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Taste all of the flavors of summer with this simple, delicious, and nutritious Super Vegan Summer Salad!
This salad is wonderful because it celebrates some of our favorite flavors of summer; Strawberries, blueberries, avocados and fresh greens… but then add the crunchy goodness of toasted almonds, plus the bright tangy sweetness of the three ingredient dressing, and you’ve got a stupendous salad loaded with knock-out flavors and textures. Oh, and BTW- it’s super simple, which is always a great thing!
Why is it called a “Super” salad?
- I like to call this salad a “Super” salad because it’s made with so many powerhouse ingredients such as berries, avocado, and almonds! They have so many important nutrients and antioxidants, eating them will make you feel like a superhero!
Looking for other salad inspiration? Then you have to check out these posts:
- Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- Strawberry Peach Salad with Glazed Almonds
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
- 5-Ingredient Oil-Free Balsamic Dressing
- Sweet and Tangy Lemon Dressing
How to Make My Super Vegan Summer Salad:
1) First, toss your slivered almonds into a small, dry frying pan and begin the toasting process over medium/high heat. Shimmy and stir those almonds around about every 30 seconds or so in order to toast each side. Keep a close eye on them, though, because they toast up pretty quick! Approximately five minutes.
The amazing aroma of toasted nuts will let you know when they’re just about done. Plus, they’ll start to turn a nice golden brown color.
Remove immediately from the hot pan, otherwise those almonds will just keep on cookin’. I usually poor them onto a paper towel to cool.
2) Next, pull all of those gorgeous Bibb lettuce leaves free from the head and give them a good rinse. Pat them dry between two long rows of paper towels.
Boy, what would I do without paper towels?
3) Once they’re mostly dry, tear or chop the leaves horizontally to create 1 1/2 inch wide strips (give or take). Place all of that purdy green stuff into one big bowl. FYI – This bowl will not be the serving vessel, therefore, feel free to use which ever mediocre-looking mixing bowl you have lying around!
4) The next step is creating the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together a teaspoon or two of dijon mustard, seasoned rice wine vinegar and about 3 – 5 grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Give that dressing a quick stir with a fork.
5) Pour that dressing over your pile of lettuce. If you’re choosing to add finely chopped mint, now’s the time to sprinkle that in, too… (Do it! Do it! It adds that little something extra special.)
6) Then, give it all a good toss.
7) Use your tossing utensils to divide the salad into four small serving bowls, allowing any excess dressing to drip back into the mixing bowl before transferring over.
8) It’s then time to start adding all of the fruit and nut goodness. I started with blueberries. Looks like I went with about 9 – 12 blueberries per bowl, but no need to count them out – “eye balling” is perfectly acceptable!
Next, I added the chopped strawberries.
Then the chopped avocado. You can do either 1/4 or 1/8 of an avocado per bowl. Just depends on if you’re “avocado people.”
Lastly, grab those toasted almonds that have been patiently standing by and divide them up between the four bowls. It should come out to about 1 tablespoon’s worth per bowl. The last thing you want to add is a light sprinkling of salt to the top of each salad. (I personally love the salt that you can grind in a grinder.) This will really help the ingredients pop, especially the avocado. If you’re a fan of black pepper, add a touch of that to each bowl, too.
And there you have it! I hope you love this Super Summer Salad as much as I do.
Top Tips for Making my Super Vegan Summer Salad:
- To take the flavors up a notch, I highly recommend adding a bit of chopped mint!
- If you want to make this into a meal, it can easily be down by adding some pre-cooked and chilled quinoa, cannellini beans or any lean protein of your choice.
- For Serving: I personally like serving salads in individual portions rather than have one big bowl for everyone to dish from, because A – It makes people feel special when they get their own little perfectly assembled salad, B – From a health standpoint, it encourages others to eat more salad than they probably would have otherwise and C – You can customize salads for those who have food allergies or aversions. But feel free to keep it all in one big bowl, if you so desire! I won’t judge.
Did you try this recipe? Please give it a star rating and let me know what you think in the comments below. Your feedback is very helpful! Thanks in advance.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @AudreyDunham or hashtag #AudreyDunham so I can see your creations!
Super Vegan Summer Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 c. blanched slivered almonds (30 g)
- one head of butter or Bibb lettuce
- 1-2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp. of seasoned rice wine vinegar (30 ml)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 mint leaves finely chopped (optional)
- a small package of blueberries
- a good handful of strawberries
- 1 ripe avocado
- salt
Before You Begin! I recommend measuring out all ingredients called for in this recipe so they are ready to go the moment you need them.
Instructions
- First, toss your slivered almonds into a small, dry frying pan and begin the toasting process over medium/high heat. Shimmy and stir those almonds around about every 30 seconds or so in order to toast each side. Keep a close eye on them, though, because they toast up pretty quick! Approximately five minutes. The amazing aroma of toasted nuts will let you know when they're just about done. Plus, they'll start to turn a nice golden brown color. Remove immediately from the hot pan.
- Next, pull all of those gorgeous Bibb lettuce leaves free from the head and give them a good rinse. Pat them dry between two long rows of paper towels.
- Once they're mostly dry, tear or chop the leaves horizontally to create 1 1/2 inch wide strips (give or take). Place in a bowl. FYI - This bowl will not be the serving vessel.
- The next step is creating the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together a teaspoon or two of dijon mustard, seasoned rice wine vinegar and about 3 - 5 grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Give that dressing a quick stir with a fork.
- Pour that dressing over your pile of lettuce. If you're choosing to add finely chopped mint, now's the time to sprinkle that in, too...
- Then, give it all a good toss.
- Use your tossing utensils to divide the salad into four small serving bowls, allowing any excess dressing to drip back into the mixing bowl before transferring over.
- Next, add the blueberries, strawberries, avocado, and nuts.
- The last thing you want to add is a light sprinkling of salt to the top of each salad. (I personally love the salt that you can grind in a grinder.) This will really help the ingredients pop, especially the avocado. If you're a fan of black pepper, add a touch of that to each bowl, too.
Pro Tips From Audrey
- To take the flavors up a notch, I highly recommend adding a bit of chopped mint!
- If you want to make this into a meal, it can easily be down by adding some pre-cooked and chilled quinoa, cannellini beans or any lean protein of your choice.
- For Serving: I personally like serving salads in individual portions rather than have one big bowl for everyone to dish from, because A - It makes people feel special when they get their own little perfectly assembled salad, B - From a health standpoint, it encourages others to eat more salad than they probably would have otherwise and C - You can customize salads for those who have food allergies or aversions. But feel free to keep it all in one big bowl, if you so desire! I won't judge.
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