Rainbow Salad with Fresh Crisp Vegetables
Servings: 5
Calories: 131kcal
As bright and colorful as its name implies, this fresh crisp rainbow salad is quick and easy to make. With a little shopping and chopping, you'll have this crunchy vegetable salad on the table in under thirty minutes. This veggie salad is higher in protein with the addition of edamame and beans and topped with your favorite salad dressing like vegan green goddess dressing.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 ounces tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 2 green onions sliced, the green and the white parts
- 1 cup English cucumbers diced
- ¾ cup edamame shelled
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup purple cabbage cut thin
- ¼ cup red onions diced
- 16 ounces beans
- ¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds, shelled and roasted)
- dressing of choice
Instructions
- Chop all vegetables and place them in a large flat bowl as shown in the blog post. Place the vegetables in rainbow color order for the best presentation. I dice/cut the vegetables in order and place them in the bowl as I am cutting them. If the edamame needs thawing then take it out of the freezer in enough time to thaw. Open the can of beans and drain and rinse. Wash the blueberries and set them aside to dry.
- Remember to place the cut vegetables as you go, keeping in mind how much space you will need for the remaining ingredients. Dice the red tomatoes. If you are using cherry or grape tomatoes then just cut them in half. Shred or slice the carrots with a peeler - you will need 1-2 carrots for one cup. Dice the yellow pepper. Slice the green onion, stalks and bulbs. Dice the cucumber. (Don't forget to place the edamame and the blueberries.) Shred or thinly slice the purple cabbage - you will need about one-quarter of a head of cabbage. Dice the red onion - you will need a thick wedge of onion. (Don't forget to place the beans). Place the pepitas in the center of the salad.
- I like to place the salad on the table for everyone to oooh and awww over before tossing with the dressing. Drizzle on your favorite dressing, toss together and serve.
Notes
Keep in mind that the dressing you use will not be included in the nutritional information. My favorite salad dressing for this salad is vegan green goddess dressing, but also enjoy jalapeno ranch dressing and honey mustard dressing. If you are looking for a traditional balsamic dressing, this one is oil-free and so will add fewer calories. All so good:)
I suggest looking at the photos in the blog post to get a better idea of the vegetable placement.
Rainbow salad can be adjusted to your personal taste - as long as you follow the rainbow color order rules. Here are a few other suggestions for additions or substitutions:
- Red - red bell pepper - but only use if you aren't using another color of pepper for the yellow, or orange. Beets - pickled beets would be best.
- Orange - orange bell pepper - but only use if you don't use another color pepper or the red, yellow or green. Cooked, cubed sweet potatoes.
- Yellow - Corn, or yellow squash.
- Green - Soooo many choices for the green. In fact, it's easy to go overboard on this one. Remember to try to keep the colors even. Green pepper - but only if you don't use a pepper for the red, orange, or yellow, zucchini squash, fresh green peas, snap peas, baby spinach, or avocado.
- Blue - I don't know...I'm stumped! Let me know if you can think of anything else blue that might work.
- Purple - Purple cauliflower if you can find it or purple carrots. I don't suggest eggplant because you'll need to cook it and the texture is a little mushy.
- Pink (yes, that's a thing now with the younger set) - You can play around with this one because pink isn't a real rainbow color (unless you are gen Z or younger). I use the tri color beans because if you squint, they will almost look pinkish. A mix of kidney beans and cannellini beans would also work - or just pink one or the other - whatever. But I do like to use beans for the extra protein boost.
- Seeds - Every good salad needs nuts or seeds. Place them in the middle for a nice effect. I like to use pepitas. You can also use sunflower seeds, pistachio seeds, or sliced almonds.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.6cups | Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 651mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 5101IU | Vitamin C: 81mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg