The Best Easy Vegan Salad

Name: The Best Easy Vegan Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups spring salad mix; 1 cup sliced cucumber; 1/4 cup julienned or ribboned carrot; 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (halved); 1/2 red onion (sliced); 1/3 cup pepitas; 1 avocado (sliced); Lemon juice ((optional)); Olive oil ((optional))

The Best Easy Vegan Salad boasts a variety of color, flavor, and texture. This amazing veggie salad uses just 9 ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes.

A bowl of vegan salad surrounded by pieces of lettuce and baby tomatoes.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are my own.

Jump to:

Easy vegan salad ingredients
How to make a vegan salad
Top tips
FAQ
More vegetarian salad recipes
Recipe

I know vegan salad sounds boring and healthy and no fun at all. Just give me a minute. TRUST ME.

This vegan salad is the perfect balance of flavors, colors, and textures. It has a nice crunch from the carrots and cucumbers, a bit of creaminess from the avocado, and a pop of color and tang from the red onion. I like to toss it with a glug of good olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon for a bright finish.

A plant-based salad makes a great light dinner, office lunch, or easy side dish to pair with pizza or pasta. It's super easy to customize depending on what you have on hand.

Easy vegan salad ingredients

Spring greens
Cucumber
Carrots
Tomatoes
Red onion
Avocado
Pepitas
Olive oil
Lemon juice

How to make a vegan salad

In a large bowl, toss together salad mix, cucumber, carrot, tomatoes, and onion.
Divide amongst two bowls, then top with pepitas and sliced avocado.
Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil to taste.

Top tips

Simple vegan salad dressing

If I'm being totally weirdo honest, I don't usually put salad dressing on salads.

Most often I squeeze on a little fresh lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil (<-- affiliate link to my FAV), sometimes balsamic vinegar.

No need to prep anything or shake up a vinaigrette, just give everything a tiny splash and you're good to go.

Don't add dressing until you're ready to eat

Dressing causes leafy greens to wilt, so I recommend adding the lemon juice and olive oil right before eating.

Side view of two bowls of easy vegan salad.

How to store

This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I recommend only dressing the amount of salad you're going to eat and storing the salad and dressing separately in the refrigerator.

Tips for customizing this vegan salad recipe

Add cooked chicken, steak, shrimp, or salmon for the non-vegans in your house
Add some air fryer tofu or tempeh
Add your favorite vegan or dairy cheese such as feta, cheddar, mozzarella, or parmesan
Stuff the salad between two slices of bread for a hearty sandwich, similar to my best veggie sandwich
Add sliced bell peppers or just use whole mini sweet peppers or pepperocini
Sprinkle with hemp hearts and/or your favorite chopped nuts for a little extra protein
Toss with my ginger tahini dressing
Top with a drizzle of homemade pesto

Two bowls of vegan salad on a linen napkin.

FAQ

How do I julienne vegetables?

I love cutting my crunchy veggies into strands for salads. I use my Deiss vegetable peeler to do this in a few quick strokes, but you could also cut them with a knife, mandolin, or regular vegetable peeler as well.

Can I make this for a crowd?

Yes! Depending on whether you're using this recipe as a side salad or the main event, simply double or triple the recipe.

Is this salad gluten-free?

This salad recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.