Warm Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Warm Roasted Cauliflower Salad is a vibrant and flavorful salad that combines roasted cauliflower’s nutty, caramelized goodness with pantry ingredients and a few fresh ingredients. Great as a side dish for dinner or a satisfying lunch, this salad with roasted cauliflower is a delicious way to enjoy this healthful vegetable!
“So flavorful and easy to put together. My family devoured it last night.”
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
Cauliflower roasted with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper is a beautiful thing by itself. Combining that beautiful, slightly caramelized cauliflower with other flavorful ingredients in roasted cauliflower salads is simply sublime!
Along with the roasted cauliflower, this salad has roasted red bell pepper, olives, capers, sundried tomatoes, garlic, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, red wine vinegar, and chickpeas to add texture and protein. Best of all, most of the ingredients for this salad with roasted cauliflower can be pulled directly from your pantry.
Like my Sicilian Cauliflower Salad, where the cauliflower is blanched and then quickly marinated, I intended for this Roasted Cauliflower Salad to be served cold or at room temperature. However, when the cauliflower came out of the oven, I combined it with the other ready-and-waiting ingredients, and….wow! It was amazing warm, which adds to its versatility. This Roasted Cauliflower Salad can be served immediately warm, room temperature, or cold.
This Roasted Cauliflower Salad recipe is:
- Easy! While the cauliflower roasts, you can prep the other ingredients.
- Pantry-friendly! Many of the ingredients can be pulled directly from your pantry.
- A keeper! This Roasted Cauliflower Salad keeps for up to five days in the refrigerator.
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower Salad.
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this roasted cauliflower salad recipe, as well as how to prep the ingredients. The recipe card below has the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Cauliflower: I used one very large head. Rather than buying bagged precut florets, I recommend cutting the head into florets yourself so all the pieces are as even as possible. While bagged cauliflower florets are convenient, they are not always as fresh as cauliflower florets cut directly from a whole head.
- Olive Oil: Use a good extra-virgin olive oil, but it doesn’t need to be top-shelf.
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans. Drained cannellini or Great Northern beans are great substitutes for chickpeas.
- Roasted Red Pepper: Jarred roasted red peppers are a terrific convenience item. Use water or oil-packed.
- Oregano: I prefer fresh oregano in this roasted cauliflower salad, but dried oregano will work in a pinch. It is one of the few herbs that intensifies in flavor when dried.
- Kalamata Olives: Kalamata olives are native to the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece and named after the town of Kalamata. They’re almond-shaped and have a deep purple-brown hue. If using pitted Kalamata olives, cut each one in half and check them for pit fragments as they’re mechanically pitted.
- Capers: Capers are green, unripened flower buds of the caper bush. They’re available near the pickled products section.
- Sundried Tomatoes: I prefer oil-packed sundried tomatoes for this cauliflower salad recipe because of the flavor. Dehydrated (bagged) sundried tomatoes will also work, but they must be rehydrated in hot water.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Place on a baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- The cauliflower should be nicely browned in places and just tender.
- Meanwhile, combine the other ingredients except for the olive oil in a large bowl.
- When the cauliflower is finished, fold it into the other ingredients.
- Drizzle with remaining olive oil as needed, stir, and serve immediately.
- Easy, done and delish!
- Garnish with fresh oregano leaves or chopped fresh parsley.
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- If serving warm, have all your ingredients at room temperature so the cauliflower doesn’t cool off too quickly.
- A well-stocked pantry is essential to pulling off a cauliflower salad recipe such as this. When you keep a well-stocked pantry, you can create numerous great meals on the fly. Here are some things to always have on hand:
- Canned and dried beans
- A variety of olives
- Various kinds of vinegar
- Various forms of canned tomatoes and sauces
- Pasta, rice, grains, lentils, etc.
- Good-quality, low-sodium canned broth
- Various ethnic ingredients
Money-Saving Tip:
- If using roasted red peppers in oil, reserve the oil from the roasted red peppers and use that in place of olive oil.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Eating cauliflower raw gives you the maximum benefit from the vitamin C in cauliflower. However, cooking cauliflower enables better absorption of vitamin K and potassium.
