Tzatziki Greek Salad Bowl (Vegan)

This tzatziki Greek salad bowl is a colourful and delicious 20-minute recipe. The dairy-free tzatziki can be used not only as a dressing but also as a dip for veggies or chips! This salad is made up rice, chickpeas, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, olives and lettuce. It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in containers to be enjoyed throughout the week or enjoyed right away!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 jar Kalamata olives (about 200mL)
• 4 large leaves of Romaine lettuce

Vegan Tzatziki

• 1/2 cup vegan Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup shredded cucumber
• 1/2 lemon (about 1-1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 tbsp fresh mint

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Small bowl

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to package directions to make 2 cups of cooked rice.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
3. Dice 1/2 cucumber, the red pepper and red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes and Kalamata olives, and chop the Romaine lettuce.
4. Then, start making the vegan tzatziki by shredding cucumber until you have about 1/2 cup of shredded cucumber and squeeze the juice out (this cucumber juice can be saved for a smoothie or enjoyed on its own!). Add to shredded cucumber to a small bowl.
5. Mince the 2 garlic cloves and finely chop dill and fresh mint leaves. Add to the bowl with the shredded cucumber.
6. Add the vegan Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and salt to the bowl and mix until your tzatziki is well combined.
7. Finally, it’s time to assemble the salad. To a large mixing bowl, add the rice, chickpeas, diced cucumber, red pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives and lettuce. Drizzle the tzatziki on top, and enjoy with salt to taste!

Notes

*For an oil-free version, simply omit olive oil from the tzatziki and replace with a tbsp of water.

*If you’re meal prepping this salad ahead of time, add tzatziki to the bottom of the container, then chickpeas, rice, olives, cucumber, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and finally lettuce.