Harissa Whole Baked Cauliflower, gluten-free
- Margaret Pahos
- Oct 4, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
My Harissa Whole Baked Cauliflower is a show-stopping centrepiece with a Middle-Eastern spicy paste, toasted pine nuts, sweet pomegranate, and served over a bed of creamy lemon and garlic Greek yoghurt. It can be baked in the oven or air fryer and is gluten-free, healthy, simple to make and can easily be made dairy-free. It's fragrant, delicious and the perfect side dish.
This recipe transforms a simple cauliflower into a beautiful, appetising and delicious meal. Roasting the cauliflower brings out its natural sweetness, creating a lovely contrast to the harissa paste and similarly, the harissa paste is a spicy contrast to the cooling effects of the Greek yoghurt, resulting in a meal that is a symphony of tastes and textures.
Watch How to Make It
Why you'll love this Harissa Whole Baked Cauliflower
It's a great side dish or served as a main meal when paired with steak, chicken, steamed rice, quinoa, tofu or chickpeas.
It's very simple to make, needing minimal effort and cleanup.
It's simple enough to make any night of the week and fancy enough to present to guests.
It's wholesome and nutritious and a great way to enjoy vegetables.
It can be cooked in both the oven and air fryer.
It's gluten-free, grain-free, and vegetarian
It can be made vegan and dairy-free by substituting the Greek yoghurt with vegan or dairy-free options.
Helpful Tips
Size of the cauliflower: the cooking times are for a small cauliflower at approximately 15-17cm in diameter.
Tender Cauliflower: It is firstly important to remove the thick centre stem as this takes longer to cook. This recipe creates creamy cauliflower florets, and the stems have a bit of a bite. For a more tender cauliflower, microwave for 4 minutes before coating it with the harissa paste.
Make it Vegan or Dairy-Free: simply use vegan and dairy-free options by substituting the Greek yoghurt with vegan or dairy-free alternatives.
Alternatives to Harissa Paste: sambal oleck, chilli bean paste, sriracha, or gochujang are easy alterntaives.
Serving it hot or at room temperature: the beauty of this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature. If you still want to serve it hot, then make it ahead of time and pop into the oven or air fryer to reheat before serving it over the yoghurt.
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Harissa Whole Baked Cauliflower
Serves: 4–6 (as a side dish)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook:
Air fryer: 50 minutes
Oven: 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Cauliflower
1 small whole cauliflower
2–3 tablespoons harissa paste (gluten-free)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra to drizzle
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, generous
½ cup parsley, finely chopped (or to taste)
¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
¼ cup pomegranate arils (extra if needed)
Lemon & Garlic Yoghurt
1 cup (250 g) Greek yoghurt (or dairy-free Greek yoghurt)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat:
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan forced or the air fryer to 190–200°C. Line a baking tin with baking paper. If using an air fryer, ensure the tin fits inside or line the basket directly with baking paper once heated.
2. Prepare the leaves:
Remove the leaves and trim the core from the cauliflower, keeping the head intact. Wash well. Roughly chop the leaves and core into bite-sized pieces and spread them over the lined tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with smoked paprika, ground coriander, sea salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
3. Season the cauliflower:
Place the whole cauliflower on top of the leaves and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Using a brush or spoon, coat the cauliflower generously with the harissa paste, making sure to cover all the nooks and crannies, including the base. Season well with sea salt and pepper.
4. Bake:
Bake in the oven for 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes or in the air fryer for about 50 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the centre of the stem with slight resistance. If the cauliflower is browning too quickly before it’s tender, loosely cover it with a damp piece of baking paper after about 30 minutes.
5. Prepare yoghurt & pine nuts:
While the cauliflower cooks, combine the yoghurt, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl and refrigerate until needed. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3–4 minutes until lightly golden, then set aside.
6. Garnish and serve:
Spread most of the yoghurt onto a serving platter and top with the roasted leaves and cauliflower. Spoon over the roasting juices, drizzle with the remaining yoghurt and a little extra olive oil, then finish with parsley, toasted pine nuts and pomegranate. Serve warm, slicing into wedges or pulling apart at the table.
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Recipe and Photography Margaret Pahos for @CreateCookShare
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