One of the things I love about summer is that I can eat like a Queen without much effort. Mid July, our crisper is now overflowing with farmer’s market vegetables, none of which need much fuss or strategic planning in order for a memorable meal. Life gets a bit simpler (yet busier) in the summer and our meals tend to follow suit.
This salad is one such easy summer dish I made yesterday. It took about 10 minutes to prepare and it’s almost entirely raw. If there was such a thing as summer in a bowl this would be it. Tomatoes, corn, cucumber, red pepper, fresh dill, and green onion make up the base, while a creamy avocado lemon dressing ties it all together. The flavour is out of this world.
Instead of using a bean or legume for the protein (and requiring the stove-top!), I used hulled hemp seed, a complete protein containing all 10 essential amino acids and also an excellent source of B vitamins, folic acid, Chlorophyll, Vitamin E, potassium, and more (source). Hemp is easy to digest and a fun way to pump up any salad. A little bit goes a loooong way. You can find it in the natural food section of most grocery stores, as well as bulk food stores like Bulk Barn, online (see my vegan shopping guide here), and in health food stores.
Plus, it’s so darn pretty!
Each 2-cup serving of this salad contains 15 grams of protein, 11 grams of fibre, and 14 grams of healthy fats making it hearty and satisfying.
It also goes fantastic with my newest chip obsession – Neal Brothers Tortillas!
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Speedy Summer Hemp Power Salad
Yield
4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
For the vegetable base
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn (thawed & drained if using frozen)
- 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 & 1/2 cups chopped cucumber (about 1/2 an English cucumber)
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 tbsp minced fresh dill weed
- 3 tbsp hulled hemp seed
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup avocado flesh (1/2 a large avocado)
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp hemp seed
- 1/4 tsp fine grain kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Directions
- Chop vegetables and place into a large bowl.
- In a mini processor, process the dressing ingredients together until mostly smooth. You can also mash/chop/mix the dressing ingredients by hand.
- Pour dressing onto vegetables and stir well. Now, stir the hemp seed into the salad. Season to taste and serve. Sprinkle with hemp seed on top because it’s pretty! This salad is best served immediately. With time, water will release from the vegetables and pool at the bottom.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Summer at its finest.
Enjoy!
I made this salad twice since Thursday along with the Triple Almond Cherry Squares….so yummy and everyone loved them! I am going to make that dressing and pour it over pasta…warm or cold…I think it would be so yummy! You never cease to amaze me Angela!
Oh, so delicious! I absolutely love avocado! Can’t wait to try this :D
Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, that looks amazing!!
Am making it this week. The kiddos and I eat hemp daily.
Peace and Raw Health,
Elizabeth
Eating this as I type! Delicious! I added edamame and carrots(was out of tomatoes) and it turned out awesome! My meat eating husband tasted it and said “I could eat that every day!”. That says a lot! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Hey Sara, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it so much! I love your addition of edamame and carrots…I’ll have to try that!
Easily my favourite new salad, hands down. I love how fresh and summery it tastes, and even with all the protein in this salad, I don’t feel heavy or weighed down after eating it!
I’m allergic to avocado (very hard for a vegetarian) so I substituted it in the dressing with Tahini, and had to add a little more lemon and water to make the dressing a nice consistency. Let me say, with Tahini, this salad is also CREAMY, RICH, and full of healthy proteins and fats.
I also doubled the amount of corn (mmmmm) and will probably even do more next time.
This also might work nicely with a bed of spinach or very finely diced kale, for added leafy green goodness.
Keep up the life-changing work, Angela!
Hey Sar, Great call on subbing the avocado with tahini! I bet that tasted wonderful. My fav dressing is a lemon tahini based one. So very creamy! Glad you enjoyed it. Have a great week.
I saw this and had to make it!!!!! Let me tell everyone it is the bomb! I threw in quinoa and black beans. Even without those additions it would be super yummy! Make this and make your tummy smile!
This salad is DELICIOUS! Just made it, and am wolfing it down :) The dressing itself it really good too – might use this as a general dressing sometime. Thanks for a great recipe.
I made this for dinner tonight along with your stir fry and it was AMAZING. I will make it again tonight. Thank you so much for the amazing recipes.
Angela i just love your salads! Soo wonderful! I will add this to my “salad in a jar” lunch menu next week :)
Absolutely love this salad! Didn’t have any dill handy so made with a few mint leaves from my herb box and it was delicious! I actually don’t think I have ever enjoyed a salad (that doesnt have potatoes or pasta in it) so much. I served with your crispy potato wedges and have a picture on my blog if you want to check it out :) Thanks for all the lovely recipes
This looks totally amazing!! It has so many of my favorites – hemp, tomato, avacado, corn, etc! I can hardly wait to make this for our Labor Day cook out this weekend. But i really think I need to preview it tomorrow…you know, just to make sure that it’s as incredible as it sounds. Thanks for another amazing recipe Angela!
Hey Angela! I was wondering if I can add grains to this salad. If so, what kind of grains would fit?
THIS…IS…ONE…OF…MY…ABSOLUTE…FAVORITE….SALADS. OMG, this was really really good. I used green peas instead of corn. Everything else was sooooo divine. I especially love love love the dressing. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us :)
This is delicious mixed in with couscous!
Hi. Do you use the hemp seed whole or do you grind it? Thank you.
Hey there! The hemp seeds, along with the other dressing ingredients, are all tossed together into a food processor and processed. So no need to pre-grind them! Hope this helps.