Best Filling and Easy Vegetarian Salads for Lunch and Dinner

Do you always seem to feel hungry and unsatisfied minutes after eating a veggie salad for your main meal? Next time, try one of these filling and easy vegetarian salads. With a few simple swaps, you can learn how to make the best quick, tasty, and satisfying meal salads for lunch and dinner. The whole family will be craving salads in no time!

Whether you're looking for a veggie grain salad, something you can make ahead of time, or a different and interesting twist on a classic (hello, vegan Caesar!), you're sure to find your new favorite meal right here. All of these types of vegetarian salads are simple, healthy, and still packed with hearty ingredients, satisfying flavor, and amazing texture that everyone will love. Nope, no boring salads here!

Salads (and vegetarian food, in general) can have a bad rap, but I'm here to debunk the myth that plant-based meals are difficult to make and boring to eat. Nothing could be further from the truth! Just take a peek at all of the amazing salad options below for proof.

Top Tip: Load up the pantry with convenient, vegetarian staples, like canned chickpeas, orzo, quinoa, frozen edamame, lentils, and avocado for quick salads you can prep and cook in 30 minutes or less.

Find my full Vegetarian Grocery List with more shopping tips here.

Jump to:

• How to Make Easy Vegetarian Salads That Aren't Boring
• How to Make Vegetarian Salads More Filling
• Vegetarian Soup and Salad Combos
• Vegetarian Grain Salads and Pasta Salads
• Brussels Sprouts Orzo Pasta Salad
• Easy Edamame Crunch Salad
• Easy Pearl Couscous with Chickpeas
• Vegan Deconstructed Sushi Salad Bowl with Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing
• Forbidden Black Rice Salad with Beans and Mango
• Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad
• Spring and Summer Salads
• Strawberry Avocado Hemp Salad
• Spring Farro Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
• Summer Strawberry Salad with Chickpeas and Mozzarella
• Summer Fruit Quinoa Salad
• Fall and Winter Salads
• Harvest Za'atar Kale Salad
• Lemon Tahini Apple Slaw
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chickpeas and Lemon Tahini
• Vegan Roasted Cabbage Caesar Salad
• Make Ahead Salads
• Meal Prep Salad
• Mediterranean Lentil Salad with Feta and Mint
• Chickpea Mason Jar Salad
• Need More Easy Vegetarian Meal Ideas?

How to Make Easy Vegetarian Salads That Aren't Boring

If you really want to step up your vegetarian salad game, follow these tips:

• Use a variety of colorful fruits and veggies to add to the flavor, texture, and visual appeal of your salad bowl. (And don't feel like you need to use greens - there are lots of delicious vegetarian salad recipes you can make without a single leaf of lettuce if it's not your thing!)
• Try including warm elements, such as cooked quinoa or steamed broccoli, to add a little interest. (This works especially well for fall and winter dinner salads!)
• Don't skimp on the dressing! Despite what diet culture may try to tell you, salad dressing is a fantastic way to amp up the flavor, add nutrients, and transform a blah salad into a dreamy one-bowl meal. (try my homemade Vegan Green Goddess Dressing recipe or use one of the bottled vegetarian dressing brands in this list from VegNews.)
• Aim for a balanced mix of carbs, protein, and fat. It takes more than a head of lettuce to make a satisfying salad! Include beans or chickpeas, whole grains, avocado and nuts or seeds. (More details on this below!)

How to Make Vegetarian Salads More Filling

The key to making a plant-forward salad more filling is balance. Include a mix of ingredients to get the protein, carbs, fat, and fiber your body needs to feel full.

Bonus: the variety also adds flavor and texture, which will help you feel more satisfied, too.

Try to include at least one ingredient from each of these food groups in your next main dish salad:

• Protein - beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, and edamame
• Starchy carbs - pasta, orzo, couscous, quinoa, farro, sweet potatoes, rice
• Fat - add avocado, nuts, seeds, or cheese to your salad. Use peanut butter, tahini, Greek yogurt, or extra virgin olive oil to make salad dressing.
• Produce - lettuces and dark leafy greens work great, but don't stop there. Any fruit or vegetable is a great choice!

Vegetarian Soup and Salad Combos

If you're still not feeling satisfied with a salad on its own, try adding a bowl of soup! Here are a few vegetarian soup and salad combinations to inspire your meal planning.

• Portobello Mushroom French Onion Soup with Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Asparagus Ramen Noodle Soup with Edamame Crunch Salad
• Creamy Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup with Easy Pearl Couscous
• Tomato Barley Soup with Roasted Cabbage Caesar Salad

If you prefer a printable PDF version of this post, download my Easy Vegetarian Salad Ideas guide here.

Vegetarian Grain Salads and Pasta Salads

Adding grains to vegetarian salads is a smart way to bump up the filling fiber content and add satisfying texture to your main meal. If you want to make a grain salad that's as filling as possible, use fiber-rich whole grains, such as brown rice or farro.

Spring and Summer Salads

With a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies at your fingertips, the spring and summer months are an ideal time to add more salads to your repertoire. Many of these seasonal salads are also no-cook recipes, so there's no need to switch on the oven when it's hot out!

Fall and Winter Salads

You might not automatically think of fall and winter as salad seasons, but I'm here to convince you otherwise. There's nothing better than a warm kale or Brussels sprouts salad with roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash, and you can't beat the flavors of fresh apples, pears, and pomegrante!

Make Ahead Salads

Some green salads wilt within minutes, but it's possible to make a vegetarian salad that stands the test of time. One key is to use hearty veggies like kale and Brussels sprouts. Lentils, beans, grains, and chickpeas are wonderful for make ahead salads, too! If you're looking for more ideas, check out my roundup of 31 Best Healthy and Easy Vegetarian Lunches for Work.

Need More Easy Vegetarian Meal Ideas?

For more easy recipes, check out my roundups of Easy 30-Minute Vegetarian Meals for Quick Dinners, 20 Best Vegan Soup Recipes, Vegetarian Meal Prep Ideas and 31 Best Healthy and Easy Vegetarian Lunches for Work.