I am so excited to share today's Spinach Artichoke Salad. This nutritious salad is packed full of healthy vegetables, easy to make, and super delicious. It's perfect to serve as a side, or a light plant based lunch.
Ingredients For This Spinach Artichoke Salad:
For The Spinach Artichoke Salad:
- Spinach - An underrated superfood for sure. Spinach is the perfect base for this healthy vegan salad, because it is super high in Vitamins K, C, A. It is also high in fiber and low in calories which make it the perfect green for this salad - plus it's super cheap!
- Artichokes - Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. They're full of fiber, protein, and vitamins and minerals. There's a couple different kinds of artichokes you can use. There's canned artichokes soaked in salt water, jarred artichokes soaked in oils, or fresh artichokes. I recommend using canned artichoke hearts for this salad.
- Pine Nuts - Any nut will work for this Spinach Artichoke Salad. i personally love pine nuts in salads, because they're not too crunchy, and they're super flavorful.
- Shallots - If you're not a fan of raw shallots, you can easily pickle the shallots. To do this simply add them to a pan with about 2 tablespoon of water and 3 tablespoon vinegar. Cook until they are soft!
- Great Northern Beans - You can use great northern beans, or cannellini beans, either work great for a healthy plant based protein in this salad.
- Vegan Feta Cheese - If you're not a fan of vegan cheeses, feel free to leave this ingredient out. I myself am not typically a fan of vegan cheeses. However vegan feta is one I do enjoy! I use the Violife. It's made with simple and clean ingredients, which makes it perfect for this salad.
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
- Cold Pressed Olive Oil - It's super important to pay close attention to what olive oil you use. Most olive oils are full of other unhealthy highly processed vegetable oils. I always use Carapelli, because they're a brand I fully trust to make the best quality, and healthiest olive oil.
- Lemon Juice - It's important to use fresh squeezed lemon juice, and not pre-made lemon juice. Pre-packaged lemon juice is full of preservatives, and artificial flavors.
- Italian Seasoning - You can either make a blend of homemade herbs such as: thyme, basil, and sage. I personally like to just use a blend, because it is much easier.
- Black Pepper - I love adding black pepper to recipes that use lemons, because I think it gives it the perfect kick.
How To Make This Spinach Artichoke Salad:
This Spinach Artichoke Salad is one of my favorite easy vegan salads. It requires almost no cutting, and it only takes about 5 minutes to make. All you need is a large bowl, a small bowl, a knife, and a cutting board.
Begin by straining and rinsing the artichoke hearts and the great northern beans. Cut the shallot into thin slices and set aside.
Make the dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and the black pepper together and whisking until smooth.
Add the spinach to the large bowl. Add the artichokes, beans, and shallots. Sprinkle the vegan feta and pine nuts on top.
Pour the lemon vinaigrette over top and toss. Serve and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I Meal Prep This Spinach Artichoke Salad?
This Spinach Artichoke Salad makes a delicious healthy vegan lunch. However not all of us can make our lunches are home throughout the week. The good news is that this salad can be meal prepped! I wouldn't recommend meal prepping it for more than 4 days, because the spinach may get a bit soggy at that point.
If you're planning on meal prepping this salad, I would recommend storing the salad and the dressing separately. The acidity of the lemon will cause the spinach to break down over time, and you'll end up with a soggy salad. Aside from that you can make the salad as directed, and toss with fresh dressing right before eating.
Is Vegan Cheese Healthy?
Typically I avoid using vegan cheeses when I am cooking at home (if I'm eating out that's different, that's the time to splurge!). Vegan cheeses are usually made with highly processed oils, flavorings, and do not contain valuable nutrients. However there are a few specific vegan cheese products that I do like to use here and there, because they taste incredible, and they're made with clean ingredients.
One of my favorite vegan cheeses to use Violife. Their products are made with minimal and clean ingredients. Not only are their products healthy, but they're also the best tasting in my opinion. Their vegan feta is probably one of my favorite vegan products.
Can I Make This Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Oil-Fee?
If you're looking to make this dressing oil-free, there are a couple ways you can do that. The first is by using avocados in the place of olive oil. Not only will this add an additional vegetable, but it will also add more fiber and nutrients.
Another option is to use tahini. I don't always recommend this, because tahini has a rather strong flavor that can affect the taste of the dressing significantly. However if you're a fan of tahini, this can be a great option.
Another oil-free salad dressing substitute is to use nut butter. If you're looking for a neutral tasting nut butter, I recommend using raw cashew butter. The flavor goes well with just about anything, and it is super creamy. Blanched almond butter, sunflower seed butter, and pine nut butter all all great alternatives!
Related Spinach And Artichoke Recipes:
- Plant Based Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Italian Barley Salad
- Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta
- Roasted Tuscan Salad
- Barley Pesto Salad
Spinach Artichoke Salad
Equipment
- 1 Coconut Bowls "COCO-NV-10" for 10% off
Ingredients
For The Salad:
- 16 oz fresh spinach
- 2 cans quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 can great northern beans
- 1 large shallot
- 1 block vegan feta cheese
- ¼ cup pine nuts
For The Lemon Vinaigrette:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Begin by straining and rinsing the artichoke hearts and the great northern beans.
- Cut the shallot into thin slices and set aside.
- Make the dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and the black pepper together and whisking until smooth.
- Add the spinach to the large bowl. Add the artichokes, beans, and shallots. Sprinkle the vegan feta and pine nuts on top.
- Pour the lemon vinaigrette over top and toss. Serve and enjoy!
Nancy
looks like a lovely salad! The beans are not noted in the ingredient section, tho. I'm assuming 1 can?
Katie
whoops, my bad! Yes, I just updated it!
Tina
I'm a big fan of any spinach-artichoke combo so I love this salad idea! It's perfect to whip together during a busy work from home day.
Holly
Winner! I've had spinach and artichoke dip a thousand times but never as a salad - it's so good!
Tavo
Really yummy and refreshing salad. I didn't even now that vegan feta existed until I saw this recipe and looked for it to make this salad. It was totally worth it! Thank you!