This vibrant cauliflower salad is packed with crisp cucumbers, sweet peas, fresh herbs, and tossed in a creamy garlic yogurt dressing that gets even more flavorful as it marinates. A delicious, healthy side dish, packed with nutrients. GF.
After 5 years of reading Feasting at Home - this might be one of my all time favorite recipes. It's just delightful to the taste buds and so absolutely chock-full of healthy ingredients.
This “just-keeps-getting-better” cauliflower salad is crunchy, creamy, and full of punchy flavor, from the garlic-yogurt dressing. Cauliflower is shaved or very thinly sliced and tossed with Turkish cucumbers, peas or edamame, crunchy radishes, and lots of fresh herbs. Everything is tossed in a creamy, tangy, garlicky yogurt dressing. I truly love the texture of this salad!
Those of you who have been here for a while know I am a sucker for fresh, raw, crunchy salads and slaws. We have a huge selection on the blog because they make the perfect side dish to any meal. Incredibly refreshing and healthy, they just make me happy. My version of a happy meal!
Why you’ll love this Cauliflower Salad!
A vibrant salad! The radishes, cucumbers, and peas add beautiful pops of color, the crunchy veggies give this salad delightful texture, and the lemony, garlicky dressing is creamy and satisfying. It’s a crowd-pleasing salad for any spring party or summer potluck!
Meal-prep-friendly! The salad can be made ahead and tastes even better the next few days! Just another reason we love prepping this for midweek meals and weekday lunches!
Incredibly nutritious! This salad makes it easy to consume raw veggies and absorb all of their abundant nutrients in their purest form. It’s packed with fiber, protein, and vitamins.
Cauliflower Salad Ingredients
- Cauliflower: Use a mandolin to get super-thin slices of shaved cauliflower. Alternatively, you can chop the cauliflower florets very thinly (or you could use a food processor to help with this).
- Peas:Â Use fresh blanched English peas, frozen peas, snap peas, or edamame if you prefer! Trader Joe’s carries fresh shucked peas during spring and summer.
- Cucumbers and radishes: Add fresh, cool flavor and crunchy texture. Both are finely sliced. I love how the radishes add a pop of color!
- Fresh herbs: Use one or any combo of fresh mint, dill, fresh parsley, and scallions.
- Yogurt Garlic Dressing: Plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, honey, and garlic cloves come together to create a tangy, lemony, garlicky dressing with a deliciously creamy texture.
- Garnish: Aleppo chili flakes add a nice bite, while microgreens or sprouts amp up the fresh flavor and nutrients!
How to Make Cauliflower Salad
1. Prep the veggies. Shave the cauliflower. If you don’t have a mandolin, chop it into thin, bite-sized pieces. Shave or thinly slice the cucumbers and radishes. Place the veggies into a large bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blanch the peas and chop the mint, dill, and flat-leaf parsley.
2. Make the flavorful yogurt dressing. Add yogurt, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey, and garlic to a small bowl and whisk.
3. Combine. Add the peas, herbs, and green onions to the cauliflower mixture. Gently fold the yogurt dressing into the veggies. Make sure to let the salad rest 15 minutes before serving, so the salt and lemon juice are absorbed by the veggies (otherwise, it will seem too salty). You are basically marinating the veggies here. This salad gets better over time. 😉
4. Garnish. Taste and adjust for salt and lemon. Top with more herbs, Aleppo chili flakes, or black pepper. Serve the Raw Cauliflower Salad on a large platter, or plate it fancifully for an elegant starter topped with microgreens.
Chef’s Tips
- Dry the vegetables well. Excess moisture can water down the dressing, so pat the cucumbers, herbs, and peas dry after washing.
- Keep everything bite-sized. Small, evenly sliced vegetables make the salad easier to eat and help every bite feel balanced.
- Slice the cauliflower as thinly as possible. Using a mandolin creates delicate, shaved pieces that absorb the dressing beautifully and soften slightly as they marinate.
