Roasted cauliflower and chickpeas are tossed in a cumin vinegrette with candied pecans and cilantro. This vegan, gluten free Roasted Chickpea Cauliflower Salad makes a great side and is delicious served hot or cold!
Alright, friends. Here we are. Do I owe anyone an explanation as to why it has been a couple months since I have posted a new recipe? Of course not! Will I give you one? Most likely.
Life Update!
It has been a weird time — but in a good way (mostly)! I moved back to good ‘ol Winnipeg at the beginning of May and moved into a super cute apartment in a lovely area (we have a dinning room!!) Packing everything up in Montreal while finishing school was a little stressful, but my partner came to help me and then we had a relaxing five-day road trip. We stopped in some pretty small towns and I did not starve; we actually found places where I could eat! Was it totally celiac-friendly? No. Did one place give me real cheese on my vegan pizza by accident? Yeah. But, it is really cool to see that places are offering up more options and that vegans are everywhere!
May and June were so good, my therapist actually had that “do you want to come in less, you’re always so happy” conversation with me. A week or two ago I had my first bad day, and I was scared. I felt like I failed, like everything that I achieved during the last month and a half no longer meant anything. Ridiculous right? One bad day does not erase 45 good ones.
After that day, it did not go back to good day after good day. But, I have a lot going on in my life and I feel like I am experiencing my life the way I should be — if a bad thing happens, I should feel bad. I’m also trying to remind myself that I am always going to have bad days–it is part of being human–and it does not mean that my medication stopped working, or that I am on a path back into a depression. Yes, I have to watch it carefully, but it’s also totally okay to let yourself wallow in your bad day.
I’m still having a hard time digesting and getting over everything that happened in Montreal. Yesterday I turned on an album that I listened to a lot in the winter and I had to immediately turn it off. I couldn’t handle the memories and feelings that were evoked by listening to those songs. I also can’t face certain people and I have a hard time answering questions about my time away. I’m having a hard time doing school work because I so desperately want to be completely cut off from everyone and everything in Montreal. If I haven’t made my feelings clear enough, I unfollowed my favourite Montreal vegan restaurant on Instagram because I did not want to remember being there. Bad, I know.
I think my body is still on survival mode. Things were so bad there and things are so good now, I just want to cut it all out of my head. I have done this before, I don’t remember much of high school. But I don’t actually want to lose all my Montreal memories, I learned a lot and there were some good times. I’m just not ready to face them, and that is okay for now.
Alright, now it’s time for a recipe! Roasted chickpeas and cauliflower. Candied pecans. Cumin. Cilantro. So much yum and so so easy.
There is a long weekend coming up and I am very excited! My partner and I have opposite work schedules during the week, but we will get three days together and I cannot wait! Long weekends also mean BBQs, bonfires, get-togethers, dinner parties, and lots and lots of good food. Isn’t that the best part of a long weekend?
This Roasted Chickpea Cauliflower Salad is a great dish to bring along to any event where there will be food. It’s packed with flavour but easy to throw together.
How to make this Roasted Chickpea Cauliflower Salad
All you have to do is throw some chickpeas and cauliflower in the oven, make some candied pecans (takes less than 10 minutes – I promise!), and shake a little salad dressing together. That is it.
This salad is yummy warm, but I like it best cold. The flavours really come out when you let it sit and cool down in the fridge. It’s also great because it packs a lot of protein and will keep you fuelled up for your long weekend activities!
Hope you enjoy + get to spend some time relaxing with good people and delicious food this weekend!
Looking for more vegan, gluten-free meal ideas? Check these out!
- Summer Salad with Savoury Dressing
- BBQ Jackfruit Tacos
- Creamy Thai Curry Ramen
- Bourguignon with Celeriac Potato Mash
Roasted cauliflower and chickpeas are tossed in a cumin vinegrette with candied pecans and cilantro. This vegan, gluten free Roasted Chickpea Cauliflower Salad makes a great side and is delicious served hot or cold!
- 1 19-oz can of chickpeas
- 4 cups cauliflower, broken into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp water
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
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Preheat oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, mix together the chickpeas and cauliflower. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss until the chickpeas and cauliflower are evenly coated.
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Spread evenly onto the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, remove and stir, and then bake for another 25 minutes or until the chickpeas are crispy and the cauliflower is golden brown.
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In the meantime, prepare the candied pecans. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
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Let the sugar boil for roughly one minute, then toss in the pecans and make sure they all get covered in sugar.
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Remove from heat and spread the pecans on to parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt. Don't worry too much about the pecans clumping, they'll be easy to break when they've cooled.
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Prepare the vinaigrette by combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
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In a large bowl, combine the roasted chickpeas and cauliflower with the candied pecans and cilantro. Toss in the vinaigrette.
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This salad can be served warm or cold.
Pin this recipe for later!
Just made this for a quick, weeknight dinner–so good! Really easy to do all the prep for roasting and making the dressing and nuts while that’s cooking. I even had time to clean up before the cauliflower and chick peas were done! I might add some kale or something for more veggie power next time but this is in the books!
thank you!! <3 Glad you liked it!!
This was delicious! With the pecans, this might even be a good holiday side dish.
That’s a great idea! I’m so glad you liked it!