These vegetarian salad recipes are crisp, delicious, and absolutely bursting with flavor!
They’re perfect for summer, of course, but you can easily enjoy them all year long.
These salads are so fresh and seriously scrumptious. Even if you’re not a vegetarian, they’re hearty, bright, and filling.
I promise you won’t miss the meat.
That said, nobody will stop you from adding grilled chicken or steak to the dish.
But as they are, these delicious vegetarian salad recipes are sure to please.
1. Southwestern Roasted Veggie Salad
Every aspect of this salad is balanced.
There are cooked elements and fresh elements and creamy elements and crunchy elements. Plus, the flavors are out of this world.
The recipe has a mix of squash, potatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, beans, and corn.
Everything is doused in a smoky, savory seasoning mix and then roasted until golden.
Yum!
2. Vegetarian Taco Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
If you’re trying to get your family to eat more veggies, whip up this salad.
It’s so flavorful and delicious, even the pickiest eaters won’t turn up their noses. It’s perfect for vegetarian Taco Tuesday!
This salad features a bed of romaine lettuce, topped with black beans and fire-roasted corn.
Red onions add a zippy bite and fresh avocados add a mellow flavor and creaminess.
And then there’s the fresh salsa. The recipe recommends two varieties, pico de gallo and or pineapple-mango salsa. I’d do a combo of both!
But the finale is the fresh, flavorful cilantro lime dressing. It’s delectable.
3. Mediterranean Lentil Salad
If you strongly dislike the idea of salad greens, give this salad a shot.
Don’t worry, it still has plenty of nutritious stuff. But there’s no lettuce or spinach or arugula in sight.
Instead, it’s made with fiber, potassium, and protein-filled lentils.
They’re mixed with a myriad of sauteed veggies, like green beans and bell peppers.
Plus, creamy, salty feta brings in some much-needed fat.
And then everything is dressed in a bright lemon, Dijon, and dill dressing. It’s absolutely mouth-watering.
4. Antipasto
This antipasto salad is as filling as it is delicious! It’s the perfect mix of lightweight, with enough fat and protein to keep you full.
It’s loaded with beans, green beans, artichokes, olives, roasted peppers, tomatoes, and more.
It has plenty of fresh herbs to keep your tastebuds excited.
5. Tofu Salad
This tofu salad is loaded with nutrition and deliciousness.
It features some typical yummy salad ingredients like romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and cucumber.
And there are slivered almonds for a fun, crunchy texture.
But the true star of this dish is the tofu.
It’s marinated in a deliciously sweet and tangy mix of balsamic and maple syrup. And then, it’s pan-fried until it’s golden and crispy.
6. Vegetarian Cobb Salad with Grilled Tofu and Coconut Bacon
You can never go wrong with a classic Cobb salad. And this vegetarian version is just as delicious.
Plus, this one is definitely more interesting, thanks to some food science!
It has all the classic Cobb salad ingredients. But the marinated tofu and the coconut bacon make it truly special.
The tofu has an Italian-style marinade that is super flavorful.
And the coconut bacon is smoky, sweet, and crispy like bacon bits. It’s delicious!
7. Healthy Broccoli Salad
Broccoli salad is a classic potluck dish. It’s also pretty great at barbecues and your weeknight dinner.
However, the traditional version is not exactly diet-friendly.
Enter this healthy version. It tastes exactly the same, (i.e. absolutely fantastic) but it’s a whole lot lighter.
8. Vegetarian Caesar Salad
Anytime I have pasta for dinner, Caesar salad is my go-to side.
There’s just something spectacular about the combo of crisp romaine, creamy dressing, and crunchy croutons.
You’ll flip for this simple recipe.
9. Simple Green Salad and Vinaigrette Dressing
If you’re a texture person, this is the salad for you!
It’s so crunchy and fresh, filled with greens, celery, radishes, cucumbers, and spring onions.
And the easy lemon vinaigrette adds a little zing that perfectly compliments the salad’s freshness.
10. Tex-Mex Black Bean Salad
There’s just something so delicious about Tex-Mex flavors.
Maybe it’s the savoriness or the spiciness, or possibly the freshness? Honestly, it’s probably all of the above.
Regardless, this salad just works on so many levels. It bursts with color, so it’s both visually appealing and nutritious.
But color and nutrition content means nothing if it doesn’t taste good.
Luckily, this black bean salad is also delicious.
11. Arugula Salad with Apple and Pecan
Arugula is one of my favorite greens. It has a wonderfully nutty flavor, with a hint of spice.
When combined with sweet apples, candied pecans, feta, and honey-lemon dressing, it becomes a masterpiece.
