Salad of the Week: Roasted Cauliflower & Carrot Quinoa Bowl

A warm, nourishing bowl with roasted cauliflower, carrots, and red onion, layered over tender leafy greens and quinoa, and finished with a light, creamy mustard dressing.

This week’s Salad of the Week leans into warm roasted vegetables for comfort and staying power, balanced with fresh greens and a bright, tangy finish. It’s the kind of bowl that feels cozy and satisfying without being heavy — simple enough for everyday meals, but still interesting enough to look forward to.

Like all of my Salad of the Week bowls, this one follows the same repeating structure: leafy greens, a few key add-ins, and a flavorful oil-free dressing. The ingredients change from week to week, but the framework stays the same, which makes building big, nourishing salads feel realistic and repeatable. Use what you grow, what you enjoy, or what you already have on hand.

What Makes This Salad Special

This bowl brings together simple roasted vegetables and familiar ingredients in a way that feels grounding, flexible, and easy to build around all week.

• Roasted cauliflower adds tenderness and subtle savory depth that makes the bowl feel hearty without being heavy
• Roasted carrots bring natural sweetness, warmth, and color, helping balance the more savory elements
• Red onion softens as it roasts, adding gentle sweetness and flavor support throughout the bowl
• Quinoa provides fiber and staying power, helping this salad feel like a complete meal
• A light, creamy mustard dressing ties everything together with brightness and tang, without overwhelming the vegetables

The result is a warm-leaning salad that still feels fresh and balanced — a good example of how a few simple components can turn a salad into something satisfying enough to build meals around.

This Week’s Bowl: Roasted Cauliflower & Carrot Quinoa Bowl

Leafy Lettuce

• Use a mix of tender leafy greens you enjoy — tower-grown or store-bought — such as romaine, leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, or spring mix

Cruciferous Greens & Veggies

• Cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets and roasted
• Carrots, cut on a bias and roasted

Alliums (Onion Family)

• Red onion, cut into chunky wedges or segments and roasted

Plant-Based Protein & Staying Power

• Cooked quinoa

Amp Up the Volume

• Celery, thinly sliced
• Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Finishers

• Pumpkin seeds, roasted

Light Creamy Mustard Dressing (Oil-Free)

This is a make-once, use-all-week batch (6–8 servings). It’s creamy, tangy, and bright — lighter than a Caesar-style dressing, but flavorful enough to carry the bowl.

Ingredients (makes about 1½–2 cups)

• ½ cup cooked white beans (cannellini or great northern)
• 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

• 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

• 2–3 Tbsp date syrup (or maple syrup, if preferred)
• 1 small clove garlic
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½–¾ cup water (start with less)

Optional

• Pinch of salt, if you use it
• Small pinch dried dill or thyme

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Start with the smaller amount of water and add more until the dressing is pourable but not thin.

Taste and adjust:

• more mustard for bite
• more date or maple syrup for balance
• more water to loosen

Store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Stir or shake before using.

Prep Ahead Tip

This bowl comes together very easily when a few components are prepped ahead.

At the beginning of the week, I like to:
• cook quinoa
• roast cauliflower, carrots, and red onion
• prep celery and tomatoes
• lightly roast pumpkin seeds (if starting with raw seeds)

Everything gets stored separately in mason jars, so building a salad is mostly assembly.

When those pieces are ready, a warm, satisfying bowl like this comes together very quickly — which makes eating this way feel easy and realistic to repeat.

How I Build the Bowl

1. Start with a generous layer of leafy greens.
2. Add a scoop of quinoa for staying power.
3. Gently warm the roasted cauliflower, carrots, and red onion, if desired (20–30 seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in a toaster oven works well).
4. Spoon the roasted vegetables over the greens and quinoa.
5. Add sliced celery and halved tomatoes for crunch and brightness.
6. Drizzle with the creamy mustard dressing.
7. Finish with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Serve With (Optional)

This bowl pairs well with a simple split pea soup.

Serving a hearty salad alongside a warm, protein-rich soup is one of my favorite ways to make meals feel complete and comforting, especially during cooler weeks.

Notes & Variations

Easy swaps

• Cauliflower → roasted zucchini or broccoli
• Quinoa → farro or brown rice

Easy add-ins

• Roasted garlic cloves
• Cooked mushrooms
• Cooked beets
• Fresh herbs like parsley or dill

Prep notes

Roast vegetables at 400°F for 30–40 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until tender and lightly golden.

Final Thoughts

This is the kind of Salad of the Week that fits naturally into real life — warm, flexible, and built from simple components that come together easily all week. Once the prep is done, the daily bowl feels nourishing without requiring much thought.

If you’d like the full Salad of the Week framework — plus a handful of simple Tower-to-Table recipes — you can grab my free recipe guide here:

👉 https://verticalhydroponicgarden.com/free-recipes

Here’s to simple, nourishing meals — one bowl at a time 🌱

Karen

Vertical Hydroponic Garden