Yes, absolutely! This cauliflower salad is lovely warm, but it’s just as delicious cold or at room temperature. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Storage:
- Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Serve with:
- Italian Stuffed Peppers
- Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Chicken Milanese
- Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Herb Caper Butter
More great vegetable salad recipes you’ll love!
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Cauliflower Tabouli Salad
- Cauliflower Antipasto Salad
- Roasted Pepper Salad
Get all my side salad recipes at Side Salads – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Warm Roasted Cauliflower Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower - separated into florets
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil - or as needed, divided
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- 1/2 small red onion - coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano - or 1 tablespoon dried, loosely packed
- 1 can (15-ounce) chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 1 jar (12-ounce) roasted red bell peppers - drained and thinly sliced
- 5 sundried tomatoes in oil - coarsely chopped (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
- 3 tablespoons capers - drained
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes - or to taste and tolerance
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar - or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring once or twice. The cauliflower should be nicely browned in places and just tender.
- Meanwhile, combine the other ingredients except for the olive oil in a large bowl.
- When the cauliflower is finished, fold it into the other ingredients, drizzle with remaining olive oil, and serve immediately.
- Garnish with fresh oregano leaves or chopped fresh parsley.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature so that the cauliflower does not cool too quickly before serving.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Made this one last night, a “test” for an upcoming potluck Thanksgiving with friends. Was a bit short on the red peppers but had all the other ingredients on hand. Served at room temperature – girlfriend declared it a winner. Nice full flavor – the acid in the red vinegar, capers, and Kalamata olives made a nice tang. It’s a go for that potluck. Thanks!
Hi, Bubba, Great to hear from you and appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate! I think this will be perfect for your potluck; it makes a lot and the tanginess is great with so many rich Thanksgiving items. Always nice to have a healthy option. Thanks again!
This salad is Fantastic. Cauliflower is bland and needs a little help, and this salad brightens it right up. So flavorful and easy to put together. My family devoured it last night. Thank you. Love your recipes!!
Hi, Linda and thanks so very much! Glad you and your family enjoyed! Agree about cauliflower but I think the blandness actually makes it a blank culinary canvas that can be flavored almost any way. Thanks again and it means A LOT to me that you love my recipes!
I made this for dinner, definitely a company-worthy side dish. Lovely flavours, simple to make. Made the dressing, chickpeas and onions early so once the cauliflower was roasted I just put in the bowl and took to the table. Delicious!
Hi, this looks amazing. If I’m serving it warm, I would assume you would recommend heating the chickpeas other ingredients before mixing in the roasted cauliflower. Any suggestions?
Hi, Bonnie, Thanks so much for your great question. Have everything at room temperature. When the cauliflower comes out of the oven, it will warm everything up. I realize the ingredients can cool the cauliflower down, but you don’t want it super piping hot–just nice and warm. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!
This is a delicious and healthy salad. It would be a great addition to any meal.
Hi, Ginny! Thank you so much and so glad you enjoyed! Please stay in touch!
This is very clean and delicious! I have made this many times already and it’s one of my favorite go-to lunches! Thanks a bunch!
Thanks so much, Maggie! Glad you love this salad as much as I do and please stay in touch!
I just recently tried warm chickpeas and they are so good! Something about warming them and adding some spice brings out all new flavors. Can’t wait to give this recipe a spin.
I love this kind of meals. I’m with you, if your pantry is well stocked, just add fresh vegetables and herbs and you can create a tasty well balanced dish. A good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is a must in salads (and not only, but I might be partial 😉 ). Beautiful pictures, Carol!
i am so making this salad tomorrow for lunch. i adore roasted cauliflower – and chickpeas too, but surprisingly haven’t tried them together. thanks for the idea!
Hi, Thalia, Good to hear from you again! So far the reviews are good! I was tagged on Instagram by someone who made it and she called it “Amazing!” Hope you feel the same way!