Vegetarian Salad Recipes — Fresh, Filling & Full of Flavor

Full of leafy greens or grains, fresh fruit and/or vegetables, quality protein, and a tangy dressing, fresh salads can be served as a side dish or a fresh tasting lunch or dinner. While many salads include grilled salmon, chicken, or steak to escalate them into main meal material, vegetarian salad recipes can include delicious protein-based elements as well, such as beans, lentils, or tofu.

The fundamental problem with most salads is that they are built on a subtractive mindset — remove the carbs, remove the fat, remove the richness, what’s left is virtuous but joyless. A salad built this way will always feel like punishment. The philosophy that changes everything is additive thinking — a salad is a bowl into which you layer every element of a complete meal. Layers of flavors along with layers of texture and nutrients.

My 7 Layers of a Complete Salad

1. Base — This could be greens or cooked grains like farro, quinoa, or freekeh, or homemade sprouts.
2. Veggies — You can use chopped, sliced, or shredded veggies like carrots, cucumber, fennel, radish, and corn.
3. Protein — This is what makes it a meal and keeps you full. Roasted chickpeas, spiced lentils, crispy tofu, white beans, or edamame are excellent choices. I like to cook my protein with spices.
4. Texture — Toasted nuts, seeds, or crispy chickpeas add plenty of texture to a salad bowl. Texture is what keeps you eating with joy rather than obligation.
5. Fat — Use healthy fats like avocado, a tahini drizzle, good olive oil, or creamy hummus dolloped on top. Fat carries flavor and makes you feel genuinely full. Don’t skip it.
6. Sweet — Add cranberries, raisins, sliced dry figs, dried peaches, or some fresh fruit.
7. Dressing — Dressing is the flavor tie. This is where so many salads fail. A great dressing is bright, bold, and made from scratch and includes acid (lemon, vinegar, and/or grain mustard), fat (tahini or olive oil), something sweet (maple, date syrup, or balsamic glaze), and salt & pepper. Taste and adjust the quantities as needed. It should make you want to lick the bowl.

In the following list is an array of colorful vegetarian salad ideas using grains or greens, and different kinds of fruit and vegetables. The one salad that surprises people the most is the pad Thai salad bowl as it is totally unexpected. It’s a nice crunchy salad with Thai flavors and crunch. It has that pad Thai feel but it is more fresh and lighter and crunchier.

Many of the plant based salad recipes in this post are inspired by the world including the flavors of the Mediterranean, Asia, and India. Every culture and every country has a salad and a meal always begins with a salad no matter where in the world you are. So, I wanted to bring that to my kitchen and my meals. I enjoy learning and cooking dishes from around the world and I have ingredients on hand, so putting together a Thai or Indian salad is not that hard for me, it just needs a bit of creativity.

Table of Contents

• Asian-Inspired Salads
  • Asian Vegetable Salad
  • Easy and Vegan Asian Crunchy Cabbage Salad
  • Pad Thai Salad Bowl
• Fruit-Forward Salads
  • Raspberry Spinach Salad
  • Summer Salad with Mango Ginger Dressing
  • Mango & Jicama Salad
  • Watermelon Cucumber Salad
  • Grilled Peach & Arugula Salad
• Grain & Legume Salads
  • Healthy Pomegranate Cucumber and Lentil Salad
  • Easy Greek Chickpea Salad
  • Cauliflower Lentil Salad
  • Quinoa Salad with Veggies & Nuts
  • Herb Lentil Salad
• Power Greens Salads
  • Super Greens Salad
  • Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Fall Salad
  • Chopped Sprouts Salad
  • Summer Berry Kale Salad
• Hearty Winter Salads
  • Raw Cauliflower Salad
  • Vegan Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Squash
  • Apple Fennel Salad
  • Winter Fruits & Greens Salad
• Tips for Building Better Salads
• Meal Prep & Storage
• FAQs

Asian-Inspired Salads

These Asian-inspired salads are full of colorful and crunchy vegetables, and perfect to serve for a healthy lunch or alongside a main dish. If you are looking to get more vegetables in your diet, these vegetable salad recipes will be sure to fit the bill.

