• recipes
    • small plates
    • large plates
    • sweets
    • baking
    • salads and soups
    • breakfasts
    • pantry staples
    • drinks
  • about
  • contact
Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Vegan summer salad

August 12, 2020 by Ania - 4

easy, gluten-free, healthygo to recipe

go to recipe

vegan summer salad lunch

We’ve lucked out with the weather this week. It’s really really hot and sunny so I am temporarily in my Greek summer mode – slumped in the shade with my notebook brainstorming future recipe ideas, living on nothing but salads and fruit and fighting the afternoon slump with prolific amount of ice cold caffeine – my drug of choice 😉 . Espresso freddo – cold Greek coffee that we fell in love with when living on Paros – is something we cannot live without. We don’t have a special machine that the Greek cafes use to make it, but I found that making it in a blender is a good enough hack.

As Duncan has become a bit of a coffee snob, we use his favourite single origin coffee brewed in a Chemex for an extra smooth end result that requires zero sugar or plant milk, but any coffee will do. It is a good idea to brew it a little stronger than you would normally as ice dulls the flavour a little. We go through a lot of coffee and as I dislike waste, I’ve recently started turning our single origin coffee grounds into a coffee scrub – something that has earned me a fair amount of sniggering from you-know-who.

I’ve been using a shop-bought coffee scrub for a while but I ran out during the lockdown and with such a steady amount of coffee grounds going into our compost daily, I’ve decided to make my own. As opposed to the shop-bought version which had a lot of ingredients (including agave syrup!!), my version is dead simple. I spread used up grounds on a baking tray and dry them out in the sun. Once dry I put them in a jar with some organic almond oil to form a paste. The coffee exfoliates your skin while the almond oil keeps it moisturised and it smells wonderful. I recommend it to anyone with a regular supply of coffee grounds. I don’t think I will need to buy it ever again.

Recipewise, I have a deliciously crunchy, tangy and sweet, hydrating and filling salad for you today. It is ideal hot weather food, perfect for easy entertaining, a BBQ or a picnic. It doesn’t require much work. A bit of careful chopping and this colourful bowl comes together in a cinch. It’s healthy yet definitely not boring and I hope you’ll enjoy it. x

PS: If you make my vegan summer salad, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

vegan summer salad ingredients

vegan summer salad produce

vegan summer salad

vegan summer salad dressing

vegan summer salad close up

5.00 from 1 vote
Print
  • serves: 6-8
  • prep: 20 min
  • cooking: 15 min

Ingredients

SALAD

  • 2 ears of corn
  • 1 zucchini, cut into thick slices
  • olive oil
  • approx. 1 tsp cajun spice
  • 15 radishes
  • ½ long cucumber
  • 15 cherry or plum tomatoes
  • 1 small red pepper
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 100 g / 3½ oz sugar snap peas
  • 1/3 cup almonds
  • a handful of coriander, chopped

DRESSING

  • 45 ml / 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 30-45 ml / 2-3 tbsp lime juice, adjust to taste
  • 15 ml / 1 tbsp Cholula Chipotle OR a few drops of Smoky Tabasco, adjust to taste
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Method

SALAD

  1. Heat up a griddle pan on a low heat. Brush the corn with a small amount of oil and place on the preheated griddle pan. Grill, turning every few minutes, until cooked and lightly charred all over. Once cool, shave the kernels off with a sharp knife.
  2. Brush zucchini with a small amount of oil on both sides, season with salt, lightly sprinkle with cajun spice and place on the hot griddle pan. Allow them to cook undisturbed until you get nice char marks on one side, flip and cook until you get the char marks again. Take the zucchini off the pan and allow them to cool and chop into smaller pieces.
  3. Prepare the remaining vegetables by cutting radishes into matchsticks, cucumber into quarter slices, tomatoes into quarters, pepper and avocado into large dice, celery sticks and sugar snap peas into thin slices, on the diagonal.
  4. Heat up a small frying pan on a low heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and, seconds later, the almonds. Toss to coat the almonds in oil. Toast them, tossing from time to time, on a low heat until charred slightly, sprinkle with salt and set aside to cool. Once cool, chop roughly.
  5. Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl, drizzle with the dressing and decorate with fresh coriander and chopped almonds.

