Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad (Gluten-free)

Two posts in one day? Yup. I’m on a roll. Must be all the fruits and veggies I’ve been eating this week. After two not-so-healthy recipe posts in a row (first Carrot Cake, then Mushroom Stroganoff), I promised to get back on track this week. And that I have. I can really tell a difference in my energy level.

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s amazing what good fuel can do for your body.

Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad Gluten-free

I get more magazines than I have time to read. Mostly because I have friends with kids whose schools raise funds via magazine subscription sales. Really, that’s just a good excuse for me to subscribe to one more magazine that I think I need. It’s a good cause, right?

This week, I finally sat down and skimmed through several issues as I looked for new recipes to try. Food & Wine magazine has a handy index with a color-coded system that allows the reader to quickly search for recipes by category (Fast, Healthy, Make Ahead, Vegetarian, Staff Favorite).

When I noticed that the Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad recipe (by Grace Parisi) was Fast, Healthy and Vegetarian (and gluten-free!), I quickly flipped to the page and began to drool when I saw the gorgeous photo. Oh how I wish I had a fairy food stylist who would make all of my food look that beautiful.

Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad Gluten-free

This Brazilian-style salad is simple, but has a unique combination of flavors. It may seem obvious to some, but I wouldn’t think to pair hearts of palm with avocado and lime.

Oddly enough, they work really well together. The result is a refreshing, yet rich and creamy salad that tastes “naughty”, but it isn’t. It’s a great alternative to potato salad (and much quicker to make).

Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad Gluten-free

As I noted in the recipe, I used Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise (to make it vegan), grapeseed oil instead of canola oil (1 tablespoon instead of 2) and cilantro instead of parsley.

Only because I’m not a huge onion fan (especially raw onions), I would sub green onions next time. I would also try the dressing without the lime zest since the lime flavor is quite strong.

I don’t know if it’s a potato salad thing or what, but I kind of missed the occasional crunchy texture of celery. I might try tossing some in just to experiment.

Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad Gluten-free

Hubs have been out of town for work, so he hasn’t been here to taste-test for me. My guess is that he would like this salad, but he wouldn’t love it. He’s not an artichoke fan and since hearts of palm are fairly close to artichokes in terms of texture and flavor, it might not be his thing.

I, on the other hand, love them both, so this one is right up my alley. I use artichokes in recipes all the time, but I often forget about hearts of palm. Now my wheels are turning… you might be seeing more hearts of palm recipes in the near future ;)

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12 thoughts on “Vegan Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad (Gluten-free)”

  1. This looks lovely. I’m just about ready to start making and eating more salads myself, and this recipe is an excellent reminder of all the non-lettuce options for salad meals! Thanks so much.

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  2. Hello! I tried this today and prepared it pretty much “exactly” as written (well, subbed olive oil for the canola and I added a small chicken breast as I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, just trying to find awesome recipes to up my veggies…) and OMG it was AMAZING!!! Thanks so much!

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  3. This was delicious. I used cilantro instead of the parsley. We do not like the mayo taste and omitted that completely. I also didnt use the oil. It was so great and fresh. I did not want to share with anyone and found myself wrapping and hiding it in the back of the fridge.

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