Roasted Cauliflower Salad
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You won’t be able to put your fork down after trying one bite of this Roasted Cauliflower Salad with creamy basil avocado dressing! It’s full of delicious ingredients like raisins, kale, cashews and apples.
This salad is healthy, vegan and great for those on a low carb diet. It’s delicious as a side dish or entree and can be served at room temperature or cold.
Cauliflower is so hot right now. The trend that’s been going on for a few years now is not going away anytime soon. And I have to say, that makes me so happy!
Cauliflower is a great low carb substitute for chips in this recipe for Cauliflower Nachos. It’s also a great vegetarian substitute for chicken wings in this Korean BBQ Cauliflower recipe.
You can turn it into Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice as a healthy base for Vegan Burrito Bowls. You can also toss it with buffalo sauce and turn it into Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos.
The possibilities with cauliflower really are endless! In this recipe, I’m tossing roasted cauliflower with a deliciously flavorful avocado basil dressing. I also added some of my favorite sweet and salty salad mix-ins, like raisins and cashews.
The creamy dressing is so easy to make, just toss everything in a blender and puree. You can easily whip it up while the cauliflower is roasting, then toss the entire salad together in under 30 minutes.
This is a BIG SALAD! It’s great for meal prepping to eat for lunch or dinner throughout the week.
This cauliflower salad is also the perfect side dish for a party or big family dinner. You can easily make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
The best part of this salad is that it’s so delicious and everyone can eat it! It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free and low carb, making it a great fit for anyone, no matter their dietary needs.
How to make cauliflower salad
- Roast the cauliflower. Spread 6 cups of diced cauliflower evenly on a baking sheet. One cauliflower head will result in approximately 3 cups of diced cauliflower. I used two heads of cauliflower for this recipe. Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower. Sprinkle Montreal steak seasoning on top. Place in a 400°F preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Prepare the basil avocado dressing. Add avocado, fresh basil, white balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice to a blender or food processor. Add salt, pepper and olive oil. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can whisk the ingredients together to make the dressing. Lightly mash the avocado, then add it to a bowl with the other dressing ingredients and whisk them all together.
- Assemble the salad. Once you remove the cauliflower from the oven, add the cauliflower to a large bowl. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Add raisins, diced apple and cashews to the bowl. Pour the avocado dressing into the bowl and toss gently until everything is coated. Top the salad with diced avocado and fresh cracked black pepper.
You can serve this salad cold or at room temperature. Allowing the cauliflower to cool before tossing it with the salad will result in a room temperature salad. Placing the salad in the refrigerator to chill before serving it, will result in a cold salad.
I have eaten this salad both at room temperature immediately after it was made and cold for several days after. It’s delicious both ways!
Ingredient substitutions
If you don’t have Montreal steak seasoning, simply season the cauliflower with 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic and 1 teaspoon dried minced onion.
You can use traditional balsamic vinegar instead of white balsamic vinegar. I simply use white balsamic to maintain the beautiful green color of the dressing. You can find white balsamic vinegar in most grocery stores next to the other vinegars.
Make-ahead instructions
If serving this salad the same day, you can prepare it up to 12 hours in advance. Cover and place it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
If meal prepping the salad to eat throughout the week, wait to toss it with the avocado dressing until right before serving. Also, hold off on adding the diced avocado on top until ready to eat. You can prepare the avocado dressing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store it in an airtight plastic container or mason jar. I like to press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dressing before placing the lid on the container. This prevents air from getting in and turning the avocado brown.
You can easily double or quadruple the dressing recipe and store the extra dressing in the freezer. This is a great idea while avocados are in their peak season. Keep the avocado dressing goodness going all year long!
This avocado dressing is great on this Butternut Squash Spinach Kale Salad. You can also serve it with this scrumptious Quinoa Corn Salad or Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad.
More recipes with avocado
Fellow avocado lover? Check out these other delicious recipes, made with fresh avocados!
- Avocado Egg Salad Toast – this delicious spin on avocado toast is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with Creamy Avocado Sauce – seriously THE BEST vegetarian enchiladas ever! Creamy corn, avocado sauce and lots of cheese fill these delicious enchiladas.
- Avocado Bruschetta – the perfect party appetizer for avocado lovers.
- Vegan Avocado Smoothie Bowls – a delicious breakfast idea that you can customize with your choice of yummy toppings.
Made this Cauliflower Salad recipe and loved it? Be sure to rate it 5 stars in the recipe card below! ↓
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
Cauliflower Salad
- 6 cups cauliflower, diced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Montreal steak seasoning, click link for the recipe
- 4 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 apple, cored and diced
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, fresh cracked
Creamy Basil Avocado Dressing
- ½ avocado , skin and pit removed
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and steak seasoning. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place in a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped kale, raisins, diced apple and cashews to the bowl.
- Prepare the avocado dressing by adding all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Add the avocado dressing to the salad and toss to coat.
- Top the salad with the remaining diced avocado and fresh cracked black pepper.
Notes
- Montreal steak seasoning can be found near the salt and pepper at the grocery store. If you don’t have Montreal steak seasoning, simply season the cauliflower with 2 teaspoons coarse salt, 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic and 1 teaspoon dried minced onion.
- One head of cauliflower will result in approximately 3 cups of diced cauliflower. I used two heads of cauliflower for this recipe.
- If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can whisk the ingredients together to make the dressing. Lightly mash the avocado in a small bowl, add the other dressing ingredients, then whisk them all together.
- Traditional balsamic vinegar can be used instead of white balsamic vinegar. I simply use white balsamic to maintain the beautiful green color of the dressing. White balsamic vinegar can be found in most grocery stores next to the other vinegars.
Nutrition Facts
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2 Comments on “Roasted Cauliflower Salad”
Right! I tasted it before putting it in the fridge and I couldn’t put the fork down! Company for dinner.
So glad you enjoyed it Karen! Thanks for sharing!