Garlic turmeric roasted cauliflower is super delicious and easy to make. The turmeric and garlic give the roasted cauliflower an anti-inflammatory and immune boost. This is a great side dish to pair with any main all year round, and particularly healing in the fall and winter.
Garlic and turmeric roasted cauliflower is one of the go-to side dishes in my house. Even my picky kids love them. If you haven’t tried roasted cauliflower, you have got to make this! I seriously pair this roasted cauliflower with so many dishes, here are a few suggestions:
- 5 Ingredient Gluten Free Zucchini Crepe
- Paleo Baked Ribs
- Nourishing Lamb and Spinach Curry
- Smoked Salmon Potato Salad with Pickle Juice Dressing (a Probiotic Twist)
Maximizing the Benefits of Turmeric and Garlic
As the weather gets colder, I like to incorporate more garlic and turmeric into our meals.
Garlic is a must to pair with cauliflower, because the flavours of garlic and cauliflower match so well. I like to use a little garlic powder to make sure every bite of the cauliflower is flavoured. I also like to add a few garlic cloves to roast along. Roasted garlic is so flavourful!
We get many health benefits of the garlic, such as cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial, from a compound called allicin. Heat destroys the enzymes in garlic that produce allicin, therefore many recommend eating the garlics raw to receive most health benefits. But there is also a way to preserve the beneficial allicin in cooked garlic. If you chop or crush the raw garlic and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before cooking, the broken cells will release the enzymes and have enough time to produce allicin. Allicin is pretty heat stable and will preserve during cooking. In addition to allicin, there are other beneficial compounds in garlic that will remain effective after heated. There is no reason we can’t enjoy some healing benefits in cooked garlics. If you like garlic, check out the honey fermented garlic recipe.
When cooking with turmeric, be sure to add a little black pepper to maximize the absorption of curcumin. Curcumin is the main active compound for anti-inflammatory power in turmeric. Whenever possible, cooking or eating turmeric with a healthy fat, such as butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard or tallow, also enhances the curcumin absorption. If you like turmeric, check out the Pineapple-Turmeric-Ginger Probiotic Sauerkraut.
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Anti-inflammatory Garlic Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 1 head of garlic
- 3/4 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
- 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp healthy cooking fat (such as butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard, and tallow)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Peel 1 head of garlic. Roughly chop the garlic or crush the cloves. Allow the garlic time in room temperature for 10-15 minutes, while executing step 2 and 3. This will enhance the health benefits of garlic. See the blog post above for more details.
- Meanwhile, separate the whole cauliflower into equal-sized florets. Discard the stalk.
- Spread the cauliflower florets and garlic on a large baking sheet. Be careful not to crowd and stack the cauliflower. Season the cauliflower and garlic with salt, turmeric, black pepper, garlic powder, then drizzle or dot with a healthy cooking fat of your choice. I prefer organic butter, but you can use ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil, fat rendered from beef or pork, that are stable in cooking.
- Roast the cauliflower in a pre-heated oven at 375ºF for 40 minutes.
- It's optional to garnish the roasted cauliflower with fresh chopped parsley or herbs of your choice.
Nutrition
Does this recipe really use one whole head of garlic or just a clove? Thank you for your help. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Is it ok to use Olive Oil for the healthy cooking fat? Thanks for this yummy recipe!
Hi, I keep extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing, but generally don’t use it for cooking. Olive oil doesn’t have a high smoke point, thus when heated can degrade into harmful substance. Given that there are a few other heat-stable healthy fat options, I don’t feel it’s worth the risk to use olive oil. I prefer making this recipe with organic butter, but I understand if you need a fat from non-animal source or dairy free. How about coconut oil, which contains more saturated fat and more heat-stable? Avocado oil has little saturated fat, but higher smoke point than olive oil on average, which makes it a better cooking fat than olive oil as well.
Actually if you listen to Dr. Steven Gundry you will find they have now discovered that olive oil does not degrade in heat or turn harmful. He says food exists to get olive oil into your mouth…its that healthy for us.
Roasted cauliflower, in some form, is on my menu at least once a week.
Definitely, pairing garlic + turmeric makes a fabulous dish. One of my faves for sure!
Gorgeous Pics too Yang!!
What a nourishing and flavorful roasted cauliflower recipe. I love cauliflower, definitely going to try this!
I am so excited to try this roasted cauliflower recipe! It looks so flavorful and nourishing!
I love the color turmeric brings to food. This cauliflower lol ook amazing. Great side dish. And very healthy too.
I love adding turmeric to dishes, I bet this is a great way to enjoy cauliflower :) This looks like a tasty and healthy side dish!
I made this and it was delicious! I skipped the garlic powder and just added extra garlic because i love it, when you let the garlic sit for 15 minutes after crushing like the recipie reccomends the flavor becomes very strong too! I did use olive oil (didn’t know about the high smoke point degrade thing) but less than the recipe says, like 1-1.5 tbsp. only enough to help coat the cauliflower in the spice when tossed and i feel like i still got some benifit from eating it. I mixed the ingredients and froze them to eat at a later date. Works fine if you unthaw them a bit and cook per instructions. Will try a different oil/fat next time, thanks for sharing this great recipe!
What a gorgeous and delicious recipe! Saving it for later !
I love using tumeric in things. This sounds great and like an interesting side dish for dinner.
I love how nourishing this side dish is. All that gorgeous turmeric!
Yum, this looks so delicious and vibrant! I actually have a super similar recipe and it’s one of my favorite. Turmeric is the best!
The color is amazing! I need to try this.
Sounds like a delicious side. I love the addition of turmeric!
Cauliflower and turmeric equals magic!! Now that I’ve tried this, I’m never not making cauliflower this way!
That is such a pretty color and a fun different way to serve what can be kind of a boring veg! My girls will think this is so pretty!
Some of my favorite flavors in one dish, so amazing! Thanks!