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Home » Recipes » Salads

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Published: Jun 11, 2018 · Updated: Sep 27, 2021 · By Lisa Goldfinger · 16 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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pinterest pin: white bowl on a blue and white striped dish towel, filled with bright yellow turmeric roasted cauliflower salad

This bright turmeric-spiced roasted cauliflower salad recipe has spinach, onions, almonds, chopped dates and a sweet and tangy honey-lemon-tahini dressing. It's a flavor-packed vegan salad that's substantial enough for dinner and also makes a great side dish with meat, fish or chicken.

bright yellow turmeric cauliflower salad in a white bowl on a blue and white striped napkin with forks in the background

 

To be honest, cauliflower isn't a vegetable I generally crave, unless it's baked with cheese, grilled or roasted. I had never thought to make a cauliflower salad until I fell in love with a bright yellow cauliflower salad at J&A, a cafe down the street from my London flat. (I lived in London for a couple of years).  I'm not sure how many times I returned to J&A for another bowl of that amazing salad (lots!) before I decided I needed the recipe.

After some careful tasting, a little chat with the cook at the café, and some trial and error in the kitchen, I'm excited to bring you this beautiful salad of turmeric-spiced roasted cauliflower with tahini honey lemon dressing. A versatile cauliflower salad that suits many occasions. Eat it for lunch or serve it as a side dish at a fancy dinner party.  It's bound to be a hit, as it was with all my recipe testers (family and friends). 

bright yellow turmeric cauliflower salad in a white bowl on a blue and white striped napkin with forks in the background

Let's make this Cauliflower Salad! 

  1. Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Whisk up olive oil, cumin, turmeric, a pinch of cayenne and salt. Pour the mixture over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
  2. Roast the cauliflower in a 425ºF oven for 20 minutes.
  3. Whisk up the tahini dressing ingredients: tahini, lemon juice, honey, garlic, salt and water.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the roasted cauliflower with blanched spinach leaves, chopped dates, sliced red onion and toasted almonds. Toss with dressing.

a white bowl of cauliflower florets and a small bowl of dressing, next photo is a closer shot of the cauliflower in the bowl, tossed with the bright turmeric dressing

an oven tray covered with vivid yellow turmeric roasted cauliflower florets, next photos show a big white bowl filled with piles of ingredients for cauliflower salad: roasted cauliflower, sliced red onions, chopped dates, and blanched spinach

This cauliflower salad is delicious cold or at room temperature. It's great with an extra squeeze of fresh lemon. Garnish it with more sliced almonds if you like.

bright yellow turmeric cauliflower salad in a white bowl on a blue and white striped napkin with forks in the background

A big shout out to J+A Café for their amazing salad and cooking inspiration. 

Here's the Roasted Cauliflower Salad Recipe. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think.

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Recipe

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bright yellow turmeric cauliflower salad in a white bowl on a blue and white striped napkin with forks in the background

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower Salad


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Lisa
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
Print Recipe

Description

A flavorful roasted cauliflower salad with spinach, almonds, dates and honey lemon tahini dressing. A flavor-packed vegetarian salad or side dish for lunch, brunch or dinner.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For The Dressing:

  • ½ cup Tahini
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • 2-5 tablespoons of water (see instructions)

For The Salad:

  • 2 pounds of bite-sized cauliflower florets, cut from 1 large head of cauliflower or 2 small heads
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • a pinch or of cayenne pepper
  • 4-5 medjool dates, chilled, pitted and chopped (note: chill the dates in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting, or they might stick together and turn to mush when you chop them)
  • 8 ounces of fresh spinach leaves, washed
  • ½ of a small red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
  • ½ cup flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for a couple of minutes

Optional Garnishes:

  • 2 or 3 tablespoons of toasted flaked almonds
  • Lemon wedges to serve alongside

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Set an oven rack in the center position.

