Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Walnuts and Pecorino Cheese {gluten free + vegetarian} - Nyssa's Kitchen (2024)

This shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese might just become your new favorite salad. Made with thinly shaved cauliflower, celery, parsley, toasted walnuts, salty pecorino cheese, and a perfectly creamy white balsamic dressing. An insanely delicious and hearty vegetarian salad!

Oh Em GEE you guys. This shaved cauliflower salad has stolen my heart and I want everyone to know about it.

Yes, it’s shout-it-from-the-roof-tops DELICIOUS.

Several weeks ago the hubs and I were out to dinner with some of his co-workers at one of my all time favorite seafood restaurants here in Seattle, Rock Creek. I could quite literally go on and on about all the things I love about this restaurant (brunch! oysters! co*cktails!), but the one thing I really want to talk about is THIS CAULIFLOWER SALAD.

I’m not usually one to get blown away by a salad that I have at a restaurant. Usually it’s the type of thing that I end up feeling like I could have made yummier at home (sorry not sorry?). But we shared a plate of their cauliflower salad and I died a little bit with each and every bite.

I knew I had to re-create it so I could eat it on demand at all times and also share the joys of shaved cauliflower salad with anyone who would let me.

Their salad is a bit different than the one I have recreated here. They use both purple and regular white cauliflower (so pretty!), toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts, some calabrian chili, and toasted farro.

I didn’t try it with the farro (because gluten), but it was delicious without and they were happy to put it on the side for everyone else at the table to enjoy.

It’s surprisingly easy to make, and such a unique and crave worthy flavor combination. I just know you’re going to be forever-in-love too one you it up for yourself!

What does this shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese taste like?

This cauliflower salad is:

• Crunchy
• Fresh
• Salty
• Flavorful
• Herbaceous
• Peppery
• Satisfying
• SCRUMPTIOUS

How to make this shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese

Start by whisking together all the cauliflower salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

What ingredients you need for the cauliflower salad dressing

• White balsamic vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar. If using one of these instead of white balsamic you may need to add another teaspoon or two of maple syrup / honey as they’re not as naturally sweet.)
• Good-for-you avocado oil mayonnaise
• Olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• Maple syrup or honey
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Once they dressing is ready, move onto prepping the rest of the salad.

What ingredients you need for the cauliflower salad

• Raw cauliflower
• A few stalks of celery
• Parsley
• Walnuts
• Pecorino cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Okay. So the most “technical” part about making this recipe is how you cut the cauliflower and celery. For the best texture and the best coating of the yummiest salad dressing, you really want to slice them both as thinly as possible.

Grab a sharp knife, a large cutting board, and patiently chop away. You’ll thank yourself (and everyone else will probably thank you too 😉) once you take your first bite.

Cutting the celery is pretty straight forward – just lay it flat and slice away.

That’s the easier veggie to cut between the two.

To cut the cauliflower:

1. First, cut away any leaves near the base of the head of cauliflower, and then slice the stalk in half until you can pull it apart into 2 large pieces.
2. From there you can sort of cut large florets away from the stalk from the center of the cauliflower out. Try and keep the florets no bigger than 2 inches around. You can easily cut them in half if they’re larger than that before you start slicing.
3. Now take each individual floret of cauliflower and slice it as thinly and evenly as possible. Transfer it to a large bowl as you go and continue until you’ve thinly sliced the whole head.

It might feel like this step takes forever, but I PROMISE you it is worth it. Pop on a playlist with a few of your favorite tunes (or check out one of my playlists HERE 😉) and you’ll be finished before you can say “I freaking LOVE chopping cauliflower” 😝

Once the veggies are all sliced up nice and thin, chop the parsley, shave some pecorino cheese (a Y shaped vegetable peeler like this one works GREAT for this step), and toast the walnuts.

Set aside a little bit of parsley, some walnuts, and pecorino cheese to garnish the salad just before serving.

Wait until you’re ready to serve to toss all of the cauliflower salad ingredients together. Top with reserved ingredients and DIG THE EFF IN!

What to serve with this shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese

This is an excellent hearty and impressive salad to bring to a gathering to share, but if you’re including it as a part of a meal at home here’s some ideas for serving.

• With your favorite pasta dish
• Paired with a creamy seasonal soup
• Alongside some pan seared protein of choice

A few notes on the salad recipe:

• For the best all around texture, toss the dressing with the cauliflower salad just before serving. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper to taste! I have however, also eaten the leftovers the next day and the salad does hold up fairly well. The only difference is that the ingredients may soften slightly under the bold and punchy dressing.
• To make this salad in advance, simply keep the dressing and walnuts separate from the rest of the salad until ready to toss and serve.
• If you have a nut allergy substitute walnuts with toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
• To make this recipe vegan substitute regular mayonnaise with vegan mayonnaise, and leave out the pecorino cheese (or substitute with a vegan cheese).

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