This Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad is a healthy, satisfying, and delicious salad that everyone in your family will love. It is great for a quick meal-prep lunch or a light quinoa salad for dinner. You can’t beat the savory tahini dressing with sweet raisins for the perfect sweet and savory combination!
I have a secret that I am going to share with all of you right now. If you’ve ever cooked with turmeric, you’re really going to thank me. Well, technically you will have our friend Sara from This Fem to thank because she shared this secret with us. We all know that if you use a wooden utensil, a white utensil, or really any kitchen tool when working with turmeric, it will most likely immediately be dyed yellow or orange. Dangit, right?
Well, Sara saved our lives and told us (HERE’S THE SECRET)—> if you take whatever tool is dyed yellow and set it out in the sun for a couple days the sun will take that turmeric dye out of your kitchen tool. PRAISE BE.
We tested this theory out with a grey whisk that Lee received as a gift from Norway. Guess what, you guys. IT WORKED. The grey whisk that was once dyed with deep yellow was gray again! We were ecstatic. Since that glorious day, we have also tested the theory on a spatula and it also worked. We have yet to try it on a piece of clothing, so if you try it, let us know! Lastly, we are always looking for different ways to eliminate turmeric dye from unwanted surfaces, so let us know if you have an alternative method.
One thing we don’t mind turmeric being in is this golden roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad.
A couple weeks ago, we posted this Golden Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric recipe. We were absolutely obsessed with the roasted cauliflower as an appetizer dipped in tahini because tahini rules the world. We tested that recipe a couple times and had a eureka moment—> this golden roasted cauliflower would be delicious in a SALAD.
I have recently been obsessed with chopped salads where everything is the same size. Why do you ask? Because then every bite is absolutely perfect, of course! We wanted this roasted cauliflower salad to be filling and delicious, but also wanted it to be extra nutritious (see what I did there?).
Healthy Ingredients for the Golden Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This healthy roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad with turmeric is a great addition to any meal-prep lunch or dinner. Also, if you’re dairy-free this salad is a great option. If you love cheese, definitely add the feta. It adds a whole other element to the salad. You will find team fit foodie eating this salad about once a week right now, it has become a staple! It would be a great salad for a Mother’s Day Brunch or for a potluck for Memorial Day. No matter what you make this golden roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad for, you won’t be disappointed.
Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground curry
- 1 teaspoon honey
Roasted Cauliflower
- large head cauliflower chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans rinsed
- 1/3 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup raisins
Optional Ingredients
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
- Next, mix the garlic powder, turmeric, curry powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix. Set aside.
- Spread the chopped cauliflower out on the baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with the spices.
- Place the cauliflower in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is baking, prepare the dressing by adding all ingredients to a mason jar. Close the jar tight and shake until all the ingredients are combined. Set aside.
- To prepare the quinoa, add the quinoa and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Turn the temperature to low heat and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.
- Remove from the saucepan and place the quinoa in a separate bowl to cool.
- Let the roasted cauliflower cool for 15 minutes before chopping into bite-sized pieces.
- Then, add all of the ingredients for the salad into a large bowl. Mix well.
- Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss until everything is coated in dressing.
- Serve cold and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- *Nutrition information does not include feta.
Great recipe. I swapped dried figs for the raisins, since that is what I had on hand. Plus had some fig balsamic —yum!! Great meal prep lunch
Such a great easy recipe to make. I swapped out the balsamic vinegar for apple cinder vinegar and used couscous instead of quinoa because that is what I had on hand, yet it still tasted fantastic!!
Glad you love it!
It gives me a full mouth of water…..
If I want to make and portion out for the week can you dress it all the first time and keep in the fridge for 5 days or would you recommend keeping separate and adding the dressing each day?
Hey Katie! When I’ve made this, I dress it and then it stays just fine in the fridge!
Loved it so much! Just swapped honey out and used agave to make it vegan. I used all the ingredients. I don’t care too much for raisins but they perfectly balance the other flavors and I don’t think it’d be as good without them. The next time I’ll make sure the florets are cut a bit smaller and I will cook the cauliflower the longest time.
This is one of my all-time favorite quinoa recipes <3
Delicious. Didnt use pistachios or raisins. Awesome.
Made it this evening, delicious!!
Will try the dish this week.
Lately I have been ADORING making natural plant-based dyes from red cabbage (makes a blue dye) and yellow onion skin. BUT dying your items with turmeric? How did I not think of that?! :O I definitely will have to try that trick once I buy more turmeric along with this beautiful cauliflower and quinoa salad! This dish looks superb, as it has everything any health nut would love–chickpeas, quinoa, curry, cauliflower, and PISTACHIOS! YUM!
Love the combination of flavors and ingredients here. The dish simply looks amazing.