This Cauliflower & Chickpea Bake is flavored by fenugreek, cumin, and coriander. Served with couscous and vegan tzatziki, it makes a quick, easy, and delicious weeknight meal.
If you want a delicious and nutritious weeknight meal that you can pop into the oven and have ready in 30 minutes, then this Cauliflower & Chickpea Bake is for you.
I came up with this recipe years ago, long before I went vegan. At the time, I was just trying to incorporate more plant-based meals into my regular rotation. I had purchased some fenugreek to use in Indian dishes, and I loved the flavor so much, I decided to experiment with adding it to other types of cuisines. This Cauliflower & Chickpea Bake was the winner!
Jump to:
What is Fenugreek?
Dried fenugreek leaves are a common ingredient in Indian dishes like Red Lentil Dahl and Vegan Palak Paneer. If you've never had fenugreek, I definitely suggest you give it a try! I'm not sure if you'll find it at a regular grocery store, but you can definitely find it at Asian markets, specialty spice shops, or you can order *fenugreek online. You want to make sure you get Dried Fenugreek Leaves, not the ground fenugreek powder or seeds, as the flavor is totally different.
The dried fenugreek leaves sometimes have little woody twigs mixed in. You should remove the bigger ones and either
Instructions
The prep work for this dish is fairly simple. You just combine your paste ingredients in a bowl, then mix in the cauliflower and chickpeas, spread evenly over a large baking sheet, and sprinkle onions over the top. Pop it all in the oven and while it's baking you can prepare the couscous and tzatziki.
Pro tip: Be sure you spread your veggies evenly over the baking sheet,
The tzatziki should be made with a Greek-style vegan yogurt or regular vegan yogurt that's been strained in a clean kitchen towel (or you can skip this step and have
Couscous is super quick to cook--taking only 5 minutes or less to puff up. I like to add chopped cilantro and a few spices to give it a little flavor, but really, the couscous is more of a base for the rest of the dish, so if you leave it plain and serve the veggies and tzatziki over the top it won't make much of a difference.
When the cauliflower, chickpeas, and onions are crispy and nicely caramelized, pile your veggies and couscous onto a plate, add a generous dollop of the tzatziki, squeeze a lemon over the top, and enjoy!
How to Serve
Serve this Cauliflower & Chickpea Bake with a side of couscous, vegan tzatziki, and sliced cucumbers.
How to Store
Store this cauliflower bake (separate from the couscous and vegan tzatziki) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. I don't recommend freezing, as that would make everything mushy.
More recipes to try
- Southwestern Salad with Chili-Lime Tofu
- Vegan Spaghetti alla Carbonara
- Easy Oil-Free Tofu Nuggets
- Homemade Almond Butter
- No-Bake Pretzel Brownie Bites
📖 Recipe
Cauliflower & Chickpea Bake with Couscous & Vegan Tzatziki
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Veggie Bake
- 1 small to medium head of cauliflower
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (be sure to save the aquafaba/chickpea liquid for the paste)
- 1 small (or half a medium/large) red onion
Paste
- ¼ cup aqua faba (ckickpea liquid)
- 2 tbsp fenugreek
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- fresh ground black pepper
- pinch of salt (optional)
For the Couscous
- 1 cup dry couscous
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh or frozen cilantro (optional)
- fresh ground black pepper
For the Tzatziki
- 1 cup vegan greek yogurt (or regular vegan yogurt, strained)
- ½ cup diced or grated cucumber
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- fresh ground black pepper
- pinch of salt (optinal)
- juice from ½ a lemon
Instructions
For the Veggie Bake
- Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C.
- Chop the cauliflower into small* florets. (*see note for bigger cauliflower florets)
- Drain a can of chickpeas over a bowl to save the aquafaba (aka the liquid from the can). Rinse the chickpeas and set aside.
- After you measure the fenugreek, you need to remove any twigs and crush the leaves (this will help them incorporate with the other ingredients better). Either use a mortar and pestle or place 1 tbsp at a time in the palm of your hand and use the fingers of the other hand to crush the leaves.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ¼ cup aquafaba and other paste ingredients. Stir to combine. The paste will be fairly thin, a have a consistency similar to olive oil.
- Add chickpeas and caulflower to the bowl with the paste. Mix gently until the paste evenly coats the caulflower and chickpeas.
- Spread the caulflower and chickpeas onto a sheet pan. The cauliflower will carmelize better if they are placed flat-side down. Sprinkle the sliced onions over the top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the veggies are crispy and caramelized.
Vegan Tzatziki
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mix to combine, and taste to adjust seasonings. Serve as a condiment with the veggies and couscous.
Couscous
- Combine 1 cup of couscous with 1 ½ cups of water in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn off heat, stir the couscous, and place lid on the pot. Let rest 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork.
- Stir in seasonings. Serve with veggie bake and tzatziki.
Notes
- I love the unique flavor of dried fenugreek leaves. For this recipe, I don't recommend using ground fenugreek powder. If you don't have fenugreek, you can add oregano to the paste and fresh chopped cilantro after the bake comes out of the oven. It won't be the same flavor, but it will make up for that missing component.
- If you accidentally throw out your aquafaba, just substitute with ¼ cup water.
- If you prefer larger cauliflower florets (or you buy pre-chopped florets), then you will need to bake the cauliflower a little longer than the chickpeas and onions. Simply keep the cauliflower separate in step 5 (giving about half of the paste to the chickpeas and half to the cauliflower). Bake the cauliflower for 10 minutes, then take out of the oven and add the other ingredients to the sheet pan. Return to the oven and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes.
Want access to my Exclusive Meal Planning Tips & Downloads page? Click here to receive new recipe updates!
*Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links. That means that I could earn a commission, at no cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase.
