This gluten free and vegan dish is a deliciously balanced salad with a ton of different textures and flavors. It reminds me of something I would choose out of a case at a trendy lunch spot!
If you’ve followed along with my most recent nutrition post, you’ll know that I’ve been incorporating a lot more plant-based proteins into my lunch routine. I used to have these big a$$ salads for lunchtime, and usually would do the whole “add chicken” deal because PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN. It’s been remarkable how much more energy I have in the afternoons now that I opt for lighter, plant-based lunches! Chickpeas are obviously an easy go-to protein to add to any salad - they are so versatile!
Whenever I go to a health-focused lunch spot, anywhere from Huckleberry to Whole Foods to Nourish Cafe - I always LOVE sampling the chickpea creations they come up with. They are usually incredibly interesting and creative! So much better than just adding a handful of whatever boiled/grilled/shredded chicken they have on hand to a bowl of greens. So I’ve started recreating some new chickpea dishes at home in honor of my favorite new plant-based love.
This chickpea dish has roasted cauliflower, sweet raisins, crunchy celery, and lots of flavor from fresh herbs and spices. It’s not a good thing that I’m writing this blog post as I’m getting kind of hungry for dinner, because I’m actually kind of salivating thinking about this dish. It may be time for dinner.
I ate this several days in a row - at home, on the plane (it passes through TSA security, promise). It would be an awesome dish to bring to a picnic, or even leave a large tupperware of it at work to portion out for lunches. I ate this on top of a bed of greens both times, and it made for a perfectly balanced lunch. No $5 “Add Grilled Chicken” needed over here in the DCC kitchen, thank you very much.
- 1 cup of cooked chickpeas (I used dried and soaked overnight, but canned is fine!)
- 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tbsp vegan mayo (I used Earth Balance)
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil for roasting the cauliflower
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
- Lightly coat your cauliflower in olive oil, and toss with salt and pepper and cumin. Place on a baking rack
- Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes
- In the meantime, mix your dressing of mayo, curry power, vinegar, and salt and pepper
- In a medium bowl, place the celery, raisins, chickpeas, and roasted cauliflower
- Fold in the dressing, and add the cilantro
- Season with salt and pepper
If you like this, you’ll love: Marinated Chickpea and Kale Salad
Thanks for stopping by! 
Roasted cauliflower is the way to go, isn’t it. I especially love it roasted with some balsamic.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy recently posted…Comment on Mediterranean Tuna Steaks by Dannii
It makes it to sweet and melts in your mouth!
This looks amazing! I’ll have to try it! I always look forward to what you come up with!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt recently posted…Cajun Shrimp Burgers (Inspired by Hilton Head Island!)
Thank you! Appreciate to hear that! 🙂
What a pretty and healthy salad! I love the addition of curry powder and raisins!
Keri @ Fashionable Foods recently posted…Easy Turkey Meatballs {Whole 30}
Those are critical flavor additions!
I love this salad, girlfriend! Anything involving chickpeas and cauliflower gets my tastebuds tingling, but this looks fantastic! I could totally eat this for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. Pinned! P.s HOW in the world did you get this on a plane???? Last time I flew they took my Celcius drink, in a can that was UNOPENED. Cheers, Dani! <3
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Lox & Everything Hummus {Plus- How to Cook Chickpeas in the Slow Cooker}
It’s not liquid-y at all, so it passed through TSA just fine! 🙂
Yum, this looks amazing! San Francisco is full of so much inspiration for plant-based foods. I could spend months just exploring the food scene. I’m going to pin this one to try soon!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health recently posted…Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
Let me know if you do! I think you’ll like it! 🙂
Looks like you and I took the curry train today 🙂 I have tofu with curry and turmeric on the blog today. LOVE me some roasted cauliflower. It might be my favorite way to eat it!
Jess @hellotofit recently posted…Vegetarian scrambled tofu bowl
Yum!! I can’t wait to check out your post today!
Omgosh! I literally just made a curried chickpea and cauliflower salad last week for lunch; it’ll be on the blog next week. So funny! In any case, love the sound of your salad and the use of the raisins mixed into the salad - perfect contrast to the spices!
I’ll have to check out your post! yum!