40 vegetarian salad recipes
Try our fresh, crunchy and filling vegetarian salads, including roasted cauliflower, watermelon and halloumi, courgette salad, and kale caesar salad
Looking for the best vegetable salad recipes? Our easy vegetarian salads include caesar salad recipes, potato salads and green salads. We have plenty of ideas for vegan salads, too, including turmeric roasted cauliflower.
Salads make a great side dish or main course and add colour to your plate, not to mention a good dose of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Vegetarian salads are full of flavour and texture, and all that fibre from grains, vegetables and beans provides plenty of fibre to support your microbiome and digestive system. Topping with proteins such as egg, cheese or nuts and seeds also ensures a good, balanced meal as well as getting additional nutrients such as calcium and zinc, which are important for bone health and immune health.
Next, check out more salad recipes, healthy no cook recipes try our healthy salad recipes. Or for low-cost vegetarian meals, check out our budget vegetarian recipes. Then discover our recipes with semolina.
Listen to the olive podcast where Janine Ratcliffe chats to author, cook and photographer Nik Sharma talks about making humble veg the star of the plate and how he uses a science-based approach to getting maximum flavour when cooking.
Easy vegetarian salad recipes
Grilled halloumi salad
Try this halloumi salad as a side dish at your next barbecue, or serve it as a vegetarian main.
Halloumi and watermelon salad
Warm, salty halloumi goes brilliantly here with sweet watermelon and fresh mint – ideal for a BBQ side dish.
Caprese salad
This caprese salad, with sweet tomatoes and creamy mozzarella, is full of fresh Mediterranean flavours and simple to whip up. Serve it with bread as a light, summery lunch, or as a side dish at dinner.
Roasted courgette, chickpea and lemon salad
Check out this quick and easy vegan salad recipe with roasted courgettes and crunchy chickpeas tossed in punchy harissa. It's ready in 20 minutes and low in calories too.
Tex Mex-style sweetcorn salad
Sweet, crunchy, creamy and zingy – this vibrant salad is an explosion of flavours and textures. It's great served as a BBQ side or on its own with warm pittas for scooping.
Turmeric roasted cauliflower salad
Our roasted cauliflower salad with turmeric is low in calories and packed with nutrients. Turmeric adds lovely colour and earthy spice to this filling dish.
Healthy bean salad
Ready in just 20 minutes, this colourful salad is packed with green beans, kidney beans and cannellini beans, and comes finished with a green tahini dressing.
Coronation chickpea and apple salad
Make this classic lunch favourite vegetarian by replacing the chicken with chickpeas. Refreshing, crunchy and filling, this easy salad is ready in just 20 minutes.
Courgette and chimichurri salad
Make the most of fresh green beans and courgettes while they're in season by tossing them in a zingy chimichurri dressing, then crumble over salty feta for a nourishing lunch.
Grains, greens and beans salad with pesto dressing
On the table in 15 minutes, this nutritious salad is packed with greens and tossed in fresh pesto. Beans, nuts and broccoli add fibre, protein and good fats.
Cauliflower, walnut and apple salad
Thinly sliced cauliflower florets, cubed apples, raisins, toasted walnuts and a quick mustard dressing come together to make a crunchy, wholesome salad.
Roast pumpkin salad
Roasting pumpkin, onion and chickpeas with spices gives them a fantastic depth of flavour. Add kale, feta and herby tahini dressing and you've got yourself a delicious dinner.
Roast vegetable salad with kale pesto
Combine roasted veg with mixed with grains and a nutty kale pesto to make this easy, impressive vegetarian salad. The leftovers pack up well for lunch the next day.
Greek salad
Master this classic and you'll never be stuck for a delicious lunch. The key to an authentic Greek flavour is plenty of oregano and red wine vinegar. Enjoy with toasted pittas.
Miso roasted cauliflower, avocado and lentil salad
Fibre-rich cauliflower is roasted in a miso dressing – also filled with probiotics – and turned into a rustic salad with pickled onions and lentils. It's delicious and great for your gut.
Pasta salad with bocconcini, capers and tomatoes
Take your pasta salad to the next level by using bocconcini, a wonderfully frilly pasta shape, and adding sweet diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese balls.
Vegetarian caesar salad
This crispy chickpea and kale caesar salad is a great healthy twist on a classic. You can also eat the crispy chickpeas as a snack.
Crunchy veg and smoked tofu salad with sesame dressing
Try our vibrant crunchy salad with crispy golden tofu and dressed, thinly sliced vegetables. This quick dish is perfect for warm summer nights. If you're really hungry, you could add some cooked and chilled rice noodles.
