I’ve been on a cauliflower kick recently…but how can you blame me? I personally think cauliflower has gotten a bad wrap ever since we’ve started making all of our comfort foods out of it — pizza crust, rice, mashed potatoes, you name it — but it’s such a versatile, affordable, and easy to make ingredient!

This time I’m sharing a new recipe I tried that got rave reviews a few times in a row – this Harissa Tahini Roasted Cauliflower⁠. I based it off a menu description I saw at a cafe. I didn’t order it at the time so all I had to base the recipe on the listed ingredients and a few Google searches…but I’m pretty sure I nailed it 🙂 

Health Benefits of Cauliflower

If you know anything about me, it’s that I love gut healing foods. I’m sure it’s not a surprise that vegetables are some of the best foods for good gut health!

To narrow that group down even more, brassicas (or cruciferous veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts) are one of the gut nourishing superfoods — so this harissa tahini roasted cauliflower not only tastes amazing, it’s really good for you, too!

Brassicas are high in cellulose fiber – the types of fiber found in vegetables determine what species of beneficial bacteria they support, and brassicas support 4 main species of beneficial bacteria for gut health. Cruciferous vegetables can also help to balance your hormones by helping with estrogen metabolism.

The health benefits of cauliflower in particular are:

• high in fiber and b-vitamins
• good source of antioxidants and choline, which can help with your mood and memory
• high sulfur content helps support the production of glutathione, which can also help to heal the gut.

It really is a superfood in my book!

And the nutrition in this harissa Tahini Roasted Cauliflower⁠ recipe doesn’t stop with the cauliflower.

Did you know that tahini is one of the foods with the highest amounts of non-dairy calcium? Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds, which contain 88mg of calcium per tablespoon (that equals almost 10% of your RDV if you’re a woman)!

Tahinini is also a source of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats and is also a source of plant-based iron. The healthy fats and high vitamin and mineral content make tahini an easy and delicious way to boost the nutritional benefits of cauliflower. The harissa-tahini sauce is also great for other foods – I tossed my leftover sauce with some ground pork and it was epic.

You’ll want to look for raw and organic tahini if possible. If you can’t find it locally, you can definitely order it online to make sure you’re getting a high quality product. If you’re up to it, you can even try making your own tahini at home and use it in this recipe!

If you like this Harissa Tahini Roasted Cauliflower⁠ recipe and want to start incorporating more gut healthy foods into your diet, make sure to download my free 101 Gut Healing Foods list. Different foods can affect your health both positively and negatively….but small adjustments can lead to big changes!

With this list of 101 foods, you’ll know exactly what to focus on for a healthy gut so you can eliminate bloating, headaches, skin conditions, alleviate autoimmune flare-ups, and overall feel better and more comfortable and confident in your body. Download it now!