Curried Coconut Quinoa and Greens with Roasted Cauliflower
Quinoa cooked in coconut milk with spicy Indian flavors, mixed with greens and topped with roasted cauliflower. A simple, vegan and gluten-free meal.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
Afternoon forecast: too many decisions up in the air. I stayed up to an ungodly hour last night trying to plan out what I need for my new [rent] house and where to put everything. I don’t know why I didn’t drag my blinky-eyed self to bed earlier, as my subconscious sorted some things out while I was asleep. Isn’t that how it always goes?
So today, in addition to sucking down two mugs of strong coffee and stumbling across a promising oatmeal cookie recipe, I’ve made some executive decisions. I’m feeling good about my pendant lamp choice for the dining area and can’t wait to hang this big print on the living room wall.
I’ve also been searching Craigslist for a used washer/dryer set (is buying used a bad idea?). Speaking of Craigslist, I feel compelled to tell you about an app I found called Craigslist Pro. For two bucks, you can save searches and get notified when there are new results! Major time saver.
Maybe I should publish a post about all of my favorite tech tools soon. Would that be helpful? I could also post some before and after pics of my new space. Any takers?
I’m sorry, my mind is all over the place. Please be patient with me over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be going nuts trying to pack and unpack and get organized in my new place. At least I have lots of quinoa leftovers for sustenance. This dish is a new favorite. Although it definitely doesn’t qualify as authentic Indian food, the Indian flavors of turmeric, curry powder and coconut milk complement quinoa nicely. Dinner’s ready!
Curried Coconut Quinoa and Greens with Roasted Cauliflower
Quinoa cooked in coconut milk with spicy Indian flavors, mixed with greens and topped with roasted cauliflower. A simple, vegan and gluten-free meal.
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Sea salt
Curried coconut quinoa with greens
- 2 teaspoons melted coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon curry powder of choice (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well in a fine mesh colander
- ⅓ cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups baby arugula or chopped chard, spinach, maybe even kale*
- Optional garnishes: 2 green onions, chopped, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Roast the cauliflower: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the cauliflower florets with coconut oil, cayenne pepper and a light sprinkle of sea salt. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes on the middle rack, turning halfway, until the cauliflower is tender and golden on the edges.
- Cook the quinoa: In a large pot with a lid, warm the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is turning translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, curry powder and cardamom and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the coconut milk, water, rinsed quinoa and raisins. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Stir in the salt, vinegar and greens (if you intend to eat this dish as leftovers, I recommend storing leafy greens separate from the quinoa, as the greens don’t reheat well). Divide the quinoa into bowls and top with roasted cauliflower. Garnish with green onions and red pepper flakes if you’d like.
Notes
- Loosely inspired by the sweet potato wrap at The Mixx in Kansas City, which also inspired this quick roasted Brussels sprouts dish. If you like curried cauliflower with coconut, try this soup.
- *Greens: I’m pretty sure chopped spinach or chard would work great in this recipe. If you’d like to try kale, remove the ribs first. To soften the chopped kale, you might want to sauté it in a little coconut oil or massage it first, like you would for a raw kale salad.
- For added protein, mix in some cooked chickpeas or pre-steamed lentils. For what it’s worth, though, I find this dish to be very filling as is.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I tried this recipe last night with sauteed kale and it was so delicious. I’m even excited for my lunch today (leftovers!) My husband loved it too- healthy, vegetarian and filling!
Yum!! What a great way to get in more greens :)
Thanks Kate
My son’s new girlfriend is pretty much vegan so I’m exploring new ways of cooking ‘cleaner’! I just had a Christmas pot luck get -together and made this to rave reviews. I’m having the leftovers for lunch…so good! Light, satisfying and delightfully flavorful. It was super easy to prepare and economical to boot. Thank you so much for this great recipe. I’m eager to try more of yours!
A guest at my pot luck brought your Arugula Dried Cherry and Wild Rice Salad with Zippy Lemon Dressing. I could have eaten it all myself!
So glad I found your blog! Thank you, Kate
The dish is unexpected and amazing! Definitely to make it again.
I’m happy you think so, Alina.
Loved this recipe! Even my meat obsessed bf was impressed! Thank you Kate x
Oh, I’m so glad!
Hello!
This dish is seriously so delicious!! It’s become a staple (finally commenting after making his about 7 times).
Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Bethany. So happy this has been put on regular rotation!
The entire family loved it,even my 9 yr old and the dogs…
Ha! Glad to hear it, Amanda.
Delicious! I made this for myself and my daughter but I missed out the raisins as I know she doesn’t like them. Will be keeping this recipe and making it again – thank you!
You’re welcome, Emma!
I LOVE this recipe! I add red curry paste as well. Flavors are just awesome! Thank you for this gem!
YUM that sounds super good, Cassandra.
I’m out of quinoa, can I use bulgar instead?
I think that’d taste great, Hannah.
I just tried this recipe and it was delicious and so easy to make! My boyfriend loved it and didn’t say a word about this dish not having meat:)
Perfect! So glad he enjoyed it, too, Vik.