Thai-style peanut noodle salad with herbs and watermelon
Ready in 20 minutes, this vibrant vegan salad is packed with juicy watermelon and crunchy peanuts. The sweet-salty combo is delicious.
Fattoush with crisp spiced chickpeas
A vibrant, summery salad that combines chickpeas with herby pitta croutons, radishes, tomatoes, sumac and a pomegranate molasses dressing. A colourful veggie dish.
Farro, grilled peach and pecan salad
The grilled peaches in this recipe deliver a satisfying sweetness, balanced by the zing of lime-pickled shallots and the smoky nuttiness of toasted pecans.
Burrata and tomato salad
Everything is better with burrata, especially tomato salad. Serve this with toasted ciabatta, for scooping up every last bit of the juicy tomatoes and creamy cheese.
Cauliflower couscous salad
Roasting cauliflower gives it a subtle sweetness that works with with crispy fried onions and a punchy zhoug dressing. Combine with giant couscous for a filling lunch or dinner.
Roasted sweet potato and freekeh salad with harissa-yogurt dressing
Freekeh is a lovely, nutty grain and it's easy to prepare. Here, we've combined it with roasted sweet potato and a tangy-spicy dressing.
Broad bean, peach and fennel salad
For a summer side salad, try this medley of broad beans, thinly sliced peaches, fennel, fresh basil and courgette, dressed in a lemony red chilli dressing. It's light, low fat and tasty.
Warm lentil, avocado and feta salad
This simple salad recipe is packed with crunchy cucumber, crumbly feta and fresh basil. Avocado and warm lentils add plenty of protein, good fats and fibre.
Grilled melon caprese salad
This grilled melon caprese salad is a great starter for the summer months. This works well with watermelons, too, just swap the mozzarella for feta, and sprinkle with a few oregano leaves and rocket.
Super storecupboard salad
This salad is perfect for a speedy supper as it uses ingredients you may already have in your kitchen. It's ready in just 15 minutes and under 300 calories. It serves 4, but you can always have leftovers for lunch.
Middle Eastern roast carrot salad with herby carrot top yogurt
Make sure nothing goes to waste with this spiced roast carrot salad recipe with zesty yogurt. The carrot tops are blitzed with yogurt to make a tasty dressing.
Chickpea, pepper and bulgar wheat salad
Everyone needs a failsafe chickpea salad in their repertoire. Make our colourful recipe for a nutritious lunch and pack up the leftovers for the next day.
Gochujang roast sweet potato with mixed grain salad
Wedges of caramelised, roast sweet potato and mixed grains make this a filling salad. Slices of radish and cucumber keep it fresh, and a punchy Korean dressing brings it all together.
Italian deli salad
This Italian deli-inspired salad is super-quick and really easy to make. Most of the ingredients will already be in your storecupboard, making a good summer lunch.
Ethiopian salata dakwa
This Ethiopian salad makes a great side to spicier dishes, thanks to the creamy peanut butter dressing. Add hard-boiled eggs to make it a more filling dish.
Green bean, tomato and artichoke salad
This delicious, healthy, salad is packed with flavour featuring artichoke hearts, olives and green beans. Serve drizzled with a dressing of Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar.
Roast radish and peanut salad
Try this vibrant combination of radish, cucumber and spring onion, dressed in a rich soy, peanut and honey glaze.
Walnuts, wild rice and winter green salad
Walnuts, wild rice and winter greens combine to make this colourful salad. It's great if you're feeling in need of a hit of nutrients.
Moroccan cauliflower salad
Make cauliflower shine by roasting florets with ras el hanout then toss with dried cranberries, dates, nuts and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with a tahini and mint dressing and you've got yourself a wholesome veggie dish.
More like this
Smoked aubergine, pepper and walnut salad with pomegranate
You may have seen this smoked aubergine dish in restaurants, try making it at home. Serve as a meze-style lunch with flatbreads for scooping.
Feta, baby kale and beet fattoush
Our take on fattoush salad combines kale with salty feta and earthy beetroot for an easy dinner that's vegetarian and ready in under 30 minutes.
Healthy panzanella
Enjoy this hearty and healthy panzanella, featuring crispy bread, juicy veg and a piquant dressing – perfect for a wholesome autumnal dinner.
Orange, pecan and cannellini salad with sautéed fennel and golden raisins
Persian chef Sabrina Ghayour knows how to throw a party. Pair this gluten-free, low-calorie, zingy salad with some of her other easy recipes (such as her lamb kofta puffs with tahini and tomato sauce or spiced cod fritters with harissa honey dip) to create an impressive sharing spread.
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