Roasted Cauliflower & Salsa Verde Rice
This Roasted Cauliflower & Salsa Verde Rice is an amazing plant based dinner! Flavor-packed rice, crispy cauliflower & chickpeas!
Talk about getting your veggies in. There is not only crispy cauliflower, the rice is loaded with poblano peppers & onions! Everything is seasoned to perfection and served with all kinds of fun toppings. This is a complete meal that you’ll want to have on repeat.
How to Make the Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas
The only problem with this recipe is that you might want to eat this entire tray of cauliflower & chickpeas before the rice is even done.
A head of cauliflower is cut into florets and placed on a baking sheet with a can of chickpeas. Add avocado oil, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper.
Give everything a toss and place in the oven. It will take about 30 minutes for the cauliflower to get charred and the chickpeas to get crispy. After they come out of the oven, feel free to add a little extra salt if needed.
How to Make Salsa Verde Rice
This salsa verde rice is going to be in your normal rotation. Regular rice will have no place on your plate.
Heat some oil in a skillet and add garlic, onion, poblano, jalapeño & dry seasonings. Let this cook down for a few minutes, or until the veggies start to soften. Add in the dry rice and let it toast for a couple of minutes.
Pour in the salsa verde & broth. Bring it to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The rice should be cooked through and the liquid should be evaporated.
How to Serve
To serve plate the rice and top with the roasted cauliflower & chickpeas. When it comes to toppings, you have alllll kinds of options. I decided to go with avocado slices, green onion, non-dairy yogurt and lime wedges.
You could also add some hot sauce, cilantro or pepitas! This is a healthy, filling and veggie-packed recipe!
Need More Recipe Inspo? Check these Out!
Did you Make this Recipe?
If you made this Roasted Cauliflower & Salsa Verde Rice I would LOVE to hear what you thought. Be sure to drop a comment and a rating below! You can also tag me on social media if you snapped a photo. I LOVE seeing your recreations!
Roasted Cauliflower & Salsa Verde Rice
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut in florets
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
FOR THE SALSA VERDE RICE
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 1 poblano pepper deseeded and diced
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeño diced, optional
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup white rice dry
- 1 cup salsa verde homemade or store bought
- 1 1/2 cups broth I used vegan chicken broth
- avocado, green onion, lime wedges, non-dairy yogurt optional toppings
Equipment
- sheet pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add all of the roasted veggie ingredients and toss to coat. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Toss and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower starts to char.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, poblano and dry spices. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the veggies start to get tender. Add the rice and toast for about 2 minutes. Pour in the salsa verde & broth and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Fluff with a fork, taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- To serve add the rice to a platter and top with the roasted veggies. Serve with any of the optional toppings.
Video
This was fantastic. The rice will be made weekly at our house. I cannot get over how simple, yet flavorful this was!
Thanks so much Amber!
Oh my gosh this is so good. I can see this becoming a staple meal for sure. I added a little cilantro lime dressing and it was so bomb.
Yum! Love the addition of cilantro lime dressing!
This was so freaking good and flavorful!
One question, what type of white rice did you use? Because mine came out a little mushy. Still would make it again. Just trying to make it better next time!
This sounds amazing. Could I make it with quinoa instead? How would I need to change it?
This recipe was so so good! Used mild store bought salsa verde and omitted jalapeño. Will def be making this again. Highly recommend trying this out. Really delicious!
Hi…can I assume brown rice will work as well?
Yes, but you may need to adjust the cook time!
I only made the rice portion of the recipe and it was great, and I did it in my instant pot. I water sauteed the veggies first and then added the spices and garlic and then rice and then turned it off. Then I added, 1 cup of broth and only 1/2 cup green salsa because that’s all I had. I stirred it and cooked it on high pressure for 23 minutes with a natural release and it came out perfect! I am sure the cooking time and proportions would be different for white rice. Thanks for the recipe!
Whole Foods didn’t have any poblanos today. Would canned green chilies work, or should I just omit and use the jalapeño? Thanks
I would use a green bell pepper instead!
Thanks, I made it tonight, and didn’t have any green peeper either. It still,turned out really well! Loved the recipe!
Another absolute hit for our family! We’ll be making this again very soon and maybe even double the recipe because sadly we didn’t have any leftovers. I forgot the jalapeño, so next time I will definitely add it for some heat.
Thanks Joanna – so glad your family enjoyed it!
Recipe was amazing!! So much flavor.
I just made this for lunch, and it was delicious! Thanks so much!!