This beautiful Rainbow Salad is full of colorful seasonal veggies over a bed of greens and can be made ahead and brought to potlucks and gatherings. Serve it with your choice of dressing. We love it with our Dilly Ranch Dressing or our Vegan Ranch!
All progress occurs because people dare to be different. ~Harry Millner
This Rainbow Salad changes throughout the year depending on what’s in season, but surprisingly, no matter what time of year it is, even in the dead of winter, its possible to create a bright and joyful rainbow 🌈 right in your kitchen. Somehow this brightens even the darkest of days.
We happened to snap these pictures in late summer when tomatoes were still decent, but in winter, I rely heavily on colorful root vegetables. Grated and eaten raw, red and golden beets, carrots, kohlrabi and turnips are refreshingly crunchy and delicious. Diakon radish, fennel bulb and jicama are great too along with avocado. “Crunch” is key here!
Rainbow Salad Ingredients
When making this salad, head to your farmer’s market or walk down the grocery isle and pick out six to eight different vegetables of a variety of colors. Use veggies in their fresh raw state, crunchy and full of nutrients, or try lightly blanching.
- Grated veggies– grated cabbage, grated carrots, grated beets (raw!)
- Crunchy Veggies– radishes, watermelon radish, daikon, jicama, bell peppers, snow peas, and cucumbers.
- Beans or Legumes– edamame, chickpeas, lentils
- Shaved Veggies- fennel bulb, kohlrabi, asparagus
- Seasonal Veggies- tomatoes, avocado, roasted winter squash
- Blanched Veggies– fresh peas, green beans, asparagus
- Onions or scallions – or pickled onions or chives
- Tender Herbs of choice– dill, basil, parsley, cilantro, tarragon,
- Microgreens– add extra nutrients with broccoli sprouts, or sunflower sprouts.
- Salad greens- the base of the salad with greens- arugula, water cress, spring mix, romaine, little gems, baby spinach, butter lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce.
How to make a Stunning Rainbow Salad
Step one. Begin by prepping your veggies! Put on some music or a podcast and enjoy the process. Grate, chop, or slice!
Step 2. Build the salad starting with the lettuce, covering the base of the platter, then arrange your prepped veggies in rows over the bed of greens, to create a rainbow! 🌈
Step 3. Then pick a dressing and whisk it up in a bowl. This is our dilly ranch.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the salad with your favorite dressing. The Dilly Ranch Dressing (or this vegan Herby Hemp Dressing) gives the salad a satisfying creamy richness. Or try these!
- Spirulina Dressing (vegan)
- Caesar Salad Dressing
- Creamy Pesto Dressing
- Miso Dressing (vegan)
- Peanut Dressing (vegan)
- Vegan Ranch
Make it ahead!
The Rainbow Salad can be made ahead and refrigerated (covered) for up to 8 hours before serving, perfect for bringing to gatherings and potlucks!
Enjoy the colorful Rainbow Salad- have fun with it!
xoxo
More Favorite salads!
- Little Gem Salad with Dilly Ranch Dressing
- Classic Caesar Salad
- Pear Salad with Vanilla Fig Dressing
- Indian Spinach Salad with Lentils Cauliflower
- Rainbow Chopped Salad with Herbed Yogurt Dressing
- 35 Easy Delicious Potluck Ideas
Rainbow Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: salad, salad recipe
- Method: assembled
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This beautiful Rainbow Salad is full of colorful seasonal veggies over a bed of greens and can be made ahead and brought to potlucks and gatherings. Serve it with your choice of dressing. Vegan.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 4–5 ounces mixed greens, red or green leaf lettuces, or arugula, watercress, spring mix, little gems, baby spinach, or butter lettuce (a combination give a wonderful flavor experience!)
- 1 cup purple cabbage, grated
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup grated beets (raw!)
- 1/4 cup radishes or try watermelon radish!, sliced thin
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 sweet red bell pepper, chopped in bite sized pieces
- 1 cup cucumbers, sliced
- 1/2 cup snow peas, sliced in long strips
- 1 avocado, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup jicama or kohlrabi, cut in thin strips
- 1/4 cup onions or scallions, sliced very thin
- 1/2 cup parsley, basil, dill, chives, (a mix of herbs of your choice)
- 1 cup Microgreens
For the dressing– here are our favorites
Instructions
- Create the base of the salad by adding the salad greens in the bottom of a large salad bowl.
- Arrange your prepped veggies in rows over the bed of greens, to create a rainbow! This can be covered tightly and stored in the fridge for a day (leave tomatoes and avocado off until just before serving).
- Serve with your choice of dressing on the side for guests to add as they like. Two choices of dressing is nice- a dairy and non dairy option.
Notes
Make this up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerate. Serve with the dressing on the side.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup- without dressing
- Calories: 92
- Sugar: 3.7 g
- Sodium: 51.6 mg
- Fat: 5.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.1 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 3.4 mg
A beautiful salad- served this with two different dressings so our guests could choose- your caesar dressing and vegan ranch, both excellent.
Perfect Anne!
Made this on request again today for a holiday meal, never the same twice! More fruit for us due to what I have. Great recipe to suit everyone, including my gluten free family.
Perfect!
This looks so beautiful! I love homemade dressing too. I bet it’s just delicious!
Thanks so much Crystal!
This salad looks incredible! I would eat this for like, every meal. amen.
Pinning!
Thanks Abbie!
This salad is just incredible! I would eat this for like, every single meal. amen.
Pinning!
oooooooooh it looks sooo good! *__*
YUM! Ok, this is happening ASAP! What a fest for the eyes and such an appetizing & healthy idea… so great! Thanks 🙂
thanks, Let us know what you think!
Oh boy!! This salad is so fun!
Thanks so much Katrina ❤️
This looks delicious AND beautiful! My kids love every vegetable that is in this, so I definitely think I’ll be making this soon!
Perfect Faygie!