Asian Vegetable Salad

This Asian vegetable salad is all about the crisp vegetables including carrots, red peppers, celery, snow peas, and cucumber. They are so colorful in the mixture and their flavors are accentuated by a sesame oil dressing with fresh garlic and ginger, and bright cilantro. With crunchy cashews, this salad is a real showstopper.

Easy and Vegan Asian Crunchy Cabbage Salad

Cabbage is such a versatile ingredient and is particularly good in salads due to the fact that it can retain its texture for several days after being dressed with dressing. This easy and vegan Asian crunchy cabbage salad comes together quickly and includes everything you need for a nutritious meal including protein-rich tofu, health fats like olive oil and sesame oil, and nutritious and fiber-rich veggies like cabbage and broccoli. The soy-based dressing brings it all together with its saltiness and spicy notes from the fresh ginger and garlic.

Pad Thai Salad Bowl

This salad is inspired by pad Thai, which is normally served hot tossed in a sauce that is sweet, salty, tangy, spicy, and umami all in one. This pad Thai salad bowl is a fresher version with cold rice noodles and fresh vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and snap peas. Tossed with a savory peanut sauce, crunchy peanuts, and cilantro, this makes for a satisfying lunch or dinner anytime of the week.

Fruit-Forward Salads

Fresh vegetarian salad recipes with fruit are wonderful as you can really add whatever fruit you prefer and it can be fresh or dried, or infused into salad dressings for fruity tasting concoctions. Here is an a variety of fruit forward salad recipes that work wonderfully with a vegetarian diet.

Raspberry Spinach Salad

This raspberry spinach salad includes raspberries in two forms; fresh raspberries and raspberry puree that you infuse into the dressing. The spinach grounds the fruitiness of this salad with its earthy taste while the dressing is tangy and bursting with fresh raspberry flavor. This salad pairs well with a homemade quiche for brunch or lunch, or a soup or sandwich for a healthy meal.

Summer Salad with Mango Ginger Dressing

Full of lettuce, shredded cabbage, colorful bell peppers, buttery avocado, and chopped cilantro, this summer salad with mango ginger dressing is crisp, beautiful to the eye, and refreshing. The dressing has fresh ripe mango infused into it which results in it having a sweet and tropical flavor. The spicy and warming notes of ginger compliment the sweetness and freshness of the salad, adding some complexity.

Mango & Jicama Salad

Simple and fresh, and loaded with fresh crunchy jicama and vibrant sweet mango, this mango & jicama salad is so easy to make. It is dressed simply with tangy lime juice, salt, and pepper, and the addition of cilantro adds beautiful green flecks to the salad. The combination of sweet and savory flavors will make you want to keep coming back to it for more.

Watermelon Cucumber Salad

If you love using watermelon in savory preparations, then look no further than this watermelon cucumber salad recipe which has some spice, crunchy vegetables, and mint. Everything mouthful of this salad has sweet cubes of watermelon, diced cucumber, diced bell peppers, and chopped jalapeno and mint. A simple dressing of red wine vinegar, lime juice, and salt marries and balances all of the flavors so that you have a combination of sweet, salty, tangy, and spicy all in a single dish.

Grilled Peach & Arugula Salad

This grilled peach & arugula salad is the perfect summer salad recipe because it uses delicious peppery arugula and fresh peaches when they are in season and at their best. The peaches are grilled, giving them a lovely charred color and flavor, while the dressing that binds everything together is sweet and tangy with honey and champagne vinegar. It makes a beautiful side dish for any backyard barbecue but is equally good for lunch with your preferred protein.

