Crackling Cauliflower (Whole Foods Cauliflower Salad)

Inspired by the Whole Foods salad bar, this crackling cauliflower is a roasted cauliflower salad loaded with curry flavor, green peas, red onions and cilantro. It’s perfect for potlucks because the dish can be served cold or a room-temp.

Cracklin’ Cauliflower is my second favorite thing from the Whole Foods salad bar (Garlicky Kale is my first, in case you were wondering) and like most food related things I fall in love with, I recreated this dish at home so I could make it whenever my heart desires. Which is awesome because it’s hit or miss when my Whole Foods will actually have this available on the bar.

So about the dish, the base is roasted cauliflower and it includes a number of fragrant spices including curry, garam masala, fennel seed, fresh ginger and garlic. Don’t let the spices scare you though… I think I got my garam masala, fennel and curry from Penzey’s Spices, but you should be able to find them all at most grocery stores. And other than measuring, throwing the spices into a bowl and roasting the cauliflower, this dish comes together rather quickly — unless of course you accidentally get the curry sauce on your white pants and have to do an emergency load of bleached whites in the process. Not that I would know about that or anything…

The texture of the roasted cauliflower is perfect (not too crunchy and not too soft) and it takes on the flavor of the curry sauce so well. You get a nice spiciness from the ginger and red pepper, which is balanced by a sweetness from the peas.

If you make this crackling cauliflower, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how it turned out. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers!

Crackling Cauliflower

5 from 6 votes

This curried cauliflower salad is a great dish for potlucks because it can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature. 

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
• 1/2 tablespoon fennel seed
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Take frozen peas out of the freezer and let thaw while preparing the cauliflower.
• Combine oil and spices (curry powder through ground pepper) and toss with cauliflower and red onion until all pieces are well-coated. Place cauliflower in a baking dish and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes for even cooking. The cauliflower should be crisp-tender and golden brown when done.
• Place in a serving bowl, then stir in peas and cilantro. Let cool a bit and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal Carbohydrates: 22g Protein: 7g Fat: 15g Saturated Fat: 2g Sodium: 985mg Fiber: 7g Sugar: 10g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cracklin cauliflower, crackling cauliflower, curried cauliflower, curried cauliflower salad

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