Artificial Food Coloring Free Roasted Vegetable Salad with Turmeric-Lemon Vinaigrette
Every color in this salad comes straight from the earth — the deep magenta of roasted beets, the warm orange of caramelized sweet potato, and the golden glow of turmeric — no synthetic dyes required. That's a genuinely rare thing when you're trying to avoid artificial food coloring, since even packaged salad kits and bottled dressings can sneak in unexpected additives. Here, the vinaigrette is whisked together from scratch with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, raw honey, and ground turmeric, so you know exactly what's going in. The roasted chickpeas turn golden and slightly crisp in the oven, adding satisfying texture alongside crunchy walnuts and peppery baby arugula. Roasting the beets and sweet potatoes at high heat coaxes out their natural sweetness and gives the edges that irresistible caramelized bite. It's a hearty, produce-forward salad that feels like a full meal rather than a side dish, and the vibrant colors make it genuinely stunning on the table without a drop of artificial anything.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the roasted vegetables
- 1 medium sweet potato (about 12 oz), peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 2 medium beets (about 10 oz total), peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp raw honey
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- ¼ tsp salt
For the salad
- 5 oz baby arugula
- ⅓ cup dry-roasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Pat the chickpeas dry with paper towels — this helps them crisp in the oven.
- 2
Spread the sweet potato and beet cubes on one half of a large rimmed baking sheet and the red onion wedges and chickpeas on the other half. Drizzle all the vegetables with 3 tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle with the turmeric, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Toss each section briefly to coat, keeping the beets and sweet potatoes separate from the chickpeas so the beet color doesn't bleed.
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