This Favourite Rainbow Salad is more than just a colourful meal — it’s a celebration of “eating the rainbow.” Eating a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables ensures you get a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support overall health and wellbeing. Each vibrant colour represents different nutrients that help protect your body and keep you feeling energised.
The salad combines wholesome ingredients like farro, sweet potato, purple cabbage, and edamame, providing a balance of fibre, complex carbs, and plant protein. The roasted cashews add a satisfying crunch and healthy fats, which are essential for nutrient absorption and keeping you full longer. Plus, the creamy tahini dressing brings in more good fats along with a rich, nutty flavour.
If you prefer, feel free to add your favourite protein to make this salad even more filling — grilled chicken, salmon, or tofu all work beautifully. And if you don’t have farro, no worries! You can easily swap it for barley, quinoa, or brown rice, all of which pair wonderfully with the salad’s textures and flavours.
This salad is perfect for meal prep and keeps well in the fridge for a few days, so you can enjoy a nutritious, flavour-packed lunch or dinner whenever you want. Eating healthy never looked or tasted this good!
Why Eating The Rainbow Matters
Eating a variety of colourful vegetables isn’t just pretty on the plate – it’s powerful for your health too. Each colour represents different antioxidants and nutrients that support everything from your skin to your gut to your immune system. The purple cabbage is rich in anthocyanins, orange sweet potatoes are full of beta-carotene, and those leafy greens and legumes bring fibre, folate and plant-based protein. This salad is a simple (and delicious) way to nourish your body with a full spectrum of goodness.
This salad is also packed with healthy fats from tahini, sesame oil and cashews, which help your body absorb all those vitamins more effectively. You can keep it plant-based or add your favourite protein like grilled chicken Sweet Chilli Chicken Skewers, tofu or a boiled egg to make it even more satisfying.
Tips
- Batch roast your sweet potatoes: Roast extra sweet potato to keep on hand for other meals during the week. They’re great in wraps, bowls, or even mashed on toast.
- Cool before mixing: Let the roasted sweet potato and farro cool before adding to the salad — this keeps the veg crisp and prevents the dressing from thinning out.
- Chop smart: Use a julienne peeler or mandoline for perfectly thin carrot ribbons that blend well with the other textures.
- Make the dressing creamy: If your tahini is thick, whisk it with a tablespoon of warm water before combining with the other dressing ingredients.
- Meal prep winner: This salad holds up beautifully in the fridge for a few days — just keep the dressing separate until serving for extra crunch.
Swaps
Farro: You can substitute farro with other whole grains like barley, brown rice, or quinoa. Barley offers a similar chewy texture, brown rice is a bit softer but still hearty, and quinoa adds a light, fluffy texture with extra protein. Just note that cooking times and water ratios may vary slightly.
Sweet potato: Butternut squash or roasted carrots work well too, though the sweetness will vary slightly.
Edamame: Frozen peas or chopped green beans make a good swap if you’re out of edamame.
Red beans: Black beans or chickpeas can be used instead — whichever you have in the cupboard.
Tahini: Peanut butter or almond butter can work, though the flavour will change — start with a little and adjust to taste.
Storage
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Keep the dressing separate if you want to preserve crunch.
Freezer: Not suitable for freezing — this one’s best enjoyed fresh.
More Nourishing Salads
Rainbow Salad Crunch
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked farro
- 1 sweet potato chopped and baked
- purple cabbage
- 1/4 can red beans
- 1-2 carrot
- ~100g of frozen edamame
- ~ 50g roasted cashews
- coriander
Dressing
- 3 tbsp of tahini
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- juice of 1/4 lime
- water, add a few tbsp of water if needed