Roasted curried cauliflower with golden raisins and ginger

Curried cauliflower with golden raisins and ginger is a great side for chicken or steak, but it can stand on its own as  a meatless meal. Vegetable sides don’t have to be boring or bland. Roasting cauliflower brings out its sweetness, while the curry gives it a little kick and a lot of flavor.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

You may also be interested in my sautéed Bok choy and my curried cauliflower fritters recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my vegetable recipes in one place.

Pook’s Pantry participates in affiliate programs. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Roasted curried cauliflower recipe

This curried cauliflower with golden raisins is one of our favorite weeknight sides. It goes with nearly everything and it’s so tasty. It’s has little pops of sweetness from the sultanas, and that is a tasty contrast with the curry powder and ginger.

Golden raisins are also known as sultanas or white raisins. I always have a box in my pantry, as I prefer them over regular raisins. Depending on your market, they may not be available year round. If this is the case for you, substitute regular black raisins.

I’ve been making this dish for a long time. It was something I used to make at the restaurant, back before cauliflower was popular. We were always looking for new and different ways to serve vegetables.

If you are looking for a few recipes to use up your golden raisins, try the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad or Linguini and Roast Chicken with Golden Raisins. For baking, I use golden raisins in this Irish soda bread and this Apple Chutney Bruschetta is a tasty appetizer using them as well.

What you need to know

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that can take on different flavors and can be made in a variety of ways. Assertive spices work great with it, because they bring a ton of flavor.

When people say that they don’t like a certain food, my first follow up question is “How was it prepared”?  Sometimes, I find that it is less about the particular food and more about the way it was cooked (or not cooked). If you are one of the people that doesn’t love this vegetable, try roasting it. It becomes sweeter and in my opinion, tastier after roasting. Rather than writing off a certain food, try a different preparation. You might find that you actually do like it.

The spices for this roasted curried cauliflower – curry powder and turmeric, are delicious, but they can stain. I’d recommend wearing a dark apron, just in case. And, if you’re a hand model, wear gloves.

Ingredients

This roasted cauliflower side dish has earned a spot in the regular dinner rotation.

• Cauliflower – The star of the dish. Look for cauliflower that feels firm and doesn’t have brown spots.
• Ginger – Freshly grated ginger adds zing and a tiny bit of heat.
• Turmeric – This spice gives the dish it’s bright yellow color.
• Curry powder – If you’ve never had curry powder, get ready for a blast of flavor. You can cut the amount in half, if you prefer a milder flavor.
• Pine nuts – These add crunchy and mild nuttiness to the cauliflower.
  • Substitution: If pine nuts aren’t an option, almonds, pecans, or cashews would work.
• Oil – Any neutral oil, or olive oil is perfect.
• Salt and pepper – Add seasonings to your preference.
• Golden raisins – Golden raisins are milder than regular raisins and work really well int his recipe.
  • Substitution: Regular black raisins are the best substitute for sultanas, or golden raisins.

How to make

Here’s a quick summary of how to make curried cauliflower. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. 

For this particular recipe, the cauliflower is roasted. Roasting cauliflower really brings out it’s personality. It deepens the flavor and transforms it into something completely different than it’s raw version.

1. Prep – Preheat oven to 400°F // 200°C. Add cauliflower, oil, and spices to bowl, toss to combine.
2. Spread cauliflower out in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
3. Add pine nuts in the final 8 – 10 minutes of roasting.
4. Sprinkle golden raisins over the cauliflower, and toss to combine.

What you are looking for when you roast the cauliflower is a bit of browning. I like mine to have some dark brown edges and tips – that’s where the flavor is really concentrated.

Curried cauliflower FAQ’s

Variations and substitutions

• Nuts – If pine nuts are unavailable, but you still want some nuttiness in your side dish, try toasted pecans, almonds, or cashews in this dish. They will go nicely with the curry and they are less expensive.
• Herbs – I sprinkled finely chopped chives over the top of my roasted cauliflower, but other herbs that would pair well with this roasted cauliflower are flat leaf parsley or cilantro (coriander leaves).

Helpful tools and equipment

• Heavy duty sheet pans that hold up to high temps without warping.
• Parchment paper sheets are MUCH easier to use than tearing pieces off of a roll.

Please share

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

I hope you love this curried cauliflower recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting.

Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

​Buy me a coffee? If you ever wondered how you can lend a hand, show a little support or just say “thanks” for the recipes? You can “buy me a coffee” to help me keep the free recipes coming.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂

Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe (other than for personal use) without prior written permission. Thank you!

Originally published 3/24/19, most recent update 3/11/25.