DRESSING

  1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or a jar with a lid. Stir vigorously to combine or put the lid on the jar and shake very well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
SHARE
vegan lemon blueberry loaf topped yoghurt
Previous:
Vegan lemon blueberry cake
Next post:
Easy vegan fajitas
easy vegan fajitas

get a sweet e-book

on joining our mailing list

I’d like to receive new recipe emails and a link to your free e-book.
(By submitting this form you agree to our privacy policy.)
This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

You may also like

vegan miso mushroom pasta bowl

Vegan miso mushroom pasta

vegan vegetable soup pot

Vegan vegetable soup

baked falafels side

Baked falafels

vegan multiseed crackers stack

Vegan multiseed crackers

    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Laura says

    August 12, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    This looks as delicious as all of your recipes! I look forward to trying this one!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 12, 2020 at 8:05 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind words, Laura! I hope you’ll enjoy this one too! x Ania

      Reply
  2. Jenny B says

    August 13, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    Really tasty, light recipe for this scorching weather. I didn’t have any corn cobs so I just fried some frozen corn with a bit more of the Cajun spice and that turned out lovely (I didn’t have a griddle either but frying them in small batches worked fine). The courgettes turned out so nice that I had to make some more as I ate half the batch while they were cooling 😀
    I didn’t have the peppers and celery (the devil’s veg!) but my husband did and said it gave the salad a nice crunch and mine still tasted great without them in it. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 14, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      Great to hear that you and your husband enjoyed this salad, Jenny! Hahaha, I had to google ‘the devil’s veg’ and apparently it’s the Brussel sprouts that are it! 😉 Personally, there is no vegetable I dislike (as long as they are competently prepared/cooked) but the beauty of salads is their flexibility. x Ania

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Fields marked as * are mandatory
This form collects your name and email so that we can correspond with you and display your name and the content of your comment. Check out our privacy policy for more information.

