A healthy vegan raw Beet Salad with avocado, tender greens, sprouts, toasted pumpkin seeds, pickled shallots, tossed in a flavorful Cashew Basil dressing and drizzled with Cashew Cream for extra richness. A vegan “power salad”!
This VEGAN POWER SALAD is loaded up with fresh grated beets, avocado, power greens, sprouts, quick pickled shallots or sauerkraut, toasted pumpkin seeds and tossed with a Cashew Basil Dressing and drizzled with Cashew Cream which acts like cheese, rich and flavorful.
It was inspired by a very similar dish we had in Ojai, California at an enchanting little restaurant called Food Harmonics. I was so pleasantly surprised to stumble in this gem of a place and their lovely outdoor patio- and enjoyed this salad tremendously. I think you will too.
Note, the salad has two dressings. You need both. 😉
Here are the two dressings- Cashew Cream and Cashew Basil Dressing which both can be made in the blender. The dressings make enough for 6 salads.
Save any extras for Buddha Bowls, soups, wraps or even roasted veggies. I promise they won’t go to waste.
Quick Pickled shallots (or pickled onions) add a nice acidity. Or sub sauerkraut!
Fresh grated beets are added to the salad- so there is no cooking involved. Some of you lucky ones out there have upscale markets that actually sell fresh grated beets in the produce section, or in the salad bar- a much simpler and less messy solution. Or peel and grate at home using a hand grater, or food processor.
Toss the greens with just enough basil dressing to lightly coat. Toss in the picked shallots or sauerkraut. Divide among two bowls and top the fresh grated beets.
Add sliced avocado, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds, finishing with a little Cashew Cheese.
A rich, vegan high protein beet salad!
RELATED: BEET SALAD WITH ORANGES AND FENNEL
PrintRaw Beet Salad with Avocado
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 2
- Category: Salad, main, vegan, raw
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
Raw Beet Salad with Avocado, pumpkin seeds, pickled shallots ( or pickled onions) or sauerkraut, power greens, sprouts with Cashew Cream and a Cashew Basil dressing. Vegan and GF!
Ingredients
Pickled Shallots ( or substitue sauerkraut)
- 1 large shallot- thinly sliced ( or sub ¼ cup red onion)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Cashew Cream
- ½ cup water
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce or Liquid Aminos
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ¾ cup raw cashews
Cashew Basil Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup packed basil leaves or sub Italian parsley or mix of both
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice ( or AC vinegar)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup cashews
Raw Beet Salad – SERVES 2
- 4 ounces power greens
- 1 medium beet, peeled and grated
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 1/2 cup sprouts
- optional additions- cherry tomatoes, grated carrots, radishes, chickpeas,
Instructions
- Place shallot, vinegar, water, salt, sugar in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a simmer for a couple minutes, then set aside and let cool, or refrigerate.
- Make Cashew Cream. Place water, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce and salt in a blender. Blend. Add cashews and blend until very very smooth. It should be thick and smooth. Scrape blender clean, setting Cashew Cream aside in a small bowl.
- Rinse Blender, then make Cashew Basil Dressing. Place olive oil, garlic, basil, lemon, salt in the blender. Pulse a few times. Then add cashews and continue pulsing until chopped and blended, but not too smooth. Taste for salt, and lemon, add more if necessary. Set aside, and assemble salads.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss power greens lightly with the Dressing using a few tablespoons, to just lightly dress ( you won’t use all). Add some pickled shallots or ½ cup sauerkraut , toss and divide among two large bowls. Top dressed greens with grated beets and avocado slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with cashew cream, and more dresssing if you like and scatter with pumpkin seeds and sprouts.
Notes
Salad serves 2 as mains, dressings serves 6.
Nutrition
- Calories: 550
Keywords: Beet salad, raw beet salad, vegan beet salad, beet salad recipe, healthy beet salad, power salad, vegan power salad
A little time consuming but totally delicious!
★★★★★
Ummm the cashew tahini sauce is missing tahini!
Ok I changed the verbiage- I think it was too confusing for people. 🙂 The Cashew Cream mimics tahini sauce without actually using tahini paste. I think it is more clear now. 🙂
Made this a couple of nights ago and loved it! Especially the cashew dressing. I still have some of both dressings left and have been drizzling them over roasted vegies, baked salmon, whatever I can think of. Had to track down the spiralized beets, but finally found them. Evidentally, everyone loves those things! Thank you for such a tasty and healthy recipe!
Hi, I can’t believe I found this recipe. I went to Ojai yesterday and had this very salad. It was amazing. I asked for the ingredients of the two sauces and I think you have them pretty close. She said that they added nutritional yeast to the cashew dressing and she thought the pesto was made with parsley. I love basil so I will try it this way very soon. Thank you so much for posting and I look forward to more of your recipes. Thanks, Janet
What a coincidence!!!Love it!
Great looking pictures. I’m sitting here writing down my shopping list. Some greens and basil… and then I think if I made extra pesto I could have a pesto and pasta dish. I bet if I made extra tahini dressing I could use it as a marinade for some baked salmon. I’ll have to think a little more for another dish with the pickled shallots. Thanks for the inspiration. A nice salad for tonight and two dishes setup for the week.
Love your planning process!
is the cashew tahini dressing meant to have tahini in it?
Haha I was wondering the same thing ?
So the cashews actually replace sesame paste here – becoming cashew tahini vs. sesame tahini- hopefully that makes sense and sorry for any confusion!