It’s been a long winter, and I wanted to celebrate the weather getting warm enough to break out the flip-flops. (Woo!) So here’s a collection of 12 of our favorite healthy vegan salad recipes to refresh and replenish. They’re all vegan, plus have simple, homemade dressings for big-time flavor bursts. Happy (almost) summer!
Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and share a pic if you make any of these! I love seeing your beautiful recreations.
Healthy Vegan Salad Recipes
1. Southwestern Chopped Salad with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
My all-time favorite salad! (And one of the most popular recipes on the blog.)
“Oh my goodness. I just made this tonight. It was incredible! One of my guests said “I want to marry this salad.” Well put. We are all raving. This will be my go-to salad for guests. Beautiful and delicious.” -Debbie
2. Black Bean Lentil Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing
Protein-packed salad that’s awesome for packed lunches, picnics, potlucks, etc.
“This is a very tasty recipe. A great side dish, we also enjoyed it as a snack with tortilla chips, so yummy. Thank you.” – Anonymous
“Fantastic!! I mixed some spinach leaves and mushrooms in the salad, too and everything was great! Thank you!” -Barbara
3. Fresh Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Sauce
Colorful, crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad tossed in the most delicious garlic-ginger peanut sauce!
“I made this for a family gathering. It was so delicious! Loved it!! It was devoured, I’ll definitely be making this again.” -Kat
“This was an amazing recipe. So colorful and nutritious. I’m afraid it won’t last long! Thank you thank you. A real winner.” -CK
“I made this today for lunch for my husband and myself and wow! It was delicious. I added edamame to my serving and my husband ate his in lettuce wraps. So good!!” -Lisa
4. Orzo Salad with Spinach & Tomato
Simple, only 30 minutes to make, and tossed in a delicious red wine vinegar-garlic-basil dressing!
5. Ultimate Greek Chopped Salad
One of my most-made salads! Super crisp and refreshing… with a garbanzo bean boost!
“This is soooo good!!! I’ve made it several times – it’s quick and easy to make, and perfect for a snack at work! Hubby likes it too. Thanks for the recipe.” -Caryn
“This was delicious and so refreshing! We’ve been eating it all week. Thanks!” – Stephanie
6. Quinoa Avocado Spinach Power Salad
Only 25 minutes to make, and full of healthy, energizing plant-based goodness!
“I saw this on Pinterest and I was so excited that I had all the ingredients on hand that I made it right away for lunch. It was soooo good! Thanks for the awesome recipe. I’ll be making this over and over again.” -Eleni
“This was amazing! Even my 7 year old loved it! I doubled the spinach and added lemon … YUUUUMM! Thank you for a great recipe!” -Veronica
7. Mediterranean Three Bean Salad
Super flavorful three bean salad with fresh herbs and a lemony dressing! Great for picnics and take-along lunches.
8. BBQ Chickpea Chopped Salad with Avocado Ranch
A vegan version of the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad – made healthier and just as delicious!
“I made this for dinner the other night and my husband and I gobbled it up. Another great recipe! Thank you! Your recipes have consistently been some of our favorite vegetarian/vegan meals.” -Mandy
“Very easy to make, and i had most of the ingredients on hand. Delicious!!! The dressing is creamy and thick.” -Melissa
9. Curried Orange Rice Salad
Rice and pistachio salad with a flavorful, sweet curry-orange dressing!
“Really tasty and super simple! I had everything on hand, but modified a bit by adding some chopped mint, cooking the rice in veggie broth and adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the dressing. Served with chutney. Thanks for the plant-based inspiration.” -Josie
“I made this last night with a wild rice blend. It was really delicious. I think that I might use just a little less curry powder next time and try blended dates instead of maple syrup to make it a little more WFPB. I also added a very small amount of the orange zest because I love orange flavor. My husband had this to say, ” Winner, winner vegan dinner!” We will be adding this dish to our rotation.” – Anonymous
10. Fiesta Bean Salad
Two bean salad with a southwestern flavor punch of garlic, cumin, and lime. Plus creamy avocado!
“Thanks so much! Tried it for a large group and it was a hit! Will be my go to salad now!” -Ken
11. Avocado Tomato Salad
Pure summer goodness! Crunchy cucumber, creamy avocado, and juicy tomatoes are the perfect hot weather salad combo.