I consent to having Lazy Cat Kitchen collect my name and email

Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
read more

Follow us on insta

Hope you guys are in the mood for #cookies as that Hope you guys are in the mood for #cookies as that's the latest recipe up on the blog, for these crispy, chewy #vegan #oatcookies which I jazzed up with chocolate chunks but you can skip them and use raisins, cranberries or other mixings...#glutenfree #refinedsugarfree if you like and easy to make...recipe link in my bio 👈 or 🏃‍♀️to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe!#easyveganrecipe #vegancookie #vegancookierecipe #vegancookies #chocolatechipcookies #weekendbaking #weekendtreat #vegantreats #whatfatveganseat #vegandesserts #chocoholics #easyveganrecipes #oilfree #veganfoodlover #veganrecipeshare #veganrecipes #veganrecipe
Not sure about you but I have a hankering for nood Not sure about you but I have a hankering for noodles and not much time on my hands this week so these simple #satay #noodles have been a real life saver! Easy and quick to make, can be made both #oilfree and #glutenfree too! Enjoy 🤗😘Recipe link in my bio 👈 or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe!#easymeals #veganmeals #vegannoodles #glutenfreevegan #sataysauce #peanutbutterlover #easyveganmeals #easydinner #easycooking #easyrecipe #easyfood #easyvegan #meatless #vegancomfortfood #veganbowl #eatwellbewell #eatplants #eattherainbow #veganlunch
What if I told you that there is only 6 pantry sta What if I told you that there is only 6 pantry staple ingredients that stand between you and a tray of fudgy on the inside and crispy on the outside #veganbrownies ? They are unapologetically indulgent but weekend plays by different rules so, hurry, get your oven on!recipe link in my bio or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe...#vegandesserts #egglessbaking #veganbaking #aquafaba #vegandessert #veganbrownie #veganfoodporn #vegantreat #vegantreats #veganrecipeshare #veganfoodblogger #vegan #veganuk #easyveganrecipes #weekendbaking #vegantreat #vegantreats #veganrecipes #noeggs #veganrecipes
What's cooking this weekend, guys? I feel like a s What's cooking this weekend, guys? I feel like a some #vegancomfortfood as this week has been a bit hectic and I just realized I have the sauce for this #veganmoussaka already in my freezer 💡so it's a no brainer. It's delicious, indulgent yet #healthier than its traditional equivalent and it reminds me of how we moved to Greece on a bit of a whim in pre-pandemic times🤷‍♀️🤪recipe link in my bio 👈 if you fancy or Google 'vegan moussaka lazy cat kitchen'#veganchef #vegancooking #eatvegan #crueltyfreefood #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedprotein #veganrecipe #veganfoodblog #greekfood #dairyfreerecipes #meatlessmeals #healthierchoices #healthyvegan #vegandinner #weekendcooking #weekendtreat #veganaf #instavegan
On the blog, perfect #midweekdinner of roasted lee On the blog, perfect #midweekdinner of roasted leek and cauliflower #veganpasta that emerged from sad leftovers as I was too lazy to go food shopping 🙋‍♀️ Easy to make, full of flavour, creamy and really satisfying 😋#recipe link in my bio or 🏃‍♀️to lazycatkitchen.com and click on the latest post!#glutenfreevegan #easypasta #midweekmeals #cauliflowerrecipes #leek #easyveganrecipe #plantbased #plantbasedcooking #vegancooking #pastarecipe #pastalover #carblover #healthierchoices #dairyfreerecipes #dairyfreefood #veganrecipe #veganrecipeshare
Happy #veganpancake day, guys! If #crêpes aren't Happy #veganpancake day, guys! If #crêpes aren't your thing and you are after something quick and easy, these fluffy 1-bowl #veganpancakes might be just the ticket! They can be made #glutenfree too and best consumed to the tune of Jack Johnson's #bananapancakes song 🥞😋#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'fluffy vegan banana pancakes lazy cat kitchen' 🐈#pancakeday #pantrystaples #easyveganfood #easyveganrecipes #egglesspancakes #dairyfreerecipes #whatveganseat #whatfatveganseat #shrovetuesday #plantbasednutrition #plantbasedfood #veganfood #veganfoodshare #veganfortheanimals #fluffypancakes #onebowl #glutenfreevegan
Don't get me wrong, I do love #pancakes 🥞 and # Don't get me wrong, I do love #pancakes 🥞 and #crepes. This #veganpancake filled with ginger cream and roasted rhubarb is easy to make and utterly delicious 🤤👌#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'lazy cat kitchen buckwheat crepes'#veganpancakes #vegancrepes #vegancrepe #pancakeday #pancake #glutenfreevegan #vegantreats #easyveganrecipes #veganfoodblogger #veganfoodlover #veganfood #plantbased
While UK is going to gorge itself silly on pancake While UK is going to gorge itself silly on pancakes this coming Tuesday, most of the Northern European countries will pig out on marzipan filled cream buns, how is that fair??? I got a serious bout of bun envy and baked us a truckload of #vegansemla (that's what the Swedes call them). Who is with me? Pancakes are so last year...😜#recipe link in my bio 👈 or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe 🤓#whatfatveganseat #shrovetuesday #pancakeday #easyveganrecipes #vegandesserts #vegandessert #plantbased #vegantreats #veganfoodlover #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.vegan #bestofvegan #veganfoodshare #veganfood
If baking isn't your cup of tea, how about rolling If baking isn't your cup of tea, how about rolling some obscenely indulgent #amaretto #vegantruffles for your loved one 💕? It's a very old recipe but still a favourite of ours and while beetroot powder looks stunning, easier to get cocoa powder or chopped up almonds will work just as well!#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'lazy cat kitchen valentines amaretto truffles'#veganvalentines #veganvalentine #vegandesserts #vegandessert #whatveganseat #glutenfreevegan #plantbased #vegantreats #chocolatetruffles #easyveganfood #recipedeveloper #veganfoodlover #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.vegan
Load More… Follow on Instagram
Lazy Cat Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca.

Follow Us On Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy · Theme by Lazy Cat Themes · Logo by Sarah from The Small Object