Protein-packed, loaded with crunchy vegetables and chickpeas, this vibrant rainbow chopped salad is PERFECT for meal prep or entertaining. Just chop your veggies, mix a quick dressing and pile on top of creamy, dreamy pink beet tahini sauce.

There’s just something about a colourful, crunchy salad. This one, loaded with a very zesty dressing and piled onto creamy pink tahini is perfect for any time of year. A chopped salad is the kind of salad I love the most. That’s because the whole point is that the ingredients are chopped to a similar size and can all fit on your spoon, so you get all the flavours in one bite.

This one is as easy as chopping up a load of crunchy veggies, mixing a quick honey mustard dressing then tossing them together. A speedy, vibrant pink beet tahini sauce takes this rainbow salad to the next level. It’s creamy, nutty and undeniably pink, making it a serious showstopper.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Perfect for meal prep. The salad lasts at least 4 days in the fridge so you can make it on Sunday to enjoy throughout the week.
• Protein-packed and loaded with goodness from a wide variety of vegetables.
• Easy to adapt. Swap out or add in your favourite veggies, add a grain (like quinoa or rice), toss with soba noodles or serve with grilled meat or halloumi.
• Great for entertaining. It’s wonderful for taking along to picnics, barbecues or pot-lucks and is a great make-ahead option if you’re entertaining. Dress the salad but keep the pink tahini separate, then assemble when you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients

You can really play around with your ingredients here – you just want to make sure they’re colourful and crunchy.

• Red cabbage. Swap this for white cabbage if you like – though I love red for the gorgeous colour.
• Cucumber. I like to scoop the seeds out of the cucumber before chopping it (use a teaspoon to do this). This will help to keep the salad from going watery in the fridge.
• Red pepper. Use green or yellow pepper if you like, or jarred red pepper.
• Peas. Or use edamame beans or broad beans.
• Chickpeas (garbanzos). I love adding chickpeas to up the protein levels here, but you could use butter beans, white beans, black beans or Kidney beans instead.
• Carrots. You could grate the carrots if you prefer, but I love the crunch factor when they’re finely chopped like this.
• Herbs. I’m using mint and cilantro (coriander), but you could use basil, Thai basil or flat-leaf parsley instead.

OPTIONAL ADD-INS: Bulk it out with some quinoa, brown rice or soba noodles, or add in crumbled feta, marinated feta or marinated mini mozzarella balls. Olives and sundried tomatoes also work well – try adding marinated olives or pesto olives. I’ve also added crunchy seeds and nuts which add an extra texture, but you can leave them out if you like.

FOR THE DRESSING AND PINK TAHINI: Leave the miso paste out of the dressing if you don’t have it or can’t find it, and make sure you use ready-cooked beets that aren’t sitting in vinegar. If they are, it’ll impact the flavour of the tahini sauce. I recommend seeking out tahini that’s made in Isreal, Lebanon or Palestine – they tend to have a much nicer, smooth consistency and aren’t bitter like a lot of store brand tahini is.

Got a question?

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If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.