Jennifer Aniston Salad — Veganized
There are salads and then there are salads that steal the show. This plant-based, weight loss version of Jennifer Aniston’s viral TikTok salad is one of those salads. It makes a great lunch or dinner that you can throw together in under 30 minutes, you can make it for weekend entertaining, and it’s also perfect to make ahead for meal prep lunches. (Huge bonus)
To make this recipe, you’ll need a few fresh items from the produce department. Grab an English cucumber, a red onion, some fresh Italian parsley, fresh mint, and a few lemons. I love using English cucumbers because they’re less watery and hold up better if you make this salad ahead of time. I also prefer Italian parsley over curly parsley, and I try to always by this organic.
Then you’ll want to pick up some quinoa, a can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), pistachios, dairy free feta (I like the Violife brand) and some olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
Making the salad couldn’t be easier. Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. Since quinoa has a mild toxin on it, give it a good rinse first. (The quinoa from Costco is already rinsed!) I like to use a little less water than the typical instructions — 1 cup dry quinoa with 1 ¾ cup water. Let it cool when it’s done by getting it out of the hot pot and pouring it into the large bowl you are going to use for creating this masterpiece.
While the quinoa is cooking, we can get everything else ready for the salad. Rinse and drain the chickpeas in a colander (I love this colander set), then dice up the cucumber, red onion, parsley, and mint. I always use this chopper for dicing onions. It is the one tool I use on the daily and is my number one gift for the cooks in my life!
For the dressing I cut down the oil quite a bit from the original recipe to make this more of a weight loss salad. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, (I use this squeezer because it traps the seeds!) olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
Then just toss everything together and serve! For leftovers the salad will absorb most of the dressing so just squeeze on some fresh lemon if it seems dry. If you want to serve the salad with something else, it pairs well with soup like this Vegan Corn Chowder or this Roasted Squash Soup. Enjoy! Watch me make this salad on Instagram!
If you try this recipe let us know! Leave a comment and don’t forget to tag a photo #youcarerecipes on Instagram. Enjoy, friends!
Jennifer Aniston salad (veganized)
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 1/4 red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted pistachios
- 3/4 cup dairy free feta cheese
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa and let it cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk up the dressing
- Toss everything together!