Bright and refreshing, popping and crunching as you eat it, this Chopped Vegan Salad is filled with tons of fresh vegetables and herbs, crunchy pepita seeds, and smooth white beans. It is then tossed in a simple vinaigrette for an outstanding flavor without regret. It's vegan, gluten-free, and kind of addictive!
This flavorful chopped salad is full of texture and familiar ingredients: white beans, green bell pepper, red onion, carrot, lemon, and so on. All are easy to find and represent a rainbow of color and nutrition. Though it is a small enough salad to finish in a few servings, this recipe can easily be doubled for a larger crowd.
Read on for all the loving details on how to make Chopped Vegan Salad.
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Featured Ingredients
Read below about a few of the ingredients used to make Chopped Vegan Salad.
Parsley & cilantro - Be sure to use fresh herbs, not dry.
Roasted red pepper - The recipe includes a mix of fresh green bell peppers for their bitter, earthy flavor and juicy crunch and roasted bell peppers for their sweet and smokey flavor. You can find the red peppers in glass jars in the pickle aisle of the grocery store, or you can roast a fresh one.
To roast a bell pepper in the oven: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Set the pepper on a lined sheet pan in the oven. Turn the pepper occasionally and cook until most of the skin is charred and blistered, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and put in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the pepper steam for 30 minutes. At this point, the charred skin should slide off, and you can dice the pepper for the salad.
Pepperoncini - This bright yellow pepper adds a nice crunch and tang to the whole salad. On their own, they have a bit of spiciness, but most of the heat becomes hidden once the salad is tossed together. You can also use banana peppers as a zero-heat substitution.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools for the job
- Sharp knife (paid link) and cutting board
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl (paid link)
- Shaker jar with lid
How to make Chopped Vegan Salad
- Chop and dice all the ingredients so they are the same size.
- Add everything to a large bowl beside the dressing ingredients.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a lidded jar and shake it up. I adore these le Parfait jam jars for quick dressings and scrambling eggs. (paid link)
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat (no more than 1 hour before serving the salad for the freshest look).
Hot Tip!
Make this salad even heartier by adding a 14 ounce can of garbanzo beans and 1 cup of shredded raw beets or diced cooked beets.
Substitutions and Variations for Chopped Vegan Salad
- Substitute any kind of roasted and salted nut for the pepitas. Some substitutions that I think would be enjoyable are sunflower seeds, pistachios, or slivered almonds.
- Jicama would be a fantastic crunchy sub for the radish.
- You can bump up the vegan protein by adding another can of beans, such as garbanzo, butter, or cranberry (borlotti) beans.
- Mellow out the tart and \tangy dressing with agave syrup to taste. Start with 1 teaspoon.
Leftover Chopped Vegan Salad
- Refrigerate leftover Chopped Vegan Salad in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Freezing leftover salad is not recommended.
- Completely stir the remaining salad to redistribute the dressing before serving leftovers.
FAQ
A "chopped" salad is a style of salad where all the ingredients are chopped to relatively the same size.
Yes, this salad will last a few days longer without being dressed. In fact, you can store single portions of the salad without the dressing in mason jars in the refrigerator. Split the dressing into equal portions and use for a meal prep salad. Alternatively, dress the beans only and put them at the bottom of the jar, then top with the remaining salad. Shake to combine before eating.
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Chopped Vegan Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 cups
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Get your crunch on with a Chopped Vegan Salad. This vegan and gluten-free dish has a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs, white beans and a tangy vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can of white beans
- ½ English cucumber, diced
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- ¾ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup sliced pepperoncini, chopped
- ½ cup diced roasted red pepper (from a jar)
- ½ cup diced red radish
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup pepitas or sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup sliced olives, kalamata or black (optional)
Dressing
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a shaker jar and shake to combine.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Dress salad for up to one hour before eating.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: salad
- Method: no cooking
- Cuisine: American
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