By Sarena-Rae Santos, Natural Health Blogger
As I was writing our black pepper herbal profile, I realized we didn’t have any recipes that focused on the amazing benefits of black pepper. This led to me creating a Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil recipe. After creating this, I just knew what I had to make.
I have been dying to try some of the viral smashed cauliflower recipes. I made Parmesan-Ranch Crusted Potatoes a while back. Then it hit me, Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower – yes, please!
Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, although I love almost all of them. I knew there was no chance we’d have leftovers when I made this – and I wasn’t wrong. The oil infusion makes this recipe that much better (although, to be fair, I haven’t tried it any other way).
Of course, if you’re not interested in the amazingness of Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil, I respect that. You can swap it for your own oil infusion (with whatever herbs you want) or substitute the olive oil infusion for plain olive oil or butter. Now, let’s get to it!
Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower
Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 4 tbsp. Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil (can be swapped for olive oil or butter)
- 3 cloves of garlic (you can use the garlic from the infused olive oil)
- 2 oz. fresh parmesan cheese (I used plant-based)
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or olive oil spray
- 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Step 2: Mince the garlic before adding it to the large glass baking dish, along with the Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil and the parmesan cheese.
Step 3: Mix the minced garlic, infused olive oil, and parmesan cheese, creating a parmesan paste.
Step 4: Prepare the cauliflower and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
Step 5: Drizzle or spray the top side of the cauliflower with olive oil before sprinkling them with Italian seasoning.
Step 6: Bake at 425ºF for 25 minutes.
Step 7 (optional): You can smash the cauliflower bites 10 minutes before the cauliflower is done cooking. Smashing the cauliflower helps it retain all the flavors, so I highly recommend it. I use the bottom of a large spoon to smash the cauliflower. After smashing, cook the cauliflower for the final 10 minutes.
Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 4 tbsp Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil or olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 ounces fresh parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or olive oil spray
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Mince the garlic before adding it to the large glass baking dish, along with the Black Pepper & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil and the parmesan cheese.
- Mix the minced garlic, infused olive oil, and parmesan cheese, creating a parmesan paste.
- Prepare the cauliflower and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
- Drizzle or spray the top side of the cauliflower with olive oil before sprinkling them with Italian seasoning.
- Bake at 425ºF for 25 minutes.
- Optionally, you can smash the cauliflower bites 10 minutes before the cauliflower is done cooking. Smashing the cauliflower helps it retain all the flavors, so I highly recommend it. I use the bottom of a large spoon to smash the cauliflower. After smashing, cook the cauliflower for the final 10 minutes.
