Roasted Cauliflower Salad

About the Recipe

This easy roasted cauliflower salad is a flavour-packed dish that makes a nutritious and delicious way to enjoy more plant-based meals.

It features a hearty mix of roasted cauliflower, chickpeas and red onion with sweet-tart cranberries and crunchy cashews. And don’t forget the addictive, creamy and zesty yogurt dressing that brings it all together.

Whether you’re looking for an healthy lunch, meal prep salad, yummy side dish or something to bring along to a potluck or get-together, this salad does it all!

This broccoli apple salad, zesty Italian pasta salad, quinoa salad with roasted veggies and kale brown rice peanut salad are also great choices for make ahead salads.

What You’ll Need

Please scroll to the end to find the full recipe with ingredient measurements.

This section provides notes on specific ingredients and possible substitutions followed by a visual step-by-step overview of how to make the recipe.

For the Roasted Cauliflower Salad

• Cauliflower: You’ll need one whole head of cauliflower though the amount doesn’t have to be precise. Mine worked out to roughly 8 cups of chopped cauliflower.
• Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas are good but you can cook your own if you prefer. You’ll need about 2 cups.
• Red Onion: You’ll need 2 small or 1 large red onion or enough to make about 2 cups of slices. Again, there’s no need to be precise.
• Oil: You can use any cooking oil you like such as avocado oil, grape seed oil or olive oil.
• Spices: You’ll need curry powder, cumin, garlic powder, ground ginger and cinnamon.
• Cranberries: Use dried cranberries or substitute raisins or chopped dates.
• Cilantro: You’ll need fresh cilantro.
• Cashews: The cashews are optional but nice for extra texture and crunch. Purchase them toasted or toast them in a pan or in the oven over low heat until golden brown, or you could purchase dry roasted cashews. Pumpkin seeds, pecans or sunflower seeds would all work as well.

For the Creamy Dressing

• Yogurt: Any plain plant-based yogurt works as long as you like the flavour. I used Riviera plain coconut yogurt.
• Mayo: Use your choice of vegan mayo.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar works well though you could substitute lemon juice or even white vinegar if that’s what you have.
• Maple Syrup: Agave or honey are suitable substitutes.
• Curry Powder: Use a mild yellow curry powder.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Roast cauliflower and chickpeas.

Add the cauliflower, chickpeas and sliced red onion to a large bowl with 1 tbsp of oil.

Next, add the spices over top and season with salt and pepper. Lastly, toss well to coat everything in the oil and spices.

Spread the mixture evenly between two baking sheets and roast for 28-30 minutes. Shake and rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Step 3: Toss salad.

Once the cauliflower is done roasting, let it cool slightly then add it to the bowl with the dressing along with the cranberries, cashews and cilantro and mix it all up.

Variations & Additions

This salad makes a great base for experimenting with different ingredients and flavours. Here are a few ideas:

• Add 1-2 cups roasted sweet potato or swap the cauliflower for sweet potato entirely.
• Add up to 1/2 cup grated carrot.
• Add diced red or green bell pepper.
• Add a couple handfuls of spinach, kale or arugula.
• Add 2-3 tbsp of additional finely chopped fresh herbs like parsley or mint.

Storing Instructions

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Leftovers can be enjoyed cold or reheated briefly in the microwave to warm.
• This recipe is not ideal for freezing.