Found Best Easy Vegan Dinner Recipe From a Popular Chef: How I Make It

It’s tempting to order take-out or make a frozen pizza for dinner, but making a restaurant-quality dish at home isn’t as much of a hassle as you might think.

Just ask chef and Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli.

When I interviewed her in February 2021, she told me cauliflower “steak” is one of her go-to dishes to make when she wants an easy dinner. It’s also a signature dish at her New York City restaurant Butter.

“I call it my accidentally vegan entrée, and it’s basically cauliflower that’s blanched, soaked in coconut milk, and then roasted,” she said. “It’s just, like, ‘What did I just eat?’ It’s got that kind of vibe.”

Although I don’t follow a plant-based diet, I try to have meatless meals throughout my week. I also love vegetables, though I must admit cauliflower is one of my least favorites.

Still, I’m always game to try something new. So, I pulled up one of Guarnaschelli’s recipes for cauliflower “steak” and got cooking.

The ingredients felt affordable and easy to find

The recipe has three components: marinated cauliflower steaks, a simple vinaigrette, and a gremolata topping (an herby Italian condiment typically made with parsley, garlic, and lemon juice).

It looked a little intimidating at first glance, but when I read through the recipe, I realized this dish would actually be pretty simple.

A lot of the ingredients, like salt, red-wine vinegar, garlic, olive oil, and red-pepper flakes, are common pantry staples.

However, I did have to pick up a few things I don’t usually have on hand, like unsweetened coconut milk, flat-leaf parsley, and coriander seeds.

Prep took me a few hours, but none of the steps were difficult

I started by cutting a cauliflower head into three thick slices, or “steaks.” The recipe said to cut the head into two pieces, but mine was massive.

From there, I boiled two slices in a pot of heavily salted water for about seven minutes.

I was thankful to have three slabs of cauliflower because one fell apart while boiling. I still strained it and let it drain on a sheet pan while the third steak boiled.

While the cauliflower rested and released the extra water, I prepared a small baking dish with coconut milk, crushed coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, and salt.

I’d never worked with coriander seeds before, but crushing them with a mortar and pestle was easy.

Next, I placed the cauliflower pieces in this dish and put it in the fridge to marinate for two hours.

Just before the two hours were up, I put together my vinaigrette and gremolata so that the food would be ready to plate after the cauliflower was roasted. 

The vinaigrette was as easy as whisking mustard, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, and lemon juice together.

Then, I chopped up about half a bunch of parsley and combined it with minced garlic and lemon zest.

After marinating, I popped the cauliflower in the oven for about 15 minutes, then broiled it on high for about five. I kept a close eye on it while broiling to make sure it didn’t burn.

When everything was out of the oven, I put one hefty steak on a plate, generously poured on the vinaigrette, and topped it all with a couple of spoonfuls of gremolata.

This dish was an explosion of flavor in the best way

Simply put, this dish was incredible.

I’d brought out a knife for the full steak effect, but I didn’t need it. The cauliflower was tender enough to cut with a fork.

Every bite was amazing, even the tougher stalk. As I chewed, there were so many exciting things happening to my taste buds. It was sweet, spicy, salty, and tangy.

I’ll definitely be making this beautiful dish again. Despite the lengthy prep — including two hours to let the cauliflower marinate — I was able to make this on a weeknight with ease.

It also seems easy to upgrade or adjust. For example, Guarnaschelli told me, it’s easy to add more protein to this dish by topping the “steak” with any kind of beans or crushed nuts.

I think finely crushed walnuts would be a nice addition for both flavor and texture, and I’m excited to try crumbling them on top next time.

The vinaigrette and gremolata are also amazing on their own, and I’ll be using them on my standard salads and roasted veggies on nights I don’t have time to marinate the cauliflower.

Really, every part of this dish is pretty versatile. I can see myself using the coconut-milk marinade for tofu as well, or drizzling the dressing and gremolata on veggies, pasta, or pizza.

I’ve never been to Guarnaschelli’s Butter, but I can’t wait for the day I can make a trip to NYC to have this prepared by the pros. For now, I’ll have this on heavy rotation at home because I’m already obsessed.

This story was originally published on February 16, 2021, and most recently updated on August 14, 2026.