Warm Winter Salad
This warm winter salad is absolutely delicious! Prepared with boiled lentils & quinoa, crunchy peppers, nutritious zucchini, and some other ingredients. If you love salads this one is for you!
With time, many people are turning towards eating healthily and getting the necessary nutrients required for their bodies. Vegetables are a great start for this. But sometimes you get bored by eating raw or boiled veggies alone. This salad is a great way that you can eat more veggies in a unique but delicious way. And it’s actually really easy to make.
See also Vegan Broccoli Salad and Vegan Greek Salad.
Colorful veggies like zucchini, carrot, red radish, peppers, and cucumber along with cilantro are combined with boiled lentils and quinoa and then tossed with a tangy orange juice dressing for making the BEST winter salad recipe.
The best part about salad is that it is a great source of healthy vitamins and nutrients. The whole point of eating a healthy diet is to find the right balance. This can be achieved by having a diverse diet. Also, it’s good to include a variety of ingredients (such as carbs, protein, nutritious greens, etc.) in your diet every day as well. This way, you will stay alert and healthy throughout the day!
This warm winter salad is a great hearty salad that would be perfect for you this winter if you’re planning to hang out on the couch watching TV or phone.
So warm up your chilly winter nights with this easy-to-prepare dish that’s sure to be your new favorite meal. This recipe is perfect for serving with any main course but works best with leftover Vegan Curry Chicken or Vegan Brown Stew Chicken.
Why You Will Love This Warm Winter Salad?
- Quick And Easy – It’s quite simple and quick to prepare.
- It is vegan – This warm winter salad is plant-based so perfect for vegans and vegetarians.
- Low in calories – As we all know vegetables, lentils as well as quinoa are all low in calories.
- A healthy comfort food – Although this is a very light salad, the boiled lentils and quinoa adds a very healthy comforting touch. This is one of my favorite winter lunch options.
- Ideal For Special Dinner – The vibrant colors and flavors of this salad make it a delightful side dish to serve during the holiday season. It is perfect for cookouts, potlucks, or any large gatherings.
- Perfect Salad Haters – It’s the salad for those who think that salads are not for them. Do you have a “salad dodger” in your life? They WILL alter their minds after eating this warm winter salad.
- Meal Prep Friendly – This warm winter salad is the ideal salad to prepare ahead of time for family gatherings or meal prep. This salad can be prepared and stored in the fridge for a few days without losing its texture or flavor.
- Easily adaptable – Have any sad-looking vegetables at the back of your refrigerator? Add those to this salad.
Warm Winter Salad’s Required Ingredients
- Lentil: In order to make a satisfying dinner, add plant-based protein to the salad. If preferred, you can use tofu or chickpeas in place of the lentils.
- Quinoa: Any shade will work. Here, I’ve used tricolor.
- Peppers: They add beautiful color. If you want your dish to be visually more appealing, you can use red, yellow, and green peppers.
- Carrots: Use a blend of purple and orange carrots in this veggie salad dish for more color.
- Zucchini: I used fresh, medium-sized zucchini.
- Red radish: Radishes are a nice complement to any cuisine since they are spicy, crisp, and cute.
- Cucumbers: To make the salad, you’ll need English cucumbers. They don’t need to be peeled or seeded.
- Cilantro: I personally love the flavor cilantro brings to the salad.
For Dressing:
- Orange juice: orange juice’s mild acidity brings out the food’s natural sweetness and tangy flavor.
- Lemon juice: Don’t skip the lemon juice; it adds flavor and prevents the browning of the dressing.
- Salt: A pinch of salt will help to balance the flavors.
- Cilantro: Cilantro leaves, for garnish.
- Olive oil: The dressing’s basis. If necessary, avocado oil can be used instead.
How To Make Warm Winter Salad?
- Wash and boil lentils and quinoa separately.
- Chop all the vegetables.
- Now in a big bowl, combine quinoa, lentils, and chopped vegetables.
- Prepare dressing in another bowl.
- Add orange juice, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and cilantro in a bowl and mix well.
- Pour dressing over, and add the remaining cilantro.
- You may adjust the dressing to your taste.
- Enjoy this warm, hearty salad.
What To Serve With This Winter Salad?
I think this warm winter salad recipe is pretty good as is, but if you want to serve it as a side salad, it would go well with Vegan Corned Beef, Jerk Tofu, or Vegetable Patties. Warm crusty Garlic Bread is a great accompaniment if you’re enjoying this as a light lunch.