  1. In a small bowl whisk the tahini (½ cup), 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, honey (3 tablespoons), garlic, and salt (1 teaspoon). Slowly add water, 2 teaspoons at a time, whisking, until your dressing is the consistency of thin honey.
  2. Put the cauliflower in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk the oil (2 tablespoons), cumin (2 teaspoons), turmeric (1 tablespoon), black pepper (½ teaspoon), salt (½ teaspoon) and a pinch of cayenne. Pour spice mixture over the cauliflower and toss well until all the pieces are evenly coated. Spread florets out on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until just tender and starting to brown in spots. Don't let it get too soft. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
  3. While the cauliflower cools, blanch the spinach by dropping it into a pot of boiling water. Give it a stir and allow it to wilt for 30 seconds or so. Drain in a colander and immediately run under cold water, lifting and turning the leaves, to stop the cooking process. Drain spinach and remove excess water by wrapping the spinach in a clean dish cloth and squeezing it several times, over the sink.
  4. In a large bowl, combine roasted cauliflower, spinach, dates, red onion and almonds. Give the dressing another whisk and pour it over the salad. Toss. Season, to taste with salt and pepper and additional lemon juice. Toss again.
  5. Serve cold or at room temperature. You can make this up to a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Category: salad, side dish
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Entertaining, Lunch and Brunch, Salads, Side Dish, vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: dairy-free, gluten-free, roasted vegetables

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Joan P

    April 22, 2024 at 12:00 pm

    This cauliflower salad is the best and like nothing else I've ever had - so many great flavors and textures that are perfect together! Whenever I have company for lunch or brunch this salad is front and center on the buffet table and everyone oohs and aahs and asks for the recipe. Thank you for this great recipe!!

    Reply
  2. dr doolittle

    March 08, 2023 at 7:24 am

    Just wanted to say that honey isn’t vegan because it comes from bees, who are animals, but you could make this recipe vegan using vegan honey, agave, or maple syrup and I’m sure it would still be just as delicious.

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      March 08, 2023 at 7:43 am

      Thank you for making me aware of this. I'm going to correct and update the post and recipe. I agree that this would probably be delicious made with the sweeteners you mentioned.

      Reply
  3. surati ivey

    July 12, 2021 at 4:33 pm

    This looks great, and I'm presently making your recipe for Middle Eastern Spinach, and now I'm gonna' run over to the health food store and get the stuff to make this salad, and think it would be good with the soup. Yay ! So excited. I love flavorful and healthy multi ethnic cuisine.

    Reply
  4. Emmanuelle

    February 05, 2021 at 12:18 pm

    This is sooooooooooooo good. I made this the other night and already can't wait to make this again! So much flavor!!!!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 05, 2021 at 2:13 pm

      I'm so happy to hear this Emmanuelle!! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed!! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Ellen Silberman

    June 20, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    We liked this recipe so much, I am making it a second time this week. I have been enjoying cauliflower all different ways over the past few months, but this takes the prize. The spicy, tangy cauliflower and the spinach are delicious enough, but add that tahini-honey dressing and it is AMAZING. Thank you Lisa. So glad you are being inspired by London cafes!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      June 22, 2018 at 9:12 am

      Hi Ellen, I'm so glad to hear you are enjoying this recipe. I'm pretty much obsessed with it right now. So much great flavor in that dressing - right?!

      Reply
      • Ellen Silberman

        September 26, 2021 at 6:32 pm

        Two years later and this is still a favorite of ours and in our regular rotation. Thank you for this and all your delicious recipes.

      • Lisa

        September 27, 2021 at 5:55 am

        I'm glad you are enjoying 🙂

  6. Emily

    June 16, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    I made this today for my family, and it is AMAZING. It was fun to cook, and the flavors all go so perfectly together. So many of your recipes have become our family favorites. This is another favorite that we'll make many times. Thank you Lisa!!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      June 18, 2018 at 2:28 am

      Hi Emily! So great to hear that you and your family enjoyed the cauliflower salad!! And I'm beyond happy to know that you've found some family favorite recipes here on Panning The Globe. That's great news!

      Reply
  7. Stephanie

    June 13, 2018 at 12:43 am

    This recipe is amazing! Did not have any spinach on hand but still was good! The combination of flavors and sweetness was perfect. Will redo again

    Reply
    • Lisa

      June 14, 2018 at 8:54 am

      Great! I'm so glad you enjoyed!!

      Reply
  8. Doreen Nicastro

    June 12, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Hi Lisa making the recipe but don’t see ingredient
    Measurements. Sound delicious!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      June 12, 2018 at 10:16 am

      Hi Doreen, I see the measurements. Did you scroll all the way down the the recipe field? Try clearing your browser cache. let me know if there's still an issue. You can shoot me an email at lisa@www.panningtheglobe.com
      If there's still an issue I'll email you the measurements. Lisa

      Reply

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