A few years back I did a questionnaire on Instagram and asked if there was one recipe you wanted me to recreate, what would it be. Someone responded and mentioned a yummy curry roasted cauliflower sweet potato salad that used to be sold at Trader Joe’s. Immediately I put it on my must-recreate list of recipes, and once I did it quickly became one of my all-time FAV salads to date.
When Abra and I made this salad we seriously couldn’t stop devouring it. I’m not sure what it was that made it so good. Maybe the cauliflower and sweet potatoes tossed in curry spices and roasted to perfection, or perhaps it was the sweet cranberries, cilantro, and peas that brightened up the salad so well? Frankly, I think it’s the curry tahini dressing. You decide.
This salad is deliciously filling thanks to the roasted veggies and makes the perfect lunch or even party side dish. It keeps well in the fridge for days so you know I’ve got your #MeatlessMonday meal prep covered! Enjoy as is or try it with an additional protein (plant-based or non). Basically, if you haven’t made this sweet potato cauliflower salad yet this is your sign. Get ready to fall in love!
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Everything you’ll need to make this cauliflower sweet potato salad
This roasted veggie salad packs a serious flavor punch from curry, warm spices, sweet and tangy mix-ins and the best curry tahini dressing you’ll ever have. Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:
- Veggies: we’re roasting up both cauliflower and sweet potatoes as the base of this lettuce-free salad. I also love adding peas for a little texture and sweetness.
- Herbs & spices: the spices in this salad are everything. You’ll roast the veggies with curry powder, ground turmeric, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. You’ll use some of those spices, plus fresh ginger in the dressing.
- For the dressing: you’ll also need tahini fresh lemon juice and a little warm water to round out the dressing. Feel free to add a little pure maple syrup if you find the tahini bitter.
- Mix-ins: what’s a salad without fun, flavorful mix-ins? I like to add dried cranberries, green onion, cilantro, and parsley for amazing freshness.
Make this salad your own
There are tons of easy ways to customize this cauliflower sweet potato salad to use up what you have on hand and make it your own!
- Add some crunch. I think roasted, shelled pistachios or cashews would add a wonderful crunch to this salad.
- Boost the protein. Keep this salad vegan by adding a can of chickpeas or even a cup of cooked quinoa. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian top it with some cooked, chopped chicken breast.
- Kick up the spice. Feel free to add 1/4 teaspoon more cayenne pepper to the dressing if you like a little heat!
- Mix up the veggies. Roasted carrots would also be delicious, and some kale marinated in the dressing would add the perfect serving of greens.
How to make this sweet potato cauliflower salad
- Roast your veggies. Add your cubed sweet potato and cauliflower florets to a prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss them all of those gorgeous spices. Roast ’em up for about 30 minutes until fork tender (flipping halfway through).
- Add your mix-ins. Transfer your roasted sweet potato and cauliflower to a bowl and add peas, green onion, cranberries, cilantro and parsley.
- Make the dressing. Next, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy — adding more warm water as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Toss it together. Pour the dressing all over the salad and gently toss to combine. Garnish with some extra mix-ins and devour!
Wait, is it hot or cold?
The salad will be slightly warm the first day you make it because of the roasted sweet potato and cauliflower but is absolutely delicious straight from the fridge the following days!
Store it for later
One of the best parts about this salad is that it stays good in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days! Make a double batch and serve it as a side dish or vegan main dish at your next party. The leftovers make the perfect lunch!
More salad recipes you’ll love
- California Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad
- Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing
- Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Vibrant Curry Cashew Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato, Pear & Pomegranate Spinach Salad
Get all of our delicious salad recipes here!
