Vegan Summer Salads – including pasta salad, quinoa salad, side salad, and hearty meal worthy salads – will satisfy your tastebuds throughout the hot weather months. These recipes are perfect for lunch or dinner – or even breakfast! – and many of them can be taken with you on picnics, potlucks, cookouts, and barbecues. Most of the recipes are gluten-free and include crave-worthy, homemade, dairy free dressings.
Vegan Summer Salads
When Lisa decided to go vegetarian on The Simpsons, Homer and Bart danced around chanting, “You don’t win friends with salad! You don’t win friends with salad!” Well, I’ve put together this vegan summer salad recipe collection because I do win friends with salad.
When most people think of a salad, they think of a sad bowl of iceberg lettuce with chunks of tomatoes and a few slices of cucumber drowning in an oily dressing. That’s not how I make a salad. I use all kinds of vegetables, beans, add-ons, and yummy dressings.
I don’t want to give in to the cliché that vegans only eat salads. We eat every- thing from hearty lasagnas and pastas to filling sandwiches and stews. But I do love salad, especially in the summer when it’s too hot to cook, and my body wouldn’t want a hot meal anyway. These are some of my favorite vegan summer salads.
The Best Vegan Summer Salads Recipes
Meal Worthy Salads
Mandarin Salad
This recipe comes together in a matter of minutes, so it's perfect for busy weekdays.
Buffalo Tempeh Salad with Cashew Ranch Dressing
Warning! This craveable Buffalo Tempeh Salad with Vegan Ranch Dressing is so good that you’ll find yourself wanting more!
Asparagus and Arugula Farro Salad
This gorgeous salad is made with hearty grains and light spring greens.
Southwestern Salad
This make-ahead salad from Vegan Yack Attack’s Plant-Based Meal Prep! by Jackie Sobon is the ultimate grab-and-go lunch.
Grilled Ratatouille Salad
Loaded with the best seasonal produce—such as summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes—this vegetable salad makes a terrific light lunch or dinner.
Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Avocado
This easy vegan spinach salad with strawberries, avocado, walnuts, and dairy-free feta is the perfect meal for warm summer days.
Raw Taco Salad
With slathered with spicy chipotle aioli and cashew sour cream, this recipe is the ultimate meal for those days when it’s too hot to cook.
Asparagus Salad with Vegan Buttermilk Dressing
The vegan buttermilk dressing is the real star of this recipe, but the asparagus, chickpeas, and feta all play key roles.
Tempeh Fajita Salad
This dish has everything I like about fajitas in the form of a salad!
Chinese Tofu Salad
This vegan take on Chinese chicken salad from Wait, That’s Vegan?! by Lisa Dawn Angerame is loaded with good-for-you ingredients like cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers.
Reuben Salad
Loaded with tempeh bacon and sauerkraut and drenched in non-dairy Thousdand Island dressing, this salad is a healthy take on a favorite sandwich!
Tofu Benedict Salad
Tofu Benedict Salad is the ultimate warm weather vegan brunch dish! It’s made with mixed greens, cheesy vegan baked tofu, tempeh bacon, and tomatoes, and it’s drizzled with dairy-free hollandaise sauce.
Kale Salads
Tahini Kale Salad with Garlicky Chickpeas
Drenched in a creamy tahini sauce dressing, this delicious salad will make a kale lover out of the biggest skeptics!
Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
The homemade non-dairy caesar dressing in this recipe is so good that you’ll want to pour it all over just about everything!
BLT Salad
Enjoy the classic sandwich in the form of a hearty, meal-worthy salad!
Tahini and Tofu Kale Salad
With a creamy tahini dressing and lots of baked za’atar tofu – is the BEST kale salad you can make!
Kale and Edamame Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing
Is there anything more “vegan” than a kale and edamame salad? Don’t let the cliché nature of this recipe fool you though! This salad is delicious!
Grilled Salads
Grill and Chill Salad
Cook the veggies for this Grill and Chill Salad from Vegan Yack Attack on the Go!, pop them in a jar with dressing, and lunch is ready when you are!
Grilled Wedge Salad
Yes, you can grill lettuce! This fun salad is the perfect light meal for warm evenings, and it makes a great appetizer, too.
Grilled Tempeh Salad with Pistachios and Peaches
Break out the grill, because you’re going to want to make this restaurant-style salad.
Pasta Salads
Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad
This recipe uses fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and vegan feta cheese, and it’s super easy to make.
Caesar Pasta Salad
Loaded with hearty chickpeas, crispy romaine, and a creamy dairy-free dressing, this pasta salad is perfect for potlucks, picnics, cookouts, and bbqs. It’s a fun meat-free take on chicken caesar salad.
Greek Pasta Salad
Pasta salad gets a delicious make-over in this veggie-filled interpretation of classic Greek Salad
Quinoa Salads
Classic Quinoa Salad
This recipe is so easy to make, that you'll almost feel like you're cheating!
Double Broccoli Quinoa Salad
This dish is always a hit at potlucks, and it’s perfect for picnics and cookouts. Quinoa salad is a terrific side dish for veggie burgers and sandwiches, and it makes a great light main dish for warm evenings, too.
Thai Quinoa Salad
Drizzled with spicy peanut dressing and loaded with fresh veggies, this salad is the ultimate quick and easy meal.
Slaws
Kale Slaw
This raw vegan kale slaw is perfect for summertime picnics. Serve it instead of coleslaw. It’s great on it’s own, and it also makes an excellent side dish for grilled vegetable sandwiches or veggie burgers.
Cruciferous Crunch Salad
Move over coleslaw – Cruciferous Crunch Salad is destined to become everyone’s favorite cookout side dish! A copycat of a Trader Joe’s favorite, this salad is super easy to make using cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and a creamy, dairy-free cashew based dressing.
Broccoli Slaw
This easy to make salad recipe takes only a few minutes to put together. Simply steam the broccoli, mix in the carrots and onions, and then fold in the dressing!
Side Salads
Avocado Chickpea Salad
This deliciously easy summertime side dish is perfect for picnics and potlucks, and it’s a nice change from the usual potato salad and coleslaw that can usually be found at cookouts.
Rice Salad
Brown rice salad is one of my favorite dishes to take with me to potlucks, and it’s always a hit with the crowd! This simple recipe is easy to make, and can be altered to your liking.
Chickpea Waldorf Salad
This recipe is a healthy, plant-based version of the classic. It’s made with apples, walnuts, celery, and grapes, with a nondairy mayonnaise dressing, and I’ve added chickpeas for a little oomph.
German Potato Salad
Unlike cold, mayonnaise-laden potato salad, this version is served warm and is made with vinegar, herbs, and bacon.
Cucumber Salad
Light and fresh White Bean and Cucumber Salad is a wonderfully summery side dish. Made with cucumbers, beans, scallions, parsley, and vinegar dressing, this Greek style salads is a great addition to picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.
Cauliflower Tabbouleh
This recipe is my own homemade take on Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Tabbouleh. It comes together in a flash and is perfect both as a side dish to complement your dinner or a light main dish for lunch.
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