My new High Protein Salad is exactly right for you, if you have been looking for healthy salad recipes and high protein recipes. Now you get them all-in-one in this vegan and gluten free recipe. All your questions about how vegans get their protein will be answered.
A question that one often hears when people figure out you are vegan is “How do you get protein?!?”. I know, I know, the reactions on our side range from amusement to “not again” eye-rolling and face-palming.
Though this is probably a little unfair because the person asking that honestly has no clue about vegan high protein recipes. It’s actually a chance to explain that protein is contained in a huge number of plant-based foods.
Case in point: beans and lentils.
I recently had the chance to come up with a new high protein salad recipe that is full of good protein sources. OK, “chance” is a bit of an understatement.
I was simply hungry and looked into fridge and pantry and checked what I could do with whatever was in there. Some arugula I could mix with lentils and green kidney beans.
Yes, that would be nice and filling. I found some capers and added them because I love them.
That takes less than a minute to combine. Now, even though great ingredients, the salad wouldn’t taste too well dry. For my dressing, I whisked together peanut butter, caper brine, tahini, tamari, balsamic vinegar, and hot sauce.
All the stuff I love – but when they came together, it was a serious taste bomb. So rich, so tasty. In the end, the salad was done in maybe 5 minutes and it was simply amazing.
That’s when I decided I had to share this impromptu creation with you here!
Not only is it a great recipe for home snack attacks, it is also a lovely lunch to take with you to work.
Put the salad and the bean-lentil-caper mix into a lunchbox, package the dressing separately and off you go to school, college, or work.
There you can enjoy a fresh High Protein Salad with only the best ingredients!
If you try my High Protein Salad, let me know how do you like it. Love seeing all your creations, just give me a tag.
Say hello on Instagram and Facebook. Take a picture, share the fun.
Cheers, Florian.
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My new High Protein Salad is exactly right for you, if you have been looking for healthy salad recipes and high protein recipes. Now you get them all-in-one in this vegan and gluten free recipe. All your questions about how vegans get their protein will be answered by this High Protein Salad.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 15 oz (400 g) canned green kidney beans (or red ones, if greens aren’t available)
- 15 oz (400 g) canned lentils
- 2–3 handful arugula
- 4 Tbs capers
For the dressing:
- 1 Tbs caper brine
- 2 Tbs peanut butter
- 1 Tbs tahini
- 1 Tbs tamari
- 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbs hot sauce
Instructions
For the dressing:
- Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until they come together to a smooth dressing.
For the salad:
- Mix arugula, beans, lentils, and capers. Top with dressing and enjoy!
Rebecca P. says
23. September 2015 at 18:01Plant protein powder!!! These looks delicious and so nourishing!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:00Indeed Rebecca! Plant protein for the win!
Chrisy Elliott says
23. September 2015 at 20:37I always love the flavor combos you put together 😀 Looking forward to trying this one! And also, your photos are GORGEOUS here!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:01Thanks a lot, Chrisy. 🙂
Debra C. says
23. September 2015 at 21:38Looks so good, what a delicious amazing salad! The salad dressing sounds amazing!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:01Thank you, Debra! And what would a salad be without an amazing dressing?
Tara says
23. September 2015 at 22:06Wow, what a great looking salad, I love it!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:01Thanks, Tara! 🙂
Delicious Meets Healthy says
23. September 2015 at 22:55Ah, what a beautiful delicious salad!! And so nutritious too!!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:02Oh yes! Simply perfect combination! 🙂
Trish says
24. September 2015 at 0:38Love the addition of the caper brine to the salad dressing. Delicious!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:03So glad you noticed it, Trish. I think it give the little extra to the dressing! 🙂
fullrecipesandstyle says
24. September 2015 at 1:32This bean dish stopped me right in my tracks. It looks really amazing.
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:04🙂 It tastes even more amazing than it looks!
Jennifer Stewart says
24. September 2015 at 2:47I can’t wait to chow down on this! The addition of the caper brine with the tahini looks so great! What an amazing dressing for any salad.
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:05Thank you very much, Jennifer! I haven’t tried that dressing with a different salad yet. But I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be a hit.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
24. September 2015 at 3:28That dressing sounds delicious and I adore practically anything with arugula!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:05Oh yes, Kimberly, I love arugula also so much.
Joy Love Food says
24. September 2015 at 3:40This sounds so good, I love beans and lentils, and the peanut butter dressing, sounds divine!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:05Thanks a lot, Joy!
The vegan 8 says
24. September 2015 at 18:31Oh my word Florian, your pics are just gorgeous and bright and colorful! I was laughing at the “eye rolls” and “face palm” hahaha, so true! People always “worry” about our protein, don’t they?! I love to add beans to salad, makes it more hearty. This looks incredibly filling, delicious and that sauce sounds so amazing, I bet I could drink it!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
25. September 2015 at 22:07Ah yeah, the protein question. I don’t know. It’s nice people are “worried” but if you hear the same question the 1000th time, it gets tiresome. Although, really they just don’t know – need to be educated! 🙂
janet @ the taste space says
30. September 2015 at 2:08I thought I knew about all the beans but never have I heard of green kidney beans. Only white and red. Intrigued. 🙂
Unity Addison says
6. November 2017 at 14:57Can I use tinned peas instead or capers… I hate capers?
The recipe looks awesome though.
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
6. November 2017 at 15:09I haven’t tried that myself but I think it will work. I would recommend to add more spices though to make it more flavorful, because the capers are one ingredient which give so much flavor.