Fresh Spring Salad with Pickles and Pretzels

This Fresh Spring Salad with Pickles and Pretzels is just as healthy and crisp as it looks, but with the added fun factor of pickles and crushed pretzels as crunchy topping. It has sweet peas, tender green asparagus, pretty pink radishes adding a bit of snappy sharpness plus zing from bright pink marinated onions. And, as every good salad, it comes topped with a bit of cheese in form of feta, for that briny, salty touch. You can customize it endlessly, but I highly recommend to not skip the creamy Cashew Pickle ranch dressing, making it into a crave worthy plate of freshness.

 

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• Why You’ll Love This
• The Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Equipment Used
• How to Make this
• How To Store
• FAQ
• Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

Why You’ll Love This 

TL;DR

• Unique Spring Salad: This blog post introduces a Spring Salad with Dill Pickles and Pretzels, offering a fresh, crisp, and fun take on a seasonal favorite.
• Seasonal & Healthy: It celebrates Irish spring produce like peas, asparagus, radishes, and Pak choi, and gives you 7 of your 5-a-day.
• Fun Toppings: Key to the salad’s appeal are its fun toppings: tangy dill pickles, bright quick pickled red onions, salty feta, and crunchy pretzels for an unexpected texture.
• Signature Dressing: A highlight is the Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing, a creamy, vegan, oil-free, and healthier alternative.

Seasonal and good for you

Spring is finally here and do we have a lovely one in Ireland this year!
I can barely believe it, but we actually had about 2 straight weeks of sun and around 20 °C here, which is a rarity! And as the warmth soaks me, I feel, like probably most of us, the craving for lighter meals, often crunchy salads, to refresh and re-energize.

And with the shops finally getting the first seasonal produce, which are just too lovely and bright green to resist, I came up with my very own version of a healthy fresh spring salad. It has lovely sweet fresh peas, tender, snappy asparagus, crisp radishes adding some mustardy heat to the plate and some super cute baby Pak choi that I found at my local supermarket. Plus some creaminess in form of avocado.

Fun fact:
In a video of one of the best known organic shops in Ireland “The Happy Pear” recently shared, they stated that Pak choi is one of the most nutrient dense vegetables in the world.
Works for me, as Its tender leaves and slightly mustardy, juicy stems also make it incredibly delicious!

Light enough as side, substantial enough as main

I know these two seem to contradict each other but let me explain!
You can adjust the number of toppings and of course the portion size to fit the occasion.
Looking for a fresh and light easter side dish? Skip the pretzels or let everyone build their own as they please.
I always found those are the most popular salads! Even kids love to assemble their own from lots of options.

Packed with Veggies: 7 of Your 5-a-Day!

For a main, go all out and munch a big bowl of it. I mean, seriously big! The cashew dressing is light and healthy enough to not negate the benefits of all the veggies you are getting, as this has 7 of your 5-a-day!

Fun toppings

With our seasonal veggies covered, let’s dive into the most exciting part: the toppings, shall we?
I mean sure, the above would make a lovely side salad, which you could top with some soft herbs and a bit of vinaigrette and leave it at that, to have it with, say, pizza, pasta, burgers or any meat and fish of your choice (grilled scampi would be particularly lovely here). But I like my salads to be the main event and what transforms them into one?
Yup. The toppings. I’m adding about 4 of them, because you can never have too many!

Pickles

Starting with some acidity, to lift up all the other flavors dill pickles came to mind. I just used my own quick pickles, which come together within minutes and will last happily for weeks. Cucumbers in my case. Though pickled red cabbage would make for a rather stunning contrast.

Quick pickled red onions are next. First because they just taste really good, with their pungency tempered by the lemon juice and salt, but also because they turn into this irresistible bright pink when left for a few hours. Not that you have to wait that long. But make more, so you have enough for the week to throw them onto sandwiches, salads, soups and virtually everything that needs a pop of colour and sharpness.

Why Every Salad Needs Cheese

According to the NYT (and they can’t be wrong, can they now?) the one thing that transforms a bowl of veggies from a salad into an event is cheese. I have to agree. Cheese just makes everything better!
The peas and asparagus plus the creamy avocado I’m adding on top just scream feta to me, with its bright saltiness bringing out all the sweet spring flavors.

Pretzels

Now if you’d be sensible, you would probably add some nuts (Pistachios would be particularly good here!), but I went for a bit of a party in mouth option here by crumbling a handful of sour cream-onion pretzels over the top of it all. Because sometimes, a little salty, crunchy indulgence is exactly what a healthy salad needs!

You can use any flavorful snack here that keeps its crisp texture while you munch your bright bowl of spring goodness. Crackers come to mind or even some Pangrattato made from leftover bread!

Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing

You can use any dressing you like for this super nutritious and pretty spring plate, but I’m very partial to my new obsession: Homemade Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing.

If you saw my Black Garlic Cashew Ranch Dressing you probably guessed about my love for all things ranch (especially since I discovered it woefully late in my life!). Combined with the incredible creaminess you get from the superhero cashew in anything from cream over dessert to dressing, it’s an absolute winner in my book. Add pickles and I’m in heaven!

This dressing has all the creaminess, tang and herby additions to the classic, but is completely vegan, oil free, no mayo, egg free, dairy free, and it’s raw.