This recipe turned out awesome! I made it last Friday so I’m bringing it to the Easter family get-together. It’s bright, light and flavorful. I didn’t have greens the first time I made it but I bought them to have the complete recipe. I also doubled it this time, since it will be more of us enjoying it.
Winner recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Awesome, Mariela! Thanks so much. I hope your friends and family enjoy this! Have a great Easter weekend.
This is my new favorite recipes. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Ashley! :)
I cooked this dish using the Kale, I also baked a sweet potato which I put on top with the cauliflower. It was super delicious x
Yum! Sounds great, Oggi.
Great flavor, and healthy. The quinoa took longer to cook, and I had to add more water, maybe because we live in a high altitude city?
Hi! That may be the case, but I can’t speak to is specifically as I live in the Midwest. Ensure your heat isn’t too high as well.
Kate, I make a LOT of recipes from your site. They are all delicious and mostly healthy and vegetarian goodness. This one totally knocked it out of the park!!! Ate it two nights in a row for dinner. CRAZY GOOD.
Aw, thanks, Elizabeth! I love hearing this.
Delicious! The raisins and the dash of pepper flakes really bring this together. I ordered your cookbook last night and can’t wait to get it!
Thank you, Jeanne! I hope you love the book.
Love this!! I made this last night, and it was delicious! I made it with kale (had plenty of time to massage it before my quinoa was done and my roasted cauliflower were done).
I might down the salt next time (I used finely ground sea salt, and I think it might have been just a tad too much), and I might up the raisins to a 1/2 cup because I really enjoyed the raisins, and I was also going to add some halved cashews (or roughly chopped). None of that is necessary, just thought the texture and flavour of those things would be nice.
Thanks, Stephie! I think cashews would be delicious with this.
I absolutely loved this recipe! The quinoa did come out a wee bit mushy for me…not sure if I did something wrong…?
Hey, Naomi. Sorry to hear about that. Have you tried the technique I discuss in this blog post? That should keep things al dente.
Oh I didn’t even see that part! I’ll look at it and make it again – the flavours were amazing. Thank you!
Hi – is this meant to be a “wet” quinoa? I was thrown by the fluff with fork step and almost got rid of it. Initially it was very wet, and I thought that perhaps using regular coconut milk instead of light had just made it soupy, but after leaving it overnight (I’d planned to get rid of it in the morning) I found it had set up much better and the flavors mellowed (was very salty initially), but it’s still “wet”…ive got one picture that shows it a little wet looking, and another that appears to look the typical separated grains?? Thanks!
I like this, but it wasn’t quite to the taste of my partner as is. I’ve been making more vegetarian dishes to save money and to make it easier to make nutritious meals full of fiber. My partner is half Vietnamese, and thought the recipe could use some fish sauce. It adds some of that umami flavor that a meat eater used to elaborate meals might miss. Since I did not add fish sauce while making it (thai peppers from the freezer did go in), we added some umami paste we bought from Trader Joes. It’s a paste made of fish, mushrooms, and other umami heavy ingredients. I’m not sure if you’re a full vegetarian or not, or eat the fish cause they don’t have any feelings, but it did add a certain depth to it that made him okay with the fact I was serving him a meatless dinner. Thanks for the recipes! It’s the first I’ve tried but I’m looking forward to trying a few more! We also used microgreens we’ve been growing in the garden. I had a buuuunch of arugula I eventually had to downsize because I never seemed able to find a way to use it all, was a little sad I didn’t have it anymore when I came across this recipe!
Thanks for the notes, Gabriele! I don’t eat fish, so that’s why this recipe is lacking in fish sauce or umami sauce, but I’m sure there are plenty of readers that would be open to trying that!
Would rice work in place of quinoa? How would I adjust cooking time? Thanks! (Budding vegan here)
Thanks for this amazing recipe Kate! Instructions on the quinoa were perfect and the combined flavors were incredible. Definitely a new staple :)
Awesome! Thanks, Irem!
This was absolutely delicious!!! I made it for dinner today, and my boyfriend and I loved it. I am happy we will have some for dinner tomorrow as well!
Perfect! Thanks, Justine!
This is AMAZING! I know you make money from the ads and the autoplay videos but please tone it down a bit as I tried to follow it crashed Chrome on my computer and safari on my iPad!
I seriously love this recipe! Make it all the time, its amazing.
– about to make it now :)
Thanks, Rachel!
Absolutely delicious! It was a hit with everyone.
I love this recipe so much! It’s delicious and so quick to make :))
This tasted awesome. Next time, I would lessen the water to 1/4 cup as my quinoa came out a little too wet. Will definitely be making this again!! Great job!
Great! Sometimes that can happen depending on how well the quinoa is drained after rinsing. Maybe try to let is drain better or you can omit a little of the liquid. Glad you enjoyed it, Dan!
Loved this recipe! Great flavours and easy to prepare. A definite repeat.
Thank you, Shirley!
Can you replace cous cous with the quinoa?
Yes, Kay, if you would like. Quinoa is a good substitute for couscous recipes so you could change it out here. Of course, texture and flavor will vary some. You will also need to adjust your cooking to prepare the couscous. Enjoy!
