This vegan roasted broccoli salad is tossed with a rich and tangy tahini oil free dressing made with fresh orange juice and topped with tasty Middle Eastern flavours.
I’m a dietitian so I’m pretty sure I have a professional responsibility to love salad and make a lot of them. That, my friends, is no problem when they look like this vegan roasted broccoli salad.
Salads don’t have to have lettuce. In fact, I find when there’s more actual crunchy whole vegetables in my salad, I just feel more satisfied. Toss in some healthy fats from nuts and tahini, and protein from chickpeas, and you’ve got a super hearty meal salad that is easy enough for a weeknight, but pretty enough for entertaining.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
There are so many reasons to make this easy roasted broccoli salad! Some of my favorite reasons are that this salad is:
- Vegan-friendly
- Gluten-free
- Super easy to make – the only cooking you’ll have to do is roasting the broccoli!
Key Ingredients
Broccoli – I do prefer to buy whole broccoli in case you want to keep a little of the stalk on for roasting.
Orange Juice – I always cook or bake with orange juice in my recipes because it adds natural sweetness and tang, is loaded with vitamin C, folate and potassium, and has no added sugar, so it’s great for helping to cut the bitterness of the tahini. In fact, ½ cup of OJ has just 55 calories and 11.5 grams of naturally occurring sugar.
Cabbage – I love purple cabbage for the colour with the broccoli but you can also use green if that’s what you can find.
Tahini – I am admittedly obsessed with the super savoury flavour of tahini. It’s a wicked flavour base for dressings and the healthy fats are super heart healthy as well.
Crispy Chickpeas – I often make these but you can also buy them to make it easier and they make an awesome snack.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 F. Spread the broccoli onto the baking sheet (or two) so that they’re not touching. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, puree together the tahini, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 3: To a large platter, arrange the broccoli, cabbage, shallots, raisins, chickpeas, pine nuts, za’atar, feta, pomegranate, olives, and drizzle generously with the dressing. Enjoy at room temperature.
Expert Tips
I have tried to make this tahini dressing for this roasted broccoli salad in a bowl while my son slept to be super quiet and honestly, it just won’t get as smooth. A quick whiz in the food processor or the blender will yield a way smoother salad dressing that stores in the fridge really well.
For the actual broccoli, I do recommend using a really large baking sheet or spreading the broccoli out onto two sheets so they don’t touch and get really crispy and brown. If they’re too close together, then they’ll steam instead of roast.
Making a salad with your roasted broccoli salad is pretty simple – you’re literally going to throw everything together on a nice big platter, garnish with all of the toppings and then top with the dressing. I love using big platters for these salads so the toppings don’t all fall to the bottom of a bowl.
Recipe FAQs
You bet! I often will double it and use the tahini dressing on potatoes/ sweet potatoes, in pita sandwiches, and on other salads in the week. It should last in your fridge for the week.
Of course! Feel free to throw some chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, whatever you have in there.
Yes! Everything in this recipe is completely gluten-free and vegan, and you can also make it nut-free if you leave out the pine nuts.
It doesn’t have to be, but I did try it with oil and without and I found that the olive oil overpowered the natural sweetness of the orange juice, and the OJ thinned it out enough that it didn’t need it.
Absolutely. Roasted cauliflower would be equally delicious in this salad.
More Recipes You Might Like
Want more easy delicious meal salads like this roasted broccoli salad? Try these reader favourites:
- PISTACHIO PARSLEY VEGAN PESTO PASTA SALAD
- VEGAN GRILLED BROCCOLI, CARROT AND AVOCADO SALAD WITH SESAME DRESSING
- PESTO PASTA SALAD WITH PARSLEY AND PISTACHIOS (VEGAN)
- SWEET KALE SALAD WITH SQUASH & CANDIED HAZELNUTS
Now friends tell me, what are some of your go-to salads that are nice enough for company but easy enough for a Tuesday? Leave me a comment below
Roasted Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Heads broccoli cut into florets with a bit of stalk on
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Generous pinch each salt and pepper
- 6 cups cabbage finely shredded
- 3 shallots finely diced
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup or to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 1 cup crispy roasted chickpeas
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ¼ tsp za’atar
- ¼ cup vegan feta
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- 1/3 cup olives kalamata thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Spread the broccoli onto the baking sheet (or two) so that they’re not touching. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, puree together the tahini, Florida Orange Juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- To a large platter, arrange the broccoli, cabbage, shallots, raisins, chickpeas, pine nuts, za’atar, feta, pomegranate, olives and drizzle generously with the dressing. Enjoy at room temperature.
Notes
- I have tried to make this tahini dressing for this roasted broccoli salad in a bowl while my son slept to be super quiet and honestly, it just won’t get as smooth. A quick whiz in the food processor or the blender will yield a way smoother salad dressing that stores in the fridge really well.
- For the actual broccoli, I do recommend using a really large baking sheet or spreading the broccoli out onto two sheets so they don’t touch and get really crispy and brown. If they’re too close together, then they’ll steam instead of roast.
- Making a salad with your roasted broccoli salad is pretty simple – you’re literally going to throw everything together on a nice big platter, garnish with all of the toppings and then top with the dressing. I love using big platters for these salads so the toppings don’t all fall to the bottom of a bowl.
Nutrition
Updated on August 31st, 2022
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Marg says
Thanks for the recipe! Do you think if I made the broccoli ahead in the morning it would still be good in the evening?
Abbey Sharp says
Yeah it should be fine.
Julia says
Made this for the first time tonight. Delicious and easy!! Made with regular feta rather than vegan and had to substitute walnuts because I didn’t have pine nuts. Very forgiving recipe!
Abbey Sharp says
So delish! Love those substitutes 🙂 Thanks for the rating, Julia!
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Abbey Sharp says
Thanks love