roasted cauliflower salad with tahini dressing

If you happen to love a hearty salad, this Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Tahini Dressing is for you. As much as I enjoy a basic green salad, I never mind switching it up a bit.

What I’m offering here is technically considered a salad but it could certainly be enjoyed as a side dish. 

Let’s gather up the basic salad ingredients.

• Fresh cauliflower – When selecting fresh cauliflower, look for a firm head with tightly packed florets and no dark spots. The leaves should be bright green and securely attached to the stem. The head should feel heavy for its size. 
• Onion – Although any type of onion can be used here, red onion is recommended. It tends to be milder in flavor and slightly sweeter than other varieties.
• Olive oil – I usually use extra-virgin olive oil. It’s a healthy choice and adds a pronounced peppery fruity flavor. As an alternative, you could use any neutral oil such as avocado oil or refined coconut oil. It’s advisable to avoid seed oils since they can be toxic when heated. 
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh baby spinach – Fresh baby spinach is ideal in this recipe. The young tender leaves are more delicate with a slightly sweeter flavor compared to mature spinach. 
• Fresh baby arugula – Preferred over mature arugula. Baby arugula is picked when the leaves are still small and tender and baby arugula tends to have a less pronounced peppery bite than mature arugula, which has large, full-size leaves.

For a bit of variety, try making this salad with roasted purple cauliflower. The vibrant color and mild flavor work well here.

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
• For easy cleanup, line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Chop the cauliflower into small florets.
• Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
• Slice the red onion into 1/4-inch strips & add them to the baking sheet.
• Drizzle the cauliflower and onions with olive oil.
• 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.
• Stir and return them to the oven.
• Roast for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
• The cauliflower should be tender and browned on the edges.
• Remove the tray from the oven.
• Set aside to cool slightly.

While the cauliflower and onions are roasting, make the lemon tahini dressing. 

• Tahini – Made from ground sesame seeds, tahini is a creamy, nutty paste that’s often used in making hummus along with other dips and sauces.
• Water – Room temperature filtered or bottled water is recommended.
• Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed is always best.
• Fresh garlic cloves – Finely minced. To avoid unwanted chunks, use your garlic press or cheese grater.
• Ground cumin – Cumin has a warm, earthy and slightly nutty taste with a hint of citrus. If necessary, you could substitute with a similar spice, ground coriander.
• Ground cayenne or paprika – Optional. Cayenne is a fiery spice that adds quite a bit of heat to the dressing. For a milder version, you could use sweet paprika.
• Salt – Finely ground table salt is fine, if needed.

While on the subject of tahini …I highly recommend using Soom Pure Ground Sesame Tahini for your dressing. They do typically carry it at Whole Foods, but if you have no luck there it’s usually available on Amazon. The flavor is superior and will definitely shine through.

That is actually the only brand of tahini I’ll use when making a batch of my homemade hummus. My family goes crazy over it.

• Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender.
• Blend until smooth, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Before continuing… I must warn you that if you follow the recipe exactly as written with the cayenne powder, the dressing and chickpeas will have some kick. Quite a bit of heat, actually. 

If you don’t care for that type of spiciness, just decrease the amount of cayenne powder or eliminate it totally. Or replace it with ground sweet paprika. Either way, the outcome will be delicious.

For the final component, the toasted spiced chickpeas…

• Canned chickpeas – Drained & rinsed. Also referred to as garbanzo beans. For convenience, I use canned chickpeas. If you prefer (and have the time) feel free to use prepared dried beans.
• Olive oil – My first choice is always single source EVOO from Italy. Less processing = healthier more delicious olive oil.
• Smoked paprika – Smoked paprika is made from red peppers that are dried and smoked over an oak fire before being dried and ground. This lends a strong smoky flavor that isn’t present in sweet paprika.
• Garlic powder – Not to be confused with garlic salt, garlic powder is a convenient alternative to fresh garlic, adds a concentrated garlic flavor to the dish. 
• Ground cayenne – Very optional. 
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

• Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas.
• Add them to a non-stick skillet along with the olive oil.
• Season with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground cayenne (if desired) and a pinch of salt & pepper.
• Stir and cook the chickpeas over medium heat for about five minutes.
• They should be sizzling and become slightly crispy.
• Remove the chickpeas from the heat.

When toasting the chickpeas, be sure to use a non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast iron pan. Otherwise, they most likely will stick to your pan.

Time to assemble your Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Tahini Dressing.

• To build the salad, combine the roasted cauliflower and onions in a bowl with the spiced chickpeas and fresh greens.
• Lightly drizzle the desired amount of lemon tahini dressing over top.
• Toss to combine.
• Serve warm or cold with the extra dressing on the side.

When I first discovered this recipe, I thought the flavor and texture combos were great. But the original recipe is featured with parsley as the “greens” component.

Being a green salad lover, I just had to up the game and replace that parsley with a combination of baby spinach and arugula. It was a good decision.

You’ll have quite a bit of the delicious dressing left over.

When serving the salad, offer extra dressing to anyone interested. You’re sure to find a few customers.

Your Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Tahini Dressing can also be enjoyed as a side dish.

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