A warm Roasted Cauliflower Salad just like the one at your favourite cafe! This easy 25-minute recipe is packed with warm spices, plump raisins, toasted nuts and a beautiful tangy dressing. A delicious light meal enjoyed hot or cold any time of the day. A must for all roasted cauliflower lovers!
Jump to:
🥗 Why Make This Roasted Cauliflower Salad?
Protein & Fiber Packed - As a Pescatarian who eats vegetarian meals at least 5 days a week, this salad is my go-to when I need protein-packed sustenance. Chickpeas, quinoa and nuts add a good amount of protein while cauliflower boosts the fiber content.
Vegan And Gluten Free - This roasted cauliflower salad ticks most dietary requirements and is a wonderful catering option for gatherings of all kinds. It is vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free. If nuts are an issue, I swap the almonds with pepitas.
Big Flavours & Fast - No bland cauliflower here! A good mix of warming spices adds an extra depth of flavour to the roasted cauliflower. The punchy salad dressing brings it all together. Lots of big flavours and all ready in 25 minutes! No wonder, this cauliflower salad is on repeat in my kitchen every week.
📝 Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower is the star of the show in this delicious salad. Chickpeas and quinoa add some heft while a clever combination of everyday pantry ingredients brings out the big, bold flavours. These are the ingredients I use and some easy substitutions if you don't have everything on hand.
- Cauliflower - Make sure your cauliflower florets are bite-sized. This provides more surface area for the spice marinade and creates a beautiful slightly charred crust after roasting.
- Chickpeas - Chickpeas are firm and therefore perfect for this salad. But they can be swapped for canned black beans or cannellini beans.
- Quinoa - I cook tri-coloured quinoa for this recipe. If you can't find a ready mix of tri-coloured quinoa, mix three-quarter cups of raw white quinoa with one-quarter cup of raw red quinoa and cook that instead. (See my notes on how to cook quinoa)
- Flavour Makers - Smoked paprika adds subtle heat and smokiness to the salad. This can be substituted with Korean Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru) or Sweet Paprika. If you can't find garlic powder, use freshly minced garlic or dried garlic flakes. Grain mustard (seeded mustard) can be substituted with Dijon mustard.
- Raisins - The closest swap to raisins is either sultanas or dried cranberries.
- Almond Flakes - If you can't find almond flakes, toast whole almonds and then slice them thinly. If you would like to make the salad nut-free, add toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead.
🥣 How To Make Roasted Cauliflower Salad?
- Cook quinoa in a pot. Cool completely. (see notes)
- Rinse and drain canned chickpeas.
3. Juice and zest a lemon.
4. Toast almond flakes on low heat in a small, dry frying pan.
5. Add all ingredients for the roasted cauliflower salad dressing to a small bowl.
6. Mix well. Salad dressing can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a week.
7. Add all ingredients for roasted cauliflower to a bowl. Mix well.
8. Spread marinated cauliflower on a large-rimmed baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast in a preheated oven at 220°C for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
9. Add chickpeas and cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl.
10. Add raisins and spring onions to the bowl.
11. Add cooled, roasted cauliflower to the bowl.
12. Add parsley and salad dressing. Mix well until everything is evenly coated with the dressing.
🔪 Meal Prep & Storage
This Roasted Cauliflower Salad is a great meal prep recipe. It can be made a couple of days ahead and can be stored either fully assembled or individually. Fully assembled salad keeps well in the fridge for up to two days when stored in an air-tight glass container.
To meal prep this cauliflower salad,
- Cook quinoa and store in the fridge in an air-tight container. (Stays fresh for up to 3 days)
- Cut cauliflower into small florets and store in an air-tight container in the fridge. (keeps for up to 5 days). Marinated and roasted cauliflower can be cooled completely and then store in an air-tight glass container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Chop parsley and spring onion. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge along with a small piece of paper kitchen towel or serviette. (keeps for up to 5 days)
- Mix the dressing and store in a lidded glass jar in the fridge. (keeps for 7 days)
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
This delicious Roasted Cauliflower Salad can be eaten warm or cold. The best way to eat it is either at room temperature or warmed up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Serve this salad with the following dishes for a more complete meal.
