MSG Free Ginger-Lime Cauliflower Apple Salad
This bright, crunchy salad is the kind of dish that makes you rethink how exciting raw vegetables can be. Shaved cauliflower soaks up a zingy lime-and-ginger dressing until it's just tender enough, while crisp apple slices, fresh mint, and cilantro keep every bite lively and refreshing. The dressing is built entirely from scratch — fresh lime juice, grated ginger, a touch of honey, and a pinch of turmeric — so there's zero guesswork about hidden additives or flavor enhancers sneaking in from a bottle. That matters more than people realize, since packaged dressings and seasoning blends are some of the most common culprits for unwanted glutamates. Everything here is whole, recognizable, and straightforward. It comes together in well under half an hour, and the brief resting time after dressing the cauliflower does most of the heavy lifting. Serve it as a light lunch, a vibrant side at a dinner party, or anything in between — it's the kind of salad people actually ask for the recipe on.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 lb), core removed
- 2 medium crisp apples (such as honeycrisp or fuji), cored and thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly torn
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- 1
Using a box grater (large holes) or a mandoline set to 1/8-inch, shave or grate the cauliflower florets into thin, rice-to-slaw-sized pieces directly into a large mixing bowl. You should have about 4 cups of shaved cauliflower.
- 2
In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, grated ginger, honey, turmeric, and 1/2 tsp salt until the dressing is smooth and the honey is fully dissolved.
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