Whole30 Cauli Steaks with Tahini Sauce
These crispy oven-baked cauliflower steaks are whole30, vegan, healthy and delicious! They make a wonderful main dish drizzled with spicy tahini sauce!
At this point, you probably all know about my immense love for cauliflower. What a vegetable! Have you ever heard of a food item that can be used in so many dishes? That can be a substitute for rice or even bread? Cauliflower in its purest form might be a bit bland but that is actually the good thing about it! That way you can use it in all sorts of dishes, from porridge to rice, or in this case as a "steak". Well, obviously not a steak as in beef steak, but it's got a nice texture and is lovely as a plant-based dish on the side of a salad or even on a burger. What is your favorite way to eat cauliflower?
Coating vegetables in breadcrumbs tastes so good but coating them in a mixture of almond meal, spices and nutritional yeast is equally good - just healthier! I absolutely love nutritional yeast. The taste is so yummy and cheesy and it's even low sodium and low carb. What a great flavorful ingredient to use in lots of dishes! I also love it in soups or on pasta. Do you like using nutritional yeast as much as I do?
In order for the coating to stick to the cauliflower, you need to dip it into a liquid first. If you're not vegan, you can use egg for example. But I wanted to keep this recipe vegan so I used a mixture of almond milk and salt. It works really well and as you can see, the coating sticks to the cauliflower beautifully. The more coating = the more crispy! I also used an olive oil spray (for cooking at a higher temperature) to make sure it's extra crispy. The advantage of an oil spray is that you don't have to use so much oil to make sure it's all covered.
When cutting the cauliflower into thick slices, make sure you leave the stalk intact or it will fall apart too easily. And don't worry if you don't get more than two or three complete cauliflower "steaks" out of one cauliflower and the rest breaks up into medium and small bits. The rest will taste just as good! I love it over a salad the next day. Or if you want to eat it all up in one go, feel free to do that too of course!
Serving these with spicy tahini sauce is a must! The sauce is a blend of tahini, Sriracha, lime juice, garlic, salt and water. Just whisk it together and drizzle on top. Or use it as a dip! It's so delicious! I have been seriously making this dish so many times lately - even my husband (who is not a big cauliflower fan!) asks me to make this. It's that yummy!
Will you make these cauliflower steaks soon? Or how about my Vegan Hokkaido Squash Curry?
These crispy oven-baked cauliflower steaks are whole30, vegan, healthy and delicious! They make a wonderful main dish drizzled with spicy tahini sauce!
- 1 medium-sized cauliflower
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Pre-heat oven to 180°C (356°F). Cover baking tray with parchment paper.
Cut the cauliflower into thick slices (with the stalk intact). The sides willl probably break up into smaller pieces but don't worry, they'll still taste great.
Mix almond milk and salt together in a plate.
Mix nutritional yeast, almond meal, salt, pepper and paprika powder together in another plate or flat bowl.
Dip the cauliflower slices (or pieces) on all sides into the almond milk and then into the other mix so that all parts are coated.
Place on the baking tray and spray with olive oil.
Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 20 minutes. Flip over and spray with olive oil.
Raise the temperature to 220°C (428°F) and bake for another 20 - 25 minutes. The cauliflower will be soft on the inside but crispy on the outside.
In the meantime, whisk together all ingredients for the spicy tahini sauce.
Serve the cauliflower steaks drizzled with the sauce. Enjoy!
