This vegan revitalizing & raw cauliflower-tomato detox salad is packed with detoxifying cruciferous veggies and feel-good ingredients. Raw cauliflower is grated into a fine “rice” and tossed with savory pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, kale, parsley, basil, hemp seeds, and pepitas. The mixture is tossed in a creamy dressing made with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings.
I’m a bit disappointed in myself. National Mac n’ Cheese Day — not to be confused with National Mac & Cheese Day on July 14th (who knew that a swift conjunction swap necessitated a separate holiday) — was this past Monday, and I completely missed it. I don’t play into too many of the national food holidays, but Mac n’ Cheese Day deserves a special exception.
There I went posting this recipe for a protein smoothie when I could have been talking about comforting noodles coated in gooey, melty cheese. Please forgive me protein smoothie, I love you too.
Although I don’t have a mac n’ cheese recipe for you today either, I do have a really delicious revitalizing & raw cauliflower-tomato detox salad. You might think this sounds like a let down after all that cheesy noodle chit chat above, but I think this recipe will pleasantly surprise you.
Raw cauliflower is grated into a fine “rice” and tossed with savory pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, kale, parsley, basil, hemp seeds, and pepitas; a line-up that contains many of nature’s finest detox-inducers. Cauliflower, kale, basil, and hemp seeds, in particular are wonderful at ridding the body of nasty toxins. Oh, but wait, there’s more.
The dressing that gets poured over this powerful combination of veggies is an addictive blend of tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings; yet another mix of detoxifying ingredients. Lemon juice, in particular, is known for its detoxification properties as it stimulates the release of enzymes that convert toxins into a water-soluble form that can be more easily released from the body. Pretty nifty, isn’t it?
The most important part? This salad is taaaaaaas-T. It’s crunchy, bright, herbacious, fresh, savory, citrusy, and satisfying. This is a good-for-you salad that will have your taste buds and your body thanking you. Plus, I don’t know about you, but my mind always feels more at peace after enjoying a dish like this; one that nurtures and restores without sacrificing flavor. Eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up the foods you love; it means opening up the doors to also include the foods that love you back, both in flavor and nutrient goodness. That being said, let’s promise each other that we’ll always leave room for something sweet; we can have our health and eat cake too.
Revitalizing & Raw Cauliflower-Tomato Detox Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 head of cauliflower, stemmed and cut into large pieces
- 2 cups finely chopped dino or lacinto kale, stemmed
- 2/3 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/3 cup raw pine nuts
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup raw pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup raw tahini
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar or pure maple syrup* (optional)
Instructions
- Grate the cauliflower pieces in a food processor with the grater attachment in place. You can also use the regular attachment and pulse until the cauliflower is riced.
- Transfer the riced cauliflower to a large, non-reactive bowl, and add in the kale, sundried tomatoes, parsley, basil, pine nuts, hemp seeds, and pepitas.
- Make the dressing by adding the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, water, sea salt, and black pepper to a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. If desired, add in 1/2-1 teaspoon agave nectar to balance the acidity of the dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the cauliflower mixture and toss to coat.
- Serve and refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
I made cauliflower rice for the first time a month or so ago. It was great as “fried rice.” I love the idea of using it in a salad! Mixed with kale, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts?! Yes please! :D
Ooh, fried cauliflower rice sounds amazing! Is that recipe on your blog? If so, I need to check it out! Cauliflower is the veggie of all trades!
Are the sundried tomatoes dry or packed in oil?
Hi, Andrea! They’re dry — thanks for clarifying that detail. I’ll add it into the recipe!
This salad looks delicious! I love me some cauliflower! And I can’t believe Mac & Cheese and Mac ‘n Cheese are two separate days. So weird.
Thanks so much, Liz! Isn’t it crazy that there are two separate days less than two months apart? Apparently we love us some Mac n’/& Cheese in this country! :)
This looks amazing, it’s got some of my favourite foods in it. I’m thinking of going out and buying a cauliflower right now…
Thanks, Jo! I hope you were able to snag a cauliflower to make this recipe :)
This looks wonderful! I love cauliflower ‘rice’. Your photos are stunning. So glad I found your site. oxox
Thanks so much for your sweet compliments, Gwen! I’m so glad you found my site too.
I really love this recipe. Wanted to let you know that I featured it in my monthly round-up of 25 Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes. I hope a lot of my readers will come over here and try it!
Thank you for the feature, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying it, Kalyn! Your round-up is amazing, and I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes you included. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Wow…delicious! I made it for dinner tonight and even my 23-year- old son liked it. I do hope there is some left over for my lunch tomorrow.
Hi Marcia! I think your 23-year-old son liking this dish is one of the greatest compliments ever. Thank you for sharing your feedback, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi! My name is Maria, and I am the editorial assistant at KrisCarr.com. We would love to feature your recipe on the website (with credit to you, of course). Please e-mail me if you are interested at [email protected]. Thank you!
I would be honored to have it featured! I’ll send over an email! Thank you :)
YUM! Eating leftovers at my desk for lunch right this second! :) love love love!
That makes me so happy! Glad you’re enjoying it so much, Autumn.
I just made this and loooove it. I followed exactly excepted added chopped carrots. If you’re adding salt, make sure you use unsalted sun dried tomatoes! You’ve been warned! :)
Hi, Chris! So happy to hear you enjoyed it. I like the idea of adding chopped carrots and great tip regarding the sun-dried tomatoes!
Love this salad. Excellent melding of flavors. I didn’t have any tahini, so I used humus. Pretty good. Thank you for posting this. I can’t wait to try the others.
So happy you’re enjoying the salad, Vicky! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and adjustments.
What a great recipe! Thank you! I try to eat cruciferous vegetables every day so this is perfect. And i love the tahini dressing. I hope that you don’t mind that I added your recipe to one of my blog posts. It’s a 2-day detox challenge and I thought that your recipe was perfect for it. You can see it here: https://omdetox.com/weekend-detox-challenge/
Okay, so i am on a raw food detox and i came across this recipe and thought this looks really nice. I love cauliflower rice (although i don’t usually eat it raw) and the dressing was nice. But, this salad was pretty bad. Bad enough for me to leave a negative comment. I was gagging when eating it and felt so disappointed in my dinner that it was inedible. I followed the recipe exactly, except for the basil, as i didn’t have any. I just wanted to warn people, sometimes the photos make something look delicious when it is not.
Hi, Hilary! I’m so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the salad. Everyone’s tastes are different (and raw cauliflower isn’t for everyone), and although I (and others that have commented/rated here) love this recipe, I completely respect and understand the fact that you don’t. I take pride in only posting recipes that I test and retest and love myself. My photos are certainly used a tool to entice people into making the recipe, but I just want to clarify that they’re absolutely not here to deceive or trick. My first priority is always on creating delicious recipes that work. I’m sorry again and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!