Salads aren’t just for the warm weather months, but when I get my vegetable cravings in the winter I change up my salads with heartier vegetables and ingredients that have warm, smoky flavors, like roasted vegetables and smoked paprika. This Roasted Cauliflower Salad is actually a play on one of my other favorite salads, Mediterranean Farro Salad. I used the same Lemon Tahini Dressing (because it’s so good that I want to pour it on everything) and spiced chickpeas because I thought they would provide just the right punch to complement the mellow roasted cauliflower. The combination of roasted cauliflower, sweet red onions, spiced chickpeas, and tangy lemon tahini dressing might be my favorite yet!
Other Salad Greens Options:
Parsley is a great green to use for salads because it’s cheap and the presence is subtle enough to not over power the cauliflower and chickpeas. Baby spinach would also work, as would finely chopped kale, but both will likely be a bit more expensive.
What is Tahini?
Tahini is the star ingredient for the delicious lemon tahini dressing for this salad. If you’ve never heard of tahini, it’s just like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts. It has a creamy yet slightly sharp flavor that is totally unique. It’s usually about twice the price of peanut butter, but it’s a valuable ingredient and stays good in the fridge for just about forever (just like peanut butter). You can use it to make gobs of delicious homemade hummus, as well as this amazing lemon tahini dressing. I promise you’ll want more of this dressing.
What to Serve with Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This Roasted Cauliflower Salad is really filling, so it can definitely stand on its own as a vegetarian main dish, but if you want to make something to go on the side, it also goes great with Focaccia Rolls, Herb Roasted Chicken Breast, Homemade Naan, Greek Turkey Burgers, or Creamy Mushroom Soup.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower ($2.99)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.55)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- Salt and Pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1/2 bunch parsley ($0.45)
LEMON TAHINI DRESSING
- 1/3 cup tahini ($1.13)
- 1/3 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
SPICED CHICKPEAS
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.79)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne ($0.02)
- Salt and Pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Chop the cauliflower into small florets and place them on a large baking sheet. Slice the red onion into 1/4-inch strips and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle the cauliflower and onions with olive oil and season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Toss the cauliflower and onions until coated in oil, salt, and pepper.
- Roast the cauliflower and onions in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then stir, return them to the oven, and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and browned on the edges. Let the cauliflower cool slightly.
- While the cauliflower and onions are roasting, make the lemon tahini dressing. Add the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas. Add them to a skillet along with the olive oil, smoked paprika, cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook the chickpeas over medium heat for about five minutes, or until they sizzle and become slightly crispy. Remove the chickpeas from the heat.
- Pull the parsley leaves from their stems and roughly chop the leaves into small pieces (about 1.5 cups loosely packed, once chopped).
- To build the salad, combine the roasted cauliflower and onions in a bowl with the spiced chickpeas and chopped parsley. Drizzle the lemon tahini dressing over top, and toss to combine. Serve warm or cold.
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Try this lemon tahini dressing drizzled over all your favorite roasted vegetables!
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower Salad – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Chop one head of cauliflower into florets. Slice 1/2 of a red onion into 1/4-inch strips. Place the cauliflower and onions on a large baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with 2 Tbsp olive oil and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables until they are well coated in oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast the cauliflower and onion for 20 minutes, stir, then return them to the oven and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the edges browned. (the sides touching the baking sheet brown fastest, so you’ll see more browning once you give it a final stir).
While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the lemon tahini dressing. Place 1/3 cup tahini, 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1/4 tsp salt in a blender. Blend until the dressing is smooth. Refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready to serve the salad.
To prepare the spiced chickpeas, drain and rinse one 15oz. can of chickpeas. Add the drained chickpeas to a skillet along with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook the chickpeas for about 5 minutes over medium heat or until they begin to sizzle and become slightly crispy on the outside. Remove them from the heat. (I like to do this in a non-stick skillet.)
Pull the leaves from about 1/2 bunch of parsley and chop them into small pieces (about 1.5 cups loosely packed once chopped). To build the salad, combine the roasted cauliflower and onions with the spiced chickpeas and chopped parsley…
Drizzle the lemon tahini dressing over top…
Stir to combine, and enjoy! You can enjoy this Roasted Cauliflower Salad slightly warm from the oven, or chilled after storing in the refrigerator.
Delicious salad. Very quick, easy, healthy, and filling. The textures and flavors are great.
I was seriously doubting the ingredients of this salad and I had to stop myself from adding or substituting from the ingredients, since I don’t like parsley, cauliflower or chickpeas that much, but BOY did I have trust the process!
This salad is magnificent! I ate it as a whole meal and it was scrummy and satisfying.
My only tip is to roast the onions, but cut them into larger chunks.
Adds sweetness and more perfection to the salad.
I was shocked how tasty this was! My husband and I absolutely loved it and it’s so healthy but tastes great. Perfect for lunch too!
Phenomenal. I’m not a big salad person but I went for this one and it was amazing. I added quinoa for some extra whole grains and it was perfect.
So delicious and super easy. My partner who is not a fan of vegetables or salads loves this. I serve it on the side of tuna patties or a chicken schnitzel.
I think next time I make it I’m going to roast the chickpeas in the oven to try and get them extra crispy.
I love this and every time I make it my husband says why don’t you make this more often. Ha. Even my 3 year old likes it. I’ll add roasted radish for some color. Very flavorful and healthy.
This is really good, especially the dressing! It makes great cold leftovers, even for someone who normally hates cold salads (I’m weird, I know). I will say that we found the parsley to be unpleasant and overbearing as a base, but if you substitute in another green (arugula was our favorite) then the dish is excellent.
Best cauliflower recipe I’ve ever tried. Thanks for the great step-by-step photos. Delicious!
Delicious! Used kale instead of parsley and massaged a bit of dressing into it before adding other ingredients, also cooked chickpeas in air fryer instead of skillet. Seasonings we’re perfect, a little kick but nothing too much and wonderfully complemented each other. Will definitely make again!
Great weeknight recipe, healthy and delicious!
I made this yesterday and it was so good! I added some quinoa to add more calories to make up a meal. The dressing was so good, I’ll make twice as much next time , I think
This was delicious! I also added some pomegranate seeds, highly recommend for a little pop of color and flavor
Hi, Does the type of onion matter that much ? Whether I use red, yellow, or vidalia, is it an issue of taste or aesthetics? I prefer to use red, but today I have vidalia. Thanks!
Use what you have! Vidalia is a sweeter onion, but won’t affect results too much. XOXO -Monti
I’ve made this so many times and it’s always amazing! I like to toast the chickpeas in the oven with the veg (in another sheet pan so things aren’t overcrowded.) I also love switching up the herbs in this recipe, mint and cilantro are my favorites. This plus salad greens and your protein of choice makes a delicious and healthy lunch meal prep!
I made this recipe for several times and it was so delicious! Roasted cauliflower and the tahini dressing is a wonderful combo! Light but satiated!