Salads ain’t what they used to be. No more limp lettuce, watery tomato and flavourless cucumber, vegan salads these days are hearty, creative and absolutely delicious. Satisfying enough to take centre stage and become your entire lunch or dinner in just one bowl, salads are not only practical but also versatile and highly adaptable to whatever you’ve got in your fridge.

Doesn’t it annoy you to watch Masterchef (or any other cooking program) and hear everyone running around talking about “a protein” and only use it to mean animal flesh, as if totally denying that plants have any protein at all? (And also denying all the fat, hormones and cholesterol in meat. Yes, I’ll have a side of heart disease with my “protein”, thanks).

It’s this erroneous attitude towards protein that leads to the inevitable and stereotypical question that every vegan or vegetarian has gotten at one point or another: (cue nasally voice) “but where do you get your protein from?” Of course every vegan and vegetarian knows that they get their protein from the same place as cows, pigs, sheep and chickens: plants!

So while us veggies tend to eat a lot of salads (they’re quick, easy and cheap to put together), the key to making a good salad that will keep you full for hours is to pack it with rich vegetable protein sources, and there are lots of them to choose from! Great sources of plant protein include lentils, beans, nuts and seeds, green vegetables, tofu and grains. So I’ve scoured the internet to find fifty of the best, most creative and beautiful (and tasty) vegan high protein salads and here they are!

Lentils

Zucchini ribbon and lentil salad – Euphoric Vegan

Bean and lentil salad recipe (pictured) – The Stingy Vegan

The big southwest lentil salad bowl – I Love Vegan

Mushroom, lemon and lentil salad – Delicious Everyday

Colourful root vegetable warm lentil salad – My Vibrant Kitchen

Roasted carrot lentil salad with tahini dressing (pictured) – A Beautiful Plate

Grilled asparagus and French lentil Nicoise salad – The First Mess

Roasted garlic and tomato lentil salad – Wendy Polisi

Grains

Amaranth salad with Swiss chard and avocado – Rosalie Ruardy

Teff salad with sprouted beans, pea shoots and wild garlic – Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary

Maple roasted butternut squash freekeh salad with kale (pictured) – Well Plated

Quinoa salad with roasted sweet potato, kale and pesto vinaigrette – Cookie and Kate

Grilled corn and barley salad with tomato vinaigrette – Food52

Sorghum salad with kale pesto (pictured) – Healthy Nibbles and Bits

Freekeh roasted carrot salad with dill – Kevin is Cooking

Wheat berry and bean salad – Oh She Glows

Beans

High protein salad (green kidney beans and lentils) – Contentedness Cooking

Chickpea Avocado Salad (pictured) – The Stingy Vegan

Power protein salad with kidney beans, chickpeas, edamame, quinoa and almonds – Well and Full

Sprouted mung beans salad – Where Wear in the City

Roasted sweet potato and black bean salad – Naturally Ella

Market bean salad (pictured) – A Spicy Perspective

Lebanese lemon-parsley bean salad – Cookie and Kate

Butternut squash black rice bean salad – Eat Good 4 Life

Nuts and Seeds

Hemp seed dressing and spring salad – Edible Perspective

Cold soba noodle salad with raw veggie noodles and a spicy sunflower seed sauce – What’s Cooking Good Looking

Holiday crunch salad: pomegranate quinoa, almond and avocado salad with citrus dressing (pictured) – Feasting at Home

Ginger, citrus and black sesame carrots with edamame – The First Mess

Easy almond apple quinoa salad – Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Roast beetroot and pumpkin seed salad – Taste

Power salad with lemon chia seed dressing (pictured) – Two Peas and Their Pod

Spiced cauliflower, pumpkin seed and carrot salad – I Quit Sugar

Thai kale salad with sunflower seed dressing – Wholesome Soybean

Couscous bruschetta hemp seed salad – Easy to Eat Right

Tofu, Seitan, Tempeh

Crumbled tempeh salad with herbed ricotta (vegan) cheese (pictured) – Pure Mamas

Snow pea, cabbage and mizuna salad with marinated and seared tempeh – Food52

Red cabbage salad with curried seitan – The Bitten World

Noodle salad with seared tofu and zingy almond butter sauce – The First Mess

Blissed-out Thai salad with peanut tempeh (pictured) – Minimalist Baker

Thai chopped peanut salad with crispy sesame tofu – Veggie and the Beast

Kale salad with fried tofu and miso ginger dressing – Healthy Nibbles and Bits

Greens

Creamy mustard Brussels sprouts salad – Cotter Crunch

Super protein kale Caesar salad – The Whole Ingredient

Pea shoot salad – My Recipes

Avocado, radish and sprout salad with tangy miso dressing – Happy Hearted Kitchen

Asparagus salad with beans, pea shoots, avocado and almonds (pictured) – Homespun Capers

Rainbow power greens salad with black-eyed peas – Cotter Crunch

Asian broccoli salad with peanut sauce – Gimmie Some Oven

Shaved Brussels sprout salad with apples and walnuts – Wholefully

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