Grain & Legume Salads

It is so easy to make a completely vegetarian salad but not always so easy to ensure it has all of the protein and fiber you need to leave you full. Fortunately, the addition of grains and lentils can help you turn healthy salad recipes vegetarian by replacing the meat or seafood that are sometimes included. Check out the following vegetarian and vegan salad recipes whether you are looking for a salad with lentils or quinoa.

Healthy Pomegranate Cucumber and Lentil Salad

Full of bright pink pomegranate arils, crisp cucumber, and cooked black lentils, this healthy pomegranate cucumber and lentil salad is a wonderful winter salad when pomegranate is at its prime. The lentils make this a particularly great dish for a high protein lunch for those on plant-based diets. It has a nutty tahini-based dressing which imparts healthy fats and a bright lemony flavor to the salad.

Easy Greek Chickpea Salad

If you are looking for meatless salad recipes that are high in protein, this easy Greek chickpea salad recipe is a perfect choice. Chickpeas pair beautifully with traditional Greek salad ingredients like fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and kalamata olives. The dressing has the brightness of lemon along with herbal notes from dried oregano that takes it over the top.

Cauliflower Lentil Salad

This cauliflower lentil salad is a bowl-style salad that makes a perfect lunch with healthy fats, high fiber-lentils, and fresh vegetables like cauliflower, arugula, kale, and carrots. The combination of wintery vegetables, lentils, pine nuts, and dried cranberries make it an accessible vegetarian salad recipe to make during the fall and winter months, although you could really make it at any time of the year. The firmer vegetables make this a great make-ahead salad as they won’t become soggy as they sit.

Quinoa Salad with Veggies & Nuts

This quinoa salad with veggies & nuts is full of Asian flavors like tamari, sesame oil, ginger, and rice vinegar. It is brightly colored, too, with an array of shredded red cabbage, carrots, and sugar snap peas. The peanut sauce dressing is a creamy addition that is so tantalizing and almost makes this healthy salad seem unhealthy with its salty, nutty, and savory flavors.

Herb Lentil Salad

Vegan or vegetarian diets usually include plenty of beans and legumes for added protein, making this herb lentil salad perfect to include in everyday eating. This salad is a blend of green lentils, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumbers, and herbs, which is easy to toss together and store in the fridge for a make-ahead lunch. The lemon and olive oil dressing will absorb into the lentils as the salad sits, infusing them with tons of flavor.

Power Greens Salads

While many salad recipes include leafy lettuces, power greens salads are notable for including more densely nutrient-rich greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, and Swiss chard. Here are some meatless salad recipes that include greens like kale and sprouted moong beans as the base.

Super Greens Salad

If you are looking for more ways to use fresh kale, consider trying this super greens salad recipe which includes fresh kale, grapes, pine nuts, and a lemony dressing. It’s a little bit sweet and a little mustardy, while being bright and tangy, making it an easy way to get your greens.

Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Fall Salad

Sweet potatoes are so wonderful to pair with kale as they are bright orange in color and sweet in flavor, contrasting with the green color and more bitter notes in the kale. This roasted sweet potato & kale fall salad includes toasted pine nuts for added crunch and a hint of roasted flavor. The salad is both sweet and earthy with the nutty taste of pine nuts and a hint of garlicky flavor.

Chopped Sprouts Salad

This chopped sprouts salad recipe is a combination of sprouted moong beans, red onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, apples, and cucumber. While you need to sprout the moong beans ahead of time, this salad is otherwise very easy to throw together on a whim as it’s just a matter of mixing all of the ingredients in a bowl. The apples and pomegranate add a burst of fruity flavor to the salad while the lemon brightens everything up.

Summer Berry Kale Salad

This summer berry kale salad is super special with earthy tasting chopped kale and plump fresh berries. The addition of fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries add a mixture of colors to the salad while being a delicious sweet contrast to the bitter greens. With a sprinkling of crunchy almonds and walnuts, this is a healthful salad has a mixture of textures and flavors that will be sure to tantalize the taste buds.

