Rainbow Salad Recipe

This rainbow salad recipe is full of color and crunch with a variety veggies tossed in a delicious creamy lime dressing. It’s the perfect sweet and tangy salad for spring or summer. Eat it as a healthy side dish or take to a party or picnic as a beautiful salad.

You might also like this popular Mexican black bean salad.

It seems like there are lots of parties and picnics in the summer time and I always want to bring something different. I make a tasty Mexican corn salad recipe that is always a hit but today I wanted to change it up a bit. So I made this beautiful rainbow salad recipe and turned out as delicious as it was beautiful and no lettuce was involved.

I tried to use all the colors of the rainbow in this recipe but the prominent veggie was sweet yellow corn. From there I added purple cabbage, purple onion, red sweet peppers, orange carrots, green cilantro and jalapeno peppers. All of these are raw vegetables except the corn which must be cooked.

This looks great on the table of any party or serve it as a side dish. I personal would love this as a lunch or even dinner do it’s not just picnic food. The delicious dressing is a creamy lime dressing with some southwest flavors is perfect with this hearty salad. Plus it’s great for those follow a vegetarian diet with all the raw veggies it uses.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used for this vibrant salad are red cabbage, red sweet peppers, green jalapenos, cilantro, red onion, shredded carrots and corn. For the salad dressing I used fresh lime juice and zest, fresh garlic cloves, olive oil, mayonnaise, chili powder, salt and black pepper.

Red Cabbage
I really like cabbage in this salad because of the crunch and color. If you want you could use regular green cabbage because there is purple in the onion but I think it’s worth using.

Red Bell Peppers and Fresh Grated Carrots
Not only do I always use sweet baby peppers in salads, but this is perfect for the red color. You can also use orange and yellow peppers if you wish. The carrots add color and crunch and I just grated them. No need for substitutes for this veggie.

Cooked Corn
You use more corn than the other raw veggies and it’s the only one that is cooked. I just used frozen corn while the rest of this dish is fresh. If you have leftover ears of corn this would be a great dish to use it with.

Jalapeños and Fresh Cilantro
I love the flavor of fresh jalapenos. If you clean out the ribs and seeds they do not have much heat and I love the flavor of them. If you don’t want to use them you could use a little green pepper as a substitute. And if you are not a cilantro fan you can substitute with fresh parsley.

Other colorful veggies you can try are red grape tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, yellow or green zucchini, pink radishes, multi colored cauliflower or carrots (Trader Joe has these), etc.

Originally I used blueberries in this summer salad to use all of the ROYGBV colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet). They are usually a bit sweet and tart and they keep their shape. However when I made it this time I didn’t think it was necessary. If you like fruit in salads, please do but if you don’t have any I would not bother.

How to make this rainbow salad recipe.

Step 1: If using frozen corn, cook according to package instructions. If you are using fresh or leftover ears of corn, cook them and cut the corn off the cob and place in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Get out a medium mixing bowl to make the homemade dressing. Add the mayonnaise, olive oil, crushed garlic, chili powder, lime juice, lime zest, salt and black pepper. Whisk together and set aside.

Step 3: Get out a sharp knife and chopping board. Thinly slice the red onion and purple cabbage. Grate the carrot and chop the peppers, jalapeno pepper and cilantro. Toss all the veggies in the big bowl along with the cooked corn.

Step 4: Then add the dressing. Toss and then refrigerate until ready to eat. It’s good to let it refrigerate for at least a half hour so the flavors mingle and veggies soften a bit.

If you want you can add more chopped cilantro leaves to garnish if you want. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Great keto main dishes from the grill to go with the dish.

If you are looking for a tasty and healthy summer main dish you make on the grill here are a few of my favorite recipes to try. These meals would go great with the fresh flavors of this vegetable salad recipe.

• low carb marinated shrimp or barbecued salmon
• keto Greek marinated lamb chops or Mexican chicken breasts
• low carb Grilled glazed pork chops or orange ginger pork kebabs
• balsamic marinated or blue cheese flank steak
• keto pesto, feta and cilantro or Thai turkey burgers

This rainbow salad really is so delicious you could eat it as a light meal. Especially if you are a vegetable or salad lover. It’s a colorful salad recipe that is really filling and satisfying. I hope you give it a try this summer and enjoy it as much as we did. 

Plus it’s packed with healthy nutrients with all the colorful salad ingredients. So you can feel good about eating it or serving it to family and friends.