The Best Salad EVER (gf, vegan)

This salad is packed with plant based protein from your favorite veggies, topped with a creamy vegan horseradish dressing, and is so filling even your biggest meat lovers will leave dinner satisfied and waiting to have it again!

the best salad ever vegan

Meatless Monday lovers where you at??  Because this salad takes plant based meals and a bowl of greens to a whole new level!  No one will ever complain about salads after eating this recipe, and no one will miss the meat!  We’ve got our leafy greens- massaged to make them soft and flavorful.  Our complex carbs – roasted and spiced  to perfection.  Plenty of fiber and protein. And we top it all of with a creamy vegan sauce that gives us our healthy fats and adds a great kick!  Now I’d say that’s a pretty perfectly balanced meal, wouldn’t you??

After you’ve given this a try be sure to check out some of my other favorite Meatless Monday options – including my air fried buffalo cauliflower gnocchi, my one pan chili style quinoa, and my zucchini noodle vegetarian lasagna.

So are you ready for this salad to change your life??

the best salad ever vegan

Let’s Make The Best Salad EVER

So the prep/cook time makes this recipe sound like it takes forever.  But it does not!  Just make sure you start by preheating your oven, then chopping up your veggies, so then you can get them in the oven.  Then you can do everything else, with some extra downtime, while those cook!

Do not skip massaging your kale.  This a super important step.  Kale is very tough, and that is why a lot of people think they don’t like it.  But massaging it with a little lemon juice for just 30-60 seconds really softens it up and takes away that bitter flavor.  Also you will notice that it breaks down the kale a lot.  So when you first start with six and a half cups you will think it is a crazy amount, but then you will see it is much more manageable.

Kale stems?  You can decide what to do with these.  Sometimes I leave them, sometimes I take them out.  If you are new to kale, strip the stems and just eat the leaves.  If you don’t mind them, leave them in for extra fiber and nutrients!

Oven time for the veggies will vary depending on your oven.  To test if they are ready just pull out after 30 minutes and stick a fork in one of your thickest sweet potatoes.  If it is soft, then you are good to go!

And do NOT forget to use with my Creamy Horseradish Sauce as the dressing.  It is arguably the best part about all of this, it brings everything together so nicely, and seriously takes this salad to a whole other level!

In addition to the listed ingredients, you will need:

  • a large mixing bowl
  • a cookie sheet
  • avocado oil 
  • parchment paper

I hope you enjoy THE BEST SALAD EVER! I promise it will live up to its name.

Print
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the best salad ever

The Best Salad EVER


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Megan
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 4 large dinner sized salads 1x

Description

Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free

This salad is packed with plant based protein from your favorite veggies, topped with a creamy vegan horseradish dressing, and is so filling even your biggest meat lovers will leave dinner satisfied and waiting to have it again!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning
  • 6.5 cups of kale
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • Creamy Horseradish Dressing 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Cube your sweet potato, drain and rinse your chickpeas (remove skins if you want), measure out broccoli florets, and combine in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Spray with avocado oil and sprinkle on spices, stir to evenly coat.
  4. Spread out evenly on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 35-45 minutes (check at 35).
  5. While veggies are baking, measure out kale (remove stems if desired) and in a large mixing bowl, add lemon juice and massage for 30-60 seconds until kale is soft.
  6. Make creamy horseradish dressing (make double recipe for this salad)
  7. When veggies are done, pour on top of kale, then add dressing, sprinkle on red onion, and mix until well combined.

Notes

Cut broccoli florets and sweet potato cubes pretty small so that they they will bake fast enough, otherwise increase baking time.

I use avocado oil because it has one of the highest smoke points

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 recipe

If you try this recipe please leave a comment below letting me know your thoughts!  If you remake on Instagram don’t forget to tag me at @donutworry_behealthy so I can see your creation and share in my stories!

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the best salad ever

5 Comments

  1. Elisa Gonzalez

    Hi! I love it. Do you know how many calories are in it?

    • I am so glad! I do not track calories in my recipes because calorie counting used to be a big part of my eating disorder and it is something I now stay away from. BUT I am sure you could calculate it if you portion it out as you make it!

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