One of the most difficult things about being vegan is going out to eat, at least for me. I don’t eat out often, but sometimes you want to or you have to and the offerings are just a slap in the face honestly.
I mean, seriously, why use butter when oil will work the same? Or why put cheese in/on everything?
Okay, rant over.
But recently I found myself at a restaurant that had a pretty delicious salad that was accidentally vegan…at least once you removed the parmesan cheese from it. 🙂
Seriously, it was pretty good if a little too cold for my taste. So you know that I had to bring the memory home with me and make it again, only better. Well, I didn’t know it would be better going on but I was determined to add a new vegan salad recipe to the rotation since warm weather is approaching, even if it is at a snail’s pace.
What’s In It?
The easy, smart ass answer is smoked tofu and dried cranberries! No, but for real this recipe is chock full of good stuff. You have your salad basics like lettuce and scallions, but there’s also some delicious nontraditional salad ingredients.
Nuts: I don’t often put nuts in salads because despite how good they taste and how good they are for you, they are high calorie foods. But I’ve been adding them more lately to really incredible results. This salad had almonds and cashews, rough chopped.
Vegan feta: I mean, does anything go together better than dried cranberries and vegan feta? Yeah, okay peanut butter & jelly is a classic, but this is a pretty good combo as well. Just 45 grams, crumbled on top or mixed in. You can use less if you want, or use none at all.
Pickled shallots: I do love some pickled shallots. It’s super easy to do and if you get it done before you start prepping everything else, you’ll have a solid pickling by the time you’re ready to start plating.
my pickling: lemon juice, apple cider or rice vinegar, sugar or agave, black pepper, salt, hot sauce, pepper flakes. Whisk it all together and add in shallots, mixing until combined. Set aside in fridge or at room temperature.
Chickpeas: I just love chickpeas and they are a great addition to pretty much everything. Drain and rinse them, cover them in seasoning and bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the oven (or air fryer) until it a little bit crunchy.
This is a really flavorful salad and I’m sure you’ll love it.
Kitchen Tools:
Salad bowl
Cutting board
Kitchen knife
Kitchen scale
Baking mats
Salad spinner
Ingredients:
Lettuce
Scallions
Shallots
Dried cranberries
Smoked tofu
Chickpeas
Cashews
Almonds
Vegan feta
Orange juice & zest
Soy sauce
Instructions:
*Cut smoked tofu into cubes. Season with soy sauce, orange juice, ginger, salt & pepper, garlic and chili powder. Cook 10 to 15 minutes in oven, the edges might be a little crispy, depending on your tofu so watch it closely after 10 minutes.
*Prep the chickpeas: season and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until crispy.
*Chop lettuce and add to salad spinner to clean it.
*Thinly slice shallots and pickle them. See directions above.
*Slice scallions and add to salad bowl.
*Chop nuts and crumble feta, and add to salad bowl.
*Add dried cranberries to the salad bowl.
*When chickpeas and tofu are cooked, add to salad bowl and toss.
*Whisk together orange juice & zest, soy sauce, and spicy mustard and drizzle over salad before tossing again.
Serve & enjoy!
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Tell me what you think about this!