For more lightened-up recipes with cauliflower, try our cauliflower mashed potatoes and garlic brown butter mashed cauliflower. In this vegan version, we skip the usual polenta ingredients like butter, cream, and cheese. Instead, we roast the cauliflower with garlic and onion which gives it a naturally sweet, nutty, and rich flavor. Then we add nutritional yeast for its cheesy taste (and a healthy boost of B12), and it all gets whizzed in the food processor until it’s creamy. We spoon it into bowls and top it with earthy mushrooms and hazelnuts for a nutritious veggie-packed dish that does not disappoint!
Hazelnuts – we always toast a few extra and keep them for tossing into salads throughout the week. Cauliflower – when roasted with olive oil, cauliflower becomes rich, sweet, and almost nutty. It’s so delicious! Garlic + onion – these aromatics add lots of flavor to the ‘polenta’. Mushrooms – we like to use baby bellas or a mix of different mushrooms, but you can use what’s available or what looks most fresh. Nutritional yeast – adds a unique savory flavor that’s almost cheese-like. It also happens to be a good source of B12 so it’s especially ideal for vegans. You can also use the real deal (aka parmesan cheese) if you prefer!
Here’s how we make it in a few easy steps: Here’s how to save the most amount of time:
Put the hazelnuts in the oven right away. There’s no need to worry about waiting for the oven to heat up; the hazelnuts can start toasting while it’s heating. Once you chop the cauliflower put it and the garlic into the oven right away. Just like the hazelnuts, they can start roasting while the oven warms. Start the mushrooms sautéing next. While they’re sizzling in the pan, you can chop the onions and roasted hazelnuts. Next, clean everything up, pop the onions into the oven, then go chill out for a bit. Once the cauliflower is nice and dark roasted you’ll be eating your cauliflower polenta in only 5 minutes.
It pairs well with a simple seasonal kale apple salad or vegetable side like whole roasted brussels sprouts. If you want to add some vegetarian protein, try it with roasted chickpeas, grilled tofu, or tempeh. It’s also perfect as a vegan option on the holiday table at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s a surprisingly delicious side dish that everyone, even meat-eaters, will love!
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