Marinated Vegetable Salad is a healthy, make-ahead salad recipe highlighting crunchy fresh vegetables. Quick, easy, and fresh!
“Excellent summer salad. This will get compliments at your next BBQ. Seriously.”
Marinated Vegetable Salad – let’s talk about it!
How I’m loving the lettuce-less-ness of it. How it’s not only bright, beautiful, and colorful, but crazy-healthy too. How it’s make-ahead! Yep, chop all your favorite vegetables before going to bed then toss with a simple homemade vinaigrette, refrigerate, and serve the next day.
How it’s sugar free. I love a good sweet and savory combo as much as the next gal, but when it comes to fresh vegetables? I gotta go savory. Many marinated vegetable salad recipes call for tossing the vegetables in a dressing that includes equal parts sugar and vinegar, but I just can’t get down with sweet cauliflower when I know how delicious it can be tossed in a tart and snappy dressing instead!
Watch How to Make It
Raw Vegetable Salad
Now, I’ve chosen to highlight my favorite raw vegetables in this Marinated Vegetable Salad including cherry tomatoes, cucumber, cauliflower, carrots, and bell pepper, but you could swap in any vegetables you happen to love and/or have growing in your garden.
Raw zucchini, summer squash, broccoli, sweet onion, celery, and/or corn would all make excellent additions to this easy, healthy dish.
Start by chopping up a big bowl o’ summer vegetables. Like I said, the variety is totally up to you as long as it adds up to roughly 10 cups (it’s a big salad!)
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItI use 2 cups each cauliflower florets (about 1/2 medium-sized head,) carrots (roughly 4 medium carrots,) and cherry tomatoes (a 10oz package.)
Plus 1 cucumber that I seeded before chopping so the dressing wouldn’t get watery (use an English cucumber if you don’t want to scrape out the seeds,) plus 1 chopped bell pepper. I chose yellow for the beautiful color, but it’s totally up to you!
Last step is to drizzle on the super tart vinaigrette, which contains:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Minced shallots
- Dijon mustard
- Italian seasoning
- Minced garlic cloves
- Salt
- Pepper
Shake the ingredients together in a jar or whisk in a bowl. Pour 3/4 of the vinaigrette over the vegetables then toss and stash in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight — it just gets better as it sits.
FYI this vinaigrette is very tart, which I happen to love. If it’s a little too tart for you, add more oil and/or honey to taste.
Just before serving, toss with the remaining vinaigrette then season with salt and pepper and you’ve got yourself an easy, healthy, fresh side dish that’s perfect for any day or occasion. Enjoy!
More Fresh and Healthy Salad Recipes
- Italian Quinoa Salad
- Fruit Salad Recipe for a Crowd
- Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Jennifer Aniston Salad
- Chickpea Chicken Salad
- Italian Chickpea Salad
- Everyday Kale Salad
- Greek Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, ~10oz
- 2 cups chopped carrots, ~4 medium carrots
- 1 cucumber, seeded then chopped
- 1 bell pepper, any color, seeded then chopped
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons minced shallots
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- salt and pepper
Directions
For the Vinaigrette:
- Add ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid or bowl then shake or whisk to combine. Taste then add more salt, pepper, and/or oil if necessary (this dressing is very tart so add more oil if it’s too tart for your tastes.)
- Add vegetables to a very large bowl then dress with 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Toss then refrigerate for 4 hours or up to overnight. Toss with remaining vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper to taste just before serving.
Notes
- Use your favorite blend of fresh, raw vegetables — you’ll need 10 cups total.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Great salad and you can use any veggies you want, thank you!
Looks great! I can’t eat raw carrots, so I may try this with roasted or par-steamed carrots. Love a marinated salad!
That sounds great, ssl! I love chilled roasted veggies too. :)
Absolutely love this marinated vegetable salad, The vibrant colors and flavors are so inviting. It’s a fantastic way to enjoy fresh veggies—perfect for summer gatherings.
I like to add some sliced button shrooms, or portabella. Sometimes I’ll have zucchini on hand, and they go well pealed and chopped.
And I agree — NO sugar.
Those additions sound delicious!!
I appreciate how flexible this recipe is – a fantastic way to use up whatever fresh produce is on hand. And the fact that it’s a make-ahead dish is a game-changer for busy days. This salad will undoubtedly become a staple in my summer menu lineup.
Thanks for sharing this vibrant and wholesome creation. Can’t wait to give it a try and enjoy the explosion of flavors. Cheers to healthy eating and enjoying the best that summer has to offer!
Best regards,
Love this salad! I’ve made it a few times and everyone agrees it’s a great summer side dish! Once, just because of what I had and didn’t have on hand, I left the shallots out but added red onions to the salad. It was very good, too. This is a keeper.
I’m SO glad you loved this salad, and were able to make it your own, Becky! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I make this all the time now but with cold roasted Veggies! I roast them until they are tender but with a little crunch still left. Love the dressing with a little honey! Thank you!
Ooo, that sounds amazing!! I’ll have to try that sometime. So glad you enjoy the dish, Jules!
Made this salad tonight because I thought it looked delicious, but I was skeptical whether my 8yo would like it. He’s a big fan of raw vegetables and pickles, but he’s not a big fan of “sour” foods… and I thought maybe the acid from the red wine vinegar would be too strong. I added enough salt to counteract the pucker-factor, and he LOVED it. He actually finished his salad before his baked potato or pork loin. lol. Definitely will make again.
THRILLED to hear this, Heather!! Sometimes all you need is a good dressing or dip to get those veggies down the hatch. ;) Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
You know I love me a good sweet and savory combo but when it comes to fresh vegetables? I gotta go savory. Many marinated vegetable salad recipes call for tossing the vegetables in a dressing that includes equal parts sugar and vinegar
It needs a sprinkle of sugar.
Sounds delicious! Could I use other vegetables – like from vegetable tray (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cucumber)?
Absolutely!!
Just wondering if there’s nutritional info for this recipe?
Hi Candice! I recommend a service like MyFitnessPal or similar if you’re looking for nutritional information!
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit!! My husband loved it and so did the kids. I used half the amount of red wine vinegar, and added some Thyme and Oregano! Thanks for sharing!
So glad it was a hit with your family, Emily! Thanks for your feedback and recipe rating, too!