These vegan tandoori spiced cauliflower bowls feature irresistable cauliflower florets that have been marinated in tahini and a flavorful spice blend. The bowls also feature chickpeas for protein and a creamy, cashew-based vegan sauce that’s reminiscent of raita. The bowls are ultra-nutritious, oil-free, and so delicious!

There’s so much to say about these cauliflower bowls, but let’s start here: the marinated, baked, tandoori spiced cauliflower is totally irresistable.

These cauliflower florets are seriously flavorful, coated with healthful fats (thanks to a tahini-based marinade), and as good for snacking as they are for featuring in the vegan bowl recipe.

The cauliflower bowls also feature chickpeas for plant protein and a cooling, creamy cashew-based sauce that contains garlic, cumin, and grated cucumber.

Essentially, this is a plant-based tribute to raita, and it’s delicious—whether you serve it as part of the bowls or not.

All in all, this bowl recipe is both fresh and hearty. It’s great for meal prep, full of flavor, and good whether you serve it warm or cool. So much to love!

What does tandoori-spiced mean?

Believe it or not, true depth of flavor—at least insofar as it relates to spices, heat, and aromatics—is something I’ve grown into over time.

We—that is, my mom and I—didn’t eat a wide variety of spices when I was growing up. Even alliums were sort of a rarity.

Later on, my eating disorder made me shy about trying new things, unfamiliar flavors included.

It’s taken me a while to branch out, but writing cookbooks has been an important part of that process, as it continually encourages me to try new things. I now use so many more spices in my cooking.

The tandoori-inspired spice blend that brings life to these cauliflower bowls is a great example.

What do I mean by this? Essentially, a tandoor is a large oven, typically shaped like a vase, that’s used for baking and cooking in South Asian cooking.

Tandoori refers to a style of cooking that happens in such an oven. And tandoori masala is a particular spice blend that is often used in this preparation.

Tandoori masala, also called tandoori spice, usually includes garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, sweet paprika, and cardamom.

These are the spices that are used to marinate cauliflower that’s ultimately baked, piled on top of greens, and smothered in a creamy sauce for these cauliflower bowls.

I can’t stress enough how delicious these spice-coated, baked cauliflower florets are. Every single time I make the cauliflower bowls, I end up snacking on them so much during cooking that I wish I’d doubled the batch!

A raita-inspired, cashew-based cucumber sauce

The tandoori-spiced, baked cauliflower is definitely the star of this recipe. But the other noteworthy component is a cooling, creamy, raita-inspired sauce.

Raita reminds me a lot of the tzatziki that I grew up with. Traditionally, raita is a yogurt-based condiment that includes chopped vegetables. Very often, these are cucumber, tomatoes, or onions, along with fresh mint or coriander.

Not surprisingly, my plant-based tribute to raita has a similar process as the process for my vegan tzatziki, also a creamy sauce with cucumber. I use my cashew sour cream as a base, folding in grated cucumber and other seasonings.

This mixture is so rich and flavorful that no other dressing is needed for the cauliflower bowls. Smother them in cashew-based, vegan “raita” and serve!

Chickpeas for plant protein

I’m a big believer that any vegan main dish should be a power plate.

What does this mean? It means that the recipe should include a source of healthful fat, a source of energizing complex carbohydrates, and a source of vegan protein.

This dish checks all of those boxes.

Healthful fat? Tahini and cashews.

Complex carbs and protein, all in one form? Versatile, nutrient-dense chickpeas.

Legumes supply both protein and carbohydrates. In that sense, they’re a rather unique ingredient. What’s more, most beans are also sources of iron, fiber, and other nutrients.

I love chickpeas and rely on them for so many different recipes. They make these cauliflower bowls far more filling and nutrient-dense.

How to make vegan tandoori spiced cauliflower bowls

Like many of my vegan bowl recipes, this one involves some steps. If you read through the recipe all at once, it’ll sound like plenty to do.

If you approach the cauliflower bowls in stages, however, you’ll find that the come together pretty easily. Here’s how it all happens.

Step : Make the raita-inspired sauce

The cashew cucumber mixture, which is inspired by raita, tastes the best if it has had a little time to marinate and mingle.

For this reason, I recommend making it first. In fact, you can make it up to a few days before preparing the rest of the bowls.

To do this, you’ll whip up a batch of my 4-ingredient sour cream. Those ingredients are cashews, salt, lemon juice, and lime juice. In other words, the perfect tangy, creamy base to mimic conventional yogurt.

Then, you’ll stir in grated cucumber. This is the vegetable component. You’ll also add spices and herbs: cumin, garlic, and fresh mint.

Allow this mixture to sit in the fridge while you make the rest of the recipe.

Step 2: Dress the cauliflower florets before baking

To make the cauliflower here, you coat it thickly in tahini and a tandoori spice blend.

You could certainly use vegan yogurt in place of tahini—probably 1/3 cup in place of 1/4 cup—but I think that tahini is richer and carries flavor more effectively.

In this step, you’ll mix tahini and the tandoori-inspired spice blend. You’ll add cauliflower florets and pieces and coat them all very well. They should appear soaked in the tahini mixture.

I can’t emphasize enough how much you’ll want to make cauliflower this way again and again, once you try it. It’s so special and so flavorful.

For my clients who avoid cooking with oil, this is also an oil-free preparation, thanks to tahini as the main fat source.

Step 3: Bake the cauliflower

The cauliflower should bake for 35-40 minutes. When it’s ready, the florets will be turning golden on the bottom, their coating will have darkened in color, and they will be entirely tender.

Step 4: Assemble the bowls

After the cauliflower roasts, you add it to a simple bowl of greens, herbs, and chickpeas, then smother it with the “raita.”

You can definitely think about adding cooked basmati rice to the bowl, too. Vegan naan or chapati would be a great addition as well.

If you like, you can finish the bowls with fresh, chopped herbs, such as mint or cilantro, chopped cashew nuts or peanuts, or a nice heaping helping of my quick pickled onions.

Meal prep & storage

As with many of my bowl recipes, this is a great candidate for vegan meal prep.

Make vegan meal prep dinners or lunches by making the creamy sauce and roasted cauliflower ahead of time. The “raita” will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days and can be frozen for up to eight weeks.

The cauliflower can be made up to three days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Right before serving, add crisp greens and chickpeas. Dig in and enjoy!

I hope you’ll try the bowls, adding your own touches. If have a cashew allergy, you can try making the raita component with a cup of coconut or soy yogurt. I imagine that either option will be delicious.

And I didn’t find that the greens needed any extra vinaigrette or dressing when I used a generous scoop of the raita and mixed it all together, but you can definitely give them a drizzle of oil, lemon, or lime juice before serving if you prefer.

No matter how you decide to personalize the cauliflower bowls, I hope you’ll truly enjoy them.

xo