- Sticky Marmalade Chicken Wings
- Ginger Mango Lassi or a Vegan Strawberry Milkshake
- Oven Roasted Tomato Garlic Saffron Soup
- Baked Miso Salmon
Recipe FAQs
When roasting cauliflower for a salad, the best way to do it is to cut it into small florets and roast it in a preheated oven at a high temperature like 220°C for approximately 20 minutes. This gives you golden roasted cauliflower with crispy, caramelized edges.
Roasted cauliflower keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days if stored in an air-tight glass container.
Roasted cauliflower is a great low-carb everyday option for salads. My Roasted Cauliflower Salad recipe is a complete meal with protein, good fats, carbs and fiber. It is a healthy, light-meal option.
💛 More Roasted Cauliflower Recipes
Recipe
Hungry For More Recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter. Check out Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see everything I share! And if you love cooking and new cookbooks, join my free Cooking Club on Facebook!
Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Chickpeas And Quinoa
Print Recipe Rate / CommentIngredients
for the roasted cauliflower
- 400 g cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- ½ tsp flakey salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
for the salad dressing
- 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp grain mustard, seeded mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsps olive oil
for the salad
- 400 g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup (200 g) cooked quinoa
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced (green part only)
- 2 tbsps raisins
- 2 tbsps flaked almond, toasted
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Line a large, rimmed baking tray with baking paper.
- Mix cauliflower florets, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Spread cauliflower on the prepared tray and roast in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden and tender. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing balsamic vinegar, grain mustard, minced garlic, lemon juice and zest and olive oil in a small bowl. Mix well.
- To assemble the salad, add chickpeas and cooked quinoa to a large bowl. Add spring onion, raisins, toasted almond flakes and roasted cauliflower. Top with parsley and salad dressing. Mix well to ensure the dressing coats everything evenly.
- Serve in a large platter.
Notes
- Cauliflower - Make sure your cauliflower florets are bite-sized. This provides more surface area for the spice marinade and creates a beautiful slightly charred crust after roasting.
- Chickpeas - Chickpeas can be swapped for canned black beans or cannellini beans.
- Quinoa - This recipe utilizes tri-coloured quinoa. If you can't find a ready mix of tri-coloured quinoa, mix three-quarter cups of raw white quinoa with one-quarter cup of raw red quinoa and cook that instead.
- Cooking Quinoa - Add 1 cup of mixed quinoa (three-quarter white and one-quarter red) to a medium saucepan. Add cold water, rinse and drain a couple of times. After draining, add 1.5 cups cold water and a large pinch of flaky salt to the saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the quinoa is cooked completely and all the water has evaporated. To use in this salad, cool completely, fluff up with a fork and use as per the recipe. Quinoa To Water Ratio - 1:1.5 is the ratio for cooking quinoa. A cup of quinoa needs 1.5 cups of water to cook.
- Spice - Smoked paprika adds subtle heat and smokiness to the salad. This can be substituted with Korean Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru), Sweet Paprika or just plain old dried red chilli flakes. If you can't find garlic powder, use freshly minced garlic or dried garlic flakes. Grain mustard (seeded mustard) can be substituted with Dijon mustard.
- Raisins - The closest swap to raisins is either sultanas or dried cranberries.
- Make it nut-free - To make the salad nut-free, add toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds instead.
- Storage - The roasted cauliflower salad can be fully assembled and stored in the fridge in an air-tight glass container for up to two days.
Such a satisfying salad, easy, tasty,nutritious.
This was delicious and easy prep after a busy day, the bonus being leftovers for lunch, thought I might add just a little pomegranate molasses next time.I used raisins as that’s what I had, the salad was really filling.
Am a busy gal who does not keep diets . . . love the look of this and shall prepare over the weekend - - all the ingredients already seem to be at home ! This promises to be a fulltime meal with a recipe which will be repeated !