A lettuce free chopped salad that’s perfect for meal prep or packing for your work lunch. Packed full of flavour and nutrition, with no soggy leaves to worry about!
By complete coincidence, I’m posting this no lettuce chopped salad recipe just after Australia experienced an exponential increase in the cost of lettuce – an iceberg lettuce was selling for more than 10 dollars!
However, that’s not the main reason I decided to create this recipe. This one is for the meal-preppers and/or those who like to take a packed lunch along to work. Both situations where salads can pose a bit of a problem, as salad leaves can wilt pretty quickly and go soggy and gross.
Let’s face it, eating vegetables is fundamentally important, and most of us could do with eating more of them (the overwhelming majority of adults do not consume enough). Having a delicious, easy salad prepped in advance and ready to eat is a great strategy for increasing your intake.
So please, make this no lettuce easy chopped salad and love yourself some vegetables.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS NO LETTUCE SALAD
There’s a bit of room to be flexible with ingredients here – I want to make it easier to eat your veggies, not harder:
- Lebanese cucumber – these are my favourite cucumber with delicate skin and a sweet flavour. But of course, if you have another variety on hand… whack it in
- Red capsicum – possibly obvious, but please feel free to use a different colour
- Cherry tomatoes – can be swapped for any kind of mini tomato, or use regular tomatoes and dice them
- Spanish onion – you could also use a couple of spring onions if you prefer that for flavour
- Flat leaf parsley – could be swapped for some fresh mint, or alternatively a pinch of dried Italian herb mix if you haven’t got fresh herbs to hand
- Tinned chickpeas – can be swapped for another tinned legume such as butter beans or kidney beans, or a bean mix
- Apple cider vinegar – balsamic vinegar also works really well in this dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Maple syrup – or honey
- Dijon mustard – sometimes called French mustard
- Seeded mustard – also known as whole grain mustard
- Salt
HOW TO SERVE THIS CHOPPED SALAD
If you just need a light meal, the salad can be served on it’s own, but for something a bit more filling I’d recommend adding something alongside.
For a packed lunch, try adding in a tin of tuna or salmon, or 2 boiled eggs.
If you have a bit more flexibility to prepare something, this salad is lovely with any kind of grilled meat or fish. Like cheese? Grilled halloumi or a generous crumble of feta would be awesome.
For a plant-based option you could add felafel, a chopped up veggie burger patty or some pan-fried tofu strips. A sprinkle of hemp seeds as well wouldn’t be a bad idea.
This is a beautifully simple recipe brimming with flavour thanks to the maple-mustard dressing. Don’t skimp on that part!
If you make this recipe let me know, drop me a comment and let me know how you served it! Or, take a pic and tag me on Instagram -> @moniquecormacknutrition 🙂
p.s. Need a bit more salad inspo? You may also like these substantial salads/bowls which can be made in advance:
- Roasted Beetroot Grain Bowl with Feta
- Honey Roast Pumpkin Quinoa Salad
- Sweet Potato, Pea and Feta Salad
No Lettuce Easy Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Lebanese cucumbers quartered lengthways and then sliced into 1 cm thick pieces
- 1 large red capsicum seeds and top removed, cut into 1 cm x 1 cm square pieces
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 400 gram tin chickpeas strained and rinsed
- ¼ Spanish onion finely sliced
- Handful flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the Lebanese cucumber, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, Spanish onion and parsley to a large bowl. Toss to combine.
- To make the dressing add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, seeded mustard and sea salt flakes to a glass jar. Place the lid on securely and shake vigorously until ingredients are well combined.
- Add as much dressing as desired to the salad and toss to combine. Reserve any leftover dressing in the jar in the fridge for future use.
Nutrition
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