Balsamic Maple Glazed Cauliflower

It’s amazing how quickly life can change. Just when you think you have a plan in place, in the blink of an eye, that plan has been thrown out the window and a new one begins to form. If you’ve followed along for a while, you likely know that Josh and I sold our house and we’re waiting on our rental. The rental we found was a flexible lease from a private owner who had agreed to let us rent month to month while we figured a few things out and prepped for house shopping. Well, that rental will not be ready when we thought it would. We are living in our overly gracious friends’ guest bedroom, with all parties under the understanding it would be a temporary situation for about a month.

That timeline is looking a little wavering at the moment. Everything we are finding in the way of rentals either requires a one year lease, or an astronomical price per month for anything less. So, after hours and hours of talking, we’ve decided to go ahead and buy. And quickly. I’ve scoured the market for the last year and a half, but only half-heartedly, knowing we weren’t ready. So I definitely feel like I have a pretty good grasp of what’s available and what we might be able to expect, but this sudden decision to buy still seems very rapid. Nonetheless, we are stepping out in faith and rolling with it.

We looked at several houses yesterday and found one we really like. Is it downtown in the Historic district with all the charm of the old creaky floors, limited closet space, expanded porches and rocking chairs out front? No. But it’s in a really nice area that is family friendly, a good investment, and old enough to have some charm and character {built in 1968}. But for those of you in the Nashville area who remember the 2010 Flood, you can understand out slight concern for the creek that runs behind the house and the potential of the home requiring flood insurance. So there are several details to still work through before we put in an offer, but we are hopeful.

Maybe that long explanation gives you a hint as to why I’ve been silent this week and there’s been no recipe until today. Sorry about that, once we get settled, I hope to be back to my typical two a week! Anyway, enough about buying a house. Let’s talk about this Balsamic Maple Glazed Cauliflower.

Oh me, oh my… I made this dish several weeks ago but can still remember licking the plate. That’s right, licking.

I’ve always liked cauliflower, so for me, there’s no need to disguise the taste. However, I don’t think I even realized, or cared, what the substance was, so long as it was covered in this delightful balsamic maple glaze…heavenly.

I’ve said it before, but I’ve completely fallen in love with Smoked Paprika. Combine its smokiness with the acidic bite of the Balsamic vinegar, the intense sweetness of the maple syrup and the pungent flavor of the garlic, and the combination is delightful. Each ingredient playing its own part without taking over. Adding a generous side of Farro {or quinoa or brown rice for gluten-free} with this roasted cauliflower and this dish lent itself to a teriyaki Asian stir-fry flavor, but without all the soy and additives!

The batter is made with almond milk, almond meal, and flaxseed, before topping the whole thing with hemp seeds, making the cauliflower completely gluten-free! If you’ve got your heart set on stir-fry this weekend but want to keep it a bit healthier, I strongly recommend this Balsamic Maple Glazed Cauliflower!

Happy Friday and Happy Cooking!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Balsamic Maple Glazed Cauliflower

This Balsamic Maple Glazed Cauliflower takes on a wonderful Asian stir-fry flavor without the soy and additives! Dairy free, Gluten free, Vegetarian

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dinner/Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: balsamic reduction, cauliflower, maple glaze

Servings: 4

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Kaylee Pauley

Ingredients

• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup organic maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• FOR THE CAULIFLOWER:
• One large head cauliflower
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 2 tbsp flax seed
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 450°F, and spray a baking sheet with coconut oil cooking spray.
• Combine chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup and garlic in a bowl. Whisk until well combined.
• Wash and cut cauliflower into florets and spread out in single layer on prepped cooking sheet.
• In separate bowl, combine almond meal, flax seed and almond milk.
• Drizzle the almond meal batter over cauliflower and toss to thoroughly coat.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from oven and pour sauce over cauliflower.
• Return to oven and bake additional 5 minutes. Remove pan one final time, gently flip cauliflower and bake another 3-5 minutes. Check cauliflower throughout this process to determine cook-time. The size of the florets will play a role in how quickly they cook. Enjoy!

Notes

Only the Cauliflower recipe is gluten-free, I've shown this paired with Barley which is not.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.7g | Protein: 8.5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.6g | Sodium: 234.1mg | Fiber: 7.3g | Sugar: 19.9g

Inspired by Cupcakes and Kale.