This Curry Cauliflower Salad with Sweet Potatoes is a delicious roasted vegetable salad that is nutrient dense and flavor packed. It's the perfect vegan, gluten free, and paleo dish that can be turned into a complete meal!
I was craving a hearty salad dish and a sweet potato cauliflower salad sounded perfect. Since plain roasted vegetables can get boring, I wanted to make these vegetables more fun and delicious and turn this salad into something that would be great for holidays or pot lucks. This roasted curry cauliflower and sweet potato salad is filled with add-ins to bring some crunch and sweetness and then dressed with a robust and creamy dressing that has just the right amount of curry kick.
Why You'll Love this Curry Cauliflower Salad with Sweet Potatoes
- Allergy friendly: this recipe is completely vegan, gluten free, and paleo and can be made nut free. It's a delicious dish to bring to gatherings where food allergies are present!
- Nutrient dense: loaded with antioxidant and fiber filled veggies, heart healthy fats, and micronutrients, this curried cauliflower salad packs a nutrient punch all in one bowl!
- Customizable: depending on your tastes, preferences, and the occasion, you can make this salad your own with delicious add-ins from crunchy chickpeas to quinoa to sweet raisins.
- Perfect side or main: this beautiful salad makes for the perfect side dish, but add in some plant based protein, like chickpeas or lentils, to turn into a complete meal. this salad is delicious year round, but makes for a perfect addition to Thanksgiving, Easter, or a Mother's Day lunch/dinner.
- Meal prep friendly: although this sweet potato and cauliflower salad is made to impress at gatherings, it's also fantastic for meal prep. It will last for up to 5 days in the fridge can can be eaten warm or cold, so prep it and eat it throughout the week!
Why the Dressing Matters
Let's talk about this dressing for a second - because it's the reason this curry roasted cauliflower salad is memorable. It takes roasted vegetables from boring to addictive with its sweet umami flavor. It's sweet and savory with a little bit of a kick from curry powder. Made with a base of creamy nut, seed, or granola butter of choice that stands up to the hearty roasted veggies, we add fresh ginger and curry spices for kick and a little maple syrup to balance the flavors.
Ingredients for Curry Cauliflower Salad with Sweet Potatoes
Roasted vegetable base:
- Cauliflower: use a large, fresh head of cauliflower. Any variety works - white, yellow, or purple all roast beautifully and taste great with curry.
- Sweet potato: orange sweet potato is the classic choice here and roasts up perfectly caramelized. White or Japanese sweet potato also work, but provide a sweeter flavor.
- Olive oil: heart healthy oil to roast the vegetables with. You can also use coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Golden raisins: the underrated hero of this salad. The natural sweetness of golden raisins against the curry spice is the sweet-savory contrast that makes every bite interesting. Don't skip them!
- Toasted walnuts or cashews:toasting brings out a nutty depth that raw nuts just don't have. Walnuts add a slightly bitter, earthy note that plays beautifully against the sweet raisins. Cashews are milder and sweeter. Either work or use both.Roasted chickpeas: optional but highly recommended for crunch, protein, and that satisfying heartiness that takes this from side dish to complete meal.
- Fresh cilantro: fresh herbs add micronutrients and enhance the flavor profile. You can use parsley if you prefer.
- Salt, curry powder: both add depth of flavor to the roasted vegetables. Curry powder is naturally gluten free, since it's a blend of spices, just make sure the one you buy doesn't have added stabilizers which can contain hidden gluten ingredients.
Creamy Curry Dressing
- Granola butter or nut/seed butter of choice: the creamy base of the dressing. For a nut free version, use my homemade granola butter, pumpkin seed butter, or tahini. If you tolerate nuts, almond butter or cashew butter are both excellent here.
- Fresh lemon juice: brightness and tang balance the base.
- Curry powder: this is where the bold curry flavor lives. Start with ½ teaspoon and adjust up to 1 full teaspoon depending on how much heat you want.
- Grated ginger root: anti-inflammatory and gut supporting, it pairs perfectly with the curry powder. Fresh ginger has a brightness that ground ginger just doesn't replicate, so be sure to use fresh.
- Maple syrup: just enough to balance the spice and tang. Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- Garlic infused olive oil: the low FODMAP option for anyone who doesn't tolerate garlic well. If garlic isn't an issue for you, regular olive oil plus a clove of fresh minced garlic works perfectly.
How to Make This Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the head of cauliflower into florets and sweet potato into bite size pieces. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, and curry powder in a large mixing bowl then spread on the parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and fork tender.
- While vegetables are cooking, toast nuts in a frying pan over medium heat, mixing often until just beginning to golden and become fragrant.
