Attempting to incorporate extra greens in your weight-reduction plan? This Vegetable Salad recipe is a bowlful of sunshine that’s positive to please your senses. A melée of combined veggies, crunchy nuts and seeds, candy pops of dried fruit and tangy feta cheese are tossed with a light-weight French dressing for an unbeatable summer season veggie salad.

vegetable salad topped with crumbled feta and parsley with a spoon in a white bowl

About This Veggie Salad Recipe

When the climate is sizzling, there may be virtually nothing that I crave greater than crunchy, wholesome veggies (particularly when paired with a refreshing drink). This simple vegetable salad is full of a wide range of summer season produce with all of the textures and colours I may ever need.

And don’t really feel restricted by that specific mixture of veggies, both! Add or swap in any of your favourite veggies like earthy beets or candy bell peppers. You too can choose to make use of any grilled or cooked veggies that you simply like – summer season squash, zucchini or mushrooms are all pretty choices.

This wholesome vegetable salad is nice in the summertime when all of the produce is contemporary and inexperienced! That mentioned, you may simply substitute in seasonal greens to take pleasure in all of it 12 months spherical. It’s a crucial and wholesome apply to incorporate salads within the weight-reduction plan.

This combined veggie salad can also be tremendous simple to make. Merely toast the nuts and seeds, chop the veggies and whisk up the fast dressing earlier than tossing all of it collectively. In beneath quarter-hour, you’ll have a colourful bowl of goodness able to eat.

I personally like so as to add some creaminess to counteract the tart lemon-garlic French dressing, so I add avocado and feta. Be aware which might be each are non-compulsory, although I extremely advocate each. Feta cheese gives a briny, salty punch, whereas avocado gives extra wholesome fat along with nuts and seeds.

I normally make this vegetarian salad recipe to accompany a light-weight khichdi or easy lentil-rice dish, however generally I’ll eat it with just a few contemporary fruit juice or a smoothie to accompany it. If consuming a salad doesn’t seem to be sufficient of a meal for you, do that recipe as a aspect with a most important course dish.

Non-obligatory Variations

Whereas my mixture of juicy tomatoes, candy carrots, cooling cucumber, crunchy celery, creamy avocado, candy bell peppers and piquant onions is wholesome, there are many methods to customise this combined veg salad to your liking. Listed below are some concepts:

  • Strive including blanched, calmly steamed or roasted veggies like broccoli, french beans, corn, cauliflower, child corn.
  • Add lentils, beans or chickpeas or bean sprouts for extra protein.
  • Grate a number of the greens for a unique texture.
  • Add marinated veggies like artichoke hearts for tang, or different veggies like radish for some pungency.
  • Swap in your individual favourite mixture of dried fruits, nuts and seeds. I added what I had at house.
  • Use contemporary coriander or chives as an alternative of parsley.

Should you provide you with a profitable mixture that I ought to learn about, please let me know within the feedback beneath!

Methods to Make Vegetable Salad

Toast Nuts and Seeds

1. Warmth a small frying pan or skillet. When it turns into heat, add the next nuts and seeds.

  • 1 tablespoon pistachios, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cashews, chopped
  • 2 to three walnuts, chopped – non-compulsory
  • 1 tablespoon almonds, chopped or sliced – non-compulsory
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, white or black
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
raw nuts and seeds added to pan

2. Protecting them on the bottom warmth, stir typically. Roast the nuts and seeds till calmly golden, crisp and aromatic. This takes about 4 to five minutes. Take away pan from warmth and put aside.

nuts and seeds after toasting in pan

Prep Veggies

3. Rinse the veggies nicely, then drain the water and put aside.

  • Peel and chop the 1 small to medium-sized cucumber in 0.5 cm cubes (½ cup chopped).

NOTE: Peeling the cucumber is non-compulsory; throughout peak season, the pores and skin is sort of skinny and may keep on. If the pores and skin is thick and difficult, I like to recommend peeling it.

  • Take away the seeds and chop 1 small pink bell pepper in 0.5 cm cubes (½ cup chopped).
  • Peel, rinse and chop 1 small to medium onion (⅓ cup chopped).
  • Cube 1 medium tomato to 0.5 cm cubes (½ cup chopped).
  • Additionally chop 1 celery stick (about 3 tablespoons). Put aside.

