My ORIGINAL Raw Vegan Mock "Chicken" Salad recipe is so easy to make using a creamy vegan dressing, fresh vegetables, and herbs and is ready to enjoy in less than 15 minutes. It's a plant-based meal made without chickpeas, eggs, soy, tofu or processed vegan mayonnaise!
Real Vegan Method™ Recipe
This recipe is part of the Real Vegan Method™...a simple step-by-step way to move beyond processed vegan foods and become a confident Real Food Vegan.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Made with Fresh, Flavorful Ingredients: there are two parts to this recipe. First, the creamy vegan dressing made with cashews, lemon juice, and dill for a tangy flavor that replaces mayonnaise. Second, a colorful vegetable medley made with carrots, broccoli, onions, and jalapeno.
- Ready In About 10 Minutes - just add everything to a food processor and it's ready to go!
- It Contains No Processed Vegan Ingredients - even though my recipe dates back to 2012, I've seen lots of other vegan "chicken" salad recipes out there lately, but most of them contain less than healthy or processed vegan ingredients.
Karielyn
Jump to RecipeThis is a Real Food Recipe
Other vegan "chicken" salad recipes contain processed ingredients include: "vegan chicken strips", "vegan mayonnaise", and "vegan tofu".
My raw vegan mock "chicken" salad recipe contains real food and doesn't rely on any processed ingredients.
It does not contain:
- tofu
- chickpeas
- oil
- processed vegan mayonnaise
- processed vegan "chicken"
You can enjoy this recipe as a sandwich on gluten-free bread, in a grain-free wrap, gluten-free crackers, or in a nori or romaine lettuce wrap for a 100% raw vegan meal.
It's a healthy, clean eating recipe made with real food ingredients that you can feel good about and is plant-based, raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, oil-free, paleo-friendly, and Medical Medium® Compliant.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredient I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Cashews
- Lemon Juice
- Filtered/Purified Water
- Garlic
- Green Onions
- Dill Weed
- Red Bell Pepper
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Red Onions
- Jalapenos
- Himalayan Pink Salt
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Cashews: It's best to use "raw" cashews instead of "roasted" or "salted" cashews.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the best flavor and nutrients since it hasn't been pasteurized, but it can be substituted with store-bought organic lemon juice.
Garlic: Freshly crushed garlic will give the best flavor and nutrients, but it could be substituted with organic ground garlic.
Green Onions: Also known as "scallions" were added to give the dressing extra flavor but they could be omitted if you don't have any or don't like them.
Dill Weed: You can use fresh or dried organic dill weed.
Red Bell Pepper: This could be substituted with orange or yellow bell pepper.
Carrot: Cut the carrot into quartered pieces before adding it to the food processor to help it process easier.
Broccoli Florets: Don't worry about cutting these too precisely because they will get added to the food processor to be chopped. Just make sure they are small enough before adding to the food processor to help it process easier.
Red Onion: I like to use red onion for its color, but feel free to use your favorite onion variety. Again, the onion doesn't need to be diced but cut into smaller pieces before adding to the food processor for easy processing.
Jalapeno: Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of jalapeno. It can also be omitted if you don't like spicy foods or will be serving this dish to children.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Struggling To Eat Vegan Without Relying on Processed Ingredients?
If you rely on packaged vegan food and ingredients or feel overwhelmed trying to eat healthier, this recipe shows how easy real food vegan meals can be...without sacrificing flavor or comfort.
The Method Behind All My Recipes
If you love clean, real food vegan recipes like this one, you'll love the method behind them.
The Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset helps you:
- Move beyond processed vegan substitutes
- Cook with clean, real food ingredients
- Make plant-based eating simple + consistent
All my recipes - including this one- are based on the Real Vegan Method™.
