Roasted Cauliflower Salad

This roasted cauliflower salad makes a great side dish or light lunch. It’s drizzled with a sharp and intense lemon Dijon dressing and is served with buttery and smoky tarragon grilled baguette slices on the side.

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower:

For the tarragon toast:

For the dressing:

How to roast the cauliflower:

Step 1. Cut the individual florets off of 1 small head of cauliflower. Try to get them more or less uniform in size so they roast evenly.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F., then toss the florets with 3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon garlic salt and ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper in a bowl.

Step 2. Spread the florets out onto a baking sheet in a single layer, then roast them in the oven until they are tender (about 1 hour). Stir the florets around halfway through the roasting process.

RECIPE TIP: If you have a silicone baking mat, I recommend you use it to line the baking sheet when roasting the cauliflower. You can put the cauliflower florets directly on the baking sheet but they roast a little more evenly with the baking mat, in my experience.

How to make the tarragon toast:

While the cauliflower is in the oven, you can prep the tarragon bread.

Step 3. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon and 3 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter to a bowl.

Step 4. Mash the tarragon and the butter together with a large fork, then season to taste with a bit of salt.

Spread the butter onto 8 baguette slices (both sides).

When you have about 15 minutes left on the cauliflower, toss the baguette slices on a grill or a grill pan and grill them nice and smoky.

How to make the dressing:

Step 5. The dressing takes no more than a minute to put together, just whisk 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon lemon juice together, then drizzle in 2 tablespoons olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the dressing separates, don’t worry about that, it will still taste wonderful.

How to serve the salad:

This salad is great as a light lunch by itself or as a side dish for grilled fish.

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Full Recipe

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Nicole B.

Olive oil-roasted cauliflower florets seasoned with garlic salt and pepper are served with a sharp lemon Dijon dressing and smoky tarragon-buttered grilled baguette slices in this flavorful roasted cauliflower salad.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

Course Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 439 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the cauliflower:

• ▢ 1 head of cauliflower, cut into individual florets
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the tarragon grilled bread:

• ▢ 8 slices baguette
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
• ▢ salt

For the dressing:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

 

For the cauliflower:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toss the cauliflower florets with oil, garlic salt and pepper and spread out either directly onto a baking sheet or onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.*
• Roast the cauliflower until tender and browned on the edges (about one hour). Move the florets around on the baking sheet halfway through.

For the tarragon grilled bread:

• Mash the butter and the tarragon together with a fork, then season with salt.
• Spread the butter on the baguette slices (onto both sides) and grill on both sides on a grill or a grill pan.

For the dressing:

• Whisk the mustard and the lemon juice together.
• In a slow stream, whisk in the olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
• Serve the cauliflower warm and drizzle the dressing on right before serving.

Notes

*It will work fine either way but the silicone mat works slightly better in my experience; the florets roast a little more evenly with the mat.

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcal

Keyword cauliflower salad, roasted cauliflower salad

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