This Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad is a flavour-packed salad with tender roasted cauliflower, chickpeas and plenty of delicious texture. The simple seasonings bring out the flavour of the cauliflower beautifully while keeping the recipe easy to prepare.
Sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds and creamy feta finish the salad perfectly, giving you a lovely combination of flavours and textures in every bite. It works well as a side dish or as part of an easy dinner.
When to serve this roasted cauliflower chickpea salad
This salad is so delicious and packed full of flavour. It can be served warm or cold and is really easy to make.
This dish would be perfect at your next BBQ, on the Christmas table, or at your next gathering with family and friends. It is a little different to the basic salads we are used to and I think you will love it.
How is this roasted cauliflower chickpea salad made?
There are lots of variations of this recipe online. Over the years I have adapted it to suit the flavours we love and to keep things simple. There are two steps to making this dish.
The first is roasting the cauliflower florets and the chickpeas in some olive oil and a mix of spices. I use spices we always have on hand, but even this can be changed to suit your tastes. The more flavour the better.
Then I toss the salad in a lemon honey dressing along with a bunch of other delicious bits and pieces you see below to finish.
What you need to make this roasted cauliflower chickpea salad
All you will need to make this salad is listed below:
- Head of Cauliflower
- Can of Chickpeas
- Olive Oil
- Turmeric
- Paprika
- Coriander Powder
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Spinach or Rocket Leaves
- Slivered Almonds
- Dried Cranberries
- Feta (Goat’s Cheese)
- Mint or Coriander Leaves
- Lemon Juice & Zest
- Honey
- Cumin Powder
- Salt & Pepper
How to make this salad
To make this recipe it is lovely and easy, the first step is roasting the cauliflower and chickpeas. The bigger the roasting dish or tray the better to get a lovely roasted finish.
I cut the cauliflower into the tiny florets and any stems or extra bits do not get thrown away! Pop them in the freezer and use them next time you make Mac n Cheese! Trust me, it is a great way to add goodness to your cheese sauce and waste no bits of the cauliflower. Check out this recipe from My Kids Lick the Bowl for how to do that.
Alternatively cut up everything similar sizes, stalks and all and roast it.
I toss the cauliflower with all the delicious spices and a good amount of olive oil before roasting for around 50 minutes until the chickpeas begin to go crispy and the cauliflower cooked through.
I turn them often throughout the cooking process to ensure even cooking. All ovens differ so keep an eye on the edges.
Then once baked I add this to a large bowl, then toss in a handful of torn spinach or rocket leaves, and then make a simple lemon dressing (including olive oil, lemon juice and zest, some honey and a bit of cumin, salt & pepper). Whisk that up then stir it through.
Finally I finish with a lovely assortment of garnishes. Feel free to change this up, but I love the flavours of goats cheese, slivered almonds, dried cranberries and mint. I think these flavours really complement the sweet roasted cauliflower.
How to serve this roasted cauliflower chickpea salad
Then you can serve! Beautiful served warm or cold, this is also so lovely the next day as leftovers or to add some leftover chicken to as a meal.
Other salad recipes to try
If you are a fan of a wide variety of salads, please check out some of my other favourites to add to your summer rotation here.
- Roasted Kumara Carrot & Orange Summer Salad
- Chicken & Nectarine Summer Salad
- Roasted Butternut Pumpkin Salad
- Carrot Salad
- Sweetcorn Salad
Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad recipe
Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad
This Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad combines roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, cranberries, almonds and feta for a simple, flavourful salad with plenty of texture.
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower, diced into small florets, approx 600g, 5 Cups
- 1 Can Chickpeas, 420 g, drained and dried
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper, ground
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil, 60ml
Dressing
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil. 60 ml
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest, 7 g
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- Pinch of Salt & Pepper
Garnish
- ⅓ Cup Dried Cranberries, 40 g
- ¼ Cup Slivered Almonds, 35 g
- 70 g Feta, crumbled
- Handful of Spinach or Rocket Leaves, torn
- 10-12 leaves Mint or Coriander Leaves, torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly spray a large roasting dish with oil.
- Slice the cauliflower into small florets and place in a large bowl. Drain, rinse, and pat the chickpeas dry on a clean towel, then add them to the bowl.
- Sprinkle over the turmeric, paprika, coriander, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and stir through.
- Drizzle with the first measure of olive oil and toss to coat evenly.
- Spread the mixture onto the prepared tray and roast for 20 minutes. From then on stir every 10–20 minutes, roasting for up to 50 minutes, until the chickpeas are crisp and the cauliflower is tender and golden. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the second measure of olive oil, lemon juice, honey, lemon zest, cumin, and a pinch of salt and pepper to make the dressing.
- Place the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas in a large bowl. Add the torn spinach or rocket leaves and pour over the dressing. Gently toss to coat.
- Fold in the slivered almonds, cranberries, torn mint leaves, and crumbled goat’s cheese feta.
- Serve directly from the bowl or transfer to a salad platter, adding a little extra garnish on top.
- Enjoy warm or cold. Best eaten within 2 days if stored covered in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*I cut the cauliflower into the tiny florets - any stems or extra bits do not get thrown away! Pop them in the freezer and use them next time you make Mac n Cheese! Trust me - it is a great way to add goodness to your cheese sauce and waste no bits of the cauliflower - check out this recipe from My Kids Lick the Bowl for how to do that.
Spice Options
Feel free to mix up the spices to suit what you have in the cupboard, curry powder is lovely, as is cumin in the cauliflower instead of the ground coriander.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 409Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 25gCholesterol 10mgSodium 370mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 8gSugar 19gProtein 9g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I really hope you love this Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad as much as we do. It is such a lovely salad to share with family and friends, and one I’ll be making again and again.
If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments. You can also leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above, it really helps others find and enjoy this recipe too.
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Happy baking,
Anna x
Marie Roberts says
I made this but adapte it to suit those eating it I eliminated the Coriander totallyto combat alleries and dislike. I used Curry poder plus tsp of cumin instead of individual spices At the end I used feta, mint leavesSultanas and some julienned carrot no Coriander, no nuts and it tasted lovely Thanks for the idea!
Julie says
Lovely, used cannellini beans in lieu of chickpeas, extra squeeze of lemon juice at the finish, really nice!!
Andrea says
This looks delicious!
justamumnz says
Thank you! So tasty