These BAKED PESTO CAULIFLOWER STEAKS are the perfectly baked, perfectly delicious, and the most perfect addition to any meal. Did I mention they are perfect 😉
I love cauliflower. Really in any form. Florets, yes. Whole, yes. Mashed, of course. Riced, I mean, do you even need to ask?!! Cauliflower can really take on any form and their are few flavors that don’t go well with it. Come to think of it, I don’t think there are any flavors that would taste gross on top of cauliflower!
I love making “steaks” out of cauliflower when using certain sauces like pesto. It makes it easy to brush everything on evenly and lets be honest, they are just fun to eat this way! You may use any kind of pesto you like, but it is very very simple to make on your own. I have a great Artichoke Pesto recipe which you can get HERE or you can use the recipe down below.
Did you know you can make pesto without dairy (cheese) and nuts?!! Of course traditionally, those ingredients are used, but I pinky promise (with both my pinkies) that pesto sans dairy and nuts is still delicious! Adding artichoke hearts, like I mentioned briefly before, adds a nice creaminess to the pesto.
A couple things to note real quickly about cutting cauliflower into steaks….
- Remove lower leaves, but keep the stem attached otherwise your cauliflower will turn into florets.
- Make each steak about a 1/2 inch thick or just a little less. If you slice too thinly it will all fall apart.
- Any little florets that come off add straight to the baking sheet and cook alongside the steaks!
I also love using a silicone baking mat to keep everything from sticking to the baking sheet. My favorite is from DiOro not only because it is cute with it’s little “bake it” writing on it, but because it gets the job done. (Use code “donutdioro” to save 25% off DiOro products) If you do not have a silicone baking mat, you BETTER get one; or else! Just kidding. Aluminum foil or parchment paper work just as well!
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower
- spray oil (avocado is preferred because of the high smoke point)
- 1 bundle of fresh basil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbl lemon zest
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- pinch of salt
- Optional: 2 tbl pine nuts, 1/4 cup fresh parmesean
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove leaves from cauliflower making sure you keep stem attached.
- Cut down the cauliflower forming "steaks" about 1/2 inch thick.
- Place on baking sheet and lightly spray each cauliflower with oil.
- To make pesto, remove basil leaves, add all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until desired consistency.
- Brush pesto all over cauliflower steaks and place into the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove after 20 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
No need to flip the cauliflower while it's baking.
How do you like to eat your cauliflower? Also, before I leave you fabulous people did you know I have an awesome hack for removing the florets from the stem?! It’s on my INSTAGRAM in the highlights section!
Whole30: yes
Paleo: yes
(This post contains sponsored links. All opinions are my own)
