We eat a lot more pasta at this house than you might guess from looking at this blog. At least once a week, often more. This roasted garlic and cauliflower pasta is the kind of recipe I reach for when I have a head of cauliflower to use up and want something genuinely cozy without a lot of fuss. As one reader put it: “6 years later, this recipe is a dream.” Serve it with my vegan parmesan on top for the full experience.
The roasted garlic sauce is what makes this pasta. You roast two full heads of garlic until the cloves are browned and completely soft, then mash them into a smooth puree and whisk in lemon juice, chili flakes, and olive oil. The starchy pasta cooking water loosens the whole thing into a silky, light sauce that coats every piece of pasta and cauliflower. No cream or blender! Just roasted garlic melting around the pasta and adding so much flavor.
Baby arugula instead of parsley is my preference here. The peppery bite contrasts beautifully with the sweet roasted garlic. The walnuts on top add a crunchy, toasty finish that I find essential. Both are listed as optional in the recipe but I would not skip either.
This pasta comes together in about an hour, most of which is hands-off roasting time. A genuinely great weeknight dinner when you have a cauliflower that needs using up.
Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Pasta with Walnuts
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic, top quarter cut off to expose cloves
- 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 medium head cauliflower (2 lbs)
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 lb short pasta, such as penne or fusilli (can use GF pasta)
- 2-3 handfuls baby arugula
- ¼ cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
Notes
- From America’s Test Kitchen’s The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
- ATK lists an alternative version of this pasta with broccoli and almonds as well if that catches your interest. The original recipe calls for chopped parsley, but I used handfuls of baby arugula because I happened to have it in my fridge.
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, place a naked baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 500°F. Tear two squares of aluminum foil and place cut garlic heads in the centers. Drizzle exposed garlic tops with 1/2 tsp olive oil each. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves (if using). Wrap garlic bulbs up securely and place in the oven. Roast until garlic is browned and mushy/tender, about 40 minutes.
- While garlic is roasting, trim the cauliflower leaves and the extra bit of stalk at the bottom. Cut the head right down the middle, from top to bottom. From there, cut each half into 4 wedges. In a medium bowl, toss the cauliflower wedges with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Remove the pre-heated baking sheet from the oven and carefully lay the cauliflower wedges onto the surface, leaving some space around each piece. You should hear sizzling. Roast cauliflower until tender and well-browned, about 25 minutes (I flipped mine halfway).
- Once slightly cooled, transfer cauliflower to a cutting board and cut into bite-size pieces. Unwrap roasted garlic and squeeze cloves out into a small bowl. Mash roasted garlic with a fork to make a smooth puree. Whisk in the lemon juice, pepper flakes, some salt + pepper, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Set aside.
- Cook brown rice pasta according to package directions with a fat pinch of salt in the water. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining. Once drained, return cooked pasta to the pot. Add chopped cauliflower, garlic sauce, arugula, extra lemon juice to taste, and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water. Add more cooking water as necessary to achieve desired consistency. Serve pasta with handfuls of chopped walnuts on top and extra chili flakes.
1. white beans
2. walnuts
3. quinoa
4. vegetable stock
5. peanut butter
We always have garlic,tomatoes,onion,chickpeas,potatoes and olive oil off course mint and cilantro legumes definitely can’t be without them.
Lovely cookbook and recipe! 5 items: nuts/nut butter, greens, olive oil, coconut milk, spices.
Looks interesting – have just started enjoying cauliflower after using an Isa Moscowitz recipe that involved roasting it – so much more flavour and yummy texture! Will have to look for the pasta you mentioned…
Our pantry staples go beyond 5, but, like so many vegans out there:
beans & pulses, all types but esp. black, chickpeas, & lentils
nuts, particularly almonds & now cashews
grains, esp. pasta, quinoa
coconut milk
organic canned tomatoes
the baking pantry is another matter though!
We always have dried or canned black beans, Muir Glen crushed tomatoes, Kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, and Jovial Fusilli pasta.
that shot of the garlic – totally beautiful! <3 <3 <3
This recipe looks delicious! I LOVE Americas Test Kitchen…changing to a plant based diet last year after a cancer diagnosis I was very sad that most of my test kitchen cookbooks did not have very many vegetarian/vegan options. I was so happy to see your post yesterday that they finally made a cookbook for plant based foodies!! I have followed their show for years and love the Cooks Illustrated magazine. My pantry items that I always have on hand are: Quinoa, really good olive oil, nutritional yeast, frozen bananas and dates.
Sounds like a great cookbook. I always have canned tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas, quinoa and brown rice. And peanut butter!
Hmmm… pantry items. Definitely would start with a continuous supply of kitchen sink nut butter (whatever nuts and seeds strike my fancy I throw in the food processor)… quinoa, thin brown rice noodles for miso and pho soups, canned salsa from the garden and ghee
quinoa, nuts, some kind of green, olive oil, garlic :)
I always have beans, onions, potatoes, quinoa and nuts in my kitchen. Crisis mode ensues when I accidently forget to restock these…
Wow, this book looks awesome!
The five ingredients I always have on hand are:
Brussels Sprouts – can’t live without my daily dose
steel cut oats
organic cherries – frozen ones from Costco, for instant snacking
sweet potatoes – I love the Japanese ones, so rich and creamy
chickpeas – my favorite bean, I love me some hummus daily
coconut oil / baby spinach / almonds / olive oil / himalayan salt
Olive oil Quiona Garlic Red Pepper Flakes. Walnuts
Ooh, the pasta looks super yummy! I love ATC/ Cook’s Illustrated so much.
5 essential ingredients I always have on hand…
Garlic (for roasting and making a boring meal more exciting, of course!)
Salt (biggest pet-peeve: people who don’t know how to season properly!)
