Roasted Cauliflower & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette | Vegan | Gluten-Free

Whether you are looking for a delicious side dish or a tasty vegan dinner, this is the recipe that everyone will love and devour! This dish is made with fluffy quinoa, beautifully roasted cauliflower and a mouth watering lemon garlic vinaigrette. You can serve this salad warm (how I prefer it) or chilled. It pairs well with roasted chicken or salmon, crispy chickpeas, soft boiled eggs or seared tofu. I have been taking this dish to work with me over the last few days and eating it with salad greens, avocado and boiled eggs and man oh man is it every satisfying!

This lemon garlic dressing really is the cherry on the top of this beautiful dish, making it so delicious, well-balanced and satisfying. The dressing is also super easy to make. I made this dressing in a food processor but you could also use a blender or a milk frother to pull the ingredients together. I always pour the oil in gradually when making any kind of dressing and make sure that it is the LAST ingredient that goes into the food processor. This allows the oil emulsify which combines the oil with the other ingredients, making it so creamy and velvety.

I love making my own salad dressings so I know exactly what ingredients is going into them. Most store bought dressings are made with refined non-organic oils that are heavily processed and super inflammatory to our bodies (canola, soy, corn & peanut).  They may taste good and be convenient BUT most of them have high amounts of added sugars as well. I like to choose oils that are nourishing, gut-friendly, anti-inflammatory and brain boosting (our brains are 60-70% fat)! Healthy fats also help improve the bioavailability of the vitamins and minerals that we get from our diets. My favourites are cold-pressed organic olive oil, coconut oil & avocado oil.

If you haven’t tried making your own salad dressings at home, that is totally okay! If you have a food processor or a blender, they really are super easy to make. Add you favourite ingredients (fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, shallots, nutritional yeast or whatever tickles your fancy) with some vinegar, oil, seasoning + dijon mustard and you are good to go! I typically add a tbsp of dijon mustard to all of my salad dressings because it helps the oil and vinegar mix together. I ALWAYS add in the olive oil gradually at the end to emulsify the oil into the dressing, giving it such an amazing buttery texture.

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5 from 1 reviews

Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

April 2, 2020

Servings: 6-8

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Easy

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By: tyrahhofer

Ingredients

• QUINOA:
• 1 cup quinoa (per package directions)
• chicken or vegetable broth
• CAULIFLOWER:
• 1 medium sized head of cauliflower
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• LEMON GARLIC VINAIGRETTE:
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon (1/3 cup)
• 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• fresh crack of pepper
• TOPPING:
• 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

• Step 1 Cook 1 cup of quinoa with chicken or vegetable broth as per the directions on the quinoa package (mine asked for 1 1/2 cups of broth for 1 cup of quinoa). Once the quinoa is cooked, leave the lid on and set it aside.
• Step 2 Cut the cauliflower into small florets and transfer them into a large baking dish. Add the avocado oil, garlic powder and sea salt to the cauliflower and mix until everything is well coated. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes when the 25 minutes is up to add a little colour to the cauliflower.
• Step 3 While the cauliflower is roasting, gather the ingredients for the lemon garlic vinaigrette. Add everything to a food processor or blender BUT the olive oil. Once you have blended these ingredients together, add in the olive oil gradually to the dressing (this emulsifies the oil making it super buttery tasting). If you’re using a food processor you can add a quarter of the oil then pulse together, add another quarter and pulse and so on.
• Step 4 Use a fork to fluff the quinoa before pouring it into your favourite bowl. Top the quinoa with the roasted cauliflower. Now add the chopped walnuts and parsley to the salad. You can keep the dressing on the side to drizzle at your convenience or add the dressing to the salad and toss it all together. Serve this salad warm or chilled! Enjoy!