Oven baked Cheese-Crusted Cauliflower Steaks are a satisfying solution for a side dish or a vegetarian entree. Thick slices of cauliflower with a coating of cheese and bread crumbs and drizzled with a hummus-pesto sauce.
Baking cauliflower in the oven is an easy way to prepare this popular vegetable. Applying a cheese-crust adds flavor and texture and adds some protein, now you can eat it as lunch as well.
Cut the cauliflower
Remove the outer leaves and cut a head of cauliflower in half (through the center). This recipe only needs half a head. Make sure you keep the rest; you can use it for other recipes, like a this Simple Irish Cauliflower Soup, Cauliflower Risotto with Mizithra Cheese or an Italian Cauliflower Salad.
Cut a part of the stem off the cauliflower, but don’t cut too far, the stem/core keeps the steaks together. Cut steaks by cutting 2 slices of approx. 1-1.5 inches thickness; start from the center part. It’s best to use a large knife for this job. You will have some florets left. You can treat them the same way as the steaks and have a little more, or you keep them for another recipe.
Prepare the steaks
Since these steaks are coated with a cheese-bread crumbs, I steam them first, for approx. 5 minutes. Place them in a steam pan or steamer basket. The steaks will still be pretty raw; but softened enough to shorten the baking time in the oven and less chance to burn them.
Sprinkle the steaks with just a little bit of salt and pepper. Don’t use too much, the cheese has salt as well. You can always add salt at the table.
Dip the slightly cooled steaks into milk and coat them on both sides. Then transfer them into the cheese/bread crumbs mixture, flip them and cover the other side. Make sure all sides are covered. Do the same for the second steak. The cheese mixture is made from Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs; a 50:50 ratio.
Bake the cauliflower steaks
Place both steaks on a baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper. Drizzle with a little bit of oil (this helps getting a crispy crust) and place the baking sheet in a preheated oven of 425 degrees F.
Bake for approx. 25 minutes. The steaks are done when you can easily pierce the ‘meat’ of the stem with a fork.
Now it is time to serve the Cheese-Crusted Cauliflower Steaks. For this recipe I made a quick hummus-basil pesto sauce, by mixing 2 tablespoons of hummus (the plain version) with 1 tablespoon of basil pesto.
Place the steaks on a shallow dish and drizzle/smear the hummus-pesto sauce.
Hope you will try this recipe and let me know what you think.
Cheese-Crusted Cauliflower Steak
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cauliflower (See notes)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 ounce Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1 ounce bread crumbs
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons hummus plain
- 1 tablespoon basil pesto
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the outer leaves and cut a head of cauliflower in half (through the center). Only half a head will be used. Keep the other half for another recipe, like a Cauliflower Soup, Cauliflower Risotto or a Cauliflower Salad.
- Cut a part of the stem off the cauliflower, but don’t cut too far, the stem keeps the steaks together. Cut steaks by cutting 2 slices of approx. 1-1.5 inches thickness. You will have some florets left. You can treat them the same way as the steaks and have a little more, or you can set them aside for another recipe.
- Place the steaks in a steam pan or steamer basket and steam them for approx. 5 minutes. The steaks are still pretty raw; but it softens them enough and will shorten the baking time. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the crust; one plate with the milk and another plate with the Parmesan/bread crumbs mixture.
- Dip the slightly cooled steaks into the milk and coat them on both side. Then transfer them onto the cheese/bread crumbs mixture and make sure all sides are covered. Do the same for the second steak.
- Place both steaks on the baking sheet, drizzle with a little bit of oil (this help in getting a crispy crust) and place the baking sheet in the oven.
- Bake for approx. 25 minutes. The steaks are done when you can easily pierce the ‘meat’ of the stem with a fork.
- While the steaks are baking, mix the hummus with the pesto.
- Transfer the steaks onto a shallow dish and drizzle/smear with the hummus-pesto sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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