This is savory and perfectly spiced cauliflower salad is topped with Moroccan spiced chickpeas and a spicy tahini dressing. Put it all on a bed of peppery arugula, top it with crunchy almonds and juicy pomegranates and you will have the salad of your dreams!
This is our all-time favorite salad, and we’re pretty positive it will become yours, too! This Sumac-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Tahini has the perfect combination of sweet, salty crunchy, and chewy with a perfect homemade tahini dressing to top it all off. People never expect a salad to be the star of the show, but this one totally is! It doubles as a salad and a light meal.
Choosing and Preparing Perfect Cauliflower
Pick cauliflower that is bright white in color without any soft or brown spots. Remove the green leaves from the bottom of the head and cut the bottom off. At this point, the florets should fall apart on their own! If they don't, gently pull them out of the head of cauliflower. You can cut the pieces as big or small as you’d like, just do your best to keep them uniform in size, so they cook evenly. Do you want to make it even easier? Use frozen cauliflower.
Ingredients in Cauliflower Salad
These ingredients are all really easy to have and keep on hand so you can quickly prepare this salad. We recommend storing everything separately and combining them right before eating.
- Baby arugula - We love the peppery flavor of arugula, but you could use spinach, kale, or any of your favorite lettuce or spring mix.
- Almonds - Roasted hazelnuts, toasted pine nuts, or candied pecans would also be delicious.
- Pomegranates - We love the tanginess and crunch from pomegranate seeds! You could also use persimmons, apples, pears, peaches, plums, or nectarines. Look for in-season fruit!
- Roasted cauliflower - Roasting cauliflower is easy and the result is cauliflower with a perfect crunch on the outside and a tender middle. Cauliflower can be roasted 1-2 days ahead.
- Spiced chickpeas - This is our favorite way to cook chickpeas! They’re tossed in oil and Moroccan seasonings and cooked for a few minutes on the stovetop. They add plant-based protein to this cauliflower salad! Spiced chickpeas can be made 1-2 days ahead.
- Spicy Tahini Dressing - The secret sauce! This is a homemade dressing made with tahini, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, maple, and hot sauce. Yum! This tahini dressing will last up to a week in the fridge.
How to Roast Cauliflower
This is really simple and takes just enough time to prepare all the other elements of the Cauliflower Salad!
- Heat your oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cauliflower ( fresh or frozen) on the sheet and spread it out so the florets are touching as little as possible.
- Drizzle it all with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and sumac. Toss until everything is well-coated and bake for 40 minutes.
How to Make Cauliflower Salad
This salad comes together quickly with maximum flavor! Here’s how we assemble everything:
- Start by roasting cauliflower. While that’s in the oven, toss the chickpeas in oil and spices for Quick Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas! They’ll only need a couple of minutes on the stovetop.
- Make the dressing. That can be done with a bowl and a whisk or even just by shaking the ingredients in a Mason jar with a lid.
- Finally, assemble everything! Lettuce, cauliflower, and chickpeas sprinkled with almonds and pomegranate seeds. Finish it off with Spicy Tahini Dressing!
- Roasted cauliflower, spiced chickpeas, and tahini dressing can all be made 1-2 days ahead and the cauliflower salad can be assembled when ready to eat.
Other Delicious Cauliflower Recipes:
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Spiced Chickpea and Roasted Cauliflower Salad
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This savory and perfectly-spiced cauliflower salad is topped with Moroccan spiced chickpeas and a spicy tahini dressing. Put it all on a bed of peppery arugula, top it with almonds and pomegranates and you will have the salad of your dreams!
Ingredients
- For the roasted cauliflower:
- 1 medium cauliflower head, washed and cut into small florets or 2 lbs frozen cauliflower, rinsed slightly, and cut into even size pieces.
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp sumac (optional, but recommended)
- ¼ tsp salt
- For the spiced chickpeas:
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1- 15oz can chickpeas, rinse and drained
- For the Salad
- 5 oz baby arugula or any other salad of your choice, thoroughly washed and dried
- 1 ½ cups pomegranates seeds ( about 1 small pomegranate)
- 2 tbsp roasted almonds, chopped
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp tahini
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ -1 tsp spicy green dragon sauce, or any other hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cauliflower on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Toss well until well coated. Bake for 40 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender. Set aside
- In a small bowl, combine sweet paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt, and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add chickpeas and spices and toss gently, so the chickpeas are well coated with oil and spices. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until warm. Set aside
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together tahini and lemon juice ( the mix will thicken). Slowly whisk in water and salt, until well incorporated. Add vinegar, maple syrup, and green dragon sauce (if using) and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use
- Divide baby arugula into 2 large salad plates or bowls ( or 1 if you're sharing the salad). Top each plate with warm cauliflower and chickpeas. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and candied pecan
- Add Tahini dressing to taste.
Notes
- Extra dressing can be kept in the fridge for up to a week
- Cauliflower can be roasted 1-2 days ahead, kept in the fridge, and reheated before adding to the arugula
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the recipe with 2 tbsp of tahini dressing
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 21
- Sodium: 816
- Fat: 27.7
- Saturated Fat: 3.7
- Unsaturated Fat: 24
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 51.3
- Fiber: 14.8
- Protein: 16.9
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: Roasted cauliflower, cauliflower salad recipe, salad as a meal, kosher, gluten-free
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
Now I want to snack on those chickpeas too! This salad looks delicious.
[email protected]'s Recipes says
This salad has EVERYTHING I love. YUM!
Alex says
This looks very good and creative
★★★★★
Rebecca says
The salad is soooooooo good!!!! I love it.... and my kids love it too!
★★★★★
Pontessa says
This is a filling and delicious salad! Easily a main course for me. Yummm
★★★★★
Vicky & Ruth says
Thank you so much Pontessa! It is one of our favorite salads and yes, a main course for us as well.
Alice says
★★★★★
Cindy says
Always looking for good salad recipes. This one didn’t disappoint. Looks and tastes great and love that you can prepare ahead of eating.
★★★★★
Vicky & Ruth says
Thank you! Enjoy!
Anouk says
Gorgeous salad. I have put spinach leaves and grapes. I love the diversity of tastes that explodes in the mouth.
★★★★★
Vicky and Ruth says
Thank you! Enjoy!