Refreshing grapes take center stage in this ultra-hydrating Mediterranean salad featuring an oil-free dressing.
Why you’ll love this Mediterranean salad
This salad features all the brightness and flavor of a Mediterranean salad without added oil. The naturally cooling sweet grapes, cucumber, and celery help you stay refreshed and hydrated on a hot day. And because you only use one bowl to prepare and serve the salad, cleanup is a breeze!
Ingredients
For the salad, you’ll need:
- Fresh baby spinach leaves: Spinach is a superfood rich in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as calcium and iron. Feel free to substitute other greens (e.g., baby kale, arugula) if you don’t have fresh spinach on hand.
- Chickpeas: Tofu or cannellini beans are great alternatives. If you are using tofu, press it first to reduce the water content and allow more time for it to marinate in the dressing to soak up flavor and mask the plain tofu taste.
- Red seedless grapes: The sweeter the better. I used the Candy Snaps variety, which I highly recommend if you can find them.
- English cucumber: These are different from American cucumbers. You can usually spot English cucumbers by looking for the long cucumbers wrapped in plastic in the produce section (the plastic wrapping helps protect the delicate skin). If you can’t find English cucumbers, feel free to substitute the American kind, but peel them first because the skin on American cucumbers is a lot thicker and less appetizing.
- Celery: Adds a lot of crunch with minimal calories.
- Red onion: In addition to adding a pop of color and a touch of sweetness, red onions are a fantastic source of antioxidants. If you’re not an onion fan, however, feel free to omit these—you’ll still have a lot of sweetness from the grapes.
- Walnuts: Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids and high levels of antioxidants, which support brain and heart health.
To make the dressing, you’ll need:
- Red wine vinegar: Adds slight sweetness and tang without being overwhelming.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard is a far cry from your typical bright yellow ballpark condiment. Thanks to white wine, it has a much more complex flavor that works especially well in dressings.
- Nutritional yeast: Don’t let the yucky-sounding name prevent you from trying this vegan-friendly seasoning. It adds a subtle cheese-like flavor to foods and is rich in B vitamins.
- Dried oregano: Dried herbs, like oregano, pack a surprising nutritional punch. Dried oregano is particularly known for its immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory antioxidants.
- Dried rosemary: Like dried oregano, dried rosemary contains antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Research suggests that a mild amount of rosemary may boost cognitive performance.
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
This recipe keeps things simple by only using one large bowl to make both the dressing and the salad.
Start by preparing the dressing. Add the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, dried oregano, dried rosemary, and freshly cracked black pepper to the large bowl. Whisk together until combined.
Next, chop the veggies if you have not done so already. Then, add the chickpeas, grapes, cucumber, celery, and red onion to the bowl. If you prefer walnuts in your salad to be super crunchy, hold off on adding them at this point. Otherwise, if you’d like the walnuts to be slightly softened and flavored with the dressing, add them at this step.
With your hands or a large spoon, toss these ingredients to evenly coat them with the dressing.
Then comes the easy part: let them sit for at least 10 minutes to marinate. Don’t skip this step! This salad tastes better if these ingredients have a chance to absorb some of the dressing before you add the spinach (which can quickly become soggy if overwhelmed with dressing). Stir the marinating ingredients occasionally to make sure they are evenly coated.
Once at least 10 minutes have passed, add the baby spinach leaves to the bowl (along with the walnuts, if you did not add them earlier). Toss them gently before serving.
Related
More salad is always a good thing! Check out some of these favorites:
Mediterranean Salad (Oil-Free)
Equipment
- large bowl
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- freshly cracked black pepper
Salad
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed (see Note)
- 1½ cups red seedless grapes whole or halved (see Note)
- ¾ cup English cucumber diced
- ½ cup celery diced (about 2 medium stalks)
- ½ cup walnuts roughly chopped
- ¼ cup red onion diced
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, dried oregano, dried rosemary, and cracked black pepper until combined.
- Marinate the salad toppings: Add the chickpeas, grapes, cucumber, celery, and red onion to to the bowl. If you prefer that the walnuts are slightly softened and flavored with dressing, add them to the bowl as well. Otherwise, if you would like the walnuts to stay on the crunchier side, hold off on adding them until the next step. Using your hands or a large spoon, toss the ingredients until they are evenly coated with the dressing. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to marinate, stirring occasionally.
- Combine and serve: Add the baby spinach leaves to the bowl (along with the walnuts, if you did not add them earlier) and toss gently before serving.
Notes
- Cannellini beans or cubed extra-firm tofu work well as substitutes for chickpeas.
- Using sweeter grape varieties adds a nice balance to the flavor. I used Candy Snaps, which are exceptionally sweet and juicy.
- Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for approximately 3 days.