- Prepare any other add-ins at this time, like roasting the chickpeas or making quinoa.
- While vegetables are cooling, make the dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Start with ½ teaspoon curry powder and increase based on taste. Add in water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency that isn't too thick.
- When vegetables are done roasting, toss with add-ins and dressing and serve.
Substitutions and Variations
- Vegetables: any variation of cauliflower works (white, yellow, purple). Orange or red sweet potatoes are best, but white or Japanese sweet potatoes will also taste delicious. Add extra roasted vegetables like carrots or parsnips to bulk it up.
- Dressing: keep this gluten free salad fully paleo by using a nut or seed based butter for the dressing like peanut, almond, cashew, tahini, or sunflower butter. I use my homemade granola butter or pumpkin seed butter in this recipe.
- Nuts: swap walnuts for cashews or pecans, or leave out entirely and replace with toasted pumpkin seeds for a nut free crunch.
- Add-ins: switch the raisins for chopped dates, dried cranberries or cherries, or pomegranate seeds. Amp up the plant based nutrient and protein content by adding quinoa or crispy roasted quinoa for crunch.
Serving and Storage
This salad is delicious warm or cold!
- Served warm: straight from the oven, the vegetables are caramelized and tender, the dressing melts into everything, and the whole bowl is deeply comforting. This is the version to serve at holidays or dinner parties, it looks stunning and smells incredible.
- Served cold: after a night in the fridge, the dressing has soaked into every piece of cauliflower and sweet potato and the flavors have deepened significantly. This is the meal prep version and great for a quick weekday lunch straight from the container.
- Meal prep tip: for the best texture throughout the week, add crunchy components (toasted nuts, roasted chickpeas) right before eating. If the salad seems dry after a few days, a small drizzle of olive oil or a squeeze of lemon brings it back to life.
- Serve with the suggested add-ins for a complete meal or as a side to a vegan main like lentil loaf. This is also a delicious side dish to roasted meats like chicken or pork.
Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. This salad tastes great for days after and you can enjoy it warm or cold.
FAQ
I love serving this curry cauliflower salad with roasted chicken, but you can also make it a complete vegan meal by adding roasted chickpeas or quinoa. See the substitutions and variations section above for add-ins to keep this recipe fully plant-based.
Although this recipe uses cauliflower and sweet potato as the base, you can certainly add other root vegetables like parsnips or carrots.
It tastes great both ways! Warm, straight from the oven is comforting and perfect for dinner parties or holidays. Cold, as leftovers, allows the dressing to soak into everything and the flavors to deepen - great for meal prep. See the full serving section above for tips on keeping crunchy components crisp either way.
Yes, you can. If making ahead, don't add any crunchy pieces (crispy chickpeas, toasted nuts) until ready to serve. They can lose their crunch and you don't want that if trying to impress guests. Don't worry, leftovers still taste good once the salad is mixed though.
Opt for a seed butter or granola butter for the dressing and leave out the roasted nuts or sub them for toasted pumpkin seeds, roasted chickpeas, lentils, or quinoa to get that crunch.
It can be. Use garlic infused olive oil in the dressing instead of fresh garlic, and check that your curry powder brand doesn't contain onion or garlic powder — some blends do. Sweet potato is low FODMAP in moderate servings, and cauliflower is low FODMAP in small portions. If you're strictly low FODMAP, portion accordingly.
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Curry Cauliflower Salad with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetable Base
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- ⅓ cup toasted walnuts or cashews *see notes below for nut free version
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- Add-ins: roasted chickpeas, quinoa see substitutions in post about other add-ins to make this a complete meal
Creamy Curry Dressing
- ¼ cup granola butter or nut/seed butter of choice
- ½ a lemon, juiced
- ½-1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 thumb grated ginger root
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil or regular olive oil and 1 clove of pressed garlic
- 2-4 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Chop cauliflower into florets and sweet potato into bite size pieces. Toss vegetables with olive and salt and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and fork tender.
- While vegetables are cooking, toast your walnuts in a frying pan over medium heat, mixing often until just beginning to golden and become fragrant. This will only take 5-10 minutes.
- When vegetables are done, set aside while you make the dressing.
- While vegetables are cooling, make your dressing by combining all ingredients except for the water in a small bowl or jar. Start with ½ teaspoon curry powder and increase based on taste. Miix well to combine, taste and adjust salt and curry powder as needed. Add in water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a pourable consistency that isn't too thick.
- Toss vegetables, add-ins, and dressing together in a large bowl and serve! Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Ann Marie Koshuta says
We made this dish last night for supper. It is outstanding! Such a delightful and interesting mix of tastes. I highly recommend!
Victoria Faling says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!