- Blanch the peas briefly. A quick blanch keeps them vibrant green and tender while preserving their fresh sweetness and slight snap.
- Let the salad rest before serving. This is key! The lemon, salt, and yogurt lightly “cure” the vegetables, mellowing the cauliflower and deepening the flavor. The salad actually improves after a few hours in the fridge, making it ideal for meal prep and entertaining!
- Garnish right before serving. Add Aleppo flakes, sprouts, or microgreens at the end to preserve freshness and texture.
Serving Suggestions
The salad is quite “juicy” – perfect for mopping up with fresh, crusty bread. Enjoy as a light main or as a side dish with your favorite protein!
This raw cauliflower salad is also a great recipe for warm-weather social gatherings – explore our 35+ Potluck Ideas for more inspiration on party or picnic pairings!
Storage
Leftover cauliflower salad keeps up to 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend! Be sure also to check out our 31+ Mouthwatering Cauliflower Recipes! xoxo
More Cauliflower recipes you may like
After you try this Raw Cauliflower Salad 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
Cauliflower Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: healthy, Lunch, meal prep, salad, Side Dish, vegetarian
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: fiber, Gluten-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Vegetarian
Description
This vibrant cauliflower salad is packed with crisp cucumbers, sweet peas, fresh herbs, and tossed in a creamy garlic yogurt dressing that gets even more flavorful as it marinates.
Ingredients
- 2 cups peas or edamame *see note
- 1/2 head of large cauliflower, shaved on a mandolin or chopped small
- 2 cups thin-skinned cucumbers, shaved or finely sliced
- 6 radishes, shaved or finely sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint or fresh dill, chopped (or sub more parsley)
- 4–6 scallions, finely sliced
Yogurt Garlic Dressing:
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (plain, full fat)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey (or other sweetener)
- 1–2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Optional garnish: more herbs, Aleppo chili flakes, microgreens
Instructions
- Prep the veggies. Slice the cauliflower, cucumbers, and radishes. A mandolin makes this easy. Place in a large bowl and toss with salt.
- Make the yogurt dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey, and garlic.
- Combine. Drain any liquid from the bowl, add the peas, fresh chopped herbs, and green onions to the cauliflower mixture. Fold in the yogurt dressing and toss to combine.
- Season and garnish. Add more salt or lemon if needed. Top with more herbs, Aleppo flakes, and fresh ground pepper.
Notes
Peas– if using fresh English peas, blanch first in salted boiling water until plump, vibrant green, and floating, then drain and cool. If using frozen peas, thaw first.Â
Storage and meal prep. Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The salad will get “juicier” over time as the cauliflower and cucumber release their liquid.Â
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 9.4 g
- Sodium: 691.9 mg
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 6.2 mg
Delicious and fresh
Thanks Kristi!
I’m going to make this for a party in a few weeks. Looks so delicious. I was wondering how thick you sliced the cauliflower, 1mm or thicker? I will use a mandoline.
Thanks!
That seems about right, or 1/8 of an inch thick.
So delicious
Made this today for the first time and will add this to my most delicious salads
So fresh and tasty
Thank you Sylvia
After 5 years of reading Feasting at Home – this might be one of my all time favorite recipes. It’s just delightful to the tastebuds- and so absolutely chocked full of healthy.
Thanks so much Penney- I like this one too!
I absolutely loved this salad, so fresh!
As I was using up ingredients already to hand, I subbed frozen peas and broad beans for the fresh peas and parsley for the mint.
We had it as a side for one meal with sumac roasted beetroot and chickpeas and for lunch the next day with pitta.
I was pleased to have a little left for a lunch side.
Definitely planning to use this again. Would be great at a bbq.
Wow! What a refreshing summer salad. Salad is currently in the fridge to let the dressing infuse the veggies. Had a taste and it’s delicious! Thank you.
Could I use frozen peas, letting them thaw?
You can, but they won’t have the same “snap”.
I could not wait to make this again this year.
This is exactly what I am craving right now. It is the the culinary sweet spot for this time of year. Yummy!