Roasted Grape and Cauliflower Salad

Name: Roasted Grape and Cauliflower Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), core coarsely chopped and florets cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6 cups for the core); 1 cup seedless red grapes; ½ small red onion, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume; ¼ teaspoon pepper; ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, divided; 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or sliced almonds, toasted; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar; 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves; 1 teaspoon honey; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 clove garlic, very finely minced or grated on a Microplane grater; Kosher salt and pepper to taste

A dish of roasted cauliflower with grapes herbs and nuts being scooped with a spoon — Serious Eats/ Qi Ai

Why It Works

Preheating the baking sheet jump-starts browning, so the cauliflower and grapes caramelize deeply and crisp up as soon as they hit the pan.
Roasting the florets creates a nutty, browned flavor, while leaving the core raw and pulsing it in a food processor adds a welcome grain-like crunchy texture.

Every fall, while everyone's fixated on butternut squash and sweet potatoes, I quietly make this roasted cauliflower and grape salad all season long. It doesn't announce itself as "seasonal" but still fits right in on an autumn table. It's sweet, savory, caramelized, and just warm enough to feel comforting. I'll make it for dinner parties or even Thanksgiving, where it inevitably becomes the thing people talk about. Roasted grapes, it turns out, are a conversation starter. They look like tiny roasted olives, burst slightly at their seams, and taste like concentrated pockets of jammy sweetness. I don't know why we don't roast grapes more often.

But grapes aren't unheard of in cooked applications. Italians toss them into schiacciata all'uva (a rustic Tuscan grape focaccia), and they occasionally appear alongside roasted meats in Italian and French kitchens, but roasting them and including them in a vegetable side dish feels surprisingly modern to me in my home kitchen. When they hit a ripping-hot pan, they caramelize and collapse in the best possible way, their juices mingling with the browned cauliflower and onions.

A dish of roasted cauliflower and grape salad topped with nuts and parsley — Serious Eats/ Qi Ai

This recipe doubles down on cauliflower's versatility by using both its florets and its core. The florets are roasted until golden with crisp edges, while the core is left raw and pulsed in a food processor to form tender, nutty, grain-like pieces that soak up the dressing. The contrast between the soft, roasted vegetables and the fresh, finely chopped cauliflower gives the salad substance without heaviness.

The dressing—which includes sherry vinegar for acidity, honey and Dijon for balance, and thyme and garlic for depth—is assertive enough to stand up to the roasted flavors but still tastes bright and fresh. The final dish is a wonderful side for roast chicken, pork tenderloin, or even the Thanksgiving turkey, and it can also stand on its own as a light supper for two.

I started making this for the novelty of roasting grapes, but now I make it because it's just so good. Once you try it, I bet it'll become a regular in your dinner rotation too.