Make this awesome healthy Instant Pot cauliflower with creamy gravy for any party night or weeknight dinner. This garlic and herb whole cauliflower will be a gorgeous addition to your dinner table.
After cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot it was time to try this delicate vegetable in it. And to my surprise, it takes only three minutes on high pressure to cook the whole cauliflower head in the pressure cooker. And, in less than 30 min you can bring this dish to the dinner table.
How to make Healthy Instant Pot Cauliflower?
As opposed to cooking whole cauliflower in the oven (which takes more than 45 min), an Instant Pot is an easy and super-fast way to cook the whole cauliflower head. However, roasting in the oven has a whole lot of different flavors, tastes, and deliciousness.
Marinate the cauliflower with some spices, herbs, and fresh garlic. Place it on the trivet in the pressure cooker. Add some vegetable stock to the bottom as this will help create steam inside and cook the cauliflower. Cooking whole cauliflower at high pressure in the Instant Pot needs only 3-4 minutes. Once done, the remaining liquid will be helpful in making a delicious gravy to go with this dish.
Helpful Tips!
- Buy a fresh and large cauliflower head for this recipe.
- You can rub the spice mixture all over the cauliflower and marinate it well in advance before cooking it in the Instant Pot. It will make the cauliflower more flavorful. It is completely optional.
- Carefully cut the leaves using a knife. Otherwise, you may end up cutting big florets that will ruin the look of the final dish. Also, carefully trim the stem flush. It will help the cauliflower head to sit flat in the serving dish without leaning on any side.
Instant Pot Whole Cauliflower
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Healthy Instant Pot Cauliflower With Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower head
Marinade
- 3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
For Gravy
- 1 onion cut into large pieces
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves whole
- 1 ½ cup vegetable stock
- ½ tsp thyme or more if fresh
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine all the ingredients listed under marinade.
- Cut leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower head. Carefully trim the stem flush without cutting the florets. It will help the cauliflower to sit flat on the trivet.
- Rub the prepared garlic-herb marinade on the cauliflower head evenly.
- For the gravy heat oil in saute mode of the Instant Pot. Add onion and whole garlic cloves; cook until translucent.
- Then add vegetable stock, thyme and lemon juice. Place the trivet into the Instant Pot.
- Put the whole cauliflower head on the trivet. Cook for 3 min on manual high-pressure mode. Allow pressure to release naturally for 5 min and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Carefully transfer the cauliflower to an oven-safe dish or tray. Optionally, broil it 3-4 min in the oven to get a nice crust.
- Turn on the saute mode in the Instant Pot. Add flour to the gravy base and blend everything using a hand blender until it gets to a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
- Cook the gravy for 3-4 min and serve warm with the cooked cauliflower.
Notes
- Do not forget to open the lid after 5 min to naturally release the pressure and take the cauliflower out from the Instant Pot once it is opened. Else, the steam from the gravy base will keep on cooking the cauliflower.
- Gravy – you can increase the quantity of the gravy by adding more vegetable stock and flour before blending the gravy base.
Nutrition
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I am a terrible cook, but the instant pot has made me a great cook. I adore this dish, especially the gravy. I was wondering if there are other vegetables the gravy would be good on……maybe broccoli or carrots. Yum yum yum. thank you
This was very good! Both my husband and I enjoyed it. I did read many comments before attempting and ended up only pressure cooking the cauliflower for 1 minute and then slow venting for about 2 minutes. I did broil in the oven at 425 for about 8-10 mins. Turned out great! Next time I am going to double the marinade though.
Absolutely delicious! Next time I will shorten the time a bit. Thank you. I will look at other recipes.
omg, this was soooo tasty! I did double the paprika in the marinade, and the lemon and garlic in the gravy… also only cooked on high pressure for 2 min with a QR – perfect firmness for those who don’t like crunch to their cooked cauliflower 😉
I am gluten free, can you make this without the flour? would that still work?
I never made it without using flour. However, I feel the gravy might not be as creamy in texture, but will still be tasty without the flour.
Use gluten free flour?
You can use gluten free flour like corn starch, rice flour etc.
I’m new to Pressure Cooking and
Cooked this Cauliflower today. Very easy and loved it. Definitely a keeper. Next time I’ll double up on the sauce!!! Thank You!
One of the best dishes I ever made in the instant pot.
Great Recipe!!! Loved it!!! It came out perfect and delicious!!
This was so delicious! I’m excited to try variations of this recipe too!
flavour is good. Gravy is yum,. But 3 minutes plus 5 minutes manual release is WAY too long. The cauliflower was mushy and falling apart. I’d definitely make this again but only do 1 minute cook time versus 3.
This was delicious. Agreed with others that reducing the cooking time to as much as one minute under pressure would be enough. I cooked mine for 2 minutes at high pressure and released steam immediately, I couldn’t handle the cauliflower it was so soft. I did put it in a hot oven with some asparagus for 10 or so minutes, but it didn’t crisp. The gravy/sauce was great and the flavours were all perfect. I served with a small amount of rice, and a simple salad of fetta, tomato, cucumber, and yellow capsicum.
This evening I cooked (in my Instant Pot 6-quart Duo) a whole head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds after trimming. I used 1/2 c water and cooked it on a trivet with handles.
I cooked it for 1 minute at high pressure with a Quick Release and showered it in my sink (upside down) with cold water to stop the cooking.
At the end of cooking, there was almost no water left in the inner pot of the cooker. Next time I will use 1 cup water to possibly crdate more steam.
I found the texture of the cauliflower a little softer than crisp-tender, not quite mushy, but with just a little texture (“bite”). Cooking it any longer would have created an inedible mush.
Next time I will cook the cauliflower for “0” minutes since I will be using it for a salad with a vinaigrette.
I am not a cauliflower fan, but this recipe is amazing. The gravy is out of this world, and I will be using that for more of my vegan dishes.
Delish! First thing I made (tonight) in my Crockpot Express. Great taste! Fast and filling. Thank you!
Great recipe! I love this idea for Thanksgiving! I have some vegan friends I know would love this.
Wow! This looks beyond amazing. We are huge fans of cauliflower so definitely going to have to give this recipe a try. Thanks so much for sharing!
This looks absolutely deleicious! I will definitely be giving this recipe a try soon. Loving your site!
My goodness this looks divine! I can’t wait to try this for myself at home…