Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Herby Tahini

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It doesn’t get any better than crispy roasted chickpeas and cauliflower. Together they are a nourishing and filling dream team that roasts on the same sheet pan. They turn out golden brown with caramelized, toasted edges.

The herby tahini sauce is fantastic. I really could go on (and on) about it. You can make it quickly in a food processor. The sauce is nutty and lemony with a touch of garlic.

You can serve this recipe as a vegan main dish or side dish. You have options with the recipe even beyond what you categorize it as. Use the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas as a flatbread topping or tuck them into a pita.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

For Cauliflower and Chickpeas

• Cauliflower: When you’re at the grocery or farmers market picking out a head of cauliflower, it should feel heavy for its size. Avoid ones that have dark speckles on them. You can use any color you want including white, purple, orange or green.
• Chickpeas: You will need one 15-ounce can of chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. Drain the can and rinse them in a colander. Then pat them off with a towel and remove any loose skins.
• Spices: I include a mix of cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper in the marinade.
• Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil will give you the best taste.

For Sauce

• Tahini: This sesame seed paste is the base for the sauce. I love tahini because it is a plant-based ingredient that’s creamy and rich.
• Parsley and cilantro are the fresh herbs that lend their flavor and green color to the sauce. You will need 1 cup of leaves. Just pull them off the stems and put them in a measuring cup. You don’t need to pack them down tightly.
• Garlic: The sauce calls for 1 garlic clove.
• Lemon: Squeeze the fresh juice from one lemon. Watch out to make sure no seeds end up dropping in.
• Scallions add their delicate light onion flavor. Even though they will end up finely chopped in the sauce, I still thinly slice them, so they blend more evenly with everything else.
• Salt: Just a quarter teaspoon will season the sauce.
• Water helps to thin out the sauce, so it is a spoonable consistency. How much you need depends on the thickness of your tahini. Often times the bottom of the jar is thicker than the top, so you may have to add more water.

How To Make Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Herby Tahini

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Cut the cauliflower. Remove the leaves and trim the bottom stem first. Then cut it into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Usually the 2-3 center slices are larger like caulilower steaks and as you get closer to the ends they will fall apart into medium to small pieces. I like this variety.

2. Marinate the cauliflower and chickpeas. In a large bowl, stir the cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper with the oil. I like to tilt the bowl around, so the marinade goes up the sides. Then add the cauliflower and chickpeas and stir them around the bowl. You can use your hands to do this. 

3. Spread the cauliflower and chickpeas across a baking sheet. They should be in a single layer. The chickpeas are great at fitting in the nooks and gaps between the cauliflower. 

4. Roast the chickpeas and cauliflower until they are golden brown. This will take about 25-30 minutes. Flip over the cauliflower and toss everything around just over halfway through roasting. 

5. Make the herby tahini. You can do this while everything is roasting. Puree the garlic, tahini, parsley and cilantro, scallions, lemon juice, salt and water in a food processor. The consistency should be thick while still being spoonable and not runny.

6. Arrange the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas on a plate. Drizzle on the herby tahini. Garnish with chopped parsley and cilantro before serving.

Serving

As mentioned, you can approach this recipe like a main dish or a side. It’s up to you, and it depends what else you have going on with the meal. For an entree, you can serve it with quinoa, couscous, farro or barley.

Beside grains, you can also turn this dish into:

• Flatbreads: Use store-bought naan or packaged flatbreads. Spread hummus across them leaving a 1/2-inch to 1/4-inch border around the edges and add the cauliflower, chickpeas and tahini sauce.
• Pita sandwiches: Stuff a pita with cauliflower and chickpeas. Then drizzle in the sauce.  
• Toast: Spread the tahini sauce on toasted sourdough or another type of bread with a good crust. Then top it with roasted chickpeas and cauliflower and herbs and another drizzle of sauce.

Storage & Leftovers

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Keep the sauce in a separate jar. You can warm the cauliflower and chickpeas in a 350-degree F oven. Please know that the chickpeas will not be as crisp as when you first roasted them. 

You can also eat leftovers cold with kale, spinach or chopped romaine. If you want, you can thin out the sauce a little more and use it like salad dressing. Leftovers are also great tossed with pasta, quinoa, farro or barley.

Recipe Tips

• Cut a full head of cauliflower and do not buy precut florets. That’s because having more flat sides will maximize the cauliflower directly touching the pan and help it brown. Also, you will end up with less waste when you cut it into slices. Don’t get rid of pieces that are more stem than crown. They will turn out tender when roasted.
• It is optional to pull off the skins on each of the chickpeas one by one. I typically just remove the loose skins when I pat or gently rub them after I rinse them. 
• Always use the juice from a freshly halved lemon. It will taste much better than bottled lemon juice.
• If your sauce is too thin, add a tablespoon at a time of tahini to thicken it. This is how you get to the ideal consistency if you pour in too much water.