Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan

Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan is a delicious side dish, and cooking the cauliflower WITH the Parmesan makes it amazingly cheesy! This low-carb and gluten-free recipe will be perfect for everyone who loves the combination of cauliflower and Parmesan cheese!

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I’m featuring Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan for today’s Friday Favorites pick, and it’s a perfect low-carb side dish. Through many years of roasting vegetables, this is a recipe I’ve made over and over. When I made this in the early days of my blog, and I thought I’d covered the options for roasting cauliflower! Then a few years ago a failed cooking experiment for cauliflower in the Air Fryer led to a new and improved version of this recipe.

My nephew Jake and I tried making Air Fryer cauliflower and then tossing it with Parmesan, not a winner! But we had roasted cauliflower that was tossed with Parmesan and the oven was hot. So we put the cauliflower into a big casserole dish and put it in the oven, just to melt the cheese.

And WOW! The melted cheese formed a crispy Parmesan crust on the bottom of the dish. And the new version of cauliflower that was roasted with the Parmesan was such a treat! We tested it again and decided to update this long-time favorite cauliflower recipe. Since then I’ve made this recipe many times, and I hope you try it if you like the idea of hot cauliflower with melty Parmesan cheese!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

What type of Parmesan cheese is best for Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan?

I would use freshly-grated Parmesan or purchased Parmesan that’s coarsely-grated for this recipe. I’m not sure how it would work with the finely-grated Parmesan that comes in a can.

How low in carbs is the Cauliflower with Parmesan?

This tasty cauliflower that’s roasted with the Parmesan cheese has only 6 net carbs per serving with 7 grams of protein!

More ideas for roasting vegetables:

For a few years now I’ve been completely infatuated with roasting vegetables. I’ve made roasted classic veggies like Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, and Green Beans, and a few unusual ones like Vidalia Onions, Radishes, and Zucchini!

How to make Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Preheat oven to 450F/230C.
2. Cut the cauliflower in same-size bite-sized pieces.
3. Toss cauliflower with enough olive oil so pieces are lightly coated. Then season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and toss with grated Parmesan.
4. Spread cauliflower out in a single layer in a very large casserole dish and start to roast.
5. Cook 15 minutes, then turn over and cook 15 minutes more.
6. Serve the Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan very hot and enjoy. That’s all there is to it!

Make it for a Low-Carb Meal:

The cauliflower that’s roasted with Parmesan will be an easy side dish for any of these main dishes that don’t need the oven:

• Air Fryer Pork Chops
• Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
• Instant Pot Balsamic Pork Roast
• Salmon Patties with Tartar Sauce
• Marinated Chicken Thighs (Air Fryer)

More Recipes for Cauliflower with Cheese:

• Cauliflower Gratin
• Easy Cheesy Baked Keto Cauliflower
• Twice Baked Cauliflower

Continue to Content

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Yield: Makes 4 servings.

Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

This Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan is a delicious low-carb side dish for cauliflower fans. I've updated this recipe with a new trick of roasting the cauliflower with the Parmesan cheese that makes this favorite side dish even better.

Ingredients

• 1 very large head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 2 T olive oil (see notes)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup  freshly grated Parmesan cheese (see notes)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F/230C. Use the largest flat casserole dish you have and spray with non-stick spray.
2. Cut away the core of the cauliflower, then cut into small bite-sized florets. Try to make them all the same size and on the small side so they'll all get nicely browned at the same time. (To cut the cauliflower without getting a lot of "crumbs", cut through the stem, then pull the floret apart. This trick works well with broccoli too.)
3. Put the cauliflower pieces in a large plastic bowl, add olive oil, and toss until the cauliflower pieces are all lightly coated with oil.  (Start with a bit less olive oil and add more if it's not enough to cover the cauliflower.)
4. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, then toss with the grated Parmesan. (Adjust the amount of cheese depending on how big your head of cauliflower was.)
5. Roast cauliflower for 15 minutes. Then remove pan from oven and use a large flat turner to flip the cauliflower over so the melted cheese is on top. Roast 15 minutes longer, or until cauliflower is cooked through and nicely browned.
6. Serve the Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan very hot.
7. This can be reheated in the microwave or in a hot pan, although it's best freshly made.

Notes

You need enough olive oil to coat all the cauliflower florets with oil.

Use more or less grated Parmesan depending on the size of your head of cauliflower; I used coarsely grated cheese.

Recipe created by Kalyn and updated with a better method in 2017.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 162Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 11mgSodium 403mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 5gSugar 4gProtein 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cauliflower is a very low-carb vegetable. Cauliflower Roasted with Parmesan would make a great side dish for low-carb diet plans, including Keto. It could also work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet if you use a moderate amount of oil and cheese.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes to find more side dish recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for cauliflower that’s roasted with Parmesan cheese was first posted in 2011. It was updated with the improved method in 2017 and was last updated with more information in 2026.