Salads ain’t what they used to be. No more limp lettuce, watery tomato and flavourless cucumber, vegan salads these days are hearty, creative and absolutely delicious. Satisfying enough to take centre stage and become your entire lunch or dinner in just one bowl, salads are not only practical but also versatile and highly adaptable to whatever you’ve got in your fridge.
Doesn’t it annoy you to watch Masterchef (or any other cooking program) and hear everyone running around talking about “a protein” and only use it to mean animal flesh, as if totally denying that plants have any protein at all? (And also denying all the fat, hormones and cholesterol in meat. Yes, I’ll have a side of heart disease with my “protein”, thanks).
It’s this erroneous attitude towards protein that leads to the inevitable and stereotypical question that every vegan or vegetarian has gotten at one point or another: (cue nasally voice) “but where do you get your protein from?” Of course every vegan and vegetarian knows that they get their protein from the same place as cows, pigs, sheep and chickens: plants!
So while us veggies tend to eat a lot of salads (they’re quick, easy and cheap to put together), the key to making a good salad that will keep you full for hours is to pack it with rich vegetable protein sources, and there are lots of them to choose from! Great sources of plant protein include lentils, beans, nuts and seeds, green vegetables, tofu and grains. So I’ve scoured the internet to find fifty of the best, most creative and beautiful (and tasty) vegan high protein salads and here they are!
Lentils
Zucchini ribbon and lentil salad - Euphoric Vegan
Bean and lentil salad recipe (pictured) - The Stingy Vegan
The big southwest lentil salad bowl - I Love Vegan
Mushroom, lemon and lentil salad - Delicious Everyday
Colourful root vegetable warm lentil salad - My Vibrant Kitchen
Roasted carrot lentil salad with tahini dressing (pictured) - A Beautiful Plate
Grilled asparagus and French lentil Nicoise salad - The First Mess
Roasted garlic and tomato lentil salad - Wendy Polisi
Grains
Amaranth salad with Swiss chard and avocado - Rosalie Ruardy
Teff salad with sprouted beans, pea shoots and wild garlic - Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
Maple roasted butternut squash freekeh salad with kale (pictured) - Well Plated
Quinoa salad with roasted sweet potato, kale and pesto vinaigrette - Cookie and Kate
Grilled corn and barley salad with tomato vinaigrette - Food52
Sorghum salad with kale pesto (pictured) - Healthy Nibbles and Bits
Freekeh roasted carrot salad with dill - Kevin is Cooking
Wheat berry and bean salad - Oh She Glows
Beans
High protein salad (green kidney beans and lentils) - Contentedness Cooking
Chickpea Avocado Salad (pictured) - The Stingy Vegan
Power protein salad with kidney beans, chickpeas, edamame, quinoa and almonds - Well and Full
Sprouted mung beans salad - Where Wear in the City
Roasted sweet potato and black bean salad - Naturally Ella
Market bean salad (pictured) - A Spicy Perspective
Lebanese lemon-parsley bean salad - Cookie and Kate
Butternut squash black rice bean salad - Eat Good 4 Life
Nuts and Seeds
Hemp seed dressing and spring salad - Edible Perspective
Cold soba noodle salad with raw veggie noodles and a spicy sunflower seed sauce - What's Cooking Good Looking
Holiday crunch salad: pomegranate quinoa, almond and avocado salad with citrus dressing (pictured) - Feasting at Home
Ginger, citrus and black sesame carrots with edamame - The First Mess
Easy almond apple quinoa salad - Chelsea's Messy Apron
Roast beetroot and pumpkin seed salad - Taste
Power salad with lemon chia seed dressing (pictured) - Two Peas and Their Pod
Spiced cauliflower, pumpkin seed and carrot salad - I Quit Sugar
Thai kale salad with sunflower seed dressing - Wholesome Soybean
Couscous bruschetta hemp seed salad - Easy to Eat Right
Tofu, Seitan, Tempeh
Crumbled tempeh salad with herbed ricotta (vegan) cheese (pictured) - Pure Mamas
Snow pea, cabbage and mizuna salad with marinated and seared tempeh - Food52
Red cabbage salad with curried seitan - The Bitten World
Noodle salad with seared tofu and zingy almond butter sauce - The First Mess
Blissed-out Thai salad with peanut tempeh (pictured) - Minimalist Baker
Thai chopped peanut salad with crispy sesame tofu - Veggie and the Beast
Kale salad with fried tofu and miso ginger dressing - Healthy Nibbles and Bits
Greens
Creamy mustard Brussels sprouts salad - Cotter Crunch
Super protein kale Caesar salad - The Whole Ingredient
Pea shoot salad - My Recipes
Avocado, radish and sprout salad with tangy miso dressing - Happy Hearted Kitchen
Asparagus salad with beans, pea shoots, avocado and almonds (pictured) - Homespun Capers
Rainbow power greens salad with black-eyed peas - Cotter Crunch
Asian broccoli salad with peanut sauce - Gimmie Some Oven
Shaved Brussels sprout salad with apples and walnuts - Wholefully
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Kathleen Brown says
You're awesome, Melissa! I'm following your post for wonderful recipes you have been so kind and generous, to share.
You're a hero, thanks so much!
Melissa says
Thank you for the kind comment!
Bernadette says
This looks like an awesome collection ... thank you!
SeekAndRead says
This is what I need!
nanoo says
Just want to say your article is as astonishing.
The clearness in your post is just spectacular and i could assume you are an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission let me to grab your feed to
keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please
carry on the enjoyable work.
Rejeanne says
Thank you, Melissa. Great collection for my weekday's lunches at the office. I'm a receptionist and I have to eat at my desk so salads are the best way to go for me! This is excellent! 🙂
Ashley Woodward says
This is a spectacular list! Thank you for your effort and for sharing this, it is really helpful and handy go-to list when it comes to salads!
Angeline says
Hi,
Do you have a link that actually directs us to the Green protein salad with garlicky tahini dressing from Pur Body Nutrition? Seem like the one you have just takes you to the main page of the website.
Melissa says
Thanks for pointing that out. It looks like they redesigned their website and redirected all links to their homepage. No idea where they put that recipe, try sending them a message. I'll remove that link from my roundup.
Sapient Change says
Your food looks great. I also don’t get people buying the pre-processed vegan products and then complain that veganism is expensive. Fresh is easy, making your own products is easy with practice. You do a wonderful job of cutting your own hair! Keep it up. Much respect to you.
Radwa says
Thanks for putting all these nice recipes together.