by This Warm Winter Vegan Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing is the perfect warming winter salad that’s comforting but still healthy and comes together in less than 30-minutes.
When the temperature drops I’m all about the soups, but there’s also something delicious about a warm winter salad, too. I love creating seasonal salads that centre around the available vegetables and fruit, and this one is just that!
When I don’t know what to make for a meal, but still want something that’s going to be super nutritious, I chop whatever vegetables I have in my fridge along with a source of plant-based protein (like chickpeas, tofu, edamame etc.) and throw it on a sheet pan to roast. I’ll whip up a quick sauce to drizzle over top while a grain like couscous, quinoa or rice cooks on the stove top, and within 30-minutes I have a complete meal. If you love sheet pan meals as much as I do, you could also try my Balsamic Gnocchi and Brussel Sprout Sheet Pan Meal! Or, may I suggest you try some one-pot meals, like my Easy Vegan Butter Chickpeas, Vegan Chickpea Noodle Soup, or
This is a great recipe to meal prep ahead of time, since all the components can be made at the same time. Other easy meal prep dinners that I love include my Sticky Sesame Chickpeas, Vegan Cauliflower Chickpea Curry and Butternut Squash Vegan Chili.
When creating a salad I try to make sure it will actually have some staying power by having a source of plant-based protein, whole grains, veggies or fruit, and fat. The protein in this salad comes from the chickpeas, which also provide a great source of fiber and plant-based iron. We also use these crispy chickpeas in my Vegan Caesar Salad and Chickpea Salad with Prune Dressing, too! The quinoa (which is actually a seed!) can count as the whole grain, and the brussel sprouts, sweet potato, kale, raddicio, cabbage provide plenty of vegetables. We make a delicious maple dijon dressing that uses tahini as the base for a great source of fat.
While this maple dijon dressing was obviously developed for this recipe, it’s the perfect creamy sauce that could be used on pretty much anything. It would taste amazing in a wrap, as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, or just drizzled over some roasted veggies. I recommend doubling the dressing to have enough for leftovers throughout the week!
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Why I love this Warm Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprout Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing:
- It uses super nourishing ingredients like chickpeas, quinoa, tahini and loads of veggies
- It takes less than 30-minutes to make
- The salad can be meal prepped ahead of time for a super easy meal
- You can customize the veggies used based on what you have on hand
- It’s grounding and warming while still feeling like you’re getting your daily dose of nutrients
Recipe Notes
- You may want to add more water to thin out the maple dijon dressing to your desired consistency.
- Feel free to use any vegetables that you have on hand!
Warm Winter Vegan Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing
Ingredients
Roasted Salad Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups brussel sprouts, quartered
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Or 2 cups cooked
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
Maple Dijon Dressing
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- water to thin, if necessary
Salad ingredients
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup radicchio, leaves torn
- 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup dried quinoa
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss your brussel sprouts, sweet potato and chickpeas with olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili flakes and salt until well combined. Add to baking sheet, spreading the ingredients evenly and roast for 25 minutes, or until sweet potato is fork tender.
- Meanwhile, cook quinoa as per package instructions.
- Make the salad dressing by whisking together all salad dressing ingredients.In a large bowl, drizzle apple cider vinegar on kale and cabbage and massage with your hands until they've darkened in color and they've wilted. This usually takes 2-3 minutes.
- Once all components of the salad are ready, combine in a bowl, drizzle with the maple dijon dressing and enjoy!
My son doesn’t like quinoa, what would be a good substitute?
Roasted sweet potato or couscous would be great, or you can omit altogether!
This is a very tasty meal, and I feel great eating it, knowing it’s balanced & so high in nutritional value. I regularly make it ahead of time for those nights when I am working late and just want to throw it together when I get home so I can eat right away. I also really like to make it and eat it warm – so tasty. I add 1/2 cup of toasted almond slivers to give extra crunch, which I love in my salads. I also add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the dressing to thin the consistency. My final modification is all kale and I omit the cabbage and radicchio. I have just discovered your website this fall and I look forward to exploring and trying other recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes online!
Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!