“Made this for dinner tonight! Delish!!!!” -Marianne
12. Classic Cucumber Salad
Deliciously refreshing cucumber tomato salad with a simple vinegar dressing. Great for garden-fresh produce!
“I made this yesterday for lunch but with cherry tomatoes! This is my absolute favorite salad and I too eat it all year round!” -Courtney
“I just made this.. Amazing!!! Fresh!!! Love it.” -Carly
Bonus: Butternut Squash Kale Salad with Maple-Balsamic Dressing
One last bonus recipe geared towards autumn, winter, and holidays! A hearty kale salad with roasted butternut squash and the most delicious rosemary-infused maple balsamic dressing.
“Just made this salad for lunch and holy amazing!!!! The dressing has such great flavor. New favorite fall salad.” -Julie
Craving even more vegan salad recipes? Feel free to browse the full “Salad Recipe Archives” on the site for more fresh plant based inspiration!
your salads are always so beautiful!
Aww, thank you! 🙂
I just found your blog on Pinterest. These salads look so yummy! I make a variation of the Quinoa Avocado salad without the dressing and with lemon instead of dressing. I'm looking forward to trying this one and several of your other salad recipes soon.
Hi Pam! Thanks so much for the sweet comments – I love hearing people excited about the recipes. Your quinoa avocado salad sounds awesome with some lemon juice!! Simple, flavorful meals are the BEST! Hope you enjoy the salads you try!
MMMM….these look amazing! Cannot wait to try some.
Hi Jen! Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
2 Must-Try Fresh, Colorful Salads
Salads look gorgeous but are missing the number of servings! I need to make enough for 10 adults attending a birthday picnic.
Hi BB – which ones were you interested in finding out the serving sizes for? Let me know and hopefully I can give you some guidance! 🙂
Oh my goodness, Kaitlin! Your blog is incredible. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these gorgeous recipes and pictures. You are awesome!
Aww what a sweet message – thanks so much! It makes my day to hear people enjoying the site 🙂 Hope you find some recipes you love. Wishing you a happy new year!!
Wow! I love these salads…can't wait to make them! I am so glad that a friend of mine posted your recipe! The only thing missing is the serving sizes and calorie content…if you could help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it for I will be making these for my lunches/dinners and want to know how much a serving size is…Thank you so much and keep the recipes coming! <3
Hi Cindy! Thanks so much for your sweet comments! I prefer not to define serving sizes for people as they can vary widely from person to person 🙂 If you'd like to calculate your own nutritional facts, try this website:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I've heard it's pretty straightforward and easy to use 🙂 Hope that helps, and hope you enjoy the salads!!
Update: I know this is an old comment, but just wanted to let you know that the estimated nutritional content is now provided on the site! (You can find it below each recipe in the post.) Hope you find it useful! 🙂
Wow I am liking this site
Thanks Bermese – glad you're enjoying it! 🙂
Just found your website and I am SO excited to try them out! I just moved to Melbourne with my boyfriend and it can get HOT HOT HOT over here! So cooking big meals in our small kitchen isn't really an option in the summer heat. We live right next to a massive marketplace with super cheap veggies – I'm a pretty terrible cook (it's impossible for me to come up with ideas) so these recipes seem PERFECT for us! I'm so excited to check them out!
The only thing I found myself wondering was how long these salads (and dressings) would last in the fridge. Also, do you have a place for all your home-made dressings? I'd love to make a big pitcher of one or two dressings to use for multiple things, but don't wanna make too much if it'll go off.
Wonderful site! Can't wait to start trying out these recipes. =)
Hi Lyssa! Thrilled to hear you're excited to try the recipes! Salads are always a good choice 🙂 So fresh and versatile! Most of them will generally last about 4-5 days in the fridge. Your marketplace sounds wonderful – hope you enjoy!!
this site is just what I needed to inspire/motivate me to include more salads in our weekly menus. Thanks for the great tips!
Aww, yay Amanda!! Salads are pretty amazing – so many different flavor combos I never seem to get tired of them 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!!
I make the Mexican quinoa salad quite frequently to bring as a side dish to parties. It always gets rave reviews. Many people have asked me for the recipe, so I just refer them to your blog. Thank you for such a wonderful dish.
Hey Sarah! Totally late responding to this, but YAY! I'm honored to hear it's one of your party dishes and so happy to hear it's a crowd-pleaser. Thanks so much for referring people to the blog, very appreciated! Hope you've had a lovely summer!! <3