Crunchy Detox Salad

Ready for some salad love?  This Crunchy Detox Salad recipe is loaded with chopped vegetables, almonds, sunflower seeds and raisins all tossed in our lemon ginger vinaigrette. It’s one of my favorite detox salad recipes and it’s a salad that you’ll want to add to your daily wellness plan

This raw vegetable salad has a great combination of ingredients, but it’s the lemon ginger vinaigrette that really brings this salad together. 

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Meal Prep. This is a great raw vegetable salad to prep ahead of time so you can have salad for lunch all week long. It’s also a popular salad to take to potlucks, or make for barbecues, holidays and birthdays.
• Vegetable Rich. This is a raw vegetable salad that’s loaded with cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
• Colorful and Flavorful. Our detox salad has a great combination of textures and flavors, and yes it’s loaded with crunch!
• Dietary Restrictions. This salad is gluten-free, dairy-free and low-carb.
• Customizable. It’s a versatile salad, so you can use whatever raw vegetables or add-ins you like.

Detox Salad Recipe

This delicious detox salad recipe is loaded fresh organic vegetables.

• Cruciferous Vegetables. We use a mix of broccoli, cauliflower and red cabbage as the base for this salad.
• Carrots and Celery. Carrots and celery add flavor, texture and color to this salad.
• Flatleaf Parsley. You can use curly parsley if you like.
• Almonds. They add a lot of crunch to the mix.
• Sunflower seeds  They add a slightly sweet and buttery flavor (and more crunch).
• Organic raisins Raisins add a bit of sweetness and chewiness to this tasty salad.
• Dressing. We toss this salad in our perky lemon Ginger Vinaigrette.

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

• Toss in chopped kale (curly or lacinato) or shaved brussel sprouts.
• Use Marcona almonds instead of regular almonds. Marcona almonds are softer, creamier and have a sweeter flavor. But they are also more expensive.
• Toss in walnuts or pistachios instead of almonds.
• Add pumpkin seeds or pepitas instead of (or in addition to) sunflower seeds.
• Use golden raisins or dried cranberries instead of Thompsons seedless raisins. 

How to Make Detox Salad

You’ll love how quick and easy this salad  comes together (especially if you use a food processor to finely chop the ingredients). Don’t toss this crunchy salad with the dressing until you’re ready to serve it. 

1. Make Dressing.  Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a mason jar. Seal the lid and vigorously shake to blend ingredients, or simply add them to a small bowl and whisk together with a fork or wire whisk. You can also add the ingredients to a stand blender and blend until smooth. This will emulsify the dressing so it won’t separate so quickly.
2. Rinse. Rinse vegetables under cold water and pat dry or spin in a salad spinner. I often double the batch when I make this dressing because my family loves it! 
3. Chop. Chop vegetables using a good sharp knife, or give them a rough chop and then toss them in batches into a food processor and pulse until the veggies are finely chopped. For the carrots, I’ll typically grate them, but you can also toss them in the food processor with the other ingredients if you like.
4. Almonds. Give the almonds a good course chop.
5. Toss & Dress Salad.  Add all of the finely chopped ingredients, almonds, sunflower seeds and raisins to a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to lightly coat the ingredients.
6. Chill. Salad is best if its chilled before serving. Serve with extra vinaigrette if desired.

Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

The key to the simple vinaigrette is to let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour (longer if you have the time) before tossing the salad with it. Oh my goodness….the flavor of this vinaigrette after it’s been in the fridge for a bit is so good you’ll want to drink it! To make this dressing, just place the ingredients in a mason jar, seal the lid, then shake well to blend.

•  Olive oil. Use a good extra-virgin olive oil.
•  Lemon Juice. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is best. Don’t use the bottled stuff.
•  Freshginger. We use fresh peeled and grated ginger root.
•  Clover Honey. We love the flavor of clover honey for this salad. It’s a mild flavored honey with a delicate floral taste.
•  Sea Salt. Use a bit of sea salt or pink salt to season the salad with. 

Can I Make This Salad Ahead Of Time?

This is a great salad to make ahead of time. To do so, finely chop the ingredients and whisk together the salad dressing then store the salad and dressing separately in air-tight containers until you’re ready to toss and serve. 

How To Store Leftovers

Store leftover detox salad in airtight containers in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the salad should last up to 5 days. For the salad to last this long, it’s best if the salad and dressing are stored separately in the refrigerator.

Serving Suggestions

This detox salad is loaded with vegetables which makes it a pretty satisfying and filling salad on its own, but if you’d like to serve it as a side, this salad goes great with grilled chicken or fish, soup, stew and more. 

More Salad Recipes 

• Kale Salad with Cranberries
• Celery Salad
• Mediterranean Bean Salad
• Superfood Salad
• Best Salad for Weight Loss

Originally published May 24, 2016