A hearty meal full of spice and comfort. Fiery cauliflower steaks, buttery herb rice, and creamy avocado dressing meet in this roasted cauliflower bowl! Is your mouth watering yet?
This bowl has it all! It’s a beautiful blend of savory, spicy, and umami.
Each component brings a special element to the dish! Plus, we focused on using whole foods to make this meal healthy and delicious.
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Enjoy as a nice dinner for two, or make this for lunch and save the rest as leftovers!
We strived to make this a well-balanced dish — there’s whole-grains, veggies, protein, and leafy greens! Alongside the bold flavors, there are also plenty of fresh and creamy ingredients. We know you’ll love it!
If you love nourish bowls, you’ll definitely enjoy our sweet potato nourish bowl with chickpeas or savory breakfast bowls!
Recipe highlights
- Unique balance of flavors
- Hearty and satiating
- Spicy, savory, citrusy, and delicious
- Variety of textures
- Whole-food ingredients
Get ready for this appetizing dish! Some basic equipment needed: a cutting board, baking sheet, bowl, and blender!
Ingredients needed
Harissa cauliflower steaks and leaves — meaty, spicy slabs of cauliflower with roasted leaves. The main component!
Lemon herb rice — soft, fluffy rice with fresh citrus and herbs.
Avocado lime dressing — our herby, creamy dressing. A perfect pair for the fiery harissa steaks.
Mixed greens, cherry tomato, lemon, fresh parsley, and oregano —fresh ingredients to balance out this meal.
How to make this bowl
Make the rice
Rinse your rice until the water is mostly clear. Drain well.
Add rice, minced garlic, and lemon zest into a medium pot. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, to release the flavors.
Next, add salt and vegetable broth. Mix, bring to boil, then lid the pot and let cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Turn off the heat and let the lid on to allow the rice to absorb the flavored steam.
Just before serving, add the chopped oregano and parsley greens to the rice pot while it’s still warm, then mix to combine.
Roast the cauliflower
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C).
Mix the marinade ingredients.
Slice cauliflower into 1.5” steaks. Some florets will inevitably fall off; you can mix them in the marinade or save for later. The steaks are created when both the stem and florets are cut in one slice.
Place each cauliflower (and leaves) in marinade. Rub the steaks and leaves to ensure they are fully covered.
Rest steaks and leaves in marinade for 30 minutes.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the steaks and leaves in a single layer.
Bake the leaves for 15 minutes only, until crispy, then remove from the oven and set aside.
Bake the steaks for 30 minutes, flipping them over at the halfway mark (at 15 minutes). If you’d like them more crispy, you can place them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Prepare the dressing
Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth!
Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Assemble the bowls
Divide the mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and rice into the serving bowls, then add roasted cauliflower steaks and leaves. Drizzle generously with avocado sauce.
Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh herb leaves and serve warm.
Storage & reheating
This roasted cauliflower bowl is best served right away! However, you can store the components separately into airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Cauliflower steaks
Reheat in a 350 ºF (180º C) oven until warmed through (about 6-8 minutes).
Rice
Place in a microwave safe dish and add one ice cube on top. Cover with a towel and microwave for 1 minute or until hot. Remove the ice cube.
The steam from the ice cube helps reheat the rice perfectly!
Serving suggestions
Enjoy the cauliflower steaks, leaves, and rice served warm. The avocado dressing, leafy greens, and veggies can be cold or room temperature.
Feel free to switch up the dressing and try our creamy garlic yogurt sauce or silken tofu ranch dressing!
FAQs & tips
Prep tip
Since this recipe contains different components, we recommended chopping and measuring all your ingredients before starting! That way, you can work efficiently and transition to the next step easily.
Swaps and adjustments
The beautiful thing about recipes is that you can tailor them to your liking! Small adjustments ensure that you love what you cook.
For the cauliflower steaks, you can season them with different spices such as garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.
You can even change the spice level of the marinade. Want it milder? Thin out the marinade with water. Spicer? Try adding more Harissa paste.
The lemon herb rice is also customizable. Try out different herb combinations (or even omit an herb) and see what you like!
More nourishing dinner recipes
- Satay Sweet Potato Lentil Curry
- Vegan Chili Sin Carne
- Easy Vegan Instant Pot Pasta
- Delicious Falafel Tacos
- Easy Quinoa Veggie Bowl
Did you make our roasted cauliflower bowl and like it? We’d love to read about it, so be sure to leave a review and share it in the comments below. You can also Pin this recipe here!
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower Steaks
- 1 medium cauliflower head with leaves about 500 g, sliced into 1.5 inch pieces (save the leaves for roasting)
For the Marinade
- 1 tbsp Harissa paste
- 2 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ⅓ cup 80 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
Herbed Rice
- ½ cup brown rice 95 g, dry
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ⅓ cup vegetable broth 330 ml
- ⅓ cup fresh oregano 8 g, chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley 9 g, chopped
Avocado Dressing
- 1 avocado peeled and halved
- 1 lime juiced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves 8 g
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley 9 g, chopped
- 2 oz silken tofu 50 g
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ⅔ cup water 160 ml
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
For the Bowl
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup mixed leafy greens 30 g
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- Fresh parsley and oregano leaves optional
Instructions
Make the rice
- In a medium pot, add the brown rice, minced garlic, and lemon zest and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, to release the flavors.
- Add salt and vegetable broth, mix, and bring to a boil, then lid the pot and let cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Turn off the heat and let the lid on to allow the rice to absorb the flavored steam.
- Just before serving, add the chopped oregano and parsley greens to the rice pot while it’s still warm, then mix to combine.
For the cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C).
- In a medium bowl, mix the marinade ingredients.
- Place the sliced cauliflower and leaves into a large bowl, then pour the marinade. Use your hands to rub each slice and leaf to make sure that everything is well coated. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Prepare a large baking sheet or two smaller ones, line it with parchment paper, then add the cauliflower slices and leaves and arrange them into a single layer.
- Bake the leaves for 15 minutes only, until crispy, then remove from the oven and set aside.
- Bake the steaks for 30 minutes, flipping them over at the halfway mark (at 15 minutes). Remove them from the oven and set aside.
Prepare the dressing
- Into a blender, add the tofu, fresh herbs, water, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder, apple cider vinegar, and dill, and process to obtain a smooth mixture.
- Add the avocado, lime juice, salt, and pepper and blend until a creamy dressing is formed.
Assemble the bowls
- Divide the mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and rice into the serving bowls, then add roasted cauliflower steaks and leaves. Drizzle generously with avocado sauce.
- Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh herb leaves and serve warm.
Notes
- Store leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- To adjust the spice level of the marinade, add water or more paste, depending on your preference.
This recipe is outstanding! The way the spiciness of the harissa is cooled by the avocado dressing, oh, my! Thank you!
aww thanks so much for your feedback, Marianne! I’m so happy that you liked this bowl :)