We’re making a vegan smoked whole roasted cauliflower for a new grilling tradition that’s bursting with flavor! This is next level vegan grill food.
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If you have never grilled cauliflower, then you are in for a treat; however, we are elevating everything you’ve ever known about grilling with this vegan smoked whole roasted cauliflower.
By smoking, we are infusing the cauliflower with a ton of flavor. Not only that, but the juiciness comes through and the slow roasted cooking of this cauliflower is amazing.
You can use this as an appetizer or a main course. Even the omnivores will come back for seconds!
VEGAN SMOKED WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER INGREDIENTS:
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this Grilled Roasted Cauliflower:
- Cauliflower – This is the base of our entire meal. Keep in mind that the larger the head of cauliflower, the longer it will take to cook. Sometimes it’s easier to make two smaller ones than one extra large one for that reason.
- BBQ Seasoning – A perfectly curated combination of seasonings to make this meal delicious.
- BBQ Sauce – We are using homemade BBQ sauce, specifically the photos are showing our homemade vegan peach BBQ Sauce. Making BBQ Sauce from scratch is ridiculously easy and you’ll be shocked how much better it is than bottled.
- Oil – We are using oil to help with moisture, but also provide a base for the dry seasoning to stick onto.
- Peach Wood Chips – This isn’t an edible ingredient obviously, but if you are going to be smoking the cauliflower you need wood chips. We are using peach flavor because we were pairing it with peach BBQ sauce.
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- Dry Seasoning – You can use any store bought all purpose or BBQ spice blend that you like.
- BBQ Sauce – If you don’t want to use the peach BBQ sauce that we are using then you can try our traditional homemade vegan BBQ sauce or our blueberry BBQ sauce. Alternatively – you can just use your favorite store bought BBQ sauce as well.
- Oil – If you are oil free we suggest that you use a grill mat and spray with water in order to get the seasoning to stick.
- Wood Chips – If you don’t or can’t find peach wood chips, we first suggest another fruit variety like apple. Then oak. If you do not want to smoke the cauliflower you can omit entirely.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR VEGAN SMOKED WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER:
IS GRILLED CAULIFLOWER HEALTHY?
We are using very minimal ingredients in this recipe and almost everything is from scratch. We are using whole foods, plant based ingredients with little processing. The only thing to look out for is the sodium content in your spice blend and BBQ sauce depending on any dietary needs you have.
CAN I PREP GRILLED CAULIFLOWER AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes! Honestly, it’s best served right off the grill, we won’t like about that; however, you can prep a day in advance and just reheat when ready to serve.
HOW TO STORE THE GRILLED CAULIFLOWER?
If you have any leftover smoked roasted cauliflower, then we recommend storing it in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
HOW TO REHEAT GRILLED CAULIFLOWER?
You can reheat in the microwave, in a skillet or air fryer. Just heat until warmed throughout.
CAN I MAKE THIS TOP 8 ALLERGEN FREE?
There is allergens inside the recommended vegan Worcestereshire sauce. However, you can replace the vegan worcestershire sauce with a vegan-friendly steak sauce (like A1) and this entire dish would be Top 8 Allergen Free?
Why would I want to smoke my cauliflower?
Smoking food on a grill is usually reserved for traditional meats. We are here to show you (and others) that smoking doesn’t just have to be for meats and that vegetables can benefit as well.
Smoking infuses a ton of flavor, but not only that. When you smoke food you usually cook it at a lower temperature for a much longer time (similar to slow cooking in a crockpot). This allows for much deeper flavors to develop and leads to a tender, juicy cauliflower that is out of this world.
Do I have to smoke the cauliflower? Can’t I just grill it?
Absolutely. Feel free to omit the wood chips. If you do this then you are really just roasting a cauliflower on the grill and we would recommend that you follow our tips for how to roast cauliflower.
What BBQ sauce should I use to spread over the cauliflower?
If the photos we are using our peach BBQ sauce recipe, but here’s all our flavors:
Any of these can be used and they are absolutely delicious!
How do I know my cauliflower is done?
A fork should easily pierce through the bottom stem of the cauliflower. If you notice that the top is getting done too quickly you can cover it with foil after the first 90 minutes.
Why is my grilled cauliflower burning?
You likely have the heat up too high. You want to make sure that you keep the grill to an even temperature that can hold steady without fluctuating too far up or down.
What other vegan cauliflower recipe ideas could I make?
Cauliflower is an excellent vegetable for a variety of dishes! Here’s a few we think you would like:
- Vegan Cauliflower Tinga Tacos (photo above)
- Vegan Cauliflower Coconut Curry
- Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Vegan Kung Pao Cauliflower
- Vegan Orange Cauliflower
Pin this smoked whole roasted cauliflower for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Smoked Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 tablespoon high heat oil (grapeseed or canola for example)
- 2 tablespoon BBQ seasoning blend
BBQ Sauce (Pick 1)
- Vegan Peach BBQ Sauce (shown in photos)
- Traditional Vegan BBQ Sauce
- Blueberry BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Heat one side of your grill to 225 degrees F. (1 burner is 2 burner grill, 2 burners if 4 burner grill, etc.
- Cut off green leaves from cauliflower. Cut enough of the stalk off the bottom so that your cauliflower sits flat on the grill. Brush olive oil over cauliflower. Evenly sprinkle BBQ seasoning across cauliflower.
- Add peach wood chips to grill on the side that’s heated (may need to use a smoke box- reference grill manual or wood chip package). Add seasoned cauliflower to grill on indirect heat side. Close grill.
- Cook for 3-4 hours or under fork tender through the stalk of the cauliflower. Replacing wood chips as directed on package.
- While cooking, pick 1 BBQ sauce from the above list and cook according to the directions.
- Once cauliflower is done, brush vegan bbq sauce over it. Cut pieces and serve.
This recipe is very easy to cook with a pellet grill. We prepped and cooked the cauliflower in pieces to speed up cooking. Even without sauce everyone loved it.
Oh I love that, so glad it was a hit
Fantastic recipe.
Great idea to smoke a cauliflower!
We loved it
So happy that you enjoyed the idea!