What to Put in a Salad to Make it Filling - Satisfying Vegan Salad Tips
The age-old question….What can I put in a salad to make it filling? It has haunted meat-eaters and vegans alike.
Here are a few tips and tricks I have learned from other people that study nutrition for a living and other through peer-reviewed studies. From these studies and information, I have done my best to develop some tips and tricks for what I think would qualify as a highly nutritious and satisfying vegan salad!
Which salad ingredient will keep me full longer, protein, or fiber?
Interesting question! It seems fiber helps you feel full quicker, while protein may help you feel full for longer. For more information on this topic, check out this linked article. Apparently, fats work with your hormones to tell your body to stop eating.
This is why in a fully vegan/ plant-based salad, it is important to hit all 3 groups in order to feel satisfied and be able to stay full for a longer amount of time. So now let’s talk about great protein choices you can add to your salad!
Here is what I believe needs to be put in a vegan salad to make it filling.
Ensure your healthy vegan salad is full of fiber so you can feel full!
There are foods that can make you feel really full that are low in fat and calories (but high in fiber)!
According to different studies, these vegetables and fruits are surprisingly high in fiber and will help you feel full quicker:
Apples (keep the peel on)
Broccoli (cut into small florets so you don’t even notice them)
Carrots (I love to shred these or mandolin slice them, visual aesthetic & texture helps make a salad feel more appealing)
Beets (shred or mandolin slice)
Sweet Potato (baked!)
Pears (leave the peel)
Raspberries (you’ll want to use fresh ones)
Artichokes ( I buy the simple jarred ones)
Brussel Sprouts (highly recommend shredding these in a food processor)
Kale, Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, etc. (simply wilt these in water or oil and garlic for a couple of minutes. Store them in a separate container and add 1/2 a cup to your salad)
I would recommend adding at least 1 of these, ideally 2 or 3, to your salad!
When I am super lazy with my salads, I simply make sure to add some kind of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, and a high fiber fruit, like cut up small chunks of apple or pear.
When I am feeling more creative I might use artichokes and plan out a whole Mediterranean salad vibe with vegan feta!
Get Some healthy Fat in Your vegan Salad to make your salad seriously satisfying!
Healthy fats in your salad are great for helping you feel full longer and for giving you those healthy Omega-3 Fatty Acids. As discussed earlier, fats tell your hormones that you are good to go and that you can stop eating.
What are some Omega-3 Fatty Acid Rich Toppings to put on a salad to keep you satisfied?
Avocados! (of course)
Olives (any color you like!)
Nuts & Seeds
Pistachios
Walnuts
Pumpkin seeds
Almonds
Peanut
Chia seeds
Black Sesame seeds
Hemp Hearts (from hemp seeds!)
Is seaweed a good vegan source for Omega-3 fatty acids?
Yes, it is! Going for a more Asian inspired salad? Include dried seaweed or seaweed granules! Seaweed is a great source for Omega-3. On top of Omega-3, seaweed may have antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties. It is also a great source of iodine.
Be sure to add protein
Protein helps our bodies feel full for longer periods. Even if we quickly get full of fiber-filled vegetables and leafy greens, we won’t feel full for long without some protein in the mix! This is why any filling vegan salad will need both.
Lucky for us whole-food plant-based eaters, preparing protein can be as easy as opening a can and rinsing some beans!
Here are my top bean protein picks!
Number 1: Chickpeas!
Chickpeas are an amazing choice of protein for salads as they are extremely versatile and filling. You can easily eat these straight out of the can and they will blend into any salad theme you are going for.
They can even help add a great amount of flavor to your salad if you choose to go the extra step in covering them in spices and toasting them in your oven at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.
Number 2: Black Beans
Black beans have a great texture without any intense flavor, meaning they can be popped into pretty much any salad.
If you want to go for more of a Caribbean, Cuban, Southern, or Mexican vibe, I highly recommend playing around with filling black beans in your salad.
Number 3: Lentils
Lentils are incredible and you can actually buy them canned if you want to save the whole soaking overnight step. Lentils will definitely help keep you satiated when eating your healthy vegan salad!
If you were wondering how to prepare lentils for salad, I would recommend the following. Simply buy them canned and rinse them. Then use this incredibly simple dressing to finish it all off.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
Number 4: Edamame (Soy Beans)
These are delicious bright green beans that add some distinct flavor to your healthy vegan salad.
I usually like to use these if I’m going for a simple Asian inspired salad. They are a filling and unique little bean.
In these salads, I might use leafy greens, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage, broccoli florets, black sesame seeds, pre-sliced almonds, pieces of orange or mandarin, chives, edamame, and dried seaweed!