This is typically served in tiny servings as an appetizer before the main course. If we’re having it as a main course, however, we’ll probably top it with some Baked Potato Chips and serve it with Roasted Pepper Soup.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Refrigerate any leftover warm winter salad for up to 2 days in an airtight container. Keep the salad and dressing separate, if at all possible.
- Meal prep: You can prepare the dressing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for later use. You can boil the lentils and quinoa ahead of time and keep them refrigerated in separate containers. You can also prepare the vegetables as directed in the recipe in advance and keep them in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve just toss everything together, garnish, and enjoy!
Variations & Add-Ins
I really like this salad idea for the winter since it can be altered to suit your preferences; you can add whatever you like to it to make it look and taste great.
- Add whole grains: To keep this salad more nutrient-dense and ideal for feeding a crowd, combine the vegetables with spelt, barley, couscous, or brown rice. Feel free to use any grain you have on hand.
- Vegetables: You may add any veggie you like, red cabbage does great with this salad.
- Nuts and seeds: For a satisfying crunch, which is better: toasted pecans or walnuts? Or even roasted pumpkin seeds? YES.
- Cheese: You’ll appreciate the tangy flavor of a little crumbled feta, goat cheese, or blue cheese on top!
- Christmas touch: Adding dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds to this winter salad before serving it over the holidays will make it appear festive and add a great flavor to complement the goat or feta cheese.
Recipe Notes
- To make a delicious salad, I always suggest using as fresh vegetables as possible.
- The flavors of this salad are best after a few hours of rest, but you may serve it right away.
- You can use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar to flavor your salad.
- Add some pomegranate to the dish for a splash of color and flavor.
- An excellent way to add sweetness to a winter salad is to add thinly sliced apples.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which do Vegetables grow In Cold Winter?
The following are typical cool-season vegetables: beets, asparagus, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, chives, broccoli, parsnip, cabbage, Swiss chard, spinach, leek, lettuce, onion, carrots, peas, turnips, kale, and radishes.
Can You Add Protein To Winter Salad?
Even though the vegetables are the main attraction in this salad, that doesn’t mean you can’t add something else to the top. To increase the protein content, you might top it with some grilled chicken breast, fish, or prawns. If you wish to maintain a vegetarian diet, add cooked chickpeas to the salad when combining the ingredients.
How To Store A Winter Salad?
Although this is best consumed immediately after serving, any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if they are placed in an airtight container.
The Wrap-Up!
So if you’re looking for a healthy and super-delicious way to dress up your dinner table, this warm winter salad is a great choice. This is the perfect meal to bring together friends, family, and complete strangers alike. A balance of sweet, tart, crunchy and chewy salad adventurers, this light yet hearty side dish will have everyone in your party laughing and talking long after the meal has ended. Give it a shot, it’s easy and delicious!
Other salad recipes
- Vegan Candida-Friendly Salad
- Thai Kale Salad with Creamy Peanut Sauce
- Vegan Broccoli Salad
- Vegan Greek Salad
- Roasted Chickpea Salad
Keep Visiting!
Something new and delicious recipes will be published on the blog soon. Would you like to know what those are? You will have to stay tuned because the recipes I’m about to share with you will be among the best-tasting dishes available on the web. So, whether you like this blog or not, whether you agree with me or not, and whether you know or have no idea what I’m talking about- stay tuned with me!
If you enjoyed this post about Warm Winter Salad and would love to see more, join me on Youtube, Instagram, Faceboo
Get discounted copies of my cookbook here.
Fortunately, because of the Ads on our website, readers and subscribers of Healthier Steps are sponsoring many underprivileged families.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Healthier Steps.
Warm winter salad
Ingredients
Warm Winter Salad ingredients
- 1 cup lentils cooked
- 1 cup quinoa cooked
- 1 cup bell peppers chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots sliced
- 1/2 cup zucchini sliced
- 1/2 cup Red raddishes sliced
- 1/2 cup cucumbers chopped
- 3 tablespoons cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Wash and boil lentils and quinoa separately.
- Chop all the vegetables.
- Now in a big bowl, combine quinoa, lentils, and chopped vegetables.
- Prepare dressing in another bowl.
- Add orange juice, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and cilantro in a bowl and mix well.
- Pour dressing over and add the remaining cilantro.
- You may adjust the dressing to your taste.
- Enjoy this warm, hearty salad.
Loved this 🤩
I love this content, it’s very interesting