The Best Way to Cook Cauliflower, According to Recipe Developers

Whether it's blended into a silky soup, the base for Buffalo bites, a pot roast alternative, or pizza crust, cauliflower proves its versatility time and time again. This cruciferous chameleon readily takes on any role; the humble brassica can adapt to any flavor, cuisine, or form needed.

With so many possibilities, even a seasoned chef may face choice paralysis when handling cauliflower. To cut through the noise, I spoke with three skilled recipe developers about the best way to cook it. They all chose the same method—roasting—though each with a different preferred heat source.

The Cauliflower Connoisseurs

• Stephanie Pixley: Deputy Food Editor at America's Test Kitchen
• Esther Reynolds: Food Writer and recipe tester
• Sophie Frazier: Food Stylist and Chef Instructor at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education

The Best Way to Cook Cauliflower

Whether in a skillet, in the oven, or on the grill, roasting transforms cauliflower into a golden-brown, sweet, nutty show stopper.

Pixley, co-author of The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook and Vegetable Illustrated, among other cookbooks, is well versed in vegetables. She celebrates cauliflower for its versatility, and her "all-time favorite" preparation is skillet-roasting, or browning it in ample fat and generously seasoning. A true floret fanatic, Pixley especially savors the tiny bits that tumble off the florets and crisp into golden-brown, nutty morsels.

Frazier approaches cauliflower much like an artist with a blank canvas. To get a warm, golden hue with darker brown spots and deep caramelized flavor, she prefers to oven-roast cauliflower in small florets at a high temperature. She explains, "cutting the cauliflower into florets allows more of its surface to come into contact with [the] hot oven, so it can brown and crisp." Frazier warns against overcrowding the pan, which traps moisture and causes the cauliflower to steam rather than caramelize.

Reynolds prefers to grill roasting thick cauliflower steaks when the weather's warm. To do this, she keeps the core intact to prevent the steaks from falling apart on the grates, rubs them with oil, and seasons with salt and pepper.

Reynolds then covers the grill, maintaining medium-high heat to char the outsides while the center softens just enough. "At that point, they're right at the intersection of mild, sweet, moist, and roasty," she describes, noting that she avoids soggy and dry cauliflower "at all costs." The smoky char from the grill teases out cauliflower's nuttiness—a perfect match for bright, punchy sauces like chimichurri or romesco.

Bonus Tip for Preparing Cauliflower

Cut florets with confidence. Instead of awkwardly cutting the core from a head of cauliflower and breaking each floret off, cut the head into quarters first, then angle the knife to cut the core from each quarter. The core and leaves are edible—delicious, in fact. Chop the core into similarly sized pieces to the florets to ensure each bite is evenly cooked.