So easy and so cozy! It’s the perfect thing to make on a cold day and I had leftover cauliflower I needed to use up. I also get unnecessarily excited whenever I see cardamom called for in a recipe. I’m sure to be making this again and again. Thank you Kate!!
Happy to provide a recipe with cardamon :) Enjoy, Emma! I appreciate the review.
Found the quinoa a bit too wet but it was tasty. My 82 year old mother loved it. It wasn’t my favourite recipe of yours but I’ll still give give a 5 star review since my mom enjoyed it so much
Thanks again for sharing your recipe!
Thanks for the comment, Christina! Next time, try my how to cook perfect quinoa and that should help out with the wetness! Quinoa can be tricky, but so happy it still all worked out.
I love this recipe so much! Such a nice meal when you don’t know what to eat and I always have the ingredients ready. I love the roasted cauliflower in the coconut oil. I could eat that by itself!
Thanks, Kaitlyn! If you would want to leave a star review since you love it so much, that would be great!
Just made this tonight for the third time and it did not disappoint! So cozy, delicious, and perfectly filling:)
Thank you, Annika for sharing! I appreciate your star review. :)
This was a unique dish, and different than anything I’ve ever cooked before. I used half of a teaspoon of salt and it was still too salty. The flavors are nice and unique. I think in the future I would salt to taste and halve the cardamom.
Thank you, Ash for trying it! That sounds like a great way to adjust the recipe more to your liking. Enjoy!
This is my absolute favorite dish right now The quinoa flavors are so on point. Have made it twice and will make again and again! Love love love!
Love that! It’s so good. I really appreciate the review!
Easy to make and the dish has a really good taste
I’m happy to hear that, Martin! Thanks so much for your review.
So this was dinner last night. I made it using baby kale and it tasted great. Easy to make and it didn’t take much time. If I had them on hand, I would have thrown in some lentils for the added protein but the recipe was great.
Thank you, Scott for sharing and for the review! Enjoy the leftovers (if you have any!)
Wow wow wow. I have the ingredients to make this – half a cauli sitting in the fridge, a whole pack of unopened quinoa, frozen spinach, lots of curry spices, and a can of coconut milk. I MUST try this.
I love it when that happens! Let me know what you think, Matilda when you try it. Thanks for the review!
This was very tasty! I basically just make all you recipes for my dinners now…
Thank you! I love that. :) I appreciate the review, Lia!
I have made a ton of Cookie and Kate recipes over the years, and they always turn out amazingly! This one is SO delicious. I didn’t use curry powder because we were out, and I used spinach as the greens. So so so so so delicious and comforting and filling and healthy!
Looking forward to trying this later this week. We will definitely want to save half for leftovers for lunch since there are only two of us. So how do you cook the greens if you want to store them separately for leftovers as you recommend?
Thanks for all your great recipes. We have loved all the ones we’ve tried!
I would wait to add the greens in for each portion or as you are ready to server. I hope this helps! And I’m happy to hear how much you have enjoyed the recipe you have tried.
Thank you; we’re trying it later this week so we’ll see how it goes.
This has to be one of my favorite recipes from this site. Bursting with delicious flavor and feel-good ingredients.
Thanks Kate :)
You’re welcome, Traci. Thanks so much for the review!
Made this recipe for my son, huge success, your instructions were perfect, he said it was delicious, thank you so very much for sharing
You’re very welcome, Debbie!
I made this tonight for dinner, and though it did not look as good as your pictures, it tasted divine. Delicious..
It’s all about the taste :) Thanks, Victor!
This is now one of my go-to dishes. It’s flavorful, healthy, and so good! Also heats up great. I normally don’t love raisins, but after putting them in once, I would never leave them out again. The first time I made this, I didn’t have cardamom or tumeric and thought the flavor was still fantastic. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it, Shannon.
I loved this, it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe and inspiration. I substituted the coconut milk for almond milk (what was in the cupboard) and also made a variation on the cauliflower as a baked gobi 65 flavours, so yummy!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Paulette.
Have you ever tried freezing this? It is one of my favorite meals, and we made it for my grandparents tonight and they loved it too! They aren’t cooking much these days so I’d love to cook them a few batches and freeze them if it would reheat nicely. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
I don’t try to freeze all my recipes, but you can search through readers’ comments to see if anyone else has. Thanks for your review!
This was delicious! Thumbs up all round. I made a few amendments though as hubby doesn’t like spicy food. I used smoked paprika on the cauli instead of the pepper and I added in some chickpeas to the curry mixture. Turned out deeeelish!
Thanks again Kate, your recipes are always amazing and creative, we appreciate them so much :)
You’re so sweet, Linda! Thanks so much.
My husband and I have decided to make a vegetarian meal once a week. We chose this dish to start it off. This was delicious! We are quite satisfied and did not miss the meat at all. Thank you for this!
I love that, Maria! Thanks for sharing.
I this recipe is delicious. It’s was worried that there wasn’t going to be enough flavor but I was wrong, it had just the right amount. My boyfriend, who’s a very selective vegan eater loved this recipe.
I’m happy you were surprised! Thanks for the comment and review.