Note:

I’m making nut based dressing for years now. Starting during my weight loss journey inspired by the “Eat to Live *” diet, which promoted them as a healthier option.
For me, while I’m neither a scientist nor nutritionist, including all the fibre and nutrition of a nut instead of just the extracted oil makes complete sense.
But what I really love about them is their creaminess and flavor and that my tummy much prefers them to cream, or mayo based alternatives.

I tend to get heartburn and all kinds of unpleasant side effects when I eat too much fat, yet nut based dressings and desserts just feel good in my body and taste absolutely delicious.
That’s why I make them a lot.

The Ingredients

• Fresh spring vegetables – I used peas (you could use frozen), green asparagus, baby Pak choi, radishes and crunchy, mild romaine lettuce.
• Avocados – They bring creamy richness to this otherwise very light salad
• Pickles – Either use my quick pickles recipe or slice your favourite pickles
• Onions – I love the red ones for a pop of colour, but any onion will do. Spring onion might fit the season even better.
• Feta – I use the ones you get in brine, but any crumbly and salty cheese will do.
• Dressing – I’m partial do the Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing I created especially for this salad, but a light and simple vinaigrette with some herbs would be lovely too.

substitutions

• Vegetables – You can go completely wild here and use whatever is in season. Courgettes, cucumbers, peppers, mini sweetcorn, sugar snaps, baby spinach, arugula and fresh, soft herbs like mint, dill, cilantro or basil would all be fair game. If you can get fresh, young and tender artichokes where you are, slice them thinly and they’ll be a wonderful addition.
• Feta – Use any cheese or vegan cheese here. The salty umami is what makes this into a full and satisfying meal
• Dressing wise – The vegan Caesar dressing would be equally delicious on this salad.
• Gluten free – For a gluten-free option, simply swap the pretzels for gluten-free crackers or roasted chickpeas.
• Adding protein – I had this Pretzel breaded, pickle brined air fryer tofu as protein with this salad and it was super satisfying.
• Though you could have it with chicken, steak, shrimps, smoked salmon or dare I say carrot lox? Not that carrots have protein, but…you know what I mean! Right?

Equipment Used

chopping board

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knife

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Nutribullet

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salad spinner

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How to Make this

Pickled Onions

Start by making the quick pickled onions. Slice the onions thinly, then add them to a small bowl that has a lid or a Kilner jar.  Juice the lemon.
Sprinkle the onions with a bit of salt, pour over the lemon juice, stir, then cover and let them sit while you prepare the rest.

Boil Water & Prep Ice Bath

Put a large pot of salted water on the hob, and let it come to a boil while you prepare your veggies.
Prepare a bowl with ice water and a strainer that fits both into the pot and the water bowl to hold the peas.

Chop Your Veggies

Start by chopping the asparagus. I like to slice the ends into small pieces and leave the tips whole.

Thinly slice the radishes, roughly chop the lettuce and just trim the ends of the Pak choy. They are too pretty to chop them up! Though I’m not religious about this. However, if you’d prefer fork-ready pieces, feel free to chop them.
Slice your pickles if they aren’t ready sliced.

Blanch

Once your water is boiling (make sure you added salt), add the asparagus directly into the pot, then pour the peas into the strainer and set it on top, so the peas are in the water but kept separate from the asparagus. If you don’t mind them mixing, feel free to just drop them in altogether.

Blanch for 2-3 minutes until just tender crisp. Drain and dip into the iced water until they are beautifully bright green and fresh-looking.

Assemble

On a large plate or in a bowl, start with a base layer of your leaves. I like to drizzle them with a bit of the cashew ranch dressing and mix well, so every single leaf has some flavor.
Top with the remaining veggies, then crumble over some feta before you add more dressing.

Finish with the now bright pink onions (they will only get better over the next days in the fridge) and crunch a handful of pretzels in your hand to sprinkle over.

Now dig in and feel glad it’s finally spring!

Watch The Video Here:

How to Serve

• This nutrient dense salad is a pretty filling meal all on its own but also makes a particularly pretty side dish for your Easter table (I know, I’m late, but mark this for next year! Spring is always too late for Easter in Ireland…).
• You can have it as light and healthy lunch, filling dinner, or as picnic salad.
• Eat it with your favourite pasta dish, pizza or burgers at the first summer BBQ.
• For a vegan topping, both my crispy breaded pretzel tofu and the KFC copycat marinated cornflake tofu from this salad are absolutely marvellous with it.
• If you’d like it even more substantial, you could mix in some couscous, quinoa or pearl barley.
• Or pulses in form of butter beans or chickpeas. Can I suggest the smoky chili butterbeans from this recipe?

Don’t be afraid to experiment and make this salad your own!

How To Store

I love meal prepping nearly all my main meals for a few days in advance and this one is no exception.

So when you make this ahead, for all the ingredients to remain at their best, I store them in separate lidded glass containers in the fridge, so the salad doesn’t get soggy and the peas don’t get lost at the bottom of a bowl.

I keep the dressing in a lidded jar and only add it when I’m ready to eat. That way, you have a fresh and crunchy salad bowl assembled within minutes with just about 30min of prep on your weekend.

A note on salad leaves: I found they stay freshest when washed first. then in either a box with a grid at the bottom (often for up to 4 days, even when chopped!) or one lined with paper towels, so the moisture doesn’t touch the leaves. Throw the Pak choy in with them, they get along fine.

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.

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