NOTE: You too can use ⅓ cup grated carrots or beets or ¼ cup grated radish for a unique texture.

evenly diced onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and bell pepper on a cutting board

Make Lemon French dressing

4. In a small mixing bowl, add 2 to three tablespoons further virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

olive oil and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl

5. Add the next substances:

  • ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon floor white or black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or to style)

NOTE: I used uncooked sugar, however it’s also possible to use white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or palm sugar.

garlic, pepper, sugar and salt added to vinaigrette bowl

6. Add the dried herbs – ¼ teaspoon dried thyme and ¼ teaspoon dried basil. You too can add Herbes de Provence within the dressing.

dried thyme and dried basil added

7. With a wired whisk, combine dressing substances briskly for two to three minutes till it thickens barely.

emulsified lemon garlic vinaigrette for veggie salad

Toss Vegetable Salad

8. Take chopped veggies and celery in a bowl.

chopped vegetables added to large mixing bowl

9. Halve a ripe avocado ( 1 medium to massive). Scoop the pulp. Chop and add to the combined greens. Add all the lemon French dressing dressing.

avocado and dressing added to mixed veggies

10. Add the cooled roasted/toasted nuts and seeds, 2 tablespoons golden raisins and a couple of tablespoons chopped parsley.

raisins, nuts and seeds and chopped parsley added

11. Add ¼ cup crumbled feta.

crumbled feta added to bowl

12. Combine and toss completely until the dressing has coated the veggies evenly.

mixed vegetable salad with nuts after tossing in a lemon garlic vinaigrette

13. Serve veggie salad straightaway, garnishing with some further crumbled feta and parsley. Get pleasure from vegetable salad as is, or with any Mediterranean, Italian, European or American most important course. Get pleasure from!

overhead shot of vegetable salad topped with crumbled feta and parsley in a white bowl

Veggie Salad Suggestions

This straightforward combined vegetable salad with lemon garlic French dressing is simple to drag off, however I do have some suggestions to make sure that you’ve the best success:

  • If uncooked onions are too pungent for you, attempt soaking them in cool water for 10 to fifteen minutes. Drain completely, then add to the combination.
  • If you wish to get a bounce on meal prep, all the greens could be prepped up to a couple hours upfront apart from the avocado. Add the avocado proper earlier than tossing, or it should oxidize and change into brown.
  • The French dressing could be made as much as a 1 to 2 days upfront and stored within the fridge. The toasted nuts and seeds can even final for as much as every week in a dry, hermetic container on the counter.
  • If in case you have refrigerated your tomatoes, I recommend permitting them to return to room temperature earlier than consuming. They may style so a lot better!

FAQs

Can I make this veggie salad forward of time?

You may definitely prep this veggie salad forward of time, although I don’t advocate tossing it till simply previous to consuming. All greens could be chopped a couple of hours earlier than upfront and stored within the fridge. The dressing will preserve for as much as 1 to 2 days within the fridge, and the toasted nuts and seeds can keep at room temperature in an air-tight container for as much as every week.

What if I’m allergic to nuts?

Be at liberty to swap out the nuts for any mixture of seeds that you simply like. Pepitas and sunflower seeds are already a part of the combination, however flax and chia could be good additions. You too can choose to swap in croutons or damaged tortilla chips as an alternative of utilizing nuts or seeds to get a number of the similar crunch.

Can I make my very own herbes de provence? Or what can I substitute?

Be at liberty to substitute any French, Italian or Mediterranean seasoning mix that you simply like. You too can choose to make your individual herbes de provence in case you choose.

Can I make it vegan?

In fact! Be at liberty to omit the feta cheese or use a plant primarily based various.

What can I take advantage of as an alternative of golden raisins?

Some other dried fruit that you simply like! I really like chopped dried apricots, however common brown raisins, currants, and even chopped dates will work. You too can choose to omit the dried fruit solely, in case you choose.

Extra Vegetarian Salad Recipes

Should you made this recipe, please remember to price it within the recipe card beneath. Sign Up for my e-mail e-newsletter or you may comply with me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest or Twitter for extra vegetarian inspirations.

This vegetable salad is a wholesome and scrumptious summer season salad made with contemporary uncooked veggies, avocado, nuts, seeds, herbs and feta in a light-weight French dressing dressing.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Prepare dinner Time 5 minutes

Complete Time 15 minutes



Servings 4

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This Vegetable Salad Recipe submit is from the archives (April 2013) and has been republished and up to date on 10 September 2021.



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