Roasted Cauliflower And Carrots (With Cranberries And Feta)

Why you’ll love them

Whenever you can cook two things together, it’s a win, right? And even more so when it means you’ll get more than one vegetable on your family’s plates.

Not only that, but these very tasty roasted carrots and cauliflower work so well when you’re cooking for guests. With the contrast of crispy cauliflower, tender carrots mixed with sweetness, tang and earthy flavors, they’re super tasty and elegant. But they’re still quick and easy to make.

Just like roasted brussel sprouts and carrots and honey roasted carrots and parsnips before them, these would be fancy enough to serve to guests (even for Thanksgiving or Christmas!), but still easy enough to make for your family midweek.

Here’s a summary of what I think you’ll love:

• Quick and easy, yet classy! The herbs, spices, cranberries and feta take them into fancy territory. But you’ll need just around 10 minutes to prep the dish followed by roughly 30 minutes in the oven.
• Two veggies in one, and nothing to pre-cook. We’re all for saving time and oven space here!
• A crowd pleaser with both the grown-ups and the kids. Isn’t roasting just the best way to cook veggies? Even the kids will love the crispy but mild cauliflower, humble tender carrots, sweet honey and cranberries, earthy herbs and spices, and crunchy pine nuts.
• Prep ahead friendly. Assemble the sheet pan of veggies well ahead of time, if you like, or you can even cook it fully and reheat again later.

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

Cauliflower: You’ll need a small whole cauliflower, or just over half a larger one. Choose a nice firm one with crisp green leaves and without any dark spots.

Carrots: Use any carrots, really – two or three large ones. We usually have some floating around in our fridge, and I’m sure you do too!

Dried thyme and ground cumin: These woody, earthy flavors add interest and balance out the sweetness and tang of the honey, cranberries and feta. If you don’t have any thyme, by all means replace with another Mediterranean herb such as oregano, basil, tarragon, or an Italian mix.

Garlic powder: I recommend using this instead of fresh since fresh can burn when roasted at a high temperature.

Honey: Around 2 tablespoons combined with olive oil and drizzled over before roasting adds a subtle-but-there sweetness. It might also help to make the dish more palatable to your kids!

Extra virgin olive oil: For roasting.

Pine nuts: You’ll add these 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that they gently brown rather than burn. If you like, replace these with slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, or pecans or another nut.

Cranberries: Once again, you’ll add these 5 minutes or so before the end of the cooking time. They’ll go slightly chewy, which I hope you’ll love as much as I do! Feel free to substitute with raisins, sultanas or another kind of dried fruit.

Feta cheese: You’ll sprinkle this over towards the end of cooking as well. The tangy, salty cheese behaves almost like a seasoning and garnish. I always recommend using an authentic style Greek feta without any ‘extra’ ingredients added such as vegetable oil. If you like, replace with goat cheese, blue cheese, or another crumbly white cheese.

Salt and pepper: As always, to taste!

How to make roasted carrots and cauliflower

Start by cutting the cauliflower florets into pieces around 1 to 2 inches wide. Then peel and cut the carrots into chunks about 1 to 2 cm wide. If any slices are really wide, cut them in half across the width.

Scatter them over a sheet pan. I usually line it with baking paper for easier clean-up.

Mix up all the herbs and spices with the salt and pepper, then sprinkle evenly all over the vegetables.

Now mix the olive oil and honey together and drizzle it all over the vegetables too. Toss everything together.

Roast the vegetables for about 25 minutes, tossing half way through.

Scatter over the cranberries, pine nuts and feta.

Then roast for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is nice and crisp, but not burnt of course.

Serving ideas

This one dish cauliflower and carrot recipe is a perfect option for a fancy dinner such as Thanksgiving or Christmas! Turn two humble veggies into a unique and classy dish, and it’s easy to prep it ahead.

But you could certainly also serve it to your family midweek! It only takes around 10 minutes to prepare, then the oven does the rest of the work. Here are a few mains I would consider serving it with:

• An oven roasted chicken or other roasted meat or fish (if you have an air fryer, try this whole air fried rotisserie chicken)
• baked chicken thighs
• Meatballs or sausages (try air fryer Greek meatballs!)
• Crispy diced potatoes, Greek potatoes or truffle mashed potatoes