The warmer months of summer are just around the corner and this Marinated Vegetable Salad is the perfect side dish! Great for meal prep as it gets better the longer it marinates.
In May of last year, we moved into a new home. Our house was built in the 1960s and has no air conditioning…it is being installed soon. Now, this is totally normal back then, people just didn’t put in air conditioning. While that may be fine in some areas today, here in Missouri we get warm with so much humidity!! Humidity is the worst and I really do not handle it well!
Our home does have an attic fan and plenty of tall oaks for shade. And those things help but it still got warm in the house as summer grew hotter.
When the heat started in last summer, I started searching for ways to make meals that required very little use on the stove or oven.
That is when I found the recipe for Tangy Vegetable Salad in my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. The recipe required only having the stove on for about 10 minutes and then the veggies just chilled together in the frig. Haha, cooking humor!
So I decided to give it a try since I could make it in the morning when it was cooler and have a side dish ready to go at dinner time.
Of course, I made a few adjustments to fit our tastes and up the nutritional power for this delicious marinated vegetable salad.
How to meal prep Marinated Veggie Salad
This recipe is great for meal prep! The flavors really come together after chilling together for 24 hours in the frig. But when you let the dish sit together for three or four days, it is still slightly crunchy and delicious.
In order to prep this dish more than 4 days in advance, prep veggies as indicated. Store cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots together. Store olives and artichokes together. And keep onions in their own container. Next, mix up your marinade in a mason jar, store it in the jar too. At least 4 hours before you want to eat the dish, cook broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots as directed. Then mix all veggies, top with marinade, stir and chill.
To prep dish less then 4 days in advance, make the recipe as is and store in frig until you are ready to eat it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup quarters artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup olives, halved
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
How to Make this tangy side dish
In a large pan cook cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots for 3-5 minutes in a small amount of boiling water.
Drain veggies, transfer to a large bowl.
Put in frig and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Remove from frig and add onion, artichokes, and olives to the bowl.
Stir well.
Add white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, oregano, salt, and pepper to a mason jar.
Put a lid on the jar and shake well.
Pour marinade over veggies, stir gently.
Cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours.
Serve and enjoy!
Marinated Vegetable Salad
A tangy side dish that requires a small amount of cook time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup quarters artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup olives, halved
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- In a large pan cook cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots for 5 minutes in a small amount of boiling water.
- Drain veggies, transfer to a large bowl.
- Add onion, artichokes, and olives to the bowl. Stir well.
- Add white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, oregano, salt, and pepper to a mason jar.
- Put a lid on the jar and shake well.
- Pour marinade over veggies, stir gently.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can make this up to 24 hours in advance, but honesty, it is still delicious 3 - 4 days later making this a great meal prep dish.
- You can sub out any combination of veggies that you like. For example, substitute 1 cup of cucumber and red pepper for the 2 cups of broccoli.
This marinated vegetable salad is also very versatile. You can easily swap out the veggies I have listed for a variety of other veggies.
For example, I have made it without the broccoli, adding in cucumbers and red peppers instead. The original recipe called for zucchini.
My toddler would be completely happy if the recipe just had carrots in it. The kid loves his carrots!
You can switch out the oregano for another dried herb. Using dill would be a nice addition if you are using cucumbers.
This recipe makes a great side dish for any meats coming off the grill! But it is light and tangy, so it goes well many other meals too.
Let me know in the comments below how you like this dish!
