These Roasted Cauliflower Bowls are loaded with smoky, crispy cauliflower, black beans, crunchy slaw, avocado, and cilantro chimichurri sauce. Easy, healthy, and vegan! Video.
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I have made this so many times and it is always SO GOOD. This is my boyfriend's 'favorite meal of all time'. He requests it for his birthday!
This is how you turn a head of cauliflower into dinner. Roast it with cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and a touch of chipotle until caramelized and smoky, then pile it over rice with seasoned black beans, crunchy Mexican slaw, avocado, and a generous spoonful of cilantro chimichurri.
These Roasted Cauliflower Bowls hit all the right notes-smoky, spicy, creamy, crunchy, and fresh. They’re naturally vegan, easy to customize, and hearty enough for dinner, with plenty of plant-based protein and fiber from the black beans.
Why you’ll love this CAULIFLOWER BOWL recipe!
Big, bold flavor! Smoky roasted cauliflower, seasoned black beans, crunchy slaw, and herby chimichurri make every bite fresh and full of flavor.
Wholesome and satisfying. Black beans, veggies, and whole grains come together for a nourishing, plant-based meal that actually fills you up!
Perfect for meal prep. There is so much comfort in knowing something healthy awaits in the fridge! Prep the components ahead and assemble healthy, colorful bowls in minutes throughout the week.
Repurpose leftovers! All of these ingredients can be repurposed during the week to make tacos. Simply tuck everything into warm tortillas!
Cauliflower Bowl Ingredients
- Cauliflower: The star of the bowl! Cut it into small florets so you get plenty of caramelized, crispy edges as it roasts.
- Smoky spices: Cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic, and optional chipotle give the cauliflower its bold, smoky flavor.
- Black beans: Quickly seasoned with cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika for an easy source of plant-based protein and fiber.
- Red bell pepper: Roasts alongside the cauliflower, adding sweetness and color.
- Rice: Creates a hearty base for the bowl. Use white or brown rice, quinoa, black rice, or your favorite cooked grain-or leave it out for a lighter low-carb bowl.
- Mexican slaw: Adds the cool, fresh crunch that contrasts beautifully with the warm roasted cauliflower. Shredded cabbage or sliced radishes work in a pinch.
- Cilantro chimichurri: The bright, herby sauce that brings the whole bowl together. I’d be generous with it!
- Avocado: Adds a cool, creamy element that balances the smoky spices.
- Optional toppings: Pickled red onions, cilantro, sprouts, radishes, lime, or your favorite hot sauce.
*See recipe card for more details
How to Make Cauliflower Bowls
1. Prep. Preheat the oven to 425F and prepare the rice or quinoa. I like to use Cilantro Lime Rice for this recipe- or skip it for a lower-carb bowl.
2. Roast the cauliflower. Add cauliflower, olive oil, salt, and spices to a large bowl and toss. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, using two pans if needed, and spreading out into a single layer. Slice the bell pepper in half and place open-side down on the baking sheet. Roast 12 minutes, then rotate the racks and toss the cauliflower.
Bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until golden and fork-tender.
3. Assemble the other bowl components. Make the Chimichurri Sauce and the optional Mexican Slaw and Pickled Onions.
4. Season the black beans. Drain and rinse the black beans, then add them to a small pot and gently warm with water, spices, salt, and oil. Alternatively, you can cook black beans from scratch the day before, or make our Mexican Pinto Beans!
5. Build the cauliflower bowls. Now it’s just a matter of assembling. Which is why I love love love bowls! Have fun and make them pretty, friends! And remember, you can take the leftovers and repurpose them into tacos the next day! So tasty!
To each bowl, add rice and beans, top with roasted cauliflower, and drizzle with chimichurri sauce. Garnish with Mexican slaw, avocado, pickled onions, sprouts, and cilantro. Watermelon radishes are sooooo beautiful here.
Cauliflower Bowl Tips
- Cut the florets evenly. Similar-sized pieces will finish roasting at the same time. I like some flat edges on the florets because they make good contact with the baking sheet and caramelize beautifully.
- Give the cauliflower plenty of room. This will make them crispy! Spread the florets out in a single layer without overcrowding the pan. Use two baking sheets if needed. Crowded cauliflower will steam rather than crisp.
- Roast at high heat. A 425F oven helps create deeply golden, slightly crisp edges while keeping the centers tender.
