These harissa glazed cauliflower steaks are a great weeknight dinner.
Charlie and I make these cauliflower steaks almost weekly. They’re super speedy to make, and you only need a few ingredients, making them a great weeknight dinner. Having a bunch of different quick and easy vegan recipes that you can rely on makes mealtimes that bit easier. This recipe is definitely one to add to your arsenal. The harissa glaze adds a lovely spice that’s still delicate enough to let the cauliflower flavour come through. We like to oven bake our cauliflower steaks, as it gives them time to go nice and soft in the middle and for parts of the outside to go crispy and caramelised.
A delicious kale & walnut pesto is the perfect pairing to go with the cauliflower.
We’ve paired our cauliflower steaks with a simple homemade kale and walnut pesto. It’s a great way of getting extra super-nutritious greens into your diet, especially if you don’t love eating raw kale or spinach. You might think making pesto from scratch is a bit of a faff, but it really isn’t. We just add everything to a little blender and blend for a few minutes. You can make it up in big batches and keep jars of it in the fridge for when you need it. We never buy ready-made pesto anymore, as homemade is always so much nicer! The pesto goes perfectly with the cauliflower; it’s tangy and salty and gives this dish an extra kick.
Served with creamy sweet potato and carrot mash, roast chickpeas and rocket.
These cauliflower steaks can be served with so many different foods. They’re delicious as a main served with things like mashed potatoes or veggies, salads, rice or other cooked grains, roasted vegetables or as a side dish as part of a sharing table of dishes. For this recipe, we’ve served them with some spiced roasted chickpeas which add a lovely crunchy texture, and some creamy lemony sweet potato and carrot mash, with rocket on the side. We then squeeze some fresh lemon juice over everything at the end. This recipe is tasty, filling and satisfying!
These harissa glazed cauliflower steaks with mash & roast chickpeas are:
- spicy but delicate
- great for weeknight dinners
- vegan and gluten-free
- healthy
- quick and easy
If you liked this recipe, why not try some of our other tasty recipes:
- Easy Vegan Creamy Sausage Pasta
- One Pot Chickpea & Vegan Chorizo Stew
- Easy Vegan Cauliflower & White Bean Soup
Harissa Glazed Cauliflower Steaks with Walnut & Kale Pesto
Ingredients
For the carrot & sweet potato mash
- 600 g sweet potatoes peeled & chopped
- 300 g carrots peeled & chopped
- 1/4 lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp dairy-free butter
- salt & pepper to taste
For the chickpeas
- 1 400 g can of chickpeas drained
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
For the cauliflower ‘steaks’
- 1 cauliflower cut into 1-inch ‘steaks’
- 2 tbsp harissa
- 1/4 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
For the walnut & kale pesto
- 15 g walnut halves
- 20 g kale leaves hard stems removed
- 5 g fresh basil
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/4 lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
For the toppings
- handful of rocket
- lemon wedge
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Place the chopped carrots and sweet potatoes in a pan of boiling water and cook for 20 minutes until soft.
- Add the chickpeas to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then season with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to cover, then tip onto a baking tray and roast for 25 minutes until crispy.
- In a small bowl, mix the harissa paste, lemon juice and olive oil. Brush over both sides of the cauliflower ‘steaks’, then place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.
- Whilst the cauliflower and chickpeas are cooking in the oven, make the walnut and kale pesto. Add all the pesto ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth.
- Once the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft, drain the water, then add the dairy-free butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mash.
- Add the mash to the plate, then top with the cauliflower ‘steaks, sprinkle over the roasted crispy chickpeas and finally drizzle with the pesto. Serve with rocket and lemon wedges.