Vegan Chopped Power Salad with Almond-Miso Dressing

This recipe for Vegan Chopped Power Salad is tossed with oven-baked tofu, cashews, hemp hearts, and a sweet, nutty Almond-Miso Dressing.

Maple-Miso Tofu

Last year I linked to a Maple-Miso Tofu recipe in one of my What I Ate This Week posts and shortly afterwards, the recipe disappeared from the internet. I have no idea why it was taken down, but I get people asking me once in a while if I happen to have a copy of it myself; sadly, I do not. I get asked about it enough that I figured I’d try to make my own version and post it here.

Then I decided that what would make that Maple-Miso Tofu even better was to serve it in a bowl full of noodles. A noodle salad! With chewy baked tofu and maybe an almond-lime sauce, like the one I made a few months ago to dip crispy baked zucchini in. I was all set to make that, until I decided what would be even better would be to make the Maple-Miso Tofu and then serve it in a regular, non-noodle salad with an almond-lime dressing. But right before I went to the kitchen to start cooking, I realized making two separate sauces would be a little bit of a pain, so I merged the two together and made an Almond-Miso Dressing that works for both the tofu and the salad. Sorry Maple-Miso Tofu, I will have to tackle you another day.

Baked Tofu

When you bake tofu with a sauce, it’s best to use a conservative amount because any excess sauce on the baking sheet will blacken and burn. Tossing the tofu with two tablespoons of sauce might not seem like a lot and it’s not, but it’s the perfect amount to coat the tofu before you bake it. After the tofu is finished baking, you’ll toss it in another tablespoon of the dressing, which kicks up the flavor.

With tofu, almond butter, cashews, and hemp hearts, this salad is full of protein, while all the fresh veggies add lots of fiber—that’s what makes this a chopped power salad! It’s a salad that will keep you full and satisfied. And did I mention it’s delicious? Because it’s that too. The sweet, nutty dressing tastes a little bit like Thai peanut sauce—you will want to put it on everything you eat!

Vegan Chopped Power Salad with Almond-Miso Dressing

Customize this Chopped Power Salad with whatever veggies you have on hand, but don’t skip the baked tofu—it’s the best part!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Almond-Miso Dressing

• 3 tbsp unsweetened almond butter
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp water

Chopped Power Salad

• 1 (14 oz) package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Almond-Miso Dressing
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/3 cup raw cashew pieces
• 1–2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1–2 tbsp hemp hearts

Instructions

Almond-Miso Dressing

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients, except the water, in a small bowl. Add the water and whisk again; if the dressing is too thick, add more water 1/2 tablespoon at a time until it reaches a smooth, pourable consistency.

Chopped Power Salad

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Put the tofu cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle them with 2 tablespoons of dressing and toss gently to coat. Transfer the tofu to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 35–40 minutes, stirring halfway through the baking time, or until the tofu is just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, drizzle the tofu with another tablespoon of dressing, and use a spatula to toss the tofu in the sauce, making sure every piece is coated.
3. Toss the lettuce, cabbage, carrot, red pepper, green onions, cilantro, cashews, sesame seeds, and hemp hearts in a large bowl. Fold in the tofu. You can either toss the entire salad with the remaining dressing at this point or divide the salad into bowls and drizzle the dressing on top.

Notes

The dressing recipe makes just enough to coat the salad without any extra. My husband thought this was perfect, but I’m a little bit of a dressing fiend, so I like more on mine. If you’re like me, you might want to double the dressing recipe. Any leftovers you have will last in the fridge for at least a week.