Dairy Free Gluten & Grain Free Keto Paleo Specific Carbohydrate Diet Whole30

BLT Cauliflower Salad with Ranch Dressing

Name: BLT Cauliflower Salad with Ranch Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 large head cauliflower; 1 tbsp olive oil; 5 strips cooked bacon (chopped); 1/2 cup shredded spinach; 1 avocado (chopped); 1 pint cherry tomatoes (cut in half); 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion; 1/3 cup mayonnaise; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1/2 tsp dried dill; 1/2 tsp dried parsley; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp onion powder; 1/4 tsp pepper; 1/4 tsp salt

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This BLT Cauliflower Salad is a cross between a BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) and a low carb potato salad. It’s loaded with yummy ingredients all smothered in a homemade ranch dressing. This is a great make ahead salad that is perfect for a summer barbecue or picnic. This BLT salad is Whole30, Paleo, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Keto and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.

Why you are going to love this BLT salad

It’s loaded with so much good stuff! It’s packed with classic BLT ingredients, bacon, lettuce and tomato, plus red onion and avocado served on a base of roasted cauliflower florets which are all smothered in a delicious homemade ranch dressing
It’s light and low carb: it’s a low carb spin on pasta salad or potato salad by using oven roasted cauliflower florets instead. They become flavourful when roasted and the dressing sticks to all of the crevices of the florets to help to ensure there is lots of flavour in every bite.
It takes less than 30 minutes to make! It takes a bit of time to chop, but the whole salad comes together really quickly.
It’s a great salad for a picnic or barbecue because everything can be made a day in advance and assembled just before serving.
It’s Whole30, Paleo and Keto! And can easily be modified to be vegan and vegetarian too!

Ways to modify this BLT Cauliflower Salad

Make it vegan: swap the mayonnaise for vegan mayo and omit the bacon to make it vegan
Don’t have spinach? Use another green such as arugula, watercress or shredded lettuce
Bulk it up! To make this salad even more filling add in shredded chicken or a sliced hard boiled egg
Don’t have all the ingredients for the dressing? Feel free to use your favourite bottled Ranch dressing instead.
For a healthier option, use turkey bacon in place of regular pork bacon

What’s in the Ranch Dressing:

Mayonnaise: although mayonnaise is the base of this dressing, I am happy to report that it isn’t too Mayo-y. You can use store bought mayonnaise, or alternatively make your own (check out my recipe for 4-minute mayonnaise).
Vinegar: There is a mix of 2 types of vinegar in this dressing that give the perfect kick of acidic flavour. I recommend using 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar but you can use 2 tablespoon of just one if its all you have on hand.
Herbs: Parsley and dill are the two types of herb often used in ranch dressing. I personally prefer using dried herbs for this recipe, but fresh would also work, just be sure to triple the amount to 1 tablespoon to compensate for the less concentrated flavour.
Garlic Powder: For anyone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet swap the garlic powder for 2 minced cloves garlic
Onion Powder

Make Ahead/Leftovers

You can roast the cauliflower and cook the bacon a day or two in advance, make the dressing and cut the other veggies. Store everything separately in the fridge and simply toss it all together 20 minutes before serving.

Leftover salad will last for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Here are a few more hearty salads that you might enjoy:

If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!