Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives

Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives are fabulous for a low-carb meatless dinner that’s loaded with flavor! If you haven’t ever cut cauliflower into thick slices and roasted them, you have to try this recipe!

Pin the Cauliflower Steaks recipe to try them later!

Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives are a tasty cauliflower dish that I’d love to make for a meatless dinner! And other cauliflower fans will probably enjoy a big slice of roasted cauliflower for dinner, especially when the cauliflower is topped with garlicky red peppers, capers, and olives.

But if you’re one of those people who can’t get that excited about cauliflower, feel free to consider these cauliflower steaks a side dish, while the cauliflower lovers like myself can happily devour this as a meatless main dish. And I ate the leftovers cold out of the fridge the next day; it was that good!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• large head of cauliflower
• olive oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• Kalamata olives (optional)
• red bell pepper
• Capers (affiliate link)

What are Cauliflower Steaks?

Cauliflower steaks are thick slices of cauliflower that are roasted, grilled, or fried and often served with some kind of sauce or topping.

Are these Cauliflower Steaks hard to make?

The hardest part of this recipe might be slicing the cauliflower steaks so they don’t fall apart, so buy the biggest cauliflower you can find. I recommend that you cut through the core of the cauliflower to keep the pieces intact. But even if some of your cauliflower ends up in pieces instead of slices, I promise you that this will still be delicious!

What other topping variations can you use for these cauliflower steaks?

There are an endless number of options for varying the topping that goes on these cauliflower steaks.

• If you use the topping in this recipe, you can switch out the Kalamata olives for regular black olives.
• Some people might want to skip the capers used in this recipe.
• You could use the topping from Chicken Bake with Olive and Caper Sauce.
• The topping from Greek Chicken with Tomato, Olive, and Feta Topping would also be great!
• Top the cauliflower pieces with Avocado Salsa or Mediterranean Salsa.

How low in carbs is this recipe?

This delicious recipe for cauliflower steaks topped with a tasty sauce made of roasted red pepper, capers, and olives has only 6 net carbs per serving.

How to make Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives:

(This is ONLY a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Cut a head of cauliflower into slices about 3/4 inches thick.
2. I cut through the core of the cauliflower to keep the pieces intact, and then cut some of the core away afterwards.
3. Lay the cauliflower slices in a single layer on a roasting pan. It’s important that the pan isn’t crowded.
4. Drizzle both sides of the cauliflower with olive oil and season liberally with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
5. Roast cauliflower in a 450F/220C oven, cooking without turning for at least the first 15 minutes.
6. After about 15 minutes, remove cauliflower from the oven and carefully turn cauliflower pieces with a large turner.
7. Put back in oven and roast 10-15 minutes more, or until cauliflower is slightly crisp and nicely browned, and done to your liking.
8. While the cauliflower roasts, mash 1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic with some salt. I used a mortar and pestle, but you can do this in a bowl with a fork.
9. Put the garlic and salt into a bowl with lemon juice, (I rinsed out the mortar and pestle with the lemon juice), then stir in olive oil, whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. 
10. Then mix in the chopped olives, diced red pepper, and capers, and let dressing sit so the flavors blend while the cauliflower finishes roasting.
11. When the cauliflower steaks are crisp and slightly browned, spoon the spicy garlic dressing mixture over the cauliflower pieces and serve hot.

More Favorite Recipes with Cauliflower:

• Loaded Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad
• Ham and Cauliflower Casserole au Gratin
• Twice-Baked Cauliflower

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Yield: 4 servings

Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Cauliflower fans will enjoy these Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives for a meatless main dish or a side dish! And this recipe is low in carbs!

Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• pinch sea salt
• 3 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Kalamata olives (optional, see notes)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 T capers

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F/200C.
2. Remove leaves from cauliflower, then use a large knife to cut the cauliflower into slices an even 3/4 inch thick, slicing through the core to make the cauliflower "steaks."
3. Cut core section away from the slices and arrange cauliflower slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. (Don’t worry if some piece break off; they will still taste great!)
4. Drizzle both sides of cauliflower with olive oil and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. (I used a generous amount of pepper, but not too much salt.)
5. Start cauliflower roasting while you make the vinaigrette, and let it roast 15 minutes without turning.
6. While cauliflower roasts, mash garlic and sea salt in a mortar and pestle (or use a fork and a bowl), then rinse the garlic and salt mixture into a bowl with the lemon juice.
7. Stir in the olive oil, whisking until the dressing is emulsified. Stir in chopped red peppers, capers and olives and let the vinaigrette ingredients blend while cauliflower continues cooking.
8. After about 15 minutes, remove cauliflower from the oven and carefully turn cauliflower pieces with a large turner.
9. Put back in oven and roast 10-15 minutes more, or until cauliflower is slightly crisp and nicely browned, and done to your liking.
10. Serve the cauliflower steaks hot, with the garlicky dressing mixture drizzled over cauliflower

Notes

You can use plain black olives if you prefer, or skip the olives completely.

This recipe adapted from a recipe by Melissa Roberts for Gourmet Magazine.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 228Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 0mgSodium 314mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 6gSugar 6gProtein 4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives will be a great side dish or vegetarian main dish for any low-carb or Keto diet plan as well as for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sheet Pan Meals or Cauliflower Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This interesting meatless dinner of roasted cauliflower steaks was first posted in 2010! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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