Salad Recipes

A salad here doesn't need a leaf of lettuce in it. Veggie Salad Without Lettuce and Bean and Chickpea Salad build their crunch from vegetables, beans or pasta instead of greens, and the line is about the dish itself, not where it lands: Vegan Cole Slaw still counts as a salad even though the same recipe doubles as a sandwich topping.

Bean and Chickpea Salad and Vegan Chickpea Salad are both done in about ten minutes, no cooking beyond opening a can. Vegan Salad with Chickpeas takes about fifteen and folds in avocado for a creamier bite. Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Salad roasts peppers, zucchini and eggplant for about fifty-five minutes first, more meal than side. Thai Noodle Salad skips the peanut butter most versions default to and dresses everything in lime instead, lighter and sharper than expected.

What a dressing does to a salad over time is worth knowing. Salt and acid pull water out of lettuce cells by osmosis, which is why a dressed green salad goes limp within the hour and wants tossing right before serving. Bases without leaf cells don't have that problem: Vegan Pasta Salad is built for meal prep and picnics because pasta and beans hold their texture long after dressing has been sitting on them.

The badges on each card mark vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free status, so check there before you open anything. If you like the creamy texture of the egg salads but want to skip the egg, Vegan Salad with Chickpeas leans on chickpeas and avocado for the same effect.