted cauliflower on a fork being dipped into pesto

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How to make pesto:

Have you ever made your own pesto? It's super easy! I love making my own pesto so I can control the oil levels by replacing some of the oil with water. This yields a creamier pesto which is oh so GOOD!

To make pesto you will need fresh basil, pine nuts (or walnuts/hazelnuts/almonds), garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt + pepper, and nutritional yeast flakes.

Nutritional yeast are flakes of deactivated yeast with a cheesy, nutty flavour. They make the perfect dairy-free Parmesan alternative in my pesto recipe! If you are not vegan or cannot find nutritional yeast flakes, you can use Parmesan in this recipe instead.

Get the full vegan pesto recipe here!

Roasted cauliflower florets in a bowl with pesto dipping sauce, basil and a fork

Ways to use cauliflower:

The best thing about cauliflower is that it's so versatile! Here are a few of our favourite ways to use cauliflower:

Turn a head of cauliflower into cauliflower rice to use in Thai cauliflower fried rice
Make some low carb cauliflower hash browns for your next brunch
Boil the cauliflower with some celeriac to make low carb mashed cauliflower potatoes
Roast in the oven like in this recipe!

Roasted with pesto dipping sauce in a bowl with basil and a fork

Storage and reheating:

This dish is best served immediately whilst the cauliflower is still crisp.

The cauliflower can be chopped, seasoned and prepped for the oven beforehand - simply cover the tray/dish with foil and store in the fridge until you are ready to cook the cauliflower.

The pesto can be prepared well ahead of time - it will stay good for at least a week in an airtight container in the fridge.