Beans & lentils (for easy protein)
Lemons (to brighten things up)
Nuts (for texture and nutrition)
That sounds amazing! I seem to always have cauliflower in my fridge (or freezer if I couldn’t finish the whole thing quickly enough), so I will definitely try it soon.
My 5 key items are: quinoa, dried beans, canned tomatoes, brown rice, and nuts. Then I add on fresh veggies and spices to make my dinner!
black beans, chickpeas, olive oil, pasta, tortillas.
This cookbook looks amazing!
Rotel tomatoes
canned beans
pasta
rice
olive oil
lentils, peas, corn, potatoes,tofu. This looks delicious, it will be tomorrow’s dinner we also loved pasta around here
Loving this give-away!
1) Brown rice pasta
2) Avocado
3) Frozen banana’s
4) Cashews
5) Garlic
Can you tell I like the healthy fats? :-)
Ahh the list is too numerous to name. Let’s see: nuts, chickpeas, quinoa, tahini, and dried fruit. Awesome giveaway!
This looks great! I always try to have garlic, lentils, tahini, chickpeas, and sweet potatoes.
This pasta looks delicious! My five ingredients are black beans, any kind of rice, cumin, olive oil, and hot sauce.
my five staples for vegan eating are canned beans, quinoa, nuts, olive oil, and fresh/frozen greens
Hi Laura,
I made this pasta tonight and it was delectable. The toasted walnuts really added a much appreciated warmth to the taste – I will definitely be making it again before the winter is through! Thanks so much for sharing it.
The five ingredients I am always diligent and thankful to have on hand in the pantry are quinoa, chickpeas, oats, nutritional yeast, and dates.
Love Cook’s Illustrated!
-dried unsweetened coconut flakes
-pistachios
-pumpkin seeds
-chocolate
-some kind of grain (lentils, farro, wheatberry, bulgar, pearl barley)
Eggs, olive oil, garlic, onions, and ricotta cheese
I always try to have dried lentils, balsamic vinegar, basmati rice, olive oil, and quinoa
coconut oil, chickpeas, peanut butter, black beans, canned pumpkin
I love how the fragrance of roasting garlic permeates my entire apartment; not to mention how the garlic tastes…I will be making this soon! My usual pantry staples are quinoa, black beans, canned tomatoes, olive oil, and chipotle in adobo sauce.
I’ve been craving roasted cauliflower, so I’ll have to give this a shot. Things I always have on hand: frozen Peas, Walnuts, Ginger, Black Vinegar, Rice Noodles
This book sounds amazing! And that garlic shot – so beautiful. Okay, here I go! My five: quinoa, french lentils, olive oil, tahini, and pink salt.
In my top 5: almond butter, coconut oil, cacao, tahini and bananas!
Always have garbanzo beans, pasta, garlic, onions and tofu in the pantry!
Looks delicious. I always keep stocked:
Sweet potatoes
Mushrooms
Black beans
Fire-roasted tomatoes
Onions
I swear, as soon as you post a new recipe, I start craving it!
As far as my five ingredients:
Olive Oil
White Wine Vinegar
Onions
Nuts (esp. pine nuts, walnuts and almonds)
Beans (esp. chickpeas and lentils)
My 5 pantry staples include: beans, rice, potatoes, garlic, and onions. You can start so many meals with these few simple ingredients!
I love pasta as well. For vegetarian meals, I always try to have on hand:
– Tahini
– Tamari
– Whole wheat pasta, in a variety of shapes
– Onions
– Tempeh
That cauliflower! Just burnt enough and so dang sexy. If I could list peanut butter (just peanuts + salt has it all goin’ on) for all five items I probably would, but I’ll add sweet onion, quinoa, garlic and sweet potatoes to my lineup as well.
Roasted garlic and cauliflower sounds like a lovely combination!
Five ingredients that I typically have in our pantry/fridge:
Wild rice
Spelt or rye berries
Kale or broccoli
Good olive oil
Sweet potatoes
I always make sure that my pantry is stocked with a brown and wild rice mix, miso, raw almonds, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. With these five and any vegies available, I can whip up a meal any time.
This cauliflower pasta dish is going on next week’s meal plan!
Fingers crossed for the book…
Raw cashews, sweet onions, mushrooms (dried or fresh), quality canned tomatoes, carrots. I can make all kinds of great stuff with whatever else I have around. Love roasted cauliflower!
My five always on hand ingredients are:
1. The Bomb – xxx tomato paste
2. eggs
3 coconut milk
4. fixin’s for salad
5. frozen homemade soup
Thanks for the recipe and a chance to win the cookbook.
damn girl that garlic shotttttt … and those beautiful bokeh bubbles on that cauli shot too.. Recipe looks SO good! xxxx
My five go-to staples are raw cashews, ginger root, dried legumes of several varieties, and red onions.
My pantry staples are similar to yours! Brown basmati rice (it’s just so damn good), lentils, chickpeas, tahini, and good olive oil
My always on-hand ingredients are:
onions
red lentils
limes/lemons
basmati rice
carrots
This recipe looks delicious!
I love the idea of roasted garlic in a pasta sauce! Some favorite pantry staples are olive oil, lemons, garlic, ginger, and canned chickpeas or black beans.
1. Pasta
2. Black Beans
3. Tomatoes
4. Garlic
5. Avocados
My go to “lazy girl” meal is pasta sauteed with garlic and sundried tomatoes. I’ll throw in spinach too if I have some on hand. My 6th “must have” would have to be tortillas – so many options for tacos/soups/chips and guac once you have those too!
Potato
Creme fraiche
capers
dijon mustard
a really good olive oil
There is almost no recipe that cannot be improved with one or more of these! In fact, just these five make a delicious treat!