The ORIGINAL Raw Vegan Mock "Chicken" Salad
Equipment
- Vitamix or high-speed blender
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 cups organic raw cashews
- 5 tablespoons organic lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2-7 tablespoons water (filtered/purified) (add only as needed)
- 1 clove organic garlic
- 1 tablespoon organic green onions (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon organic dill weed (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
For the vegetable mixture:
- 1 organic red bell pepper
- 1 organic carrot
- 1 cup organic broccoli florets
- ¼ cup organic red onion
- 1 organic jalapeno
Instructions
Prepare the dressing:
- Add all ingredients for the dressing to a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, and blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Start with 2-4 tablespoons of filtered/purified water and check the consistency. Add (1) extra tablespoon of water at a time, but only as needed. You want the dressing to be not too thin and not too thick.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference, then set aside.
Prepare the vegetable mixture:
- Add all the ingredients for the vegetable mixture to a food processor and pulse until the veggies are broken down into small pieces. Take care to not over process.
Assembly:
- Add the vegetable mixture and dressing to a medium-size mixing bowl and stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
- Serve as a sandwich on gluten-free bread, as a wrap, a dip or enjoy it by itself.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes
- Blueberry Mango Salad with Tahini Ginger Dressing,
- Watermelon Salad with Clean Eating Watermelon Vinaigrette
- Red Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lime Dressing
- or my Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Chelle says
Hello!
Excited to try! Can the cashews be substituted for anything else?
Thanks!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Chelle! I haven't made this with any substitutions for the cashews, but if I did, I would probably use pine nuts and maybe sunflower seeds. The pine nuts would have the most neutral flavor and the sunflower seeds might alter the flavor slightly.
Thanks for your question and I hope this helps! 🙂
Louise Street says
This is one of the very BEST recipes I've ever made! Even the dressing was delicious all by itself, so I will use it for other raw food combinations as well. So very thankful that you put this on Pinterest for us!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Louise! I'm so excited to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for trying it out and for taking the time to let me know you liked it...I really appreciate it! 🙂
Jen says
This may be the best thing I ever ate....no joke. Wow!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Jen! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! It's one of my favorites for a quick, light lunch.
Thanks so much for trying out my recipe and for taking the time to let me know you liked it...I sincerely appreciate it 🙂
Cydni says
Wow, this was AWESOME! In my family, I was known for making the best chicken salad. I have since given up my meat-eating days and I was so excited to try this raw veggie version. This recipe does so well in mimicking some of those flavors. I added a few celery stalks to mine and it was wonderful! Definitely making this again,
Karielyn says
Hi there Cydni! I am so excited to hear that this was a good replacement recipe for your chicken salad! And I love the idea of adding in extra celery too.
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it...I really appreciate it 🙂
LaToya says
Hey thanks for this recipe cant wait to try it. Is there anyway to know the carb and calorie info? Thanks in advance!!
Karielyn says
Hi there LaToya! I've updated the recipe to include nutritional information...it's at the bottom of the recipe card. Just keep in mind it's just an estimate.
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Malte says
I can't tell if you were joking or not, but carrots don't improve eyesight. It was British WW2 propaganda aimed at the Germans to explain how they could spot their planes from miles away. In reality it was because of the newly invented radar, not because of carrots.
Recipe looks great, about to try it out.
Karielyn says
Hi there Malte! Never heard of that theory before but the high amount of beta-carotene definitely can't hurt 🙂
Thanks and I hope you enjoy the recipe!!
Becky says
Loving this salad Karielyn! You have done it again! I will leave out some of the onion next time for me though and I increased the garlic by double and will maybe a bit more... That's so wonderful about cooking - we get it just like we like it!! Served it to a friend with the raw carrot chia crackers and flax crackers. Went over big. Gonna do again tomorrow night with an other friend!! You make me so healthy and popular! May He continue to build You with Your incredible gifting!! TY and bless You MORE for sharing with all of us!! MUAH!
Karielyn says
Hi there Becky! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe and that it was a hit with your guests too!
Thank you for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you liked it...I really appreciate it 🙂