Vegan broccoli cranberry walnut salad is the perfect recipe for weekday lunches! This salad doesn’t get soggy so it’s perfect to make on the weekend for lunch the next few days. The best part is you can dress it up however you want! This is a great base salad or perfect on it’s own. The crunch from the walnuts with the honey mustard like dressing is the perfect fall salad!
With the seasons changing I’ve been craving heartier salads filled with ingredients like cranberries, walnuts and squash. I also couldn’t resist grabbing a bag of riced broccoli at Trader Joes last week and knew this would be the perfect base for this salad. I believe like the broccoli slaw, they actually rice the stalk of the broccoli to make this which is a great use of an otherwise disregarded item. Now if trader joes could just be closer to my house that would be great.
When I worked my corporate job, I took a salad everyday for lunch. Since we are spending so much time at the gym now and we just got a little mini fridge, I have returned to my love of salads for lunch. I used this broccoli cranberry walnut salad base and added quinoa, roasted butternut squash and canned salmon for a hearty filling lunch that I am already daydreaming about having again.
#meatless monday lunch try this #vegan broccoli cranberry walnut salad #grainfree #glutenfree Click To Tweet
Like I said you can add to this broccoli cranberry walnut salad anything you love. Shredded chicken, temph, or salmon would all be amazing. Roasted squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa or rice would all be great additions as well. This salad is so versitile and perfect for meal prep as it actually gets better the next day!
The dressing is perfect for any fall salad, don’t you dare buy the store bought stuff! This is all real ingredients you can feel good about eating. And don’t fret the fats are healthy fats, necessary to help you absorb the fat soluble vitamins and also help you feel full and satiated instead of yearning for more. The walnuts and the tahini dressing are both great sources of healthy fats. Walnuts provide Omega-3 fatty acids and tahini (made from ground sesame seeds) has calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, copper, zinc, fiber, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, protein, and tryptophan. You won’t find that in a store bought dressing you found on sale for $1.99!
For some added sweetness dried cranberries are a great option, especially this time of year! But don’t go overboard with the cranberries, they tend to be higher in sugar and can quickly add up in calories. If you can find them, cranberries sweetened with apple juice are a better option. I can usually find these at the health food store or online! Don’t be afraid to do a big order of healthy foods online. It’s so much more convenient than taking an extra trip to the specialty store, where you are more likely to pick up things you don’t need!
- 1½ tbs tahini
- 1 tbs coarse mustard
- 2 tbs coconut vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tbs honey
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbs water
- 1 bag riced broccoli (or 1 bag of broccoli florets, chopped well and steamed)
- 1 large roasted red pepper, chopped
- ¼ cup cranberries
- ¼ cup walnuts
- In a large bowl, add the riced broccoli and microwave 5 minutes.
- While broccoli is microwaving, make the dresssing in a small container with a tight fitting lid. Add the mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and water and shake vigerously until combined.
- Once the broccoli is done cooking, add the cranberries, walnuts and chopped roasted red pepper.
- Stir in dressing and stir well to combine. Add additional salt as needed.
What about you?
- What have you been craving lately?
- Do you typically take your lunch to work?
- Do you make your own dressing?
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