Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Bowls with Green Tahini Sauce
I love mixing up my plant-based protein option, and I’m on a lentils kick right now! The tahini sauce really brings everything together and is a green goddess-inspired vibe! While this recipe has a longer cook time, but there’s so many opportunities to prep for the next steps while baking! This recipe is originally from my August 2024 grocery series where I turned a $55 grocery haul into five meals. Here’s a link to the long-form video of the recipe with detailed instructions.
Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Bowls with Green Tahini Sauce Ingredient Notes
Green Lentils: Green lentils are a hearty, fiber-rich legume that hold their shape beautifully when cooked, making them perfect for roasting. They provide a satisfying, plant-based protein source that pairs well with the earthy spices in this dish. Their mild flavor takes on the seasoning and gets a crispy finish when baked alongside the vegetables.
Cauliflower: Cauliflower florets roast up tender and golden with just the right amount of caramelization, giving the bowls a toasty, slightly nutty flavor. It’s a versatile veggie that absorbs spices like the smoked paprika and oregano beautifully. Plus, its texture adds a nice contrast to the softness of the lentils and rice.
Tahini: Tahini gives the green sauce its creamy, rich base without any dairy, adding a subtle nuttiness that balances the bright lemon and herbs. It blends into a smooth, pourable dressing that ties all the bowl elements together. This pantry staple is a go-to for Mediterranean-inspired sauces and dressings.
Carrots: Roasted carrots add natural sweetness and a pop of color to these bowls, balancing the savory and smoky flavors from the spices. They develop tender centers with caramelized edges in the oven. Sliced into bite-sized pieces, they roast evenly and complement both the lentils and cauliflower.
Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Bowls with Green Tahini Sauce
4
servings20
minutes1
hourI love mixing up my plant-based protein option, and I’m on a lentils kick right now! The tahini sauce really brings everything together and is a green goddess-inspired vibe! This recipe has a longer cook time, but there’s so many opportunities to prep for the next steps while baking, this is really a 60 minute or less meal. This recipe is originally from my August 2024 grocery series where I turned a grocery haul into five meals. Here’s a link to the long-form video of the recipe with detailed instructions.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Green tahini sauce
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
warm water, as needed to thin
- Cauliflower bowls
1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed
1 cauliflower head
4 large or 7-8 small carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup dry jasmine or basmati rice
3 cups shredded kale, packed
remaining finely chopped cilantro leaves and sliced green onion, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prepare the Green Tahini Sauce: Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and processing until smooth. Set aside.
- Cook the lentils according to package instructions in salted water then drain and set aside.
- Add the cauliflower florets and carrots to a large bowl and toss with the oil, garlic, oregano, paprika, salt, ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Transfer to the sheet pan in one even layer. Bake until the cauliflower is just about fork tender, about 20 minutes.
- Give the cauliflower and carrots a toss and add the steamed lentils to the same sheet pan and spread everything in one even layer. Bake until the lentils and cauliflower are both crispy, 15 to 18 minutes.
- While the vegetables bake, bring 2 cups of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rice, cover, and lower the heat to low. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and rice is fluffy, about 15 minutes (refer to package instructions for specific timing). Remove the saucepan from the heat, season with a few pinches of kosher salt, and add the chopped kale. Stir until wilted.
- To serve, evenly divide the rice into 4 bowls then add the cooked vegetables and crispy lentils, drizzle with the green tahini sauce, and top with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and sliced green onion.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: From refrigerator, microwave until warm, about 2 minutes or heat in a saucepan over medium heat until warm, about 10 minutes. From frozen, thaw in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight, then heat as instructed.
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This looks delicious! Bonus, I have all the ingredients on hand right now! One note: I didn’t see the second 2T of olive oil mentioned in the instructions. I assume it gets tossed with the cauliflower and carrots?
Hi Sandy! Yes, recipe is updated now–the 2tbsp of oil is added with the spices in step 4!
I made this recipe and it was very flavorful. In the future I will increase the amount of green tahini sauce. I like a little more moisture in my food.
I was excited to see this recipe in the line up this week because I had all ingredients on hand and was looking to use up my cauliflower. I hardly ever leave reviews but I had to with this recipe because it was SO GOOD! Highly recommend.
Thank you so much for your support Emily ❤️ this was one of my favorite recipes in the grocery series!!
Loved this whole group of recipes. And so did the family! So nice to use all of the ingredients and make such flavorful meals. The grain bowls were delish! I just added a bit more lemon to my tahini dressing. Everything you create is awesome! Thank you!
Thank you so much Andrea❤️ I’m so happy you loved the recipes in this series (lentil bowls were a secret fave of mine!!)
The directions in the pdf don’t say what to do with the rice or kale.
Although, adding more directions to the recipe pdf will make it too small to see.
I already used up all the kale, so I’m going to skip that.
My husband liked it. “Good flavor.”
I liked it too, but I want to try drying the lentils more to see how crunchy they can get.
What is a good substitute for tahini?
I made this for dinner tonight. Another super flavorful and delicious recipe from Jenn! I made a couple of tweaks, which were adding the kale onto the sheet pan when the lentils went into the oven and replaced the tahini with Greek yogurt for the sauce. Myself and my family are all enjoying these recipes so much!
This recipe looks so good! I just printed it and am going to add it to my upcoming meal plan. I live in BC, Canada, in an area that has really high grocery prices, so I’m curious to see if I can also get the ingredients for $2.75/serving. When I make it I’ll come back and let you know.
I enjoyed this whole series! The chicken and rice with the sage was probably my favorite, but this was my second favorite. I followed the directions to a T. This dish is delicious as is, I will say however that I had some Green Dragon hot sauce from Trader Joe’s and drizzled just a little on top and it was next level yummy. The small amount of added spice really added to this and set it off. Thanks again, Jenn!
What do you do with the kale?
We made four out of the five recipes in this series and this one was also incredible! So much flavor!
Daughter absolutely loved this especially the green sauce! We had it for dinner and she was happy to take the leftovers as a lunchbox the next day therefore cutting my prep/ cooking time considerably. Thank you Jenn!
I substitute unsweetened sunflower butter for tahini.
Great recipe! The tahini sauce for us was a little bitter for us, maybe because of the cilantro stems? We added extra lemon juice, then a bit of sugar to brighten it up.
*Also a tablespoon of Greek yogurt to the tahini sauce.
This was amazing! I really loved it. I had some delicata squash that I needed to use and I roasted it on another tray and put some on top. The sweetness really added to the dish. My DH turned his nose up at it because it was vegan, but then was stealing from my bowl while he was eating his beef tacos. No better compliment to be had!
Thank you! The whole family loved this recipe and I enjoyed making it. Delicious!
Wow wow wow! This was even better than I anticipated. I will absolutely be making this again.
This was soooo good! Fulfilled my craving for cava at a fraction of the price. Thank you for your delicious recipes!
Really delicious! That tahini sauce really brought the dish together and made it so good. I put the kale in with the lentils in the oven, because I prefer crispier kale as opposed to wilted/steamed kale. Also, I used canned lentils from Trader Joe’s as a time saver. This recipe took me a little longer to make because of the tedious cauliflower chopping. I’m just not fast at it. Maybe next time I’ll buy precut cauli.