Cauliflower Salad Recipe – Love and Lemons

This cauliflower salad is a picnic-perfect side dish! It’s bright and delicious, featuring a creamy dressing, fresh herbs, and crunchy raw cauliflower.

I’ve shared a roasted cauliflower salad (ok, 5) on the blog before, but this RAW cauliflower salad is the first of its kind.

I’m already wondering what took me so long, and once you try it, I think you will be too!

This cauliflower salad recipe is bright and delicious. I like to think of it as a fun, fresh twist on classic potato salad. Like potato salad, it has a creamy, mustardy dressing, hard-boiled eggs, and savory herbs, but cauliflower replaces the potatoes. Pickled red onions and capers add an extra briny punch.

This cauliflower salad recipe packs up perfectly for lunches, potlucks, and picnics. It actually tastes better if you make it a day ahead! I’m bringing it to a late summer gathering this weekend. If you have one coming up, you should too! This cauliflower salad will be a hit.

Cauliflower Salad Ingredients

If you take a quick look through the cauliflower recipes on Love & Lemons, you’ll probably notice that very few of them call for raw cauliflower. This veggie is one I typically prefer roasted, when it’s caramelized and tender. When I do use cauliflower raw, it’s often in the form of cauliflower rice.

But in this salad, raw cauliflower florets totally work. Cut into small pieces, they soak up enough dressing to soften slightly, but they still retain a refreshing crunch.

Here’s what else you’ll need to make this cauliflower salad recipe:

• Hard-boiled eggs – They offer a creamy contrast to the crisp cauliflower florets.
• Celery – It adds savory flavor.
• Pickled red onions and capers – They give this salad a bright, briny pop!
• Fresh parsley and dill – The dill adds sour, pickle-y flavor. The parsley’s fresh flavor balances the salad’s briny, acidic elements.
• Olive oil, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and honey – They create the salad’s creamy, tangy dressing. I love using the yogurt instead of sour cream or mayo here. It gives the dressing an even creamier texture and tangier flavor.
• And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Cauliflower Salad

This cauliflower salad recipe is easy to make. Here’s how it goes:

Start by making the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper in a large bowl.

Next, add the other ingredients. Toss in the small cauliflower florets, hard-boiled eggs, celery, pickled onions, capers, and fresh herbs. Mix well to coat in the dressing.

Then, chill the salad for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Finally, serve. Stir well and season to taste before digging in!

What to Serve with Cauliflower Salad

This cauliflower salad is a great side dish for summer cookouts. Pair it with veggie burgers or black bean burgers and other BBQ side dishes like these:

It’s perfect for picnics and lunches too. I often enjoy it as a meal on its own—the protein from the hard-boiled eggs makes it pretty satisfying! It also goes nicely with a chickpea salad sandwich or Caprese sandwich.

More Favorite Salad Recipes

If you love this cauliflower salad, try one of these fresh salad recipes next:

Cauliflower Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Serves 4

This cauliflower salad is a bright, delicious side dish! It’s a fresh twist on classic potato salad, featuring a creamy, tangy dressing, savory herbs, and hard-boiled eggs. Assemble the salad at least an hour before serving so that the raw cauliflower has a chance to marinate in the dressing.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

• In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper.

• Add the cauliflower and stir to coat, then add the eggs, celery, pickled onions, capers, parsley, and dill and mix again.

• Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to a day.

• Stir well and season to taste before serving.