Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad with Garlic Tahini Dressing

Crispy roasted cauliflower and chickpeas and a creamy roasted garlic tahini dressing are the perfect salad combination in this hearty roasted cauliflower chickpea salad.

Just cause the weather is turning cooler doesn’t mean we need to say goodbye to salad season! A little cozy roasting business and we’re back in salad action.

And armed with a creamy tahini dressing, it’s really just impossible to go wrong here.

If you’re like me and crave salads year-round, but want a little hearty cooked veggie goodness nearby, this is the one for you! Naturally, the crispy chickpeas do their job to utter perfection.

We’re keeping this salad vegan-friendly today, but no one will ever guess because it’s so loaded down with the goods.

Which is how each and every salad should be, of course.

This Cauliflower Salad features…

• Crispy roasted chickpeas and cauliflower
• A bed of fresh greens with crunchy walnuts and dried cranberries
• Creamy, flavorful garlic tahini dressing
• Ready in under an hour with minimal ingredients

Making the Cauliflower Salad

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Cauliflower
• Chickpeas
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Arugula greens mix
• Walnuts
• Dried cranberries
• Tahini
• Lemon juice
• Agave nectar

How to Prep Cauliflower

We recommend buying a whole cauliflower head for this recipe and cutting it yourself, rather than using a bag of pre-cut. This will ensure that you have uniform-sized florets.

To prep cauliflower, wash well and use a chef’s knife to cut into 1-in sized florets. We find that we usually use 1 medium head cauliflower for this recipe.

Tips for Perfect Cauliflower Salad

1. Cut cauliflower into uniform size – try to cut your cauliflower into uniform 1-in cubes for even roasting.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas – try to discard as much liquid from the chickpeas as you can so they roast up crispy.
3. Roast garlic cloves with cauliflower and chickpeas – roasting the garlic brings out a lot of flavor and is an incredible addition the tahini dressing.
4. Add water to tahini dressing – tahini is generally a thick paste and a few splashes of water helps thin the dressing and give it a perfect drizzling consistency.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this salad.

• Try different veggies – try broccoli, sweet potatoes, or butternut squash in place of the cauliflower. Be aware, different veggies will have different cook times.
• Use a different bean – try white beans or cannellini in place of the chickpeas.
• Add cheese – try grated Parmesan, asiago, crumbled feta, or sharp cheddar.
• Use a different dressing – try bottled French dressing, Caesar dressing, or a honey mustard in place of the tahini dressing.

Make Ahead Instructions

Follow these instructions for make-ahead tips.

• Make dressing – the dressing stores well in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
• Chop cauliflower – chop the cauliflower and toss with chickpeas and garlic and store in refrigerator up to 3 days before combining with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasting.
• Assembly – once the salad is assembled, we recommend serving it immediately while the chickpeas are crispy and the greens are fresh.

The flavors and textures in this salad are simply to die for! You’ve got the crispy chickpeas, tender cauli, all the fresh greens, a little crunch from the walnuts, and allll that garlicky + creamy tahini dressing.

The new lunch salad of your dreams is right here!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Try these other veggie-loaded salads next!

• Caprese Chickpea Salad
• Asian Cucumber Avocado Salad
• Harvest Grain Bowls