Cauliflower Parmesan

This Cauliflower Parmesan is a vegetarian take on the classic chicken parmesan recipe and tastes fantastic! It’s tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, and cheesy on top.

I’ve had this Cauliflower Parmesan recipe on my mind ever since I made this Vegan Orange Chicken recipe (which is amazing!). I’ve also been dreaming about making a cauliflower steak recipe for a while, so this Cauliflower Parmesan came together perfectly.

Cauliflower Parmesan is a vegetarian take on the classic Chicken Parmesan recipe and can easily be made vegan by using vegan cheese. It’s such a cozy dinner your whole family will love!

What You’ll Need To Make This Cauliflower Parmesan Recipe

• Cauliflower – This recipe’s main ingredient is cauliflower! Get a fairly large cauliflower to make four good-sized steaks. Cutting the steaks and having them stay together can be a little tricky, so you need to make sure you can cut four from the stem.
• Flour and Almond Milk – The batter is made of flour and almond milk. I used regular AP flour, but you can also use whole wheat or almond flour. I always have unsweetened almond milk on hand, but you could also use regular or another plant-based milk of your choice.
• Panko – I love Panko in this recipe. It makes the coating extra crispy without requiring a lot of it.
• Marinara Sauce –  I used a jarred marinara that I like, but you can also use homemade if you like.
• Cheese – I used part-skim shredded mozzarella. You can use any kind of cheese you like, including vegan cheese. I also sprinkled a little bit of parmesan over the top before eating.

Why Your Body Will Love This Meal

• Digestive Health – Cauliflower is high in fiber, which helps digestion run smoothly and keeps the belly feeling full for longer. It also contains prebiotic fiber, which feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
• Skin Health – Cauliflower contains sulforaphane, a great compound for the skin. It helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, promotes collagen production, and may help protect the skin against harmful UV radiation.
• Heart Health – Sulforaphane is also known to help lower cholesterol levels, keeping arteries clear of fatty buildup. This contributes to lower blood pressure and lowers the risk of heart disease.

I created this recipe before the coronavirus madness began. I feel strange sharing recipes at this time when so many people are without much food, and the people who do have food mostly have pantry staples and non-perishables. I’m happy to say this recipe uses mostly pantry staples like flour, milk, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, and cheese. And if you happen to have some cauliflower on hand, you can make these tonight!

How To Cut A Cauliflower Steak

I’ve tried cutting cauliflower steaks, and they totally fell apart. Here are a few tips for how to cut the perfect cauliflower steak:

• Buy a large head of cauliflower. The larger the cauliflower, the more intact your steaks will be. It’s also important that it has a good-sized stem.
• Carefully peel or cut the green leaves away from the stem, but do not cut the stem off. The stem helps hold the cauliflower steak together, so you need to leave it on!
• Be careful and handle the cauliflower very gently. It can fall apart easily, and the whole point of the steak is that it needs to stay together.  
• You won’t likely be able to get steaks out of the entire cauliflower, but that is OK! The sides not attached to the stem probably won’t stay together well, but you can try.

How To Make Cauliflower Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper. Carefully cut the cauliflower into four similar-sized steaks. See above for tips on that. In a medium bowl, add the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and almond milk. Whisk until a thick batter is formed.
2. Pour the Panko, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic powder and dried herbs onto a large plate and mix until combined.  Carefully place the cauliflower steak in the batter and use your hands to make sure that the entire steak is coated with batter.  There is just enough batter for four steaks so you want it to be a thin coat.
3. Place the batter-coated cauliflower steak in the panko and coat it. You can press it down and then sprinkle some on top. Shake off any excess and then place it on the baking sheet. Repeat the process until finished.
4. Bake cauliflower until crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and starting to brown, 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and top each with 1/4 cup tomato sauce and a small sprinkle of cheese. Place it back in the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted.

If you have a question about this recipe, ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Looking for more Meat-free Chicken Recipes? 

Vegan Orange Chicken Recipe [The Best!]

Vegan Chicken Patty Sandwiches

Vegan Buffalo Tofu Wings

Cauliflower Parmesan

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4 from 1 review

• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

This Cauliflower Parmesan is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and full of flavor!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 large head cauliflower, should be big enough to cut 4 good sized steaks out of
• 1/2 cup flour, I used AP flour
• 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon herbs de Provence or dried Italian herbs
• 56 grams panko breadcrumbs, about 1 cup
• 2 ounces shredded cheese, I used low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup marinara sauce

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper.  Carefully cut cauliflower into four similar sized steaks.  See above for tips on that.  In a medium sized bowl, add the flour 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic powder and onion powder and almond milk.  Whisk until a thick batter is formed.
2. Pour the Panko, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic powder and dried herbs onto a large plate and mix until combined.  Carefully place the cauliflower steak in the batter and use your hands to make sure that the entire steak is coated with batter.  There is just enough batter for four steaks so you want it to be a thin coat.
3. Place the batter coated cauliflower steak in the panko and coat.  You can press it down and then sprinkle some on top.  Shake off any excess and then place on the baking sheet.  Repeat process until finished.
4. Bake cauliflower until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and starting to brown, 30-40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and top each with 1/4 cup tomato sauce and a small sprinkle of cheese.  Place back in the oven and bake another 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Category: Dinner, Vegetarian
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American