Vegan Creamy Dill Pickle Salad + Gardyn Review

I'm one of those people who actually crave greens. Yes I know, how very vegan of me. But when it comes to salads, I'm not one of those "just a squeeze of lemon" will do for my dressing kinda people. I love creamy rich salad dressings. I love my salads full of hearty beans and vegetables, the lettuce has to be fresh, crisp, and full of flavour, and you always need something just a little unexpected to make your salad pop. And that's why I fell in love with this creamy vegan dill pickle salad. It's everything a good salad should be with a surprisingly delightful tangy pop of pickle.  YUM!

I've had the pleasure of enjoying endless delicious salads recently all thanks to myGardyn! I've fallen madly in love with this amazing little garden, so let me introduce you to its wonders. Gardyn is an amazing at-home indoor garden. This indoor plant tower grows fresh greens year-round, in your own home, using up just 2 square feet of space, no sunlight or waterline is required, making it the perfect solution for any home.

Look how cool it is!? So high-tech, yet so minimalist chic! This is definitely my style. We have a lot of house plants in our home, but Adam is the manager of those plants. You see, I'm terrible at growing plants, I'm really much better at eating them! But this vertical garden is all mine. I grew all of this myself, with no help from Adam! I've tried to grow vegetables outside in the past but failed miserably, so this easy veggie garden system is perfect for me. No green thumbs are required!

The Gardyn comes with an app called Kelby that keeps an eye on your plants for you and tells you what you need to do to maintain them. Gardyn waters the plants for you, lights them for you (you could easily grow your plants in the darkest corner of your home), and if your Gardyn needs any maintenance such as a water tank refill, or plant trimming, you will get an alert on your phone to let you know what to do.

The Gardyn holds up to 30 plants, and you can see I have a ton of wonderful goodies growing in mine at the moment including, butterhead, arugula, breen, cardinal, green mustard, kale, lollo rosa, matilda, red mustard, romaine, rouge d'hiver, tatsoi, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, Italian parsley, mint, Thai basil, thyme, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, and sweet peppers. So yeah, A LOT of delicious veg on hand!

As a food photographer, I've also found it super helpful to have fresh herbs on hand at all times. With my Gardyn, now I always have perfect garnishes that are just a snip away. So in case you didn't pick up on the vibe I'm putting out: if you're looking for my honest Gardyn review, it's a 5 out of 5 stars from me! I love this thing so much!

If you're interested in ordering your own indoor plant tower, I've partnered with Gardyn to give you a really great deal. Use code: SamTurnbull for $100 off. (For my Canadian friends 🇨🇦 the Gardyn will be coming to Canada very soon, so hang tight). Now on to the salad!

How to make Creamy Vegan Dill Pickle Salad:

To make the dressing: if you have a high-powdered blender you can skip straight to the next paragraph. If you have a regular blender, you may want to soften the cashews first to ensure they blend smoothly. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using.

Add the cashews, ¾ cup water, nutritional yeast, pickle, pickle brine, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to your blender. Blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. The dressing gets thicker as it cools, great for dipping! If needed you can always add more water to thin as desired.

To make the salad: to a large salad bowl or platter add the lettuce, beans, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and pickle. I like to arrange mine in sections for a pretty display, but feel free to pile all the ingredients on top if you prefer. Dress with the creamy vegan dill pickle salad dressing to taste, and garnish with red pepper flakes if desired. Serve fresh.

This creamy vegan dill pickle salad is delicious served as a main with some garlic bread, or serve as a side dish with some mushroom soup or a chickpea sandwich.

(And yes, Chickpea dog loves the Gardyn too)!

Bon appetegan!

Sam Turnbull

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Creamy Vegan Dill Pickle Salad

This salad is made using lettuce and herbs from my Gardyn at home garden tower- how cool! Hearty beans, crunchy cucumber, sweet pops of grape tomatoes, and red onions, on a bed of fresh homegrown crisp mixed greens, drizzled with my creamy dairy-free dill pickle salad dressing. Yum!

Use code: SamTurnbull to get $100 off your Gardyn.

Inspired by The First Mess Chopped Creamy Dill Pickle Salad

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course : Salad

Cuisine : AmericanCanadian

Servings: 4

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

Ingredients

For the Creamy Dill Pickle Dressing:

• 1 cup raw cashews, (see step 1 for prep)
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 large dill pickle, (or 2 baby dills)
• 2 tablespoon dill pickle juice, (the liquid in the pickle jar)
• 2 teaspoons fresh dill, (or ½ teaspoon dried dill)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Salad:

• 6 cups mixed lettuce greens
• 1 can (19oz) white bean (lima beans, chickpeas, or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes,, sliced in half
• 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• ¼ of a red onion,, thinly sliced,
• 1 large dill pickle (or 2 baby dills), chopped
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes for garnish, (optional)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

To make the dressing:

• If you have a high-powdered blender you can skip straight to step 2. If you have a regular blender, you may want to soften the cashews first to ensure they blend smoothly. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using.
• Add the cashews, ¾ cup water, nutritional yeast, pickle, pickle brine, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to your blender. Blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. The dressing gets thicker as it cools, great for dipping! If needed you can always add more water to thin as desired.

To make the salad:

• To a large salad bowl or platter add the lettuce, beans, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and pickle. I like to arrange mine in sections for a pretty display, but feel free to pile all the ingredients on top if you prefer. Dress with the creamy vegan dill pickle salad dressng to taste, and garnish with red pepper flakes if desired. Serve fresh.

Notes

Cashew substitute: blanched almonds or macadamia nuts work well as a substitute in this recipe. Or for a nut-free version I love to use raw sunflower seeds. 

Make ahead: depending on how much dressing you like on your salad, the recipe makes lots of dressing- enough for 2 - 3 salads. Store leftover dressing in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. It's a delicious dressing for a salad, but it's also great for dipping veggies or using on a grain bowl. The salad should be assembled fresh.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (¼ of the dressing and ¼ of the salad) | Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 896mg | Potassium: 1059mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 937IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 5mg

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