Rainbow Salad Bowl (Printable)

Vibrant bowl featuring colorful vegetables, grains, beans, and seeds with zesty dressing

# What You'll Need:

→ Grains

01 - 1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice, cooled

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
04 - 1 cup grated carrots
05 - 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
06 - 1 cup baby spinach leaves
07 - 1 small cucumber, sliced

→ Beans

08 - 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
09 - 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

→ Nuts & Seeds

10 - 1/3 cup roasted cashews or almonds, chopped
11 - 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
12 - 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

→ Dressing

13 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
14 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
15 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
16 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
17 - 1 garlic clove, minced
18 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Garnish

19 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

# How-To:

01 - Cook grains according to package instructions and allow to cool completely before use.
02 - Arrange all prepared vegetables, cooled grains, drained beans, nuts, and seeds in a large salad bowl or on a platter in colorful sections.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup or honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, salt, and pepper until fully emulsified.
04 - Drizzle prepared dressing over salad just before serving. Toss gently to combine or serve dressing on the side for individual portions.
05 - Top salad with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro immediately before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely filling without that heavy afternoon slump, thanks to the protein from beans and nuts working together.
  • You can prep it on Sunday and eat from it all week because the vegetables stay crisp and the grains actually taste better the next day.
  • The dressing is so simple that you'll stop buying bottled versions once you realize how much better it tastes fresh.
02 -
  • If you dress the entire salad more than an hour before eating, the cucumber releases water and the whole thing gets soggy, so this is a same-day assembly unless you keep dressing separate.
  • The order you layer ingredients actually matters because if beans sit on top of delicate greens they'll crush them, so think of building it like you're stacking from sturdy to tender.
03 -
  • Toast your seeds in a dry pan for two minutes before using them because toasted seeds taste exponentially better than raw ones and only take one extra step.
  • Use a microplane grater for the carrots instead of a box grater because the thin, even shreds actually integrate into the salad instead of clumping together.
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