Looking for the perfect healthy salad that's easy to make in just 10 minutes? This Greek Cauliflower Rice Salad is exactly what you've been looking for! Warm garlic cauliflower rice is tossed with fresh spinach and a lemon vinaigrette dressing in this simple salad recipe.
This healthy salad is filling enough for a meal, yet still low in calories and carbs at just 198 calories per serving and 10 net carbs. It's delicious served warm or cold and perfect for those meal prepping on a vegan or keto diet!
Cauliflower rice is a wonderful low carb substitute for white or brown rice as the base of a bowl. It's also a delicious addition to a simple spinach salad! Cauliflower rice can be purchased fresh or frozen at the grocery store or easily made at home.
To keep this salad recipe simple, I recommend having prepared cauliflower rice on hand. This can be riced cauliflower purchased at the grocery store, or riced cauliflower previously made and refrigerated at home. (Refer to this Mexican Cauliflower Rice recipe for two easy ways to make cauliflower rice at home.)
Using already riced cauliflower means this salad recipe comes together in just 10 minutes! This salad serves two as a meal or you can serve it as a delicious, gluten free side dish for 4-6 people.
Jump to:
Step by step instructions
- Prepare the lemon vinaigrette dressing. Follow the link to make my homemade vinaigrette dressing. It's easy to make in 5 minutes & you'll love the fresh & zesty flavors tossed with this salad!
- Prepare the cauliflower rice. Add riced cauliflower to a nonstick skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add crushed garlic and salt to the cauliflower rice and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Prepare the spinach salad. In a large bowl, toss baby spinach, with diced cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes and the lemon vinaigrette dressing. Add the cooked cauliflower rice and toss everything together. Divide the salad between two bowls.
- Note: feta cheese crumbles are a delicious optional topping on this salad. But if you would like to keep the salad vegan and whole30 approved, do not add the feta cheese.
Should it be served warm or cold?
Either! When the cauliflower rice comes directly off of the stove, it will be warm and therefore will warm up the spinach if they're tossed together immediately. This is how I normally eat the salad.
Alternatively, after cooking the cauliflower rice on the stove, you can allow it to cool before adding it to the salad. Also refer to my notes on preparing and storing this salad for meal prep below.
How to meal prep it
- For storage: Prepare the lemon vinaigrette and cauliflower rice according to the recipe instructions. Toss the spinach, cucumber, tomato and prepared cauliflower rice together, then separate into two large storage containers. Place the lemon vinaigrette in two small salad dressing containers and into the larger containers with the spinach cauliflower rice salad.
- To reheat and eat: If meal prepping this salad to eat later, I do not recommend reheating the cauliflower rice. I recommend eating the salad cold.
How to add protein to the salad
- For a plant based protein addition to this salad, add ½ cup chickpeas to each serving. Chickpeas can be drained and rinsed from a can and added directly to the salad, or they can be heated with the cauliflower rice on the stove.
- Adding ½ cup chickpeas to each salad will add 6 grams of protein per serving for a total of 11 grams of protein per serving.
- For a meat based protein addition to this salad, I recommend adding ¼ pound of large shrimp to each serving. Refer to these Mediterranean Shrimp Bowls for a simple shrimp recipe that only takes 10 minutes to make and would pair perfectly with this salad recipe.
- Adding ¼ pound of shrimp to each salad will add 24 grams of protein per serving for a total of 29 grams of protein per serving.
More vegan recipes
Looking for more delicious plant based bowls? Check out these easy vegan recipes!
- Buffalo Cauliflower Salad
- Low Carb Vegan Fajita Bowl
- Chipotle Cauliflower Vegan Taco Bowl
- Sweet Potato Vegan Burrito Bowl
- Crispy Asian Brussels Sprouts Bowl
- Roasted Broccoli Bowls with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Za'atar Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad
Recipe
Greek Cauliflower Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette click the link for the recipe
- 10 ounces cauliflower rice
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups packed baby spinach
- ½ cup cucumber diced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles optional - leave off to make the salad vegan
Instructions
- Prepare the lemon vinaigrette dressing using the link provided. Set aside.
- Add the cauliflower rice to a nonstick skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and salt, continue cooking on the stove for 1-2 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the baby spinach, cucumber and cherry tomatoes with the prepared lemon vinaigrette.
- Once the cauliflower rice is cooked, add it to the bowl with the salad and toss to combine.
- Divide the salad between two bowls.
- OPTIONAL: Sprinkle a tablespoon of feta cheese over each bowl.
Notes
- The nutritional information provided does not include the optional feta cheese topping.
- If making this salad vegan or whole30 compliant, be sure to leave off the optional feta cheese.
Comments
No Comments