*Best* BBQ Grilled Cauliflower

This delicious grilled cauliflower is topped with a flavorful homemade barbecue sauce. Serve as a simple side dish or on top of a sandwich!

Are you cauliflower addicts like us? Cauliflower has had a facelift in recent years. Growing up, Alex and I only saw it raw on veggie platters. But these days, there are so many creative ways to eat this delicious cruciferous vegetable. Can we recommend this grilled cauliflower for summer? It imparts an irresistible smoky flavor to these hearty veggies: and when you coat it with our savory homemade barbecue sauce, it’s on top of that. Serve as a side or in a sandwich like our Grilled Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich!

How to Make Grilled Cauliflower (Basic Steps)

Unfortunately, preparing a grilled cauliflower recipe isn’t as easy as putting raw cauliflower on the grill! Since it has a chewy texture, you’ll need to cook the bouquets before grilling. When you try to grill raw cauliflower, it comes out black but still very chewy. It is best to cook before grilling steam it. We use the technique of cooking the vegetables before grilling to get hard vegetables like potatoes and carrots. How to prepare Roasted Cauliflower on the Grill (or go straight to the recipe):

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets.
3. Place the cauliflower in a saucepan of water, cover and steam until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Place the bouquets on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.*
5. Grill for about 4 minutes on each side until tender.

*Note: If you plan to use barbecue sauce for your grilled cauliflower, brush the cauliflower florets with barbecue sauce instead of olive oil before placing them on the grill. Then remove them and spread another layer after they are toasted.

How to serve grilled cauliflower

How do you serve this grilled cauliflower? Here’s what we do:

How to cut cauliflower

Wondering how to snip the florets off this grilled cauliflower but not sure the best way to do it? Alex and I use an ingenious method of slicing cauliflower that doesn’t end up with crumbs on the counter! (Has anyone this problem?) We use this method all the time e.g. Like when we make our Crispy Cauliflower Tacos or our delicious Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip. Here’s what to do:

1. Remove large leaves from the base of the cauliflower, exposing the stalk; discard the leaves.
2. Using a paring knife, cut around the cauliflower stalk.
3. Divide the cauliflower into large florets with your fingers.
4. Remove any large stems and cut the cauliflower into smaller florets as directed in the recipe.

That’s it: everything you need to know to prepare delicious grilled cauliflower! Let us know if you do in the comments below.

Looking for cauliflower recipes?

Are you as obsessed with cauliflower as we are? Here are a few more cauliflower recipes we couldn’t live without:

• Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce These tacos made with breaded cauliflower, refried beans, and silky yum yum sauce are all about one thing: big flavor!
• Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan As irresistible as french fries, baked in a hot oven until golden and crispy.
• Perfect Roasted Cauliflower The best way to cook cauliflower? oven baked ! This roasted cauliflower recipe makes it so irresistible you won’t be able to stop eating it.
• Roasted Cauliflower Pasta These cauliflower pastas are packed with flavor, filled with caramelized roasted cauliflower, parmesan, and fresh basil!

This recipe for grilled cauliflower is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.

Looking for more BBQ ideas?

And if you’re looking for more BBQ grilling ideas, we’ve got you covered:

Last update: April 2020