- Don’t skimp on the spices! Cauliflower can handle bold seasoning. Make sure you toss the cauliflower well so the oil and spices coat every nook and cranny.
- Aim for contrast. The best bowls have something warm, cool, creamy, crunchy, smoky, and tangy. Don’t feel like you need every topping, but avocado plus something crisp and something pickled makes a big flavor difference.
- Try a different sauce! The chimichurri makes this bowl, but if you are looking for a new variation to try, swap the black beans for a can of chickpeas (or our roasted chickpeas) and serve with our Lemon Tahini Sauce!
Serving Suggestions
This cauliflower bowl makes a satisfying, high-protein stand-alone plant-based meal. For something lighter, skip the rice and serve as a salad over shredded cabbage or greens (like arugula or romaine), or simply double up the Mexican Slaw. For extra protein, add our Tofu Sofritas, Crispy Tofu, Baked Tofu, or Grilled Tofu! If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, this bowl goes well with our Grilled Chipotle Chicken.
Turn leftovers into tacos or burritos, using warm corn or flour tortillas. Serve with our Fermented Hot Sauce or 5-Minute Hot Sauce.
Meal Prep & Storage
You can cook the rice or quinoa ahead of time, as well as prepare the seasoned black beans, Mexican Slaw, and Chimichurri Sauce. It feels so good to have some healthy things in the fridge, and it makes the cauliflower bowls easy to assemble during the week!
Store the rice, beans, cauliflower, slaw, chimichurri, and toppings separately. Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Looking for more? Check out our 33+ Best Cauliflower Recipes, 50+ Easy Dinner Ideas, 40 Most Popular Vegan Recipes, and Healthy Vegan Buddha Bowls!
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Watch how to make cauliflower Bowls
After you try this Cauliflower Bowl recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Roasted Cauliflower Bowl
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: bowls, buddha bowl, entertaining, Main, Make-ahead, meal prep, vegan dinner, vegetarain Main
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: Amerian, South American
- Diet: Dairy-Free, fiber, Gluten Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
These Roasted Cauliflower Bowls are loaded with cripsy, smoky spiced cauliflower, black beans, crunchy slaw, avocado, and cilantro chimichurri. Easy, healthy and vegan!
Ingredients
Smoky Roasted Cauliflower:
- one head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
- red bell pepper, cut in half
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Seasoned Black beans:
- 1 x 14-ounce can black beans (serves 2-3, feel free to double) rinsed, drained
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- drizzle olive oil
2 cups cooked rice (optional, or sub quinoa or black rice)
Mexican Slaw ( optional, or sub shredded cabbage or radishes)
Other toppings: sliced avocado, pickled red onions, cilantro, sprouts.
Instructions
425F oven
- If making rice or quinoa, cook it according to directions first.
- Roast the Cauliflower: Toss Cauliflower with olive oil, salt and spices in a large bowl, and place in a single layer, on parchement-lined sheet pans ( you may need two. Cut the bell pepper in half and place on the same sheet pan open side down. Roast 12 minutes, turn cauliflower over, rotating racks ( top rack will cook faster) and cook another 12-15 minutes, until nice and golden, and fork-tender.
- Make the Chimichurri Sauce, and optional Mexican slaw and optional pickled onions
- Season the black beans: Warm up the black beans in a small pot on the stove, adding water, spices, salt, and oil.
- Assemble Bowls: Layer rice and beans, top with roasted cauliflower. Drizzle with a little chimichurri sauce and garnish with the slaw, avocado, pickled onions, sprouts and cilantro.
Notes
Store leftovers for up to 4 days in separate airtight containers.
Repurpose these into tacos. Fold the warm cauliflower into warm tortillas, add chimichurri sauce, Mexican Slaw, avocado, seasoned black beans if you like, and your favorite hot sauce! Yum!!!
These also taste great as a wrap or burrito!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with rice, black beans, avocado and Chimichurri sauce
- Calories: 534
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 461 mg
- Fat: 27.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.6 g
- Fiber: 16.6 g
- Protein: 14.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I have made this so many times and it is always SO GOOD. This is my boyfriend’s ‘favorite meal of all time’. He requests it for his birthday!
Sometimes I do white beans with garlic and lime in lieu of the black beans just to switch up the flavours and lighten it a bit.
Awesome Quinn, so happy to hear! Love the variations.