Hot Maple Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower
A plate of crispy roasted potatoes and cauliflower paired with a drizzle of a spicy sweet hot maple sauce. An incredible flavor combination worthy of being on your holiday table.
Every few years I change up the menu during the holidays. A lot of the mains stay the same, but to help keep the holidays interesting, I like to change up the sides in particular. Mashed potatoes are great, but crispy oven roasted potatoes will always have my whole heart. Better yet, let’s drizzle them with a hot maple sauce infused with garlic, rosemary and lemon.
Why You’ll Love These Hot Maple Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower Bites
- You can prep some parts of this side in advance to save time. I have a whole explanation below in the FAQ section that will walk you through what to prep the day before. This will help make preparing everything that much easier day of.
- A fun way to get some vegetables on the holiday table. Cauliflower is just so good when it’s roasted properly and it pairs incredibly well with potatoes. I’m never mad when the two meet together on a plate drizzled with delicious sauce.
- Simple, but feels decadent. I personally feel like this recipe is easier than making standard mashed potatoes. Plus a lot more flavor thanks to the added sauce. For me, these are a must at my table moving forward.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Potatoes: I used a bag of baby potatoes. You can use regular potatoes, I would just peel and cube them into 1 inch thick cubes and follow the same boiling method. Follow the tips in this blog post if using regular potatoes.
- Cauliflower: This ingredient is technically optional, but I really like how nice and charred it gets in the oven, which complements the roasted potatoes really well. If you don’t want to use cauliflower, feel free to use more baby potatoes.
- Seasonings: I used a combination of garlic powder, onion powder and thyme for the vegetables and fresh rosemary when making the sauce.
- Maple Syrup: Try this with any of your favorite liquid sweeteners, I just happen to really like maple syrup.
- Garlic: Adjust the amount of garlic to your own preference.
- Chili Sauce: When I make this sauce I will either use sriracha or sambal oelek. As the heat from different chili sauces can vary, adjust the amount to your preference or leave it out entirely to make a sweet lemon garlic sauce.
- Lemon: This helps add some tang and freshness to this dish.
- Cheesy Spread: I like to serve the vegetables over a cheesy spread. I used Boursin’s Dairy-Free spread as the base, but you can use which ever dairy-free spread you like.
How to Make Hot Maple Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower
Preheat the oven to 425F. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water similar to how you would for pasta water then add the potatoes and garlic clove. Allow the potatoes to boil for 10 minutes or until they are fork tender. Remove from water, shaking off excess water as needed then transfer to a parchment lined baking tray.
Using a fork lightly press down on the potatoes to rough them up a little. Add 1 tsp each garlic and onion powder along with half the fresh thyme then drizzle the tray with oil. Toss to evenly coat then spread the potatoes out in a single layer on the baking tray and bake on the top rack for 15 minutes. Flip the potatoes then bake again for 15-20 minutes until crispy around the edges and salt to taste.
To a separate tray, add the cauliflower pieces and the remaining garlic powder, onion powder and thyme. Drizzle the cauliflower with oil and a generous pinch of salt. Toss to coat then spread out the cauliflower in a single layer on the tray, making sure the cauliflower is placed cut side down on the tray. Bake in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes, give the cauliflower a quick flip then roast again for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is charred on the edges.
While the vegetables are roasting, make the sauce. Heat up the oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add the garlic and rosemary and sauté for about 2 minutes until the garlic and rosemary are fragrant. Remove the rosemary then add in the maple syrup, sriracha, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and allow the sauce to bubble and thicken for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the lemon zest and cook for 1 more minute then remove from heat. As the sauce cools it will thicken further.
To assemble, spread your cheesy spread on your serving plate then top with the roasted cauliflower and potatoes. When ready to serve drizzle with the hot maple sauce and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Boil your potatoes in salted water before roasting. This will help to infuse more flavor into your potato as it cooks. Softening the potatoes also allows you the option to rough up your potatoes, which helps the potatoes crisp up around their edges when baking.
- Adding a garlic clove to the water that the potatoes are boiling in will help infuse the water with more flavor that your potatoes can soak up.