If you make this curry roasted cauliflower sweet potato salad, be sure to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. You can also use the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creations — xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Curry Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad (vegan & gluten free)
Ingredients
- For the cauliflower and sweet potatoes:
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into medium-sized florets (about 3-4 cups florets)
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into ½ inch cubes (about 2-3 cups diced sweet potato)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the add-ins:
- ⅔ cup thawed frozen peas (just let them sit in warm water for a bit)
- ¼ cup diced green onion
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries)
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
- optional: 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- For the dressing:*
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin the dressing
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- To garnish:
- Extra cranberries & cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cauliflower florets and cubed sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle on curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, red cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper. Use clean hands to toss everything together until it’s well coated with oil and spices. Spread out evenly. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway in between. We want the sweet potatoes to be somewhat fork tender but still have a slight bite.
- Once done cooking, add roasted sweet potato and cauliflower to a medium bowl. Add in the thawed peas, green onion, cranberries, cilantro and parsley.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, add in tahini, lemon juice, warm water, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Add more warm water if necessary to thin out the dressing so it is spoonable. Fold the dressing into the rest of the ingredients until they are well coated. Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are. Garnish with a few extra scallions, cranberries and cilantro.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 9, 2019, republished on September 16, 2021, and republished on October 11, 2023.
WOW! This recipe is SOO good!
I didn’t have cayenne, so I subbed it with paprika and skipped the cranberries, parsley, cilantro, and green onion and it was STILL bomb! So flavourful and easy – this will definitely be one of my summer go-to salads! Delish!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 Glad you loved it!
Absolutely delicious. I added the maple syrup to the dressing and some more salt. Warm or cold this is definitely a will be a go to salad!
Perfect! Yes, love this one both ways 🙂
I can only say DELICIOUS
So glad you enjoyed!
The Tahini sauce coated the cauliflower and sweet potato, leaving it with a brown mushy unappetising look, so different from your photo. What do you think went wrong?
Hmm was your brand of tahini particularly dark in color? The one I use is pretty light, so the curry powder and turmeric give it more of a yellow color!
This is my go to dish to bring! I’m headed to a potluck and ready to be everyone’s favorite dish! And yes it’s vegan! Love it so much! Thank you!
YES so good!!
great
Made this this evening. I added cherry tomatoes to the roar veg mixture, and added drained chickpeas to the toast veg pan half way through. I knew I’d be cooking cauliflower and sweet potatoes the evening and chose the recipe from the available suggestions. It was easy, left little mess behind and tasted fabulous. I didn’t have all the dressing ingredients and added Greek yoghurt to the dressing along with mint and basil from the garden. A worthy dinner for the last night of the Tories. Enjoyed v much.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This Curry Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad is a delightful blend of flavors and textures. The warm spices, tender vegetables, and vibrant colors make it a delicious and healthy choice.
So good!!!!! I can’t stop eating this. I added raisins instead of dried cranberries but followed the rest of the recipe. I made extra of the dressing and used it on some chicken meatballs that I ate on the side. I think adding chickpeas to the salad would also be delicious! Can’t wait to make this again
Love it! That dressing is the BEST.
restaurant quality flavors and kept well in the fridge all week!
YES love meal-prepping this one!
Yum! It’s good hot and cold but I preferred hot. I chose to add some cayenne to the dressing and also a touch of maple syrup. I used dried cherries instead of cranberries and they add suuuuch a good burst of bright flavor! I did not have green onions so I left them out.
Amazing! Glad you love this one!
Really good! I added chickpeas to amp up protein. Love the tahini sauce and would double it to have extra to dip pita in!
Great idea! That tahini sauce is my fav 🙂
I LOVE this recipe so much!! If I were having this as a side dish/accompaniment, do you have any recommendations for recipes that would work well as a main dish?
Hi Heather – Great question, this salad would be delicious with some grilled chicken either on the side or topped. I recommend this recipe HERE. Enjoy!
I was so excited about this salad but the flavors were not good, I’m sorry, we didn’t care for it at all. I need to add more sauce/moisture but that won’t change the flavor for me. Love your website but this was not what I expected and I love curry!
So sorry this recipe did not turn out as you had hoped, Jody.
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great
LOVE this recipe, I’ve made it three times so far and have it in my head as a must take to parties..
YUMMM! SO glad you are loving this recipe! ❤️