Shredded Rainbow Salad is loaded with crisp, vibrant, colorful veggies. Perfect for easy meal prep with a delicious no oil homemade dressing.

Shredded Rainbow Salad: radishes, cabbage, beet greens, carrots, red beets and roasted delicata squash cubes on a white rimmed plate, plus a small cut of pink dressing and a bowl of sunflower seeds.

Eat the rainbow…because that’s where all the vitamins are! Rainbow salad is a delicious way to get in more fiber and veggies. Plus it’s easy to adapt a colorful salad to use what’s in season.

It’s always better to get your phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables than from supplements. Eat a variety of colors for the best benefits, including protection from environmental toxins. Eating the rainbow is vital for longevity in muscles, joints, skin and brain health!

Fresh vegetables contain copious amounts of fiber which helps normalize bowel movements, lower cholesterol and helps control blood sugar levels. Here are some great ideas for your rainbow salad:

RED: Loaded with antioxidants that help fight heart disease, some cancers, and reduce the risk for stroke and macular degeneration. Find these benefits in radishes, beets, chopped or roasted red peppers, kidney beans, tomatoes,
ORANGE: High in vitamins A, C, K potassium and folate. Good choices include carrots, orange peppers, roasted sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash and pumpkin.
YELLOW: Great source of nutrients (manganese, vitamin A & C, phosphorus and potassium) and antioxidants that are good for processing fats and carbs plus they’re good for the heart, eyes and bones. Consume yellow peppers, roasted squash, shredded golden beets, sun-gold tomatoes
GREEN: Leafy greens are an essential part of a healthy diet. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Choose a leafy green for your base: spinach, kale, romaine, collard greens, beet greens, swiss chard, red/green leaf lettuce or arugula. Add in fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro. Incorporate cooked green veggies like broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus or zucchini.
PURPLE: Buy them for their beauty and consume them because they improve brain health, lower inflammation and fight cancer and heart disease. Healthy choices include red cabbage, purple cauliflower, purple radish, purple onion purple asparagus or cooked blue potatoes.

Focusing on the colors of the rainbow is a good way to make sure you get variety in your salad…but don’t forget about texture and taste.

Use different methods of preparing your veggies to add crunch, cook some of your veggies for a softer bite, add in fresh herbs for extra flavor.

What’s in this shredded rainbow salad?

Ingredients for rainbow salad before chopping: small bowl of arugula, 1/4 green cabbage, 1/4 purple cabbage, delicata squash, 2 red beets with greens, radishes, 3 peeled carrots.

Delicata Squash: A delicious and easy choice because the skin is edible…that means no peeling and extra fiber! Plus it roasts up quickly so it will be ready by the time you’re done prepping the veggies and dressing.
Beets: a great twofer….the beet are loaded with healthy nutrients and are super anti-inflammatory plus the greens are a tasty addition to the rainbow. Simply wash, stack and thinly slice the greens. The red beets are loaded with phytonutrients, folate, magnesium vitamin C and fiber. They are awesome blood pressure regulator and healthy when eaten raw, which is easy to do when they’re shredded.
Radishes: Slice thin, or shred. Use a box grater or a mandolin to make quick work of it.
Carrots: Chop, slice, or shred. You can also buy these already grated in the supermarket to save time.
Cabbage: I used both purple and green. I used the food processor, but it’s simple to slice thin by hand.

Healthy No Oil Salad Dressing

Salad Dressing Ingredients on a marble counter: bottle of apple cider vinegar, head of garlic, 2 oranges, jar of tahini, can of red kidney beans, container of light miso paste.

Red kidney beans make a nutritious and colorful easy dressing. Tahini means extra calcium and no need to add in extra oil. I love to add miso paste for some vegan umami. I used fresh oranges for their zest and juice, but you can save time by using orange juice. Raw garlic is easier to digest when grated with a microplane.

How to make this easy salad

Roast the delicata squash. No need to peel, yay!! Just wash, slice off ends, halve lengthwise, then scoop out seeds. Cut into 1/2″ dice, sprinkle with olive oil, S+P and roast at 425 for 20 minutes.

3 photos. On left side first photo delicata squash with ends cut off and halved, one part with seeds scooped out. Bottom left photo is same plus one half is cubed. Right side long photo of squash cubes roasted on rimmed baking tray.

2. Prep Veggies. I’ll show you how to make this for meal prep and place in a glass container in the fridge. You can then use it for this rainbow salad whenever you want, or just grab and handful of your faves for salad all week long! If you use a food processor (or box grater), start with the lightest color veggies and one at a time shred and then put into container, no need to wash in between!

3. Build your salad! Start by laying greens out on a platter. Then add one color at a time in stripes, keeping the rainbow in tact. Don’t forget any cooked veggies, if you’ve made some!

Rainbow salad in steps beginning with a bed of greens on a white round bowl, adding one color at a time until there's a rainbow of shredded beets, purple cabbage,carrots, roasted cubed squash, sliced beet greens, and radishes.

4. Make the dressing! Zest and juice the orange (or use OJ to save time), add everything to food processor and blend until creamy. Use more water for a thinner dressing. OR….use no water at all, cut the juice in half and use it as a dip….YES a delicious and healthy dip!!

