Roasted vegan cauliflower steaks coated with harissa and topped with creamy cucumber mint yogurt sauce is a wildly flavorful 30-minute meal to enjoy any night of the week. Serve with cilantro lime quinoa and roasted veggies for a vibrant and filling dinner!
If you love cauliflower and are looking for an impressive way to serve it as the main course, this is the way to do it! Sliced into "steaks", coated with spicy harissa, and roasted until tender with the most delicious crispy edges, and then topped with a cooling cucumber mint yogurt sauce. It's incredibly flavorful and delicious! The best part is that it's quite easy to make and it's ready to eat in just 30 minutes!
What is Harissa?
Harissa is an extremely flavorful paste made from a combination of roasted red peppers, garlic, spices, and oil. To keep this recipe quick and easy to make, I used 2 packages of this store-bought harissa sauce. If you want to make it homemade, try this recipe.
Ingredients & Substitutions
These roasted cauliflower steaks are made with a combination of fresh vegetables and pantry ingredients. The most exotic item on the list is harissa, but you can easily buy it from most grocery stores (I got it at Whole Foods) or online. Let's go over the most important ingredients and substitutions if you need them.
- Cauliflower: The star of the meal, this hearty vegetable is thick and "meaty" and super flavorful when coated with harissa. If you don't want to use cauliflower, you could substitute green cabbage to make the steaks. The texture will be different but still tasty.
- Harissa: This spicy paste adds so much flavor! If you need a substitute, you could use another chili paste like sambal oelek instead.
- Fresh Mint: Mint works so well with cucumber, green onions, and coconut yogurt in this sauce. Fresh herbs are definitely preferred over dried herbs. You could use fresh basil instead of mint if necessary.
- Lime: Lime juice adds the perfect tangy flavor, but you could also use lemon juice to brighten the flavor.
How To Cut Cauliflower Steaks
First, pick out a large head of cauliflower, the bigger the better! If the head is too small, it will be more difficult to keep the slices intact. Wash the cauliflower and then follow the next steps.
- Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the stem.
- Trim off the green leaves, but don't throw them away. You can dice the leaves and add them to thai yellow curry or red curry cauliflower soup. They're 100% edible and taste like cauliflower.
- Cut the cauliflower directly down the middle.
- Depending on how big the cauliflower is, cut (2-4) 1-inch thick slices per head. Save the small pieces that fall off to make a vegan cheese sauce.
After you've cut the cauliflower into steaks, lay the steaks on a tray lined with parchment or a silicone mat (for easy cleanup), and use a brush to spread the harissa generously on both sides of each steak (Photo 5). Bake until tender and the edges are crispy. Before serving, garnish with a dollop of creamy yogurt sauce (Photo 6).
Serving Suggestions
To make this meal extra colorful, I like to serve the vegan cauliflower steaks on top of a pile of vibrant green cilantro-lime quinoa with a side of roasted maple balsamic brussels sprouts. It also pairs well with brown rice, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, or pearl couscous. Any of the following side dishes would also be delicious with it!
How To Store It
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Can I Freeze It?
No, I don't recommend freezing cauliflower steaks, they're best made fresh. Fresh cauliflower needs to be blanched before freezing it so it won't have a mushy texture when you reheat it. The steaks are delicate and blanching them in boiling water might cause you to lose some of the florets.
How To Reheat It
Put the roasted vegan cauliflower steaks on a tray lined with parchment or a silicone mat and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until warmed through and the edges are crispy again. Drizzle the yogurt sauce over the top before serving.
Success Tips
- Pick out the biggest heads of cauliflower you can find! The bigger they are, the easier it will be to cut and keep the slices intact.
- Don't throw out the cauliflower leaves or smaller florets that fall off, you can roast them along with the steaks or use them to make roasted vegetable tacos.
- Use a silicone brush to spread out the harissa and get it into all the crevices for maximum flavor.
- Store leftover vegan cauliflower steaks in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Want More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes?
Lemon Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Harissa Cauliflower Steaks
Equipment
- Large Baking Tray
- Silicone Brush
- Small Bowl
Ingredients
Cauliflower Steaks
- 2 large cauliflower sliced (6-8 slices)
- 1 cup harissa sauce
Creamy Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup plain coconut yogurt
- ½ cup cucumber diced
- ½ cup green onions sliced
- ½ cup mint leaves sliced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅛ tsp chili pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Slice a ½-inch off the stem and cut off the leaves. Cut the cauliflower in half and then cut (2-4) 1-inch thick slices from each head. Arrange the steaks on a lined baking tray.
- Spoon a dollop of the harissa sauce on top of each steak and then use a silicone brush to spread it out and coat the surface evenly. Try to get the sauce in all the crevices and brush the edges too. Flip and brush the other side.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and the edges are crispy.
- While the cauliflower is baking, make the creamy cucumber mint yogurt sauce. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, green onions, fresh mint, lime juice, salt, pepper, and chili pepper flakes.
- Garnish each steak with a dollop of yogurt sauce before serving.
Notes
- Pick out the biggest heads of cauliflower you can find! The bigger they are, the easier it will be to cut and keep the slices intact.
- Don't throw out the cauliflower leaves or smaller florets that fall off, you can roast them along with the steaks or use them to make roasted vegetable tacos.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
*This vegan cauliflower steaks recipe was originally shared on 7/2/17, but I updated it on 12/31/20.
