Roasted Cauliflower Bowls with Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce
These Roasted Cauliflower Bowls with Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce are nourishing and packed with 22 grams of plant protein. An easy to assemble weeknight dinner.
We’ve asked cauliflower to be a lot of things over the years. Today, I’m letting her rest and just be herself, roasted till the bottoms caramelize and serving it in a bowl with farro and lentils topped with an orange chipotle tahini sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Roasted Cauliflower with Orange Chipotle Tahini
- Simple ingredients and prep. The main ingredients are cauliflower, lentils and farro. Each is prepared in the simplest way possible and then topped with a sauce you blend up.
- Easy to customize to your preference. Note all the tips below to make this gluten-free and allergy friendly.
- High-protein vegan dinner. The combo of farro and lentils makes this meal a great high protein option that provides up to 22 grams of protein per serving.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cauliflower: This recipe uses a whole head of cauliflower. If not a fan of chopping, buy your cauliflower pre-chopped.
- Lentils: I used cooked French lentils. If swapping for a different lentil, make sure it holds it’s shape nicely when cooked. This works well with small brown lentils or beluga lentils. I would avoid using red lentils as they get mushy when cooked on the stove top. Alternatively, you can roast fava beans or chickpeas, just pat them dry before using.
- Farro: This grain is a great alternative to always using rice and it is loaded with fiber and protein. For a gluten-free option, feel free to use quinoa, a wild rice blend or millet.
- Seasoning: Coriander, cumin and garlic. Adjust the amounts used to your liking.
- Tahini: Good quality tahini matters for this sauce, so I always use Soom Foods. If unable to use tahini, you can substitute it with a seed butter like sunflower seed butter instead to still keep it nut free.
- Chipotle Peppers: We want to use canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Do not use whole dry chipotle peppers. If you are concerned about spice, deseed your chipotle peppers or use just the adobo sauce in the can. You can also just use half or one single pepper to make your sauce and still get the smoky flavors in it.
- Orange: I used a fresh small orange for this. You can also use bottled orange juice.
How to Make a Roasted Cauliflower Bowl
Prepare the Farro
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Salt it like you would pasta and once boiling add in the dry farro and cook for 17 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
Roast the Cauliflower and Lentils
To one parchment lined baking sheet, add the cauliflower and garlic cloves plus 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander, 1 tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt and 1 tbsp oil then toss to coat. To a second parchment lined baking tray add the lentils and the remaining cumin, coriander, garlic powder, pinch of salt and oil and again toss and coat evenly. Spread both the cauliflower and lentils out evenly on the tray with cauliflower pieces placed cut side down.
Place both trays in the oven to roast for 15 minutes. Remove both the garlic cloves and lentils from the oven. Flip the cauliflower and place it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges.
Make the Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce
Place the tahini, peppers, juice, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, peeled roasted garlic and water into a small blender and blend on high until smooth. Add additional water if needed to thin it more to your desired consistency.
To assemble bowls add farro, the cauliflower and top with lentils. Spoon over some sauce and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Place your cauliflower cut side down on the baking tray. Doing this will allow the cauliflower to sear better on the roasting tray, which will result in your cauliflower being more caramelized as it roasts.
- If you want to reduce food waste, roast up the cauliflower leaves. Just chop them, coat the same way you do the cauliflower and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until tender and serve.
- Add more veggies. The cauliflower can pair well with a lot of different veggies like butternut squash, peppers, or carrots. You can also replace the cauliflower with something like broccoli or brussels sprouts if you are not a fan.
- If you want more protein, feel free to serve with some plant-based crumbles. To illustrate, adding a serving of some plant based crumbles can make this meal reach 37 grams of protein.
- Tone down the spice by using less chipotle peppers. Use less chipotle peppers or by deseeding the chipotle peppers before adding to the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, cauliflower leaves are completely edible. They have a similar taste to kale. Just rinse them well to remove any dirt before using. Some leaves will be thinner than others, so be mindful that you don’t overcook those leaves. If not a fan of the leaves, you can always do regular kale and either massage it with oil or roast it in the oven until softened to your liking.
To keep the protein high, but gluten-free, opt for grains like quinoa or millet as a substitute. You can also use regular white or brown rice as well.
Allow each component of this meal to cool. In an airtight container, divide the farro, roasted vegetables and lentils between 3 different airtight storage containers. Pour some of the orange chipotle tahini sauce into separate airtight containers to serve with your prepped meals. You can reheat the containers in the microwave or spread out the farro, cauliflower and lentils on a baking tray to reheat in the oven at 400F for 5-6 minutes or until warmed through.
How to Serve
Add your farro to a bowl and top with the roasted cauliflower, the cauliflower greens, then the lentils. After making the sauce, spoon or pour it over your bowl and top with some fresh herbs to make it a complete meal. You can also top these bowls with some pickled onions for some tang and crunch.
More Vegan Nourish Bowl Recipes
- High Protein Roasted Chickpea Tempeh Bowls
- Cannellini Bean Salad with Maple Lime Dressing
- Sofrito Black Beans with Baked Sweet Plantains
- The Easiest Red Curry Peanut Noodles
- Miso Glazed Brussel Sprouts & Farro Bliss Bowl
Roasted Cauliflower Bowls with Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Roasted Cauliflower Bowls with Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce are nourishing and packed with 22 grams of plant protein. An easy to assemble weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 2–3 cups of cauliflower florets or medium head of cauliflower
- 1 1/2 cups cooked French lentils or 1,15 oz can French lentils, rinsed and drained
- 4 cloves garlic, in peel
- 1 cup dry farro
- 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
- 1 tsp ground coriander, divided
- 2 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- Salt & Pepper
Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce (makes 4 servings)
- 4 tbsp tahini
- 1–2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (deseed or use less if you don’t like spicy)
- 2 tbsp orange juice (juice of half a medium orange)
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp maple syrup or brown sugar
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Salt it like you would pasta and once boiling add in the dry farro and cook for 17 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
- To one parchment lined baking sheet, add the cauliflower and garlic cloves plus 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander, 1 tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt and 1 tbsp oil then toss to coat. To a second parchment lined baking tray add the lentils and the remaining cumin, coriander, garlic powder, pinch of salt and oil and again toss and coat evenly. Spread both the cauliflower and lentils out evenly on the tray with cauliflower pieces placed cut side down.
- Place both trays in the oven to roast for 15 minutes. Remove both the garlic cloves and lentils from the oven. Flip the cauliflower and place it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges.
- Place the tahini, peppers, juice, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, peeled roasted garlic and water into a small blender and blend on high until smooth. Add additional water if needed to thin it more to your desired consistency.
- To assemble bowls add farro, the cauliflower and top with lentils. Spoon over some sauce and enjoy.
Notes
Place your cauliflower cut side down on the baking tray. Doing this will allow the cauliflower to sear better on the roasting tray, which will result in your cauliflower being more caramelized as it roasts.
If you want to reduce food waste, roast up the cauliflower leaves. Just chop them, coat the same way you do the cauliflower and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until tender and serve.
Add more veggies. The cauliflower can pair well with a lot of different veggies like butternut squash, peppers, or carrots. You can also replace the cauliflower with something like broccoli or brussels sprouts if you are not a fan.
If you want more protein, feel free to serve with some plant-based crumbles. To illustrate, adding a serving of some plant based crumbles can make this meal reach 37 grams of protein.
Tone down the spice by using less chipotle peppers. Use less chipotle peppers or by deseeding the chipotle peppers before adding to the sauce.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!
