Try this High-Protein Roasted Broccoli Salad with chickpeas and tofu, all tossed in a tangy lemon vinaigrette. Packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients, this salad is perfect for meal prep, lunch, or dinner.
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Nothing goes to waste with this healthy vegan salad recipe. The broccoli stems and florets are roasted for a satisfying, wholesome meal. Make this salad ahead of time. It's perfect for meal prep and kids love it too!
Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or just looking for a healthy salad option, this roasted broccoli salad will satisfy your taste buds and keep you full for hours.
This recipe was inspired by my Healthy High-Protein Meal-Prep Salad and this unbelievably healthy Strawberry Kale Salad. You might also enjoy this 10-minute High-Protein Miso Bowl.
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👩🏼🌾 Roasted Broccoli Salad Ingredients
- Broccoli
- Arugula
- Chickpeas
- Super firm or extra-firm tofu (optional)
- Walnuts
- Dried cranberries (unsweetened)
- Extra-virgin olive oil (brand voted cleanest by Consumer Labs)
- Whole grain mustard
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Hemp hearts (optional)
- Mustard powder
- Spices
See the recipe card for quantities.
🫛 Substitutions
- Arugula - add baby kale or spinach instead
- Tofu - substitute with an additional (15-ounce) can of chickpeas or 1 ½ cups of edamame as desired
- Chickpeas - use an additional (14 to 16-ounce) block of super firm or extra-firm tofu instead
- Dried herbs - add marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil, or herbs to dressing
- Garlic - substitute with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder as needed
- For oil-free, try this 5-Minute Oil-Free Vegan Salad Dressing on my site. Plus, you can bake the tofu, chickpeas, and broccoli in lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or coconut aminos, along with the seasoning.
For more healthy dips and spreads, visit my Vegan Salad Recipes page.
📖 How to High-Protein Make Roasted Broccoli Salad
For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview.
- Cut the broccoli florets and peel the tough outer layers from the stems using a vegetable peeler. Chop the stems into bite-size pieces.
- Transfer the broccoli stems and florets to a large baking sheet. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil, and garlic powder. Roast at 400ºF.
- Cook the broccoli for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Then add a generous dash of mustard powder and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Place the chickpeas and tofu onto a large baking sheet. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil or tamari, and a dash of paprika, sumac (optional), and garlic powder. Bake for about 25 minutes with the broccoli, or until golden and crispy. Toss the tofu and chickpeas after 10 minutes for even cooking.
- Once the tofu and chickpeas are golden brown, transfer them to a large bowl with the roasted broccoli, hemp hearts, walnuts, cranberries, and arugula.
- Add the lemon zest, juice, extra-virgin olive oil, whole-grain mustard, oregano, and maple syrup to a medium bowl. Press the garlic into the bowl. Whisk well until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the vinaigrette to the salad ingredients and mix well to combine.
✔️ Expert Tips
- Optional: Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layers of the broccoli stem before chopping.
- For crispier chickpeas: Rub them dry between the layers of a clean dish towel or paper towel before seasoning. Spread them onto the baking sheet with the tofu with space for the hot air to pass in between.
- For soy-free, substitute one (14 to 16-ounce) block of tofu with an additional (14-ounce) can of chickpeas, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas.
- For an antioxidant boost, add dried marjoram to the dressing.
- For oil-free, try my 5-Minute Oil-Free Vegan Salad Dressing available on my site. Bake the tofu, chickpeas, and broccoli with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or coconut aminos, and season to taste.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftover High-Protein Roasted Broccoli Salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Cook the broccoli, tofu, and chickpeas in advance. Sprinkle mustard powder on the broccoli. Place the broccoli, tofu, and chickpeas in an airtight container. Prepare the dressing and put it in a separate container. Store everything in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you're ready to eat, add the rest of the salad ingredients and the dressing.
Broccoli has a special ingredient called sulforaphane. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties. But to make sulforaphane, broccoli needs to mix two parts: a starter chemical and an enzyme called myrosinase. When you cook broccoli, the enzyme gets destroyed, so sulforaphane can't form. This means raw broccoli can help stop cancer growth, but cooked broccoli like boiled, roasted, or steamed doesn't have the same effect. Microwaving broccoli is a bit better because it keeps some of the cancer-fighting power.
Even though sulforaphane itself can handle heat, the enzyme can't. So, if you want to get the benefits of raw broccoli even when it's cooked, chop up the broccoli and wait 40 minutes. This gives the sulforaphane time to form because the enzyme isn't needed anymore. Then you can cook the broccoli and still get the health benefits.
All cruciferous vegetables have the sulforaphane-forming enzyme, myrosinase, including mustard greens. Therefore sprinkling some mustard powder on cooked broccoli is the same as adding back the enzyme, myrosinase. This reacts with the cooked broccoli to form sulforaphane. This trick can also be used to restore the nutritional benefits of frozen broccoli.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) contains the highest percentage of polyphenols and antioxidants.
🍽️ Related Recipes
🫙 More Dressings
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High-Protein Roasted Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds broccoli (about 8 cups cut florets and stems)
- Drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar for roasting
- Dash of garlic powder
- Salt or salt substitute to taste
- Dash of mustard powder
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed, or 1 ½ cups cooked
- 14 to 16 ounces super firm tofu or pressed extra-firm tofu
- Dash of paprika
- Dash of sumac (optional)
For the salad:
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts (optional)
- ½ cup raw walnuts chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened dried cranberries or barberries (optional)
- 4 cups arugula roughly chopped, or baby arugula, or baby kale or spinach
For the lemon vinaigrette:
- 2 medium lemons zest and juice
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard or Dijon
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano or marjoram (optional)
- 4 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Cut the broccoli florets and peel the tough outer layers from the stems using a vegetable peeler. Chop the stems into bite-size pieces.
- Season broccoli: Transfer the stems and florets to a large baking sheet. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil, garlic powder, and salt to taste.
- Roast the broccoli for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Then add a generous dash of mustard powder and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Transfer the chickpeas and tofu to a large baking sheet. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil or tamari, and a dash of paprika, sumac (if using), garlic powder, and salt to taste.
- Bake for about 25 minutes at the same time as the broccoli. Toss the tofu cubes and chickpeas after 10 minutes so they cook evenly. Bake until golden brown.
- Combine: Once the tofu and chickpeas are done cooking, transfer them to a large bowl with the roasted broccoli, hemp hearts, walnuts, cranberries, and arugula.
Notes
- For crispier chickpeas: Rub them dry between the layers of a clean dish towel or paper towel before seasoning. Spread them onto the baking sheet with the tofu with space for the hot air to pass in between.
- For soy-free, substitute one (14 to 16-ounce) block of tofu with another (14-ounce) can of chickpeas or 1 ½ cups cooked.
- For oil-free, try this 5-Minute Oil-Free Vegan Salad Dressing on my site. Bake the tofu, chickpeas, and broccoli in lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or coconut aminos, along with the seasoning.
- For an antioxidant boost, add dried marjoram to the dressing.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate. Nutritional values may vary depending on factors such as product types and brands used.
Nathan says
This is so easy so good and so filling! I will be making this again soon. It not only tastes great, it feels you up and last a long time.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this salad. Have a great week.
Karen B says
I made this last night. Easy, healthy and delicious! I have saved it to my favourites. Thanks Nisha 🙂
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww so glad you enjoyed this salad. Thank you.
Tinsley Morrison says
Absolutely delicious! Satisfying, zippy, easy. Will add to my rotation.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to read how much you enjoyed this salad! Thank you.