- To get a nice char on your cauliflower, cut the florets in half and place the pieces cut side down on the tray. When roasting, place the cauliflower on the bottom rack of the oven and this will help the cauliflower brown evenly.
- Season to taste. A lot of the flavor comes from the hot maple sauce. You can always season the vegetables further based on your own personal flavor preference. Just use this as a guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
This dish is best when roasted before serving, but I would recommend prepping some aspects of this recipe in advance to help save time when planning for the holidays. You can boil your potatoes in advance, allow them to cool and then store in the fridge the day before. You can also make the hot maple sauce in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Lastly, an obvious tip, pre-cut your cauliflower and peel your garlic the day before too. Less chopping is always a win.
If using the ingredients as listed, this recipe is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free.
If you intend to keep leftovers, serve the individual components separately to making storing easier. Reserve the sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days. The potatoes and cauliflower can also be stored separately in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
How to Serve
I love to serve the roasted potatoes and cauliflower over a bed of dairy-free Boursin spread, but you can always feel free to take the extra time to prepare this tasty whipped tofu spread I used in this sandwich for some extra protein.
This is meant to be a side enjoyed with some of your favorite holiday classics like this Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu, but can easily be turned into a full weeknight meal by serving with some roasted chickpeas.
More Plant-Based Holiday Recipes to Try
- Maple Miso Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Cornmeal Crusted Tofu
- Vegan Sheet Pan Dinner for the Holidays
- Lentil Vegetable Wellington
- Easy Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
- Vegan Cranberry Chili Meatballs
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
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Hot Maple Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A plate of crispy roasted potatoes and cauliflower paired with a drizzle of a spicy sweet hot maple sauce. An incredible flavor combination worthy of being on your holiday table.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb baby potatoes
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut the florets into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dry thyme
- Avocado oil for roasting
- 1 cup (8oz) dairy-free Boursin spread or your favorite cheesy spread
- Fresh parsley for garnish
- Kosher salt
Hot Maple Sauce
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp sriracha or sambal oelek
- Juice of half a lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water similar to how you would for pasta water then add the potatoes and garlic clove. Allow the potatoes to boil for 10 minutes or until they are fork tender. Remove from water, shaking off excess water as needed then transfer to a parchment lined baking tray.
- Using a fork lightly press down on the potatoes to rough them up a little. Add 1 tsp each garlic and onion powder along with half the fresh thyme then drizzle the tray with oil. Toss to evenly coat then spread the potatoes out in a single layer on the baking tray and bake on the top rack for 15 minutes. Flip the potatoes then bake again for 15-20 minutes until crispy around the edges and salt to taste.
- To a separate tray, add the cauliflower pieces and the remaining garlic powder, onion powder and thyme. Drizzle the cauliflower with oil and a generous pinch of salt. Toss to coat then spread out the cauliflower in a single layer on the tray, making sure the cauliflower is placed cut side down on the tray. Bake in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes, give the cauliflower a quick flip then roast again for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is charred on the edges.
- While the vegetables are roasting, make the sauce. Heat up the oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add the garlic and rosemary and sauté for about 2 minutes until the garlic and rosemary are fragrant. Remove the rosemary then add in the maple syrup, sriracha, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and allow the sauce to bubble and thicken for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the lemon zest and cook for 1 more minute then remove from heat. As the sauce cools it will thicken further.
- To assemble, spread your cheesy spread on your serving plate then top with the roasted cauliflower and potatoes. When ready to serve drizzle with the hot maple sauce, garnish with parsley and enjoy.
Notes
Boil your potatoes in salted water before roasting. This will help to infuse more flavor into your potato as it cooks. Softening the potatoes also allows you the option to rough up your potatoes, which helps the potatoes crisp up around their edges when baking.
Adding a garlic clove to the water that the potatoes are boiling in will help infuse the water with more flavor that your potatoes can soak up.
To get a nice char on your cauliflower, cut the florets in half and place the pieces cut side down on the tray. When roasting, place the cauliflower on the bottom rack of the oven and this will help the cauliflower brown evenly.
Season to taste. A lot of the flavor comes from the hot maple sauce. You can always season the vegetables further based on your own personal flavor preference. Just use this as a guide.
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