Season and toss: Sprinkle the coarse sea salt evenly over the cauliflower. Gently toss until every piece is coated in the glossy brown butter and the salt is distributed. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
Serve: Spoon the cauliflower and all the buttery pan juices onto a serving plate or individual plates. Serve right away while it’s hot, tender, and almost melting in your mouth.
To keep it truly 3-ingredient, I stick to cauliflower, butter, and coarse sea salt, but there are a few easy tweaks if you’re not counting. For a brighter flavor, finish with a squeeze of lemon or a light sprinkle of black pepper. If you like a bit of texture, reserve a few steamed florets and pan-sear them in a spoonful of the brown butter until they get golden edges, then toss them back in. For meal prep, you can steam the cauliflower ahead of time and store it in the fridge; when you’re ready to eat, quickly rewarm it in the microwave or a covered skillet and make the brown butter fresh to pour over right before serving. If you need to make it dairy-free, you can use a plant-based butter alternative, but you’ll miss the classic nutty browned-milk-solids flavor—compensate with a tiny splash of toasted sesame oil for warmth. You can also scale this recipe up or down easily: just keep the ratio of about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter per cup of cauliflower florets, and adjust the salt to taste.
