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This Raw Veggie Chopped Salad is perfect for summer parties, potlucks and BBQs. Full of flavor and no lettuce needed. You can easily double the recipe to feed a huge crowd. Vegan, gluten free, nut free, soy free and oil free!
Salads are perfect for quick lunches and a first course before dinner. They also travel really well, so pack ’em up for parties, potlucks and BBQs!
To ensure you don’t get bored of this veggie wonderland, change up your ingredients often, try different dressings and toppings, add fruit for a little sweetness and, sometimes, you can even leave out the lettuce!
This Raw Veggie Chopped Salad is a favorite and there’s not a leaf of lettuce in sight!
This salad has it all: crunch from the raw broccoli and peppers, freshness from the herbs, a spicy bite from the radishes, cucumbers and grapes that are clean and crisp, seeds that are filling and hearty and a lemony oil-free dressing to bring it all together.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
The key to this incredibly healthy salad is super fresh ingredients. Fresh herbs are key! Please don’t make this with dried herbs, I promise it won’t be the same.
This is the perfect salad for summer when peppers, cucumbers and radishes are growing plentiful in gardens and can be found in every farmers market.
The chopped broccoli, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds add real staying power to fill you up without filling you out!
And, I love the addition of red seedless grapes for a little sweetness.
You don’t need a lot of dressing for this colorful raw salad because the fresh herbs bring a ton of flavor. But, the dressing is quite strong in the flavor in order to compete with all the hearty vegetables. Don’t be alarmed if you try the dressing on it’s own and think it’s a bit overpowering. Once mixed with all the other ingredients, it will be perfect!
Substitutions: Feel free to leave out any veggies you don’t like and double up on the ones you do. Other yummy raw options would be cauliflower florets, shredded carrots, or chopped zucchini. Feel free to throw in some nuts, like walnuts or almonds instead of, or in addition to, the seeds.
How to make the recipe
Please scroll down to the recipe card for exact ingredient measurements and instructions.
Aside from a bit of chopping, this chopped salad recipe is really easy to make.
In a large mixing bowl, place the chopped broccoli (1), chopped orange and yellow bell peppers (2), chopped cucumbers (3), and sliced radishes (4).
Add the halved red grapes (5), chopped fresh parsley and fresh dill (6), and sunflower seeds and hemp seeds (7). Mix all the ingredients well (8).
Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl (9). Pour the dressing over the salad (10) and mix well to combine.
You can serve it right away, but it’s better if you prep it ahead of time and let the flavors mingle for an hour or two in the fridge. You can even make it a day or two in advance.
Storage
This veggie chopped salad will keep well for 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Do not freeze this salad.
Pro tips and tricks
~ Chop all the veggies about the same size.
~ Use fresh herbs, not dried!
~ Switch it up!
- Add diced avocado right before serving.
- Toss it with chopped romaine or spinach.
- Add olives or vegan feta.
- Toss it with cooked and cooled quinoa.
- Add chickpeas or white beans.
~ Make this salad ahead of time and let it mingle with the dressing for at least an hour or two. I like to toss the salad once or twice during this time so the dressing completely covers all the veggies. The veggies will start to soak up the dressing and soften just a bit, while still maintaining their crunch.
~ Double it up to serve a crowd.
~ This Raw Veggie Chopped Salad is vegan, gluten free, nut free, and oil free!
FAQs
Salads do not have to have lettuce or leafy greens of any kinds. We love eating veggie and fruit salads, grain salads, bean salads, and pasta salads.
A chopped salad contains ingredients that have all been chopped into similar size pieces and mixed with a dressing. This makes for a more even flavor and texture distribution.
With some vegetables, cooking them may destroy or reduce some of the nutrients, particularly water soluble vitamins. [source] However, the difference is small and consuming vegetables, no matter raw or cooked, is good for your health.
This is a hot topic that is always up for debate. As I always say, “A conventional apple is a better choice than an organic potato chip.” Increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption is a good thing regardless of whether they are organic or not.
Having said that, if you can afford to buy organic varieties of the “Dirty Dozen,” which are the most heavily sprayed crops with pesticides, I recommend that you do.
More vegan salads with no lettuce
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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Raw Veggie Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Chopped Raw Veggie Salad
- 1 orange bell pepper chopped small (about 1 cup)
- 1 yellow bell pepper chopped small (about 1 cup)
- 5-8 radishes cut in half and sliced thin (about ¾ cup)
- 1 small head of broccoli chopped small (about 2 cups)
- 1 seedless cucumber chopped small (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup halved red seedless grapes
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup raw shelled sunflower seeds
- ⅛ cup raw hemp hearts
Oil-free Dressing
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper or to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients and mix well.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the chopped veggies and toss well to coat.
- Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or two, tossing the salad once or twice during that time to coat evenly.
Notes
- Add diced avocado right before serving.
- Toss it with chopped romaine or spinach.
- Add olives or vegan feta.
- Toss it with cooked and cooled quinoa.
- Add chickpeas or white beans.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.
Meredith says
This is utterly delicious! I don’t care for broccoli, but adding grapes really masked the taste for me. The dressing was amazing too.
Jenn Sebestyen says
Wonderful! So glad you love it. Thanks, Meredith!
Jay says
I really have no idea what’s the ratio for dressing should be??? Is garlic in the dressing too?
Jenn Sebestyen says
Use all of the dressing. And garlic is only in the dressing. Enjoy.
Samantha says
Made this for the beach today – YUM! Even my kiddos loved it! Added jicama and I subbed maple syrup with honey. THANKS!
Jenn Sebestyen says
That’s wonderful, Samantha! I love jicama – what a great addition!
Joshua Kilgore says
Hi!
Is the dressing included in the nutrition information for this post? Thanks!
Jenn Sebestyen says
Yes it is!
Alexandria Phillips says
I made this for a dinner at my sister’s house tomorrow. It is really yummy. Peppers don’t agree with me so I subbed them out with carrots and sugar snap peas. The herbs are an amazing addition.
Jenn Sebestyen says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and were able to adjust it your tastes! Thanks, Alexandria!
Alexandria Phillips says
what do you think that I could replace the peppers with?
Jenn Sebestyen says
You could just leave them out or add any of your favorite veggies…small chopped cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, etc.
Alexandria Phillips says
Carrots and I think sugar snap peas!! Thanks. My brain is a little dead today. Can’t wait to make this tomorrow!
Jenn Sebestyen says
Perfect! Let me know how it turns out!