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Smoky Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

A flavour-packed, satisfying cauliflower salad featuring roasted, seasoned cauliflower florets served on a vibrant, vegetable-packed couscous and finished with a drizzle of sriracha mayo. Serve warm or cold.

A tall shot of Smoky Cauliflower Salad in a large blue bowl. In the top right corner, you can see a small pile of cherry tomatoes, and in the top left corner, you can see a small glass jar of siracha mayo. In between the two you can see a second identical bowl of smoky cauliflower salad. This is all set on a light blue surface.

Cauliflower may seem plain when simply boiled, but it’s incredibly adaptable and absorbs bold flavours—think garlic, cumin and smoked paprika—without losing its texture. It works wonderfully in dishes like cauliflower cheese, cauliflower rice, or thick cauliflower steaks, but here it’s cut into florets, tossed with spices and roasted until golden. Paired with a colourful couscous salad and a tangy sriracha mayo, it becomes a filling meat-free dinner you can enjoy hot or cold.

Table of Contents

  • How to make it:
  • 🍽️ What to serve it with
  • 🍲 More fantastic cauliflower recipes
  • Smoky Cauliflower Salad Recipe

How to make it:

Full recipe and precise steps are in the recipe card below.

  1. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil and the seasoning, spread on a baking tray and roast in a hot oven until golden and tender.
  2. Sauté the onion in oil until soft, add garlic and spices, then stir through the couscous and hot stock. Cover and let sit off the heat for 5 minutes.
  3. Fluff the couscous with a fork and fold in the chopped vegetables and herbs.
  4. Transfer the couscous to a large serving bowl and top with the roasted cauliflower.
  5. Whisk mayonnaise and sriracha together and drizzle over the finished dish.

This combination gives you a satisfying, filling salad with a creamy, spicy kick from the sriracha mayo.

A tall, overhead shot of Smoky Cauliflower Salad in a large blue bowl. In the top left corner, there is a silver fork resting on the surface. In the bottom right corner, you can see a small pile of cherry tomatoes, and in the top right corner, you can see a small glass jar of siracha mayo. This is all set on a light blue surface.

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🍽️ What to serve it with

  • Serve alongside a simple tomato-and-onion salad, or swap the couscous for a Moroccan-style couscous for a different flavour profile.
  • Try different sauces if you like—bang bang sauce, sweet chilli or a plum-sriracha pairing all work well with roasted cauliflower.
A tall, overhead shot of Smoky Cauliflower Salad in a large blue bowl. In the top right corner, you can see a small pile of cherry tomatoes, and in the top left corner, you can see a small glass jar of siracha mayo. In between the two you can slightly see a second identical bowl of smoky cauliflower salad. This is all set on a light blue surface.

🍲 More fantastic cauliflower recipes

Square photo of Asian cauliflower wings on a blue plate

Appetizers

Baked Cauliflower Wings – Asian Style

Close up of Crispy Cauliflower with bang bang sauce topped with chillies and spring onions

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Bang Bang Cauliflower

Cauliflower steak with spicy salsa verde. Cauliflower fried until golden, then poached in stock - a great meatless Monday meal!

Skinny Recipes

Cauliflower Steak with Spicy Salsa Verde

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Asian

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Cauliflower Arancini filled with creamy boursin cheese. Quicker and healthier than regular arancini. Baked rather than fried.

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Cauliflower Arancini

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Soups

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

This recipe appears in the author’s book Seriously Good Salads (published 2019).

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A square, overhead shot of Smoky Cauliflower Salad in a large blue bowl. In the bottom right corner, you can see a small pile of cherry tomatoes, and in the top right corner, you can see a small glass jar of siracha mayo. This is all set on a light blue surface.
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Smoky Cauliflower Salad Recipe

By Nicky Corbishley
Smoky Cauliflower Salad – a spicy, filling, meat-free dinner of seasoned roasted cauliflower, colourful couscous and sriracha mayo. Serve warm or cold.
Prep Time:5
Cook Time:20
Total Time:25
Servings: 4 people
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: All

Ingredients

Smoky Cauliflower:

  • 1 large head cauliflower broken into florets
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

Couscous Salad:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp celery salt
  • 175 g dried couscous
  • 400 ml hot vegetable stock
  • 1 red bell pepper seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper seeded and finely chopped
  • 10 grape tomatoes quartered
  • 5 spring onions (scallions) chopped
  • 60 g chopped fresh parsley

Sriracha Mayo:

  • 60 g mayonnaise
  • 30 ml sriracha

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
  • Place the cauliflower florets on a large baking sheet, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle over the salt, garlic salt, black pepper and smoked paprika. Toss to coat and roast for about 20 minutes, or until golden and tender.
  • Meanwhile, make the couscous. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and celery salt and cook for 2 minutes to release the aromas.
  • Add the couscous and hot vegetable stock, bring briefly to a boil, then cover, remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Fluff the couscous with a fork, then fold in the red and green peppers, grape tomatoes, spring onions and parsley.
  • Transfer the couscous to a large serving dish and arrange the roasted cauliflower on top.
  • Mix the mayonnaise and sriracha in a small bowl and drizzle over the cauliflower before serving.

Notes

Nutritional info is per serving. This recipe serves 4.

Nutrition

Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.

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