Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad

$8.47 recipe / $1.41 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.91 from 40 votes
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For week 2 of my Vegetarian Challenge, I knew that I wanted a “refrigerator salad.” By that, I mean a salad that I can prepare at the beginning of the week and will hold up well in the refrigerator for several days. Building the salad on a base of cooked grains, using sturdy vegetables, and roasting the vegetables to remove some of their moisture helps this Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad stay fresh like the day you made it, well into the week. I’ve also tested freezing this salad and it freezes SO WELL! Almost unnoticeable changes once reheated.

A bowl full of Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad on a teal napkin.

This recipe was inspired by two of my favorite recipes, Yellow Jasmine Rice and my classic Roasted Cauliflower Salad, so if you’re a fan of either of those, you’re going to love this one as well. I didn’t make a dressing for this salad, because there was already so much flavor going and it was moist enough for my liking, but if you want to try a dressing, I would suggest either the Lemon Turmeric Dressing from my Autumn Quinoa Salad, or the Lemon Tahini Dressing from my other Roasted Cauliflower Salad.

Substitutions

You have several options with this salad. If you want to cut costs even more, you can substitute couscous for the quinoa. Just make sure to use proper amount of liquid, as suggested by the cooking instructions on the package of couscous. Raisins make a great substitution for the dried cranberries, and you can probably use a handful or two of kale, chopped very fine, in place of the parsley. I sometimes have success with spinach holding up in salads like this, so long as the other ingredients are significantly cooled before combining with the spinach.

Front view of the bowl of Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad
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Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad

4.91 from 40 votes
This Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad holds up well in the refrigerator for days, making it perfect for meal prep or brown bagging your lunch. 
A bowl of Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad on a teal napkin.
Servings 6 2 cups each
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 35 minutes
Total 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower ($3.49)
  • 1 small red onion ($0.28)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
  • pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
  • 2 Tbsp butter ($0.12)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.08)
  • 1 tsp turmeric ($0.10)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
  • 2 cups quinoa ($2.39)
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries ($0.29)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth* ($0.39)
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds ($0.44)
  • 1 cup chopped parsley ($0.45)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Chop the cauliflower into florets and slice the red onion into 1/4-inch strips. Place the cauliflower florets and sliced red onion into a large bowl, along with the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss the cauliflower and onion until they are well coated in oil.
  • Spread the cauliflower and onion out onto a large baking sheet, then transfer them to the oven. Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes, give them a good stir, then roast for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the onions are caramelized and the cauliflower is browned.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa well in a wire mesh sieve. Add the butter, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon, to a medium sauce pot. Place the pot over medium heat. Stir and cook the spices for one minute.
  • Add the drained quinoa to the pot with the butter and spices. Also add the dried cranberries and vegetable broth. Stir to combine, then place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let the pot simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid in place.
  • After simmering over low for 20 minutes, the quinoa should have absorbed all of the broth. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa. Add the sliced almonds and stir to combine. Allow the quinoa to cool slightly.
  • Transfer the cooked quinoa and roasted cauliflower and red onion to a large bowl. Add the chopped parsley and stir until everything is combined. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat (can be eaten warm or cold). 

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Notes

*I use Better Than Bouillon base to make my broth.

Nutrition

Serving: 2CupsCalories: 396.73kcalCarbohydrates: 55.87gProtein: 12.55gFat: 15.5gSodium: 582.05mgFiber: 8.6g
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Video

How to Make Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad – Step by Step Photos

Raw Cauliflower and Red Onion

Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Chop one head of cauliflower into florets and slice one small onion into 1/4-inch strips. Place both of them in a bowl and add 2 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss the cauliflower and onion until they are well coated in oil.

Cauliflower and Red Onion Ready to Roast

Spread the cauliflower and onion out onto a large baking sheet. Transfer them to the oven and roast for 20 minutes, then stir, and return them to the oven.

Roasted Cauliflower and Red Onion

Roast for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the onions are caramelized and the cauliflower florets are browned.

Butter and Spices in Pot

While the cauliflower is roasting, begin the quinoa. Rinse 2 cups of quinoa in a wire mesh sieve. Add 2 Tbsp butter, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/8 tsp cinnamon to a medium sauce pot. Stir and cook the spices in the butter over medium heat for about one minute.

Rinsed Quinoa and Dried Cranberries in Pot

Add the rinsed quinoa to the pot, along with 1/3 cup dried cranberries. We’ll cook the cranberries with the quinoa so they can plump up in the hot liquid.

Add Vegetable Broth to Quinoa

Finally, add 3 cups vegetable broth to the pot and give everything a brief stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes (with the lid on).

Cooked Quinoa and Cranberries Add Almonds

After 20 minutes, all of the broth should have been absorbed. Fluff the quinoa, add 1/4 cup sliced almonds, and stir to combine. Let the quinoa cool slightly.

