This natually gluten free cauliflower cous cous salad is incredibly easy to make and full of vibrant, fresh flavour!
I never thought I’d be praising the merits of raw cauliflower. I have to confess that up until recently, I believed that cauliflower was only good for drowning in cheese sauce. I was missing out big time!
The fresh cauliflower I took home from the fruit and veg shop was sitting in my kitchen, daring me to think outside the box for a change and try something different with it.
I’d read about using cauliflower as a substitute for cous cous and was slightly skeptical, but I thought I would give it a go.
The verdict? I think the photos speak for themselves, but let’s just say I was very pleasantly surprised.
Cauliflower cous cous is definitely very similar to the real thing. Just like real cous cous, the grated cauliflower acts as a fantastic base for soaking up flavours.
What is in a cauliflower cous cous salad?
The grains of cauliflower act as a fantastic base for soaking up flavours and this salad has plenty of fresh, vibrant flavour. My version of this salad contains:
- Fresh, crunchy radishes
- Spring onions
- Cucumber
- Fresh peppers
- Lots of fresh herbs – I used fresh parsley and mint
- Pomegrante seeds
- Feta cheese (if you want to make the salad vegan, simply leave this out)
- Pomegranate molasses (Optional, but adds a lovely zing to the salad)
As always, feel free to swap any ingredients that you aren’t keen on with something else – not a lover of radishes? Use tomatoes instead.
Not keen on spring onions? Use a diced red onion.
You could also add some roasted butternut squash, throw in some pine nuts or omit the feta cheese to make it vegan – anything goes!
I love this salad so much I ate it for my lunch for 3 days running. I hope you love it too!
Can I make this salad in advance?
You can the salad up to a day in advance.
You can eat it straightaway, but leaving it for even a hour or two will allow all those flavours to develop and get to know each other.
The salad is at its absolute best for 24 hours after assembling. If left for any longer it becomes a little watery and less flavoursome.
If you make this recipe, I would love it if you would rate the recipe below and share a picture with me on Facebook or Instagram – or if you have any questions, leave a comment below!
More salad recipes for you to check out…
butternut squash, cranberry and pecan salad
Pear, Stilton and Candied Walnut Salad
Smoked mackerel and chickpea salad
Watermelon, feta and mint salad
New potato salad with asparagus and radishes
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I hope you loved it! Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below and rate the recipe out of 5 by clicking on the stars in the recipe card.
Cauliflower Cous Cous Salad
This light, refreshing, naturally gluten free salad uses cauliflower to mimic the texture of cous cous - use the freshest herbs you can lay your hands on for the best flavour.
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower
- 4 spring onions, sliced finely
- 1/2 a cucumber, finely diced
- 1 red or orange pepper, seeded and diced
- 100 g radishes, finely sliced
- 2 large handfuls of fresh mint, chopped
- 2 large handfuls of fresh parsley, chopped
- 100 g feta cheese
- Seeds from 1/4 pomegranate
- 1/2-1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- For the dressing:
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Finely grated zest of half an orange
- Freshly squeezed juice of one orange
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Mix all the dressing ingredients together, season and set aside.
- Using the large holes of a grater, grate the cauliflower florets into fine pieces. Alternatively you can use a food processor to chop the cauliflower into very small pieces. Don't process/grate the cauliflower too fine - you want to keep some texture.
- Place the cauliflower in a large mixing bowl and add the spring onion, cucumber, pepper, radishes, mint, parsley, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds.
- Pour the dressing on top of the salad and stir until everything is coated evenly in the dressing.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with more pomegranate seeds and add a little drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
Notes
you can swap the parsley for fresh dill, if preferred.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 332Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 366mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 21gProtein: 7g
Calories and Nutritional information is calculated by a third party application and should be used as a rough guide only.
What a fab fresh salad idea for anytime of year!
I also make a cauliflower couscous sometimes and it does make a lovely alternative to the real things. I think your recipe sounds delicious with the radishes and pomegranate seeds in too – I’ll have to try it next time!
Thank you Kat!
Thank you Corina! I was so surprised by this recipe – I didn’t expect to like it so much!
This is just the sort of recipe I will be making when the weather warms up