Roasted broccoli and cauliflower is a great side dish you can make with almost no effort and a few ingredients for weeknight dinner or the holidays.

Roasting these veggies at high temperatures makes them tender-crisp, slightly charred, and tasty.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Check out our best vegetable sides recipe collection!

Broccoli and cauliflower are some of the most popular fall and winter vegetables and are also some of the healthiest!

They are both part of the Brassica oleracea family and contain a wealth of vitamins and phytochemicals beneficial for good health.

Roasting is one of the best ways of cooking these vegetables because it makes them taste delicious while preserving most of their nutrients.

This blog post will show you how to make oven-roasted cauliflower and broccoli on a baking tray with simple ingredients.

We season the veggies with heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. We then arrange it on a serving platter and sprinkle it with red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Optionally, you can add grated parmesan cheese or its dairy-free alternative to make this side dish even tastier.

You can eat roasted broccoli and cauliflower florets as a side dish, or you can use them to add to soups, stews, curries, salads, and pasta dishes.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower with cheese on top

Ingredients

ingredients for roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Cauliflower

We use white cauliflower for this recipe. However, you can also use purple, green, or orange cauliflower.

Fresh cauliflower is best for oven-roasting because it stays tender-crisp. Frozen cauliflower will get soft, and it’s not as delicious for this preparation.

We only use cauliflower florets for this preparation. You can use the stem to make out cauliflower soup.

Broccoli

Fresh broccoli is best; it has less moisture than a frozen one, stays crispier, and tastes better.

We only use broccoli florets for this preparation, but you can keep the stem to make our broccoli soup.

Olive oil

We prefer extra virgin olive oil because it has a richer, nuttier, and fruitier taste than regular olive oil. Also, thanks to its high content of antioxidants, it’s stable at high temperatures.

You can substitute avocado oil for extra virgin olive oil, although its taste is not as nutty and fruity as olive oil.

Garlic powder

Garlic powder is optional, but it does add a nice flavor to those roasted veggies. You can substitute two cloves of crushed fresh garlic for garlic powder.

If you’d like to add other spices or herbs, we recommend cumin, paprika, and dried rosemary.

Salt and pepper

We use sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Red pepper flakes

We like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes before serving the roasted broccoli and cauliflower. This, of course, is optional.

As an alternative, you can add toasted shaved almonds or chopped parsley. They also taste great with broccoli and cauliflower and add some crunch.

Lemon juice

A squeeze of lemon juice freshens up the recipe. The acidity of the lemon makes the dish pop in your mouth.

Some like to sprinkle with lemon zest, although we find that to be overpowering for this broccoli and cauliflower recipe.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower with almonds on top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Rinse broccoli and cauliflower heads, remove the leaves and the stem and cut them into florets. Pat them dry and add them to the baking tray.

Note: if you have raw cauliflower or broccoli leftovers and your baking tray is full, you can store them in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator to keep them fresh for several days.

veggie florets on a baking tray

Season with extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Toss with your hands, then spread florets across the sheet pan without overlapping. Try not to overcrowd the pan.

Tip: there’s no reason to use a large bowl; you can toss them straight into the baking sheet.

seasoning with olive oil and salt

Roast vegetables at 400°F or 200°C for about 25 minutes until the florets are tender-crisp and slightly charred.

roasted veggies

Transfer onto a serving platter, sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower on a serving platter

Variations

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower with parmesan

If you’d like them a little cheesy, add your favorite grated, shredded, or dairy-free cheese on top of the florets once they are done baking.

Then, broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese melts. This is a tasty variation of this simple recipe, and it can help you make this dish more appealing to people that don’t usually eat veggies.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower with cheese on top

Serving suggestions

You can serve this recipe as a side with most mains. If you are looking for more plant-forward ideas for your mains, check out our:

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container (they’ll smell if you don’t) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes or eat at room temperature.

We don’t recommend freezing roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Questions

Is roasted broccoli healthy?

Broccoli is one of the healthiest veggies, and roasted broccoli is still healthy, provided you don’t use low-quality or too much oil.

Oven roasting preserves most of the nutrients in vegetables because it’s a dry cooking method, and the nutrients don’t get lost in the water like when boiling broccoli.

More side dishes

More broccoli and cauliflower recipes

Are you looking for more delicious cauliflower recipe ideas? Check out our:

roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower

5 from 3 votes
Roasted broccoli and cauliflower is a great side dish you can make with almost no effort and a few ingredients for weeknight dinner or the holidays.
Roasting these veggies at high temperatures makes them tender-crispslightly charred, and tasty.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Side dish
Cuisine: American, International

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups broccoli florets
  • 4 cups cauliflower florets
  • tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

GARNISH WITH

  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 4 wedges lemon squeezed on top
  • 1 handful shaved almonds toasted

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    Rinse broccoli and cauliflower heads, remove the leaves and the stem and cut them into florets. Pat them dry and add them to the baking tray.
    veggie florets on a baking tray
  • Season with extra virgin olive oilgarlic powdersalt, and black pepper.
    Toss with your hands, then spread florets across the sheet pan without overlapping. Try not to overcrowd the pan.
    seasoning with olive oil and salt
  • Roast vegetables at 400°F or 200°C for about 25 minutes until the florets are tender-crisp and slightly charred.
    roasted veggies
  • Transfer onto a serving platter, sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice, and/or toasted shaved almonds.
    roasted broccoli and cauliflower on a serving platter

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 serving of roasted broccoli and cauliflower out of 4.

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Potassium: 463mg, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 398IU, Vitamin B6: 0.3mg, Vitamin C: 98mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 81µg, Calcium: 50mg, Folate: 89µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.3mg, Magnesium: 27mg, Zinc: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or mention @nicoandlouise on Instagram. We are also on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.

Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.

Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.

Easy right?

5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I will definitely be making this recipe and sharing it with my family and friends on Facebook. I love the simplicity of the recipe.