Vibrant Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This vibrant roasted cauliflower salad is a recipe you will look forward to making whenever you see a head of cauliflower in your fridge. It is SO delicious and SO easy. You cannot help but love it and go back for more. To start, you have a creamy tahini yogurt base with brightness from lemon. Followed by a large helping of golden brown, tender roasted cauliflower tossed in an array of Middle Eastern seasonings from sumac to za’atar to pomegranate molasses and harissa. Lastly, a fragrant garlic forward aleppo pepper olive oil drizzle goes all over the top to tie everything together for such a delicious bite of food.
3 Reasons to make this Roasted Cauliflower Salad:
- I know when we think salad, fresh-cut vegetables often come to mind. But trust me when I say by taking the extra step to roast a veggie like, in this case, cauliflower; the flavor is amped to a whole other level. While the cauliflower is roasting, all the other components can be made; making it very convenient.
- This is a nice change from the typical Arab salads like Fattoush, Tahini Salad, and Arabic salad. You still are getting similar flavor profiles that you love but used in a new and unique way!
- This salad will impress. You put it on a table beautifully layered and vibrant; it will catch everyone’s eye to try it, and when they do; forget about it! You will be asked to share the recipe and make it time and time again.
How to make Roasted Cauliflower Salad:
This salad has 3 components. To start, there is the dressing portion which in this case is a creamy tahini yogurt sauce that is swirled at the bottom of the plate, acting almost as a dip for the cauliflower on top.
The second layer is the beautifully roasted cauliflower tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, sumac, za’atar, pomegranate molasses, and harissa. All these Middle Eastern flavors together work so well. The za’atar offers an herbaceous yet nutty flavoring, while the sumac gives a gorgeous color and tang. The molasses gives a subtle sour sweetness, and the harissa the perfect amount of heat.
Last but not least, the olive oil drizzle on top. Thinly sliced garlic is cooked in the olive oil until crisp, with a bit of Aleppo pepper for color and a touch of heat. It is then poured all over the top. The garlic chips give this dish a crunch that ties it all together.
You can squeeze some fresh lemon juice for brightness and chop fresh herbs like parsley and/or cilantro for garnish.
As always, if you enjoyed this recipe; please leave it a rating and comment below! I would love to hear from you and see your remakes on my Instagram page. Thanks so much!
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Cauliflower head, cut into florets
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 3 tbsp Harissa
- 1 tbsp Pomegranate Molasses
- 1 tbsp Sumac
- 2 tbsp Za'atar
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Yogurt Base
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt
- 2 tbsp Tahini Paste
- 1/2 Lemon's juice
- Salt to taste
Garlic Oil
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 5 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
Garnish
- Lemon wedge. squeeze on top
- Parsley or Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- To start, preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Add the cauliflower florets to a baking dish and season with the olive oil, harissa, pomegranate molasses, sumac, salt, pepper, and zaatar. Toss together until evenly coated.
- Place in the oven to bake for about 35-40 minuted until tender and lightly caraemlized flipping once halfway through baking.
- Meanwhile, prep the yogurt base by combining plain yogurt with tahini paste, lemon juice, and salt.
- Add the yogurt sauce to the bottom of your desired serving dish. I like to spread it out in swirls at the bottom of the plate.
- To prepare the garlic oil, add the olive oil to a pan along with the sliced garlic and aleppo pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic slices are browned and crisp.
- To continue assembling, add the roasted cauliflower on top of the yogurt evenly. Then, drizzle the garlic olive oil all over the top.
- Lastly, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top and garnish with some chopped parsley or cilantro. Grab a fork and dig in!
This was amazing! I used 1 tbsp calabrian chili paste because i was out of harissa but it was still over-the-top delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, Izzah!
This roasted cauliflower is definitely going to be in my cooking rotation … it has the perfect blend of spices and zest! It’s the perfect side to go with anything, but I do think I would probably eat it as a meal too. The chili oil and fried garlic give it it the perfect finish!
Thanks, Manar! I appreciate the review!
hubby loves it. super simple and fast and prefect for a late night dinner when you’re not super hungry but want something that is quick, tasty and filling.
This is a great side! It has so many flavors that all come together so nicely. This would go well with a lot of different main dishes. It’s really easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already at home, which makes it nice. It’s also really healthy, which is a bonus when it tastes to great!