Hearty Winter Salads

Winter salads tend to be heartier than spring and summer salads as they include robust veggies that often require some cooking or can hold up to a dressing without becoming soggy. Here is a mix of the best vegetarian salads that you can add to any of your cold weather meals such as soups or stews.

Raw Cauliflower Salad

While you may prefer cooked cauliflower, this raw cauliflower salad is easy to eat as the cauliflower is pulsed to rice-sized pieces. Since the cauliflower will hold up well to the dressing and retain its crispness, this is a salad you can make ahead of when you want to serve it. The combination of sweet dried cranberries, earthy cauliflower, and citrusy notes of the cilantro makes it a delicious salad to serve as a side dish with your favorite protein.

Vegan Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Squash

With bright green Brussels sprouts and brilliant orange squash, this vegan Brussels sprouts salad with roasted squash is the epitome of a fall or winter salad! It has sliced persimmons and pomegranate arils added to it for additional color in addition to a sweet flavor, while a mustardy balsamic dressing pulls everything together. This salad makes a beautiful addition to any meal including a Thanksgiving feast.

Apple Fennel Salad

Fennel is such an underused vegetable with its crisp texture and licorice flavor, but this apple fennel salad is a great place to use it. Sliced red apple and clementines add sweet notes to the salad while walnuts add crunch and lemon juice adds some brightness. This crunchy salad makes a tasty lunch or can be served as a side dish with your dinner.

Winter Fruits & Greens Salad

This tasty winter fruits & greens salad contains the goodness of beautiful pink grapefruit, pomegranate arils, and diced apples for sweetness, and a balsamic dressing for tanginess. Romaine lettuce forms the base for this salad, which has a crunchy texture and neutral flavor.

Tips for Building Better Salads

The best salads are ones that include a combination of textures, colors, and flavors, and look beautiful to look at. They should also include balanced nutrition including plenty of protein, fats, and fiber. Here are the best ways to build better salads:

• Add Protein: Protein makes salads feel more satisfying, allowing you to serve them as a main meal rather than just as a side dish. Delicious vegetarian protein options include legumes, beans, eggs, tofu, tempeh, seeds, and nuts. Cheese is also a great option if you are looking to amp up your protein intake and are ok with eating dairy.
• Thoroughly Emulsify Dressings: Dressings often contain a mixture of acidic ingredients like lemon juice and vinegar, in addition to fatty ingredients like olive oil or canola oil, and if they aren’t emulsified correctly, they can have an oily mouthfeel and may not taste very well balanced. To ensure that your salad dressings are the best they possibly can be, use a whisk to mix the ingredients together until they are well-combined. You will be able to tell that it is emulsified by its appearance but you can also taste the dressing to make sure it tastes like all of the flavors are blended together and taste balanced.
• Add a Combination of Textures: Salads work the best if they have a combination of softer textures like leafy green and tomatoes in addition to crunchy texture like seeds and nuts, and creamy textures like dressings. When building your salads, make sure that you combine a mixture of crisp vegetables, leafy greens, crunchy seeds or nuts, soft lettuces or legumes, creamy dressing, and more to produce the most satisfying salads possible.

Meal Prep & Storage

Leafy green salads don’t store the best when they are dressed with dressing as the dressing will cause the greens to wilt. If you would like to make your lettuce and greens-based salads ahead of time, simply toss the salad ingredients minus the dressing and store your salad in a separate container from the salad dressing. This way, you will be able to toss the salad with the dressing when you are ready to serve it.

Meanwhile, you can make vegetarian salad recipes that include hearty vegetables like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, squash, or legumes completely from start to finish before storing them in the fridge. Simply place the assembled salad in a covered container in the fridge where it should keep for a few days depending on the ingredients it contains.

If you are using ingredients that oxidize quickly like avocado or apples, it is best to leave those out until you plan to serve the salad. That way, you will be able to enjoy them at their best and they won’t become discolored before serving time.

FAQs