Spicy Grilled Cauliflower Steaks

Make cauliflower steaks on the grill and also in the oven. Both work great and it’s an easy way to get your veggie quota! 

Ingredients

  • ½ cup olive oil, plus more for grill 
  • 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 ½ pounds) 
  • 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp adobo sauce or ¼ cup adobo seasoning, such as Frontera Chipotle Pepper Adobo 
Seasonings
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely minced 
  • 5 Tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar 
  • 3 Tbsp mild-flavored (light) molasses 
  • 2 Tbsp paprika 
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano 
  • 1 tsp cumin powder 
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt to start, more to taste 
  • Lemon wedges for serving 

Directions

  1. Cutting cauliflower steaks: Choose a large cauliflower. Trim off the leaves and the bottom of the core. Place coreside down and slice the cauliflower in two down the middle. Continue slicing the cauliflower making about 1-inch slices. You’ll get 3-4 steaks from each head. Reserve the sides and any florets that pop off for another meal, or put them in a grill basket and cook ‘em that way. The steaks are very fragile. 
  2. Be careful adding them to the grill or flipping them, so they don’t break apart. 
  3. Stir chiles and adobo sauce (or adobo seasoning), garlic, vinegar, molasses, salt, paprika, oregano, cumin and ½ cup oil in a medium bowl to combine. 
  4. Heat grill to medium (350°). Brush sauce on one side of each cauliflower steak and place steaks, sauce-sidedown, on grill. Brush other side with sauce. Grill cauliflower until charred and beginning to soften, 7-8 minutes. 
  5. Turn, brush cooked side with sauce, and cook 7-8 more minutes until second side is charred/softened like the first side. Turn again, move to indirect heat, and brush with remaining sauce. Cover grill and continue to grill steaks until tender (paring knife slides into steak center with little resistance), 15-20 minutes. 
  6. Transfer cauliflower steaks to a platter and serve with lemon wedges.