Roasted Cauliflower Pasta is a delicious and healthy dinner! Loaded with crispy cauliflower and homemade pesto. It is cozy, flavorful and absolutely delicious! Serve it as a main or side dish. It can be pulled in a flash. Perfect for busy weeknights!
The recipe was inspired by my Cauliflower pasta recipe. I updated it with pesto sauce and crispy cauliflower.
Cauliflower Pasta
My family love roasted cauliflower. The entire tray usually disappears in minutes. And we are addicted to pasta. So I decided to make a main dish and get the best of both worlds. Lemony and garlicky cauliflower florets are roasted to perfection and then served with flavorful pesto pasta. It is a real flavor bomb! And it is what we need for cold and nasty days.
Lemon juice provides an amazing zesty flavor and homemade pesto gives freshness and a great texture. I added a jalapeno, but you can leave it out.
Cauliflower Pasta ingredients
- Cauliflower- I used a large head of cauliflower for this recipe. Cut into florets, season and bake.
- Olive oil- Use olive oil or melted unsalted butter.
- Paprika- Adds a vibrant color and sweet pepper flavor to the cauliflower.
- Black pepper
- Garlic cloves- Chop or mince garlic. Gives a fantastic garlicky flavor.
- Lemon juice- Gives a great zesty flavor.
- Pasta- You can use any shape of pasta, but fusilli or rotini are the best options because they have curves that help pesto to stick well.
- Pesto- I provided the recipe for homemade pesto. But a store bought will work well. Substitute the homemade pesto with ¾ -1 cup of store–bought pesto.
You can make pesto at home for a fraction of the cost. Use any fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil or a combination) or spinach, any nuts, jalapeno, lemon juice, virgin oil and Parmesan cheese. For vegan cauliflower pasta substitute Parmesan with nutritional yeast.
Simply combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blended but not smooth. It should have some texture. The whole process takes not more than 5 minutes.
How to Roast Cauliflower
- Prepare a large baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper (make sure your parchment paper can tolerate 425 F (220 C) oven heat) or foil. Alternatively you can grease it with a cooking spray.
- Toss. Combine the olive oil, paprika garlic and lemon in a small bowl. Put cauliflower florets on the tray, season with salt and pepper and pour the mixture. Toss to coat evenly.
- Roast at 425 F ( 220 C) until tender and with crispy edges.
How to Make Cauliflower Pasta
- Roast Cauliflower: Roast for 20 minutes at 425 F (220 C) or until tender.
- Make pesto: Save money and make the healthy and easy pesto at home.
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. I recommend to reserve some water from pasta before draining. You might need it to thin it out. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Combine with pesto. Add the roasted cauliflower and mix.
Love Cauliflower?Try these!
Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower- a quick and easy side dish. You won't miss mashed potatoes.
Vegan Kung Pao Cauliflower- my vegan answer to kung pao chicken
Cauliflower Fried Rice- healthy and low-carb fried rice
If you like this Roasted Cauliflower Pasta with pesto be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating!
Roasted Cauliflower Pasta
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower:
- Large head of cauliflower cut into florets- 1
- Olive oil / melted butter-½ cup
- Paprika- 2 teaspoons
- Black pepper- 1 teaspoon
- Garlic cloves minced- 4
- Juice of 1 lemon
Pesto Pasta:
- Fettuccine pasta- 0.5 pound 250 gm or any pasta of your choice
- Fresh basil- 1 ½ cup
- Baby arugula - 1 ½ cup
- Toasted walnuts - ⅓ cup
- Lemon juice- 3 tablespoons
- Jalapeno seeded- 1
- Fresh grated Parmesan cheese- ⅓ cup
- Olive oil- ⅓ cup
Equipment
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl combine olive oil/butter, lemon juice and paprika.
- Place the cauliflower florets on the tray. Season with black pepper and salt. Pour the mixture over the florets and mix with your hands to evenly coat. Put in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tender and crisp.
Pesto
- Meanwhile, make the pesto. Add the basil, baby arugula, jalapeno, toasted walnuts , lemon juice, Parmesan, olive oil into the bowl of your food processor with normal blade attachment. Pulse until well blended but still has some texture. Season with salt to your liking. If the pesto is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to thin it out. Alternatively you can use 1 cup of store-bought pesto.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve some water before draining ( to thin the pasta later, if desired). Drain pasta and add the pesto. Toss to combine.
- Once the cauliflower is roasted, add it to the pot with the pasta.
- Serve immediately! Enjoy!
Nutrition
All rights reserved. CHEF JAR. All images and content are copyright protected. PLEASE do not use my images without my permission. If you want to share this recipe, PLEASE provide a link back to this post.
If you make this recipe, take a photo of your creation and hashtag it # CHEFJAR on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Pasta Recipes
[ess_grid alias="pasta recipes"]
Leave a Reply