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This healthy and colorful detox salad is LOADED with lots of greens and fresh veggies. The added nuts and seeds give the salad aย delicious crunch and texture. Drizzled with a lemon ginger vinaigrette, this salad has so many vibrant flavors!

Overhead view of detox salad in a large bowl with a serving spoon.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Detox: This baby is packed with so many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and can result in detoxification. I’m all about my body getting rid of what it doesn’t need and keeping the good stuff fuel me!
  • Vegetables: Detox salad is a great way to get lots of servings of vegetables in one sitting.
  • Versatile: You could just eat this salad on its own or eat it with some chicken for protein and an air fryer sweet potato to leave you feeling full and satiated.

Ingredients Needed for Detox Salad

Detox Salad

  • Kale: Washed and chopped.
  • Broccoli: Chop small for the salad.
  • Red Cabbage: Thinly sliced shaved red cabbage adds crunch.
  • Carrots: Shredded carrots add pretty color and texture.
  • Green Onions:ย Thinly sliced green onions add delicious flavor.
  • Spinach:ย Chopped spinach adds more greens to the mix.
  • Seeds: Feel free to use shelled pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
  • Slivered Almonds: I love almonds, but any nuts will work in this salad.
  • Dried Cranberries: I used unsweetened for less sugar!

Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

  • Fresh Ginger:ย Fresh is always best and ginger has the best health benefits. If you don’t like ginger, feel free to use less or omit it completely.
  • Fresh Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice adds a bright acidity to the vinaigrette.
  • Lemon Zest: Brings out the lemon flavor in the dressing.
  • Dijon Mustard: Adds a creamy texture and tangy flavor.
  • Honey: Provides sweetness. Agave or maple syrup can also be used.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Binds all of the ingredients together and the base of the dressing.
  • Salt and Pepper:ย To taste.
First photo of the vinaigrette ingredients in a food processor. Second photo of the olive oil blending into the vinaigrette. Third photo of the salad ingredients in a bowl.

Detox Salad Recipe

These are the ingredients I used, but you can always mix and match with what you have in your fridge! The beauty of salads is that they taste good with so many different additions! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

Salad

  1. Wash, Prepare, and Combine Salad Ingredients: Add all the ingredients for the salad to a large bowl.

Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

  1. Peel the Ginger: Peel the ginger then add it whole or chopped to a food processor.
  2. Blend: Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, dijon, and honey to the food processor and mix until combined. With the food processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil then salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Dress the Salad and Enjoy: Toss the detox salad with as much dressing as desired then serve immediately.
Side view of the dressing pouring over the salad ingredients.

Detox Salad Tips and Variations

This detox salad is super simple to make and easy to switch up the flavors. This salad recipe is perfect when you are trying to add more veggies to your diet. Here are some variations to try.

  • Add Protein: I know this is a detox salad, but you could add some protein to make it heartier. Crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, or grilled chicken breast would be delicious!
  • Switch Up the Veggies: Use any greens or combination of greens you would like for this salad! You can also use green cabbage in place of the purple cabbage. Throw some avocado on top, and feel free to add chopped peppers, cucumbers, red onion, brussels sprouts, or zucchini.
  • Dried Fruit:ย Use different dried fruit like dried blueberries or cherries because they are rich in antioxidants!
  • Nuts: Switch up the nuts and add your favorites!
  • Dressing:ย Even though the lemon ginger vinaigrette is perfect on this detox salad, you could use other dressings! I would recommend thisย balsamic vinaigretteย or myย apple cider vinaigrette.

Detox Inspiration

Detox Recipes: I love a good detox recipe to kick start my body into eating healthy! Adding more vegetables is always my go-to answer for feeling better. Try my detox soup for lunch or this detox smoothie for breakfast in the mornings! And make sure to drink this easy and delicious detox fruit water throughout the day. Eating healthy never tasted SO good!

Close view of serving spoons lifting up a scoop of salad.

Leftover Detox Salad

If you plan on making this salad ahead of time, I recommend storing the salad and dressing separately so the greens donโ€™t wilt. I like to have all of the salad ingredients ready to go. Then I assemble it right before serving.

  • Fridge:ย  Store the salad ingredients without the dressing, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Once the salad has been tossed with the dressing, it’s best to be eaten the same day. The leftovers may be stored for up to 24 hours, but it will get more wilted the longer it sits.

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Detox Salad

4 from 1 vote
By: Alyssa Rivers
This healthy and colorful detox salad is LOADED with lots of greens and fresh veggies. The added nuts and seeds give a delicious crunch and texture to the salad. Drizzled with a lemon ginger vinaigrette, this salad has so many vibrant flavors!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

Salad

  • 3 cups kale, chopped
  • 2 cups broccoli, chopped small
  • 2 cups red cabbage, shaved
  • 1 cup carrots, shredded
  • ยฝ cup green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 cups spinach, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin or sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
  • ยผ cup unsweetened dried cranberries

Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

Instructions 

Salad

  • Wash and prepare the salad ingredients then add all of them to a large bowl.

Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

  • Peel the ginger then add it whole or chopped to a food processor.
  • Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, dijon, honey to the food processor and mix until combined. With the food processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Toss the salad together with as much dressing as desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 4gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 28gSodium: 89mgPotassium: 506mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 8450IUVitamin C: 85mgCalcium: 152mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Salad, Side Dish
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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7 Comments

  1. The salad was good, the dressing was too heavy on the olive oil. I will try with a different dressing. Thanks for the share.

  2. Hi Alyssa,
    This sounds great! Will try it when I can pick up the ingredients. As for some people who seem to love to to bring negative comments without out even trying it & apparently not intelligent enough to look up these ingredients for their worth just ignore. They’re not worth your time!

  3. 4 stars
    Sounds delicious. I’m sure it’s healthful, but curious as to what exactly this will detoxify? Can you name a single specific toxin this will eliminate from the body? I didn’t think so. Stop using this over-hyped and meaningless word, and come up with an honest title.

    1. Hi Craig. Kale, broccoli, cabbage, and spinach are all rich in sulforaphane which helps with liver detoxification and cancels out free radicals. Not that it will eliminate a single specific toxin, but helps the body with its own processes.

      1. I loved the salad and Iโ€™m a Republican but for you to bring politics into this just shows that you are a simple person