Combine Quinoa Cauliflower and Parsley

Add the cooked quinoa to a large bowl along with the roasted cauliflower and red onion, and 1 cup of chopped parsley.

Mixed Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad

Stir everything to combine, then it’s ready to serve! You can serve this salad warm, or refrigerate it for later and serve it cold.

A bowl of Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad on a teal napkin.

Crunchy, earthy, and a little sweet, this Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad will fill you up and keep you full!

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  1. Finally made this recipe for meal prep and it lives up to the hype! It was so easy to make and the flavors are so good and cozy. I served it with some oil-massaged kale and half an avocado to add some more green, and it was the perfect satistfying dinner – the colors are so beautiful which makes the meal even more satisfying. I had never made quinoa with spices pre-cooking it, so also a good inspiration for some variations (i.e., other roasted veggies + other spices?).

  2. This was incredibly delicious! I omitted the cranberries because we had none and was just banking on the caramelization of the red onions for that touch of sweetness, which worked out deliciously! I also halved the amount of quinoa (so I did 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups of water) and that was more than enough for 2 people. Loved this recipe a lot, as it taught me an innovative way to cook quinoa and cauliflower!

  3. One of my favorite recipes! I add a can or two of pinto beans for added protein. Delicious!

  4. Turned out great! Was easy to make and quite yummy. Still could use some more flavour but other than that it was really good. I added chickpeas to mine.

  5. YUM!!! I am a sucker for the turmeric/butter combo and I love yellow rice, but I had this saved for so long since I was nervous to try quinoa. If all quinoa is this good it might be my new favorite grain! As another commenter mentioned, check the liquid ratio on your quinoa packet and use that amount of vegetable broth. Mine was 2 cups liquid to 1 cup dry quinoa. The jammy red onions, crunchy almonds, sweet cranberries, and smokey cauliflower work SO well with this yellow quinoa. I halved everything except the cauliflower as this is quite a large recipe. My only other change was using cilantro instead of parsley. We ate it with sauteed kale and roasted cubed potatoes. It doesn’t need a sauce, but Trader Joes Jalapeno sauce and/or Green Goddess dressing (depending on your spice preference) went marvelously for us.

  6. This recipe has great flavor. But I do suggest checking the liquid to quinoa ratio on your quinoa package before cooking the quinoa. I was using a premium white quinoa and couldn’t get all the liquid to absorb. I checked the package and it recommended using 1 1/4 c. of liquid for every 1 c. of quinoa. For my quinoa, I had too much liquid and it wound up slightly soupy. Still tasty, though.

  7. I’ve made this many times and the whole family loves it. I have one vegan child and it can be hard finding recipes that please her and the rest of the meat-eating family. This is one of those! Hearty, flavorful, fresh for several days after it’s made. Only modification is using vegan butter or extra EVOO instead of butter. Yummy, and thanks for so many great recipes!

  8. I made this and it was delicious! I used my Instant Pot to make the quinoa after making the butter sauce( use a 1:1 liquid to quinoa and cook it on high pressure for 1 minute, then natural release for 10-15 minutes before opening the pot). This means reducing the liquid for this recipe by 1 cup. It came out perfect! The only change I made was to use chicken broth instead of Veggie because that was all I had on hand. Great recipe!

  9. Any advice on how I could use precooked quinoa in this recipe? I have some leftover from a previous quinoa salad. Can I just make a traditional dressing with these spices and mix it in with the precooked quinoa? 

    Thanks! 

    1. You can try mixing the spices into the pre-cooked quinoa and see how it goes, but you’ll be missing a lot of flavor from not cooking the quinoa in the broth, and the spices may not taste quite the same if not simmered into the quinoa. It’s hard to say without testing it, but it’s worth a try! :)

  10. Thank you so much ☺️ we had this for lunch today and LOVED it. The only change I made was to add finely chopped garlic to the cauliflower & onion mixture before shoving it in the oven.
    Cheers from Vienna ☺️

  11. this was sooo good! Ended up making a good amount, anyone know if this would freeze well? 

    1. We haven’t tried freezing it yet, but I think you should be just fine!

  12. Fabulous flavors! Used pearled cous cous instead (2 cups pearled cous cous, 2.5 cups of broth) and it worked great.

  13. How do you think roasting frozen cauliflower would work for this? Thanks, love your blog!

  14. I picked this recipe to start out with some meal prepping and LOVED it. I didn’t have turmeric, so I ended up using ginger, and I used the spiced vegetable better than bullion because that’s what the store had. I will 100% be making this again, maybe with some experimentation of different roast vegetables to suit the season. I will say I find it to be better cold on the second day versus right after it’s made, and the yield was considerably less than what the recipe said (it may have been user error) but it’s not the end of the world.

    1. Oh I’ve never seen the spiced vegetable one! I’ll have to try it. Welcome to the site!