PHoto on left, ingredients in a food processor: red kidney beans, miso paste, apple cider vinegar, orange zest and juice, tahini, grated garlic. Photo on left after it's been pureed in the food proessor.

5. Drizzle the dressing onto the rainbow salad. Sprinkle on some sunflower seeds for added crunch!

Why you will love this salad

Vibrant tossed colorful salad with pink dressing on top.

Beautiful…you know, because we eat with our eyes first!
Healthy. A salad a day….keeps your bowels moving regularly.
Versatile: totally adaptable to go with what’s in season, what is available where you live, veggies YOU LIKE and you HAVE on hand.
Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
EASY MEAL PREP: yes!!! The best kind of salad is one that you’re actually going to make!!
DELISH!! The crunch, and the dressing…OMG simple and flavorful.

Debra’s Pro Tips

Definitely prep extra veggies. Store in glass container with a lid to to use in salad or in grain bowls or a stir fry, all week long!
Although it’s quick and easy to shred the veggies using a food processor, I often chop it by hand…I find it oddly meditative. Instead of “I have to” meal prep, try “I get to” tune everything else out for a bit here with my knife and cutting board.
Make sure to use a baking tray large enough to fit all delicata squash cubes in one layer. This will enable them to roast, rather than steam. No parchment plus single layer creates an environment that will encourage caramelization.
Change it up and use my everyday salad dressing for the same salad with a totally different taste…YUM!
Take the dressing ingredients and make a dip instead by eliminating the water and cutting the juice in half. Not only is it a beautiful color, but something a bit different than hummus and super healthy.
Use a glass trifle dish and layer the colors vertically….SO MUCH FUN!
Use a tall mason jar for a “to go” salad. Put dressing in the bottom and then layer the colors one at a time, saving the more perishable items (like greens) for the top.

Rainbow salad on a white plate with a pink dressing drizzled across the colorful stripes. Serving pieces on a white tea towel with blue stripes, a small pitcher of extra dressing plus some sunflower seeds and a background cutting board with julienned beet greens and some oranges that have already been squeezed.

More colorful recipes you’ll adore:

Yield: 6 servings

Rainbow Salad

Name: Rainbow Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 large delicata squash; 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; freshly ground pepper; 1 bunch radishes; 1/4 green cabbage; 3 carrots; 1/4 head purple cabbage; 2 red beets, with greens; 2 cups arugula; 1/4 cup sunflower seeds; 1 (15.5-oz.) can red kidney beans* rinsed and drained; 2 oranges, zested and juiced*; 1/4 cup tahini; 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 1 Tablespoon light miso; 1 clove garlic, zested; 1/4 cup water*

Eat the rainbow for optimum health. This beautiful salad is delicious and also super nutritious. Easy to make, perfect for meal prep and just what your body is craving!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 large delicata squash
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 bunch radishes
1/4 green cabbage
3 carrots
1/4 head purple cabbage
2 red beets, with greens
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing: for 2 cups

1 (15.5-oz.) can red kidney beans* rinsed and drained
2 oranges, zested and juiced*
1/4 cup tahini
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon light miso
1 clove garlic, zested
1/4 cup water*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.
PREPARE DELICATA SQUASH: Wash and dry outside of squash. No need to peel. Cut off ends and then slice through vertically to halve the squash. Use a spoon to scrape out seeds. Lay cut side down on cutting board and cut into 1/2" strips and then cut horizontally to create 1/2" cubes. Place squash cubes on rimmed baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with S+P. Roast for 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
PREPARE VEGGIES: wash and trim radishes, peel and trim carrots, 1/4 and wash cabbages, trim and peel beets. Wash beet greens and salad greens.
Lay salad greens out on the bottom of platter. Stack beet greens, roll and slice thinly. Put aside to use as the "green color" in your rainbow salad.
Use a knife, a box grater or a food processor to shred veggies. Shred in order, lightest to darkest colors, red beets last), radishes, green cabbage, carrots, purple cabbage, red beets. For food processor, use grater attachment and push each item through, pull each out after shredding and lay each one out on platter to form a rainbow. No need to wash bowl in between.
If making for meal prep, place each veggie into a glass storage container one at a time as they're shredded for easy salad making all week long!
MAKE DRESSING: Place beans, tahini, vinegar, miso and garlic into bowl of food processor. Use a microplane to zest the oranges over the processor bowl. Squeeze oranges* into bowl. Process. Scrape down sides. Process again until smooth. Use a spoon to test pourability and add water until desired consistency. You may need up to 1/4 cup. An immersion blender or regular blender will also work well to make this dressing.

Notes

GREENS: I used arugula, but ANY green that you enjoy is a good choice. (spinach, curly kale, lacinato kale, swiss chard, etc.)

BEANS: Any kind of beans will work...I like the color and nutrients in red kidney beans, but the dressing will taste delish with cannellini, pinto, chickpeas or basically any bean you have.

ORANGES: 2 oranges will yield approximately 1/2 cup juice.

WATER: Use just enough for the dressing consistency you want. I like to juice the oranges first and then add enough water for the total liquid to equal 3/4 cup.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 232Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 0mgSodium 326mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 9gSugar 9gProtein 9g

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.