Love the crunch of panko bread crumbs but not so much the crunch of under cooked cauliflower?
This recipe is for you.
The seasonings and bread crumbs add so much an otherwise kind of bland veggie that it can actually make a meatless meal by adding soft flour tortillas, easy coleslaw, and your favorite hot sauce or guacamole.
My son taught me how to make pan roasted veggies by baking at a high heat and seasoning just right.
But I don’t like my cauliflower crunchy on the inside, unless I’m eating it raw.
It can be tricky to bake cauliflower at high heat and get crispy bread crumbs but tender florets. You might have to experiment a bit.
For me, the key is to get a little steaming going in the pan but not so much that the crumbs get soggy. I like to cover the cauliflower loosely with foil while it roasts.
You may find that removing the foil cover after the first 10 minutes is to your liking; or, perhaps taking the foil off for the last few minutes of roasting so that everything browns a bit before serving.
Panko-Crusted Roast Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower head
- ¼ c. panko bread crumbs may use whole wheat or gluten-free
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- ½ tsp lemon pepper
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450?.
- Clean cauliflower and cut into florets. Space apart on baking sheet.
- Drizzle some olive oil over each floret. Then, sprinkle with bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Cover pan loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
- Take off foil and stir/toss cauliflower. Replace foil loosely over pan and return to oven for another 10 minutes. Check occasionally to avoid burning.
- When cauliflower is browned and fork tender, toss again and serve.