Trust me, you’ll love it!
12. Crunchy Asian Veggie Salad
Each bite of this delicious Asian-inspired salad is like eating a rainbow.
It’s loaded with colorful veggies that add crunch, flavor, and nutrition.
But my favorite part is the saporous honey peanut ginger dressing. I could put this stuff on literally everything!
13. Potato Salad
This delicious potato salad is completely vegan! It’s perfect for the mayo haters out there.
But it still looks and tastes like your classic potato salad, and it’s so good.
14. Oil-Free Heirloom Tomato Salad
Simple salads like this are my jam! They’re easy to make and they’re unbelievably delectable.
This salad features a bed of absolutely beautiful heirloom tomatoes, plus cherry tomatoes.
It also contains some delicious basil, snappy red onions, and creamy ricotta.
It’s topped with an umami-laden herb, miso, and tahini vinaigrette that is *chef’s kiss.*
15. Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad
One of the more iconic salads in the Western world is the Olive Garden salad.
You know, the giant one they bring with all the breadsticks before your meal.
Well, this one is like that one, but better. Because it has even more yummy stuff inside!
16. Chopped Green Goddess Salad
You might better know this salad as the TikTok Salad.
You know, the one that went insanely viral? And yes, it’s worth the hype.
The base is simple: very finely chopped green cabbage, Persian cucumbers, and green onions.
Meanwhile, the dressing is a blend of spinach, shallots, garlic, basil, lemon, olive oil, cashews, parmesan, and rice vinegar. Plus, salt to taste.
If you’re vegan, you can use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan.
Either way, the result is a seriously creamy, flavorful dressing that’s absolutely tasty.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, “What is a Persian cucumber?” check out my post for more information.
17. Mexican Fiesta Salad
This salad is like a flavor party in your mouth.
Every bite is chock-full of delicious things like rice, corn, tomatoes, avocados, and taco-flavored tofu.
And a smoky, tangy Southwestern dressing ties it all together.
18. Spring Mix Salad
This salad is simple, delicious, and nutritious. It’s loaded with traditional ingredients like greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, and onions.
Top it with homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and it’ i’s a perfect salad side dish.
19. Apricot and Feta Quinoa Salad
I love the juxtaposition of sweet and salty in every bite of this salad.
It’s loaded with quinoa, spinach, dried apricot, feta, onions, and almonds.
It’s topped with a savory lemon curry vinaigrette. Doesn’t that sound yummy?
20. Tuscan Kale Chopped Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
If a recipe says Tuscan in the title, I’m all about it!
Because it means that fabulous flavors are guaranteed. And that’s so true for this salad.
Each bite of this crunchy, nutritious salad will make you sigh with happiness.
21. Chickpea Salad
If you like tabbouleh, let me introduce you to this chickpea salad.
You can see it was definitely inspired by the traditional dish.
The salad is made with chickpeas, peppers, onions, garlic, celery, and parsley.
It’s covered in a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Every bite is earthy and nutty but also fabulously fresh and zippy.
22. Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
This is the perfect fall salad. Made with seasonal ingredients, you’ll find this salad is freshest in the fall/winter seasons.
The star of this salad is delicious, sweet, and savory roasted butternut squash. But it also has spinach, cooked lentils, and pumpkin seeds.
It’s drizzled with a maple mustard vinaigrette that’ i’s so tasty!
23. Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad
This delectable salad is not your typical tabbouleh.
Rather, it’s inspired by the traditional Lebanese dish but has elements from other cuisines too.
But one thing’ i’s for sure, this cumin-roasted cauliflower tabbouleh is dang delicious.
The tabbouleh part is made with parsley, couscous, lemon, red onion, mint, and cumin-roasted cauliflower.
It’s topped with avocados, pine nuts, and hummus.
24. Three Bean Salad
This salad is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Step one is to prepare the three beans (green, kidney, and garbanzo) and red onion.
Step two is to make the delicious apple cider vinaigrette.
And step three is to mix it all together, chill, and serve.
Okay, okay, there’s another step. Step four is to enjoy because this salad is T-A-S-T-Y.
25. Crisp Apple Salad
One thing that constitutes a perfect salad is a sweet-savory combination.
So, I really like adding fresh fruit to salads. But especially apples.
Apples add so much goodness to both the flavor and texture departments. They’re tart, sweet, juicy, and wonderfully crunchy.
They pair beautifully with the rest of the salad ingredients.
It’s made with mixed greens, candied pecans, goat cheese, and pomegranate seeds.
Add fresh herbs for added flavor. And top everything with a maple Dijon vinaigrette. How delicious does that sound?