Roasted vegan cauliflower steaks coated with harissa and topped with creamy cucumber and mint yogurt 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" and coated with spicy harissa, roasted until tender with the most delicious crispy edges, and then topped with cooling cucumber and mint yogurt. 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!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This vegan cauliflower steak recipe is made with a combination of fresh vegetables and pantry ingredients. The most unique item on the list is harissa, but you can easily buy it from most grocery stores 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 the perfect meat replacement. If you don't want to use cauliflower, you could substitute green cabbage to make the steaks. The texture will be different but still very tasty.
- Harissa - This spicy paste adds so much flavor! If you need a substitute, you could use another chili paste like sambal oelek instead.
- Coconut Yogurt - Is so creamy and makes the perfect cooling topping to balance the other flavors. You can use any unsweetened plain vegan yogurt if you don't want to use coconut.
- Fresh Mint - Mint works so well with cucumber, green onions, and coconut yogurt. 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.
How To Cut The Cauliflower
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 cauliflower 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 vegan cheese.
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.
To make the easy sauce for the cauliflower steaks, combine yogurt, cucumber, green onions, fresh mint, lime juice, salt, pepper, and chili pepper flakes in a small bowl. Before serving, garnish each steak with a dollop of the creamy topping (Photo 6).
Serving Suggestions
To make this meal extra colorful, I like to serve the steaks on top of a scoop of vibrant green cilantro-lime quinoa with a side of roasted maple balsamic brussels sprouts. It also pairs well with brown rice, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, or couscous. Any of the following side dishes would also be delicious with it!
How To Store & Reheat It
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
When you're ready to reheat it, put the 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 over the top after reheating it before you serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's 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 sauce. If you want to make it homemade, try this recipe.
It doesn't look like meat, but it's called a "steak" because it's a similar shape and it can be enjoyed as the main course.
If you cut the steaks too thin, it will be easier for them to fall apart. Use a large head of cauliflower, so you can cut it into thick 1-inch slices.
I don't recommend freezing the vegan 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 some of the florets to fall off in the pot.
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.
Want More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes?
- Vegan Roasted Lemon Turmeric Cauliflower
- Vegan Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
- Vegan Mushroom Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wrap
Harissa Cauliflower Steaks with Cucumber Mint Sauce
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
- 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 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 the 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 2-3 days.
Great recipe, thanks! Loved the yogurt sauce too!
Thank you! I'm so happy you liked it!
I am a sucker for all things cauliflower and I cannot wait to give this recipe a go! Love the pairing with pasta because pasta gal! This recipe is very well made and possible and YUM!
Thank you!
I love roasted veggies! Looks like supper this week!