Cauliflower Steaks with Vegan Green Peppercorn Sauce

If you cut cauliflower into thick slices, season them generously, and roast them until tender inside but crispy on the other side, you will get delicious vegan cauliflower steaks. They can be the perfect plant-based appetizer, quick lunch, or dinner served with vegan mashed potatoes and vegan green peppercorn sauce.

If you are looking for more vegan “steak” recipes, take a look at our Teriyaki oyster mushroom steak, our spicy tofu steak with chimichurri sauce, or our vegan Philly cheesesteak recipes. They are absolutely delicious.

What is cauliflower steak?

Cauliflower steaks are 1-inch thick slices of cauliflower head that are seasoned and then fried or grilled or roasted as you would do to make beef steak. It is not to mimic the flavor or the texture of beef. I think people only call it steak because you need to do the same steps to make cauliflower steak as you would need to make beef steak.

• Season the slices heavily as you would season the beef.
• Cook them in a frying pan for 2 minutes on each side to give them a bit of crust.
• Roast them in the oven to get them tender inside and crispy outside.

A lot of people eat cauliflower steaks as an appetizer or an entree. However, we think that these roasted cauliflower slices make a delicious lunch or dinner if you pair them with for example a creamy vegan green peppercorn sauce and vegan mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

• Cauliflower – Depending on the size of your cauliflower head, you can get 2-4 steak slices out of it.
• Garlic powder – Use powder as minced garlic can burn easily.
• Sweet paprika powder
• Hot chili powder or flakes – optional
• Oregano – Use dried, ground as freshly chopped oregano will burn easily.
• Basil – Use dried, ground as freshly chopped basil will burn easily.
• Rosemary – Use dried, ground as freshly chopped rosemary will burn easily.
• Oil – We recommend high heat-resistant oils like coconut oil or sunflower oil

If you are making the vegan green peppercorn sauce, here are the ingredients below. For other serving suggestions, please scroll further down.

• Dairy-free butter
• Onion
• Garlic
• Green peppercorn
• Worchestershire sauce – yes, it can be vegan and gluten-free
• Veggie broth
• Vegan cooking cream – full-fat coconut cream may not be an option as the coconut taste will likely come through
• Corn starch or tapioca starch
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to make vegan cauliflower steak?

Cut cauliflower for steak

1. Peel off the leaves as much as you can.
2. Cut off the stem at the bottom with the remaining leaves.
3. Place it with the stem below and cut the head of cauliflower in half.
4. Take a sharp knife and cut a 1-inch slice from both halves. (If you have a large cauliflower head you may be able to cut TWO 1-inch thick slices from both halves.)

Not to waste any cauliflower, you can use the remaining florets to make cauliflower soup or cauliflower mince for vegan spaghetti bolognese. Check out all recipes using cauliflower.

Make a spicy marinade

Cauliflower has a rather neutral taste, so you need to use strong seasoning to really elevate these cauliflower slices to steak heights. You can use your favorite steak seasoning or our favorite spices (garlic powder, sweet paprika, powder, chili powder, ground oregano, ground basil, ground rosemary, salt, and black pepper) mixed with olive oil.

Pan-fry the slices for 2*2 minutes

1. Place the cauliflower slices on a plate or cutting board and brush them using half of the marinade.
2. Pre-heat a frying pan on medium heat. No need to add olive oil, as you already have that in your marinade. Place the slabs of cauliflower with the marinaded side below and fry them for 2 minutes.
3. While frying, brush the naked sides with the other half of the marinade.
4. Turn the slices and fry them for another 2 minutes.

Roast them in the oven for 15 minutes

Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

• If you have an oven-safe frying pan, then after the 2 * 2 minutes frying on the stovetop, you can place the frying pan as it is in the oven.
• If you don’t have an oven-safe frying pan, then transfer the cauliflower steaks to an oven-safe dish or on a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roast them for 15 minutes until they are fork-tender. Serve while hot, although leftover cauliflower steaks keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

How to make vegan green peppercorn sauce?

1. Melt vegan butter on medium heat in a non-stick frying pan.
2. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until tender for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add green peppercorns and mix them well. 
4. Add Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
5. Add cooking cream and veggie broth and stir until combined.
6. Bring to boil and add corn starch. Stir quickly and well. If the sauce thickens, it is ready. PRO TIP: To avoid lumps a safer method would be to add the starch to the veggie broth beforehand.

What to serve with it?

Several side dishes pair well with cauliflower steaks, but our favorites are vegan mashed potatoes. Especially together with a creamy green peppercorn sauce (pictured). Other delicious side dishes are:

• Roasted veggies like asparagus, green beans, or carrots.
• Roasted potato, sweet potato, or butternut squash
• Potato salad
• Vegan scalloped potatoes
• Savory vegan sweet potato casserole
• Creamy vegan risotto
• Creamy polenta
• Rice or quinoa mix

Other sauces for roasted cauliflower steaks

We really love this green peppercorn sauce, but they also pair well with the following sauces and condiments:

• lemon herb tahini sauce (see below picture)
• vegan spinach pesto
• vegan onion gravy
• hummus
• cashew alfredo sauce
• chimichurri sauce
• vegan queso dip
• vegan bechamel white sauce
• vegan BBQ sauce

Why do we love cauliflower recipes?

Why do a lot of people like cauliflower? It is a cruciferous vegetable after all. Well, it is low in calories but high in nutrients. Not surprising at all why it became such a huge hit in the vegan/vegetarian diet. As it is low in carbohydrates, it is also a popular ingredient in weight loss recipes.

Cauliflower contains some of almost every vitamin and mineral that you need. – Read more about its health benefits in this Healthline article.

In short, low in calories, high in fiber, loaded with Vitamin C and K, and a great source of antioxidants. You can get to know this veggie through a lot of vegan recipes like cauliflower mince as ground beef, cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower mac and cheese, cauliflower mash, or cauliflower hummus. Which one is your favorite?

FAQs and substitutions

How to store it?

We recommend storing them separately from any sauce and sides in the refrigerator. They might lose some of their crispiness while storing, but they will still taste delicious after reheating.

Can you use other sauces and spices?

Yes, of course. The spices we use will make flavorful, slightly hot roasted cauliflower slices, which usually pair well with a creamy mild sauce. If you use mild spices, you can add some fiery sauce like chimichurri made of fresh parsley and chili peppers.

This vegan cauliflower steak recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, soy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free diets.

More vegan dinner recipes

You can browse through our vegan lunch and dinner recipes or check out

• Vegan Portobello Fajitas
• Vegan Jackfruit Stew
• Vegan Lentil Loaf
• Vegan Bean Chili with Millet
• Vegan Beetroot Burger

UPDATED: The original recipe was published in February 2020. More tips, serving suggestions, and combinations were added in April 2022.