Brussel sprouts and cauliflower in the oven is a great side dish or vegetarian meal that is packed with punches of flavor. We will show you step by step how to roast and toss with a creamy sauce when done.

When cooking vegetables you should incorporate a delicious sauce with it. Not only does it give it a pop of flavor but as a mom it is a great way to get my kids to try something new. Made with salsa verde and queso anejo it is delicious served on top of quinoa or as an easy side dish.
I will say as I’ve gotten older I appreciate vegetables that much more and I do try to incorporate them into each meal I cook for my family so this is a great one to add to our meal plans. Mixing and matching different ones makes it more interesting with different flavors like this and our Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes duo.
I find that serving them often has created a love of vegetables in my kids and all three would rather have a plate full of them rather than meat for the most part which I think is great! Once they fell in love with my air fryer cauliflower steaks I knew I could move on from there and test a few veggies mixed together like this.
These two items can really be found year round which is great. You could add baby carrots because it is the same timing as How Long to Bake Brussel Sprouts at 450. Tips to both of these is to slice the ends off your brussels and halving them is all for that one. Take a few more minutes to take the core out of this head and breaking up the cauliflower florets into bite size pieces.
How long does it take to cook brussel sprouts an cauliflower together?
Done this way may take 20 minutes total but beyond that you just toss them into a large bowl with some olive oil salt and pepper and throw them on to a baking sheet. Yes you should always preheat the oven for best results.
Roasting vegetables is quite simple. You are just getting them nice and tender and then tossing them in with your favorite sauce when done. OR just squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and you’ve got a wonderful healthy side dish that way.
Do you need to blanch brussel sprouts before roasting?
No, this isn’t necessary. If you wanted them to be really soft then yes you could quickly Boil Brussel Sprouts for 1 minute before beginning these steps below. If you do though, lay them on a few paper towels to absorb the moisture on the outside or they won’t crisp up.
The sauce is easy to whip together in a small blender and includes fresh herbs along with your main component which is your salsa verde.
Ingredient Notes
Brussel sprouts should be fresh and sliced in half. You do want to choose about the same size so they roast evenly and at the same rate. Remove the hard base before halving.
Cauliflower head should be cut into bite size florets and a similar size as everything else on the baking sheet. Once again, you want each piece to become tender during the cook time.
Salsa verde can be bought bottled or make our copycat Qdoba salsa verde from scratch. For a lower calorie, not creamy mix, you can make air fryer salsa and then use that to toss with these other ingredients for the sauce.
A fresh Lemon brings a fresh element. You could use bottled but of course it is not quite as good as right off the tree.
As far as the herms we incorporate into this mix, Basil is one we love, chopped Cilantro is optional, Parsley makes it pretty
And for the cheesy creamy element we used Queso anejo. There isn’t a great alternative other than a bit of sour cream incorporated with crumbled feta if you can’t find this.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower Recipe
Equipment
- 1 sheet pan
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb brussel sprouts
- 1 head cauliflower
Creamy Sauce
- 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 c. used for sauce
- 2 oz kale, baby size, or leaves with stems removed
- 6 oz salsa verde
- 2 oz queso anejo, (use feta if you cannot find this)
- 1 small lemon, juiced
- 1 bunch basil
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Cut off bottoms of brussel sprouts slice in half lengthwise. Cut cauliflower florets into smaller bite size pieces.
- Toss all vegetables with 1/4 cup of your olive oil and sprinkle with salt
- Preheat oven to 450 and place vegetables on a cookie sheet laying flat so they do not overlap, bake for 10-12 minutes until they are browned, flipping them half way through.
- In a blender add kale, salsa verde, queso anejo, lemon, the top of your bunches (with stems removed) of basil parsley and cilantro and your remaining 4 oz. of olive oil. Leave a little bit of whole herbs for garnishes.
- Blend until sauce is smooth and then pour 3/4 of this on your vegetables. Use remainder to pour on top if desired. Serve on top of quinoa or rice, or as a side dish.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you roast frozen cauliflower and brussels?
If you can only find frozen veggies, you’d want to follow air fryer frozen brussel sprouts and frozen cauliflower air fryer recipes. I think this method provides the best overall texture if starting out rock hard and frosty. Then toss with this sauce when they are tender.
You can make roasting frozen vegetables in oven this way but I highly suggest you use fresh for this so they get nice and crispy on the edges. If you love this creamy salsa verde brussel sprouts and cauliflower recipe you’ll love these other easy recipes:
I first set the oven to 400 degrees but didn’t get the nice char on the outside that I wanted. SO the next batch went in higher and that did the trick. In Air Fryer If you’d rather use high heat to make air fryer cauliflower instead you could do it that way.
1. If you don’t dry the outsides well enough after rinsing with water they won’t crisp up well.
2. Over-oiling can make them soggy instead of crisp, as they essentially steam instead of roast.
3. If they are too close together or piled on top of each other, they release steam, preventing them from crisping.
4. A low oven temperature may not create enough heat for caramelization and crispiness either, 450F. is ideal.
Want to try a few different choices on a sheet pan with this next time? Make roasted zucchini and squash with it for double the yum. Jump to recipe below which has nutritional information listed as well. Take note of the amount per serving for calories, fat, etc… if that is important to you.
Other easy brussel sprout recipes you’ll love
Instant Pot brussel sprouts come out steamed to perfection, just amazing if you have a pressure cooker. We love these brussel sprouts on stove, pure comfort food with a creamy sauce. Smoked brussel sprouts are great alongside your meats
What a great recipe! And with the quinoa it’s really a complete meal!