Edamame beans can usually be found in the frozen food section, most likely in the health food section.
Number 5: White Beans (Cannellini)
These white beans pretty much look like red kidney beans, but are white. These are a very smooth, light flavored, filling bean.
I recommend this bean because this one is actually very fun to season before using.
I usually like to sauté mine in a pan with:
Olive Oil
Garlic
Fresh Dill
Fresh Squeezed Lemon
Salt & Pepper
I love to add these to any Mediterranean themed salads as they help add a delicious pop of flavor when prepared. You can meal prep these and store them separately on Sunday and simply add them to your salads throughout the week.
For this kind of salad, I might use tomato, cucumber, sliced red onion, depicted kalamata olives, capers, mixed greens, vegan feta, my prepared cannellini white beans, artichokes, and some simple vinaigrette.
There are clearly many more beans you can play around within your salads. I picked these because I think they are the most versatile and easy to use. They are all very conducive to a variety of salad types.
Use creative dark greens to make your healthy vegan salad even more filling!
I know most of us love our romaine and iceberg lettuce heads, however…
I recommend getting experimental with mixing your greens and trying darker leafier greens! I even recommend wilting some extremely dark greens that are higher in fiber such as kale, chard, or collard greens. The darker the leaf, the higher the fiber!
This diversity of textures and colors can add to your salad experience and make them feel exciting.
Use vegan Salads to try and hit a few of the Daily Dozen Categories!
I love to challenge myself to see how many categories in the Daily Dozen by Dr. Greger my salad can hit. I find that on a good day, I can check off 7 categories with one salad! The more items in your salad, the higher chance it will be an extremely filling power salad!
Greens
Cruciferous Vegetables
Vegetables
Seeds
Nuts
Fruits
Berries
You won’t hit them all every day but as long as you keep switching your salads up you’ll get a great variety!
Use Salad Dressings to get yourself excited about eating VEGAN salads!
OK, so this is where my point of view might diverge with most nutritionists, but hear me out!
Remember when your parents would try to get you to eat broccoli? My mom would always make a homemade cheese sauce that I would dip our broccoli in so that I would eat it.
If you are someone that is new to eating salads on a regular basis, hates eating vegetables in general, or has trouble eating a high amount of nutritious raw vegetables in their regular diet, use your favorite dressing!
I do not see a problem in using your favorite ready-made salad dressing to get you excited about salads! I say, if it gets you there, great!
I think of salad eating as a level thing. When you start out, I think you need the high impact flavors of certain dressings. This is the lowest level. Think of pre-made creamy Ranch, Caesar, Thousand Island, etc.
After that, you might graduate to healthier options that are less creamy and made with more natural ingredients such as Sweet Onion, Greek Vinaigrette, Raspberry Vinaigrette, etc.
From there, you might feel inspired enough to create your own homemade salad dressings! For me, that is a very high level. I still play around with a couple of my favorite natural vinaigrettes and a couple of my own homemade dressings.
I believe blended vegetable dressings are the highest level one can aspire to.
One day I will create a green goddess dressing and feel so dang proud of myself!
Just do yourself a favor and never smother your salad in pre-made creamy salad dressing alright? We all know that isn’t a great idea. Don’t do it.
Use Whole-Food Meat Substitutes to Add Flavor to Your Vegan Salad.
If you are a flavor seeker that needs even more variety in your salad, plant-based meat alternatives work amazingly in salads.
Here are some of my favorite meat-alternatives I put in my salads:
Portobello Steak Pieces - Learn how to make it here.
King Oyster Fajita Shred Chicken or BBQ Pulled Pork
With a fork, shred the stems of your king oyster mushrooms. Season with BBQ seasonings or pre-made fajita spices.
Cook in a cast iron on medium-high heat in melted butter, until the mushrooms are golden brown.
To add some extra texture it is always a good idea to bake the mushrooms in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes after getting it golden brown on all sides in the cast-iron pan.
Oyster Mushroom Hoisin Steak Bites (video below)
Plant-Based King Oyster Mushroom Scallops - Learn how to make them here.
Enjoy your healthy vegan salads!
Filling, healthy, vegan salads are possible! When we utilize high fiber vegetables, high protein legumes and lentils, and a healthy variety of good fats, salads become an incredible meal option that is very satisfying. It’s as easy as switching up the greens one might usually use for a salad. The darker the green, the higher in fiber!
By simply adding some high-fiber fruits, you can really change up your salad game and continue to make it more filling. It is very important to have all fats, fibers, and proteins present in order to feel full quickly and stay full. Stay tuned for exciting salad ideas that utilize all these ingredients!
How to make healthy vegan salads that are actually filling!
