Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Easy wintergreen salad with kale, cabbage, pepper, and avocado with two seeds and an enticing maple dijon vinaigrette. Perfect for a light lunch salad! 

Are you doing all of the fall things?

This weekend I carved pumpkins with my sister, cousin, and M!

I’m not sure if the pumpkin will “make it” it to October 31st, but early October was the only time where all of our weekends synced up. 

We sat on my living room floor, fingers covered in pumpkin pulp, listening to the monster mash. 

I won’t win any pumpkin-carving awards anytime soon, but we had a blast anyway.

When it got dark we lined the pumpkins up on the front step and dropped a tea light candle in their orange concavity. 

I still have 5 un-carved pumpkins of assorted sizes on the front step, waiting for their debut. 

Strangely, I’ve been craving kale salads even though the weather is getting crisper and cooler.

Which is lucky, because kale is a wintergreen, after all, right? 

Let’s make this Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette. 

It’s packed with fresh veggies, two kinds of seeds, and a delicious homemade dressing! 

I love this salad because it tastes exciting and interesting with very minimal prep time. 

The addition of seeds, crunchy raw veggies, and a fantastic dressing make it super fresh and fun. 

It’s the kind of salad you’ll be excited to eat on your lunch break.

Ready for the break down? 

What You Need to Make Wintergreen Salad

Here’s what you need to make the base of this Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette:

• kale
• red cabbage
• bell pepper
• avocado
• hemp hearts
• pepitas 

That’s it!

How To Make Wintergreen Salad

You can use any kind of kale for this recipe, but I prefer curly kale! 

After you wash and chop the kale, red cabbage, and bell pepper, add them to a large mixing bowl. 

I like to add the avocado here, too, but you can also add it post-mixing like I did in the photographs for a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. 

Measure out the hemp hearts and pepitas and set them aside for now.

It’s time to quickly make dressing!

What You Need to Make Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Here’s what you need to make a mean Maple Dijon Vinaigrette: 

• Eden Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• white onion
• maple syrup
• dijon mustard
• lemon
• Himalayan sea salt
• garlic powder
• black pepper

That’s it!

How to Make Dijon Maple Vinaigrette

To make the dressing, simply add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until everything is well-combined and creamy. 

If you don’t have access to a blender or don’t want to use one, you can whisk up this dressing by hand by substituting the raw onion for a pinch of onion powder.

Taste the dressing and add more salt or pepper to taste, or lemon for acidity.

Pour the dressing into a mason jar or storage container and set it aside. 

The Olive Oil I Used

The star of this dressing is Eden Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil!

I know what you’re thinking. A dressing without tahini? 

Yes!

If you’ve been following me a while you know I’m very picky about the oils I use. 

I love Eden Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil because it’s cold-pressed and made without using any heat.

Using this method ensures that all of the nutrients and flavor is left intact and not stripped from the olives during the process.  

The olive oil is made with *three* varieties of olives in Spain, transformed into beautiful green color with a fresh and bold taste. 

My favorite way to use this olive oil is in dressings like this one.

Try mixing it into this dressing OR use it in your cooking, too! 

How to Mix The Salad

To serve, pour the dressing over the salad greens and top everything with hemp hearts, and pepitas.

I like to add the seeds after dressing the salad because the dressing encourages the hemp hearts and pepitas to stick to the greens instead of falling to the bottom!

Oh, be sure to give the salad a good toss before serving.

Use a fork (or two forks) to really work the dressing into the kale, until the leaves are well-coated. 

For tamer kale, let the salad sit for 5 minutes to marinate and soak in the dressing. 

If you can’t wait, that’s OK! 

Dig in! 

Notes on Meal Prep

Let’s talk meal prep!

If you’re making this salad in advance, only dress as much as you need for one serving.

Save the leftovers and combine them just before serving for the best taste and texture. 

If you’re commuting to work, try portioning out 1/4 of the salad into Tupperware to transport. 

Add the seeds and dressing on the spot so the salad doesn’t get soggy. 

Maybe eat it somewhere where your coworkers won’t get *too* jelly. 

How to Serve Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Enjoy this Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette as a super simple and delicious lunch idea! 

I love it as a quick lunch idea during the workweek, or side salad to a bigger meal. 

It always makes me feel energized and well-nourished. 

For extra protein, try adding your favorite plant-based protein, like quinoa, legumes, tempeh, or tofu. 

NOTE: The dressing will start to solidify after being refrigerated for a while. 

This can be remedied by warming at room temperature for ~30 minutes and re-whisking to combine. 

The salad and ingredients and dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week un-dressed.

Dressed salads will keep for 2-3 days. 

Enjoy!

More Winter Salad Recipes

• Garlicky Chickpeas & Kale Bowl with Cream Tahini

• Warm Kale Quinoa Bowl

• Warm Spiced Sweet Potato Salad with Pistachios

• Tri-Colored Roasted Cauliflower Salad

• Butternut Squash Noodle Cranberry Salad

• Fall Harvest Salad

• Roasted Squash & Arugula

• Root Veggie Chip Arugula Salad

• Roasted Fig Arugula Salad

• Cran-Apple Tempeh Kale Salad

I Want to Hear From You

If you make this Wintergreen Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette recipe, let me know!

Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.

Give me a shout on Instagram and use #floraandvino to show me your creations.

Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later.

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XO Lauren

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This post is brought to you by Eden Foods, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!