Georgian Salad With Creamy Walnut Dressing (Paleo, Vegan)

This refreshing Georgian salad is served over creamy walnut dressing and is full of nutritious, crunchy vegetables and aromatic herbs.  It’s Whole30, paleo, low-carb and vegan-friendly.


Georgian Salad With Creamy Walnut Dressing (Paleo, Dairy-free, Whole30)
 

After my visit to Ukraine, I have become fascinated with Georgian cuisine. Wait, what? That’s right. Although I love Ukrainian food (try my root vegetable salad called vinegret or my borscht recipe), it was Georgian food that grabbed my attention on this trip.

I have already paleo-adapted the famous Georgian garlic chicken here and I really wanted to make my own version of the Georgian salad with walnut dressing.

Every restaurant serves this salad, which is quite similar to a Greek salad but instead of feta, oregano and olive oil dressing, it’s dressed with a garlicky, walnut dressing and topped with a generous amount of fresh herbs like coriander and parsley. It’s super simple to make (although I put a little extra effort into the dressing) and is really fresh and tasty. I hope it becomes a favourite of yours.

Georgian Salad With Creamy Walnut Dressing (Paleo, Dairy-free, Whole30)
 

Notes For Making Georgian Salad

In a traditional Georgian recipe, the dressing isn’t usually blended into a creamy sauce but I wanted to add my own twist and this velvety dressing works really well.

If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, feel free to chop the walnuts and garlic finely and mix in with the rest of the dressing ingredients.

If you don’t eat walnuts, feel free to use almonds, hazelnuts or a mix of nuts. Seeds could be used for those avoiding nuts.

Making the walnut dressing for the Georgian salad
 

I used crunchy cucumbers and tomatoes with a lot of fresh herbs but you can easily bulk it up with salad leaves and add things like radishes, red peppers and carrots. Feel free to add some grilled chicken or salmon for extra protein and make it into a complete meal.

How to make a Georgian Salad with walnut dressing

You might also like my Tomato Ricotta Salad with Parsley Lemon Gremolata

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Georgian Salad With Creamy Walnut Dressing (Paleo, Dairy-free, Whole30)

Georgian Salad With Creamy Walnut Dressing

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Author: Irena Macri
Servings: 4
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Georgian
Print Pin Save
5 from 11 votes
Calories: 184kcal
This refreshing Georgian salad is served over the creamy walnut dressing and is full of nutritious, crunchy vegetables and aromatic herbs.  It's Whole30, paleo, low-carb and vegan-friendly.

Ingredients 

  • Punnet of cherry tomatoes halved (as many as you want, really)
  • 2-3 small cucumbers sliced
  • 1 spring onion white and green parts sliced or chopped
  • 6-8 walnuts chopped
  • Handful of fresh parsley and coriander/cilantro chopped

For the walnut sauce/dressing

  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can also be used
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander seed powder
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • Extras to serve: olive oil and lemon juice

Instructions

  • Prepare the salad ingredients and set aside.
  • Add the walnut dressing ingredients to a blender or a food processor. Purée and process unto a smooth and thick sauce (it should turn a lovely light brown/beige colour like a hot chocolate drink).
  • Now, there are two ways to serve the salad. You can layer and spread the sauce on the bottom of the bowl, which is what I did. Mix the salad ingredients and add over the sauce. This way, when you scoop the salad to serve, you will mix it with the dressing right at the table. Alternatively, mix the salad and serve the dressing on the side or/and drizzle some over the top.
  • Finally, drizzle everything with a little olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 292mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 365IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords: Side Dishes, Lunch Ideas, Green Salad, healthy dressing
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Irena Macri
By Irena Macri

About the author: Hi, I’m Irena Macri. I share delicious recipes that I have cooked and loved. I am a published cookbook author, have been food blogging for over 10 years and have a Diploma in Nutrition. You will find many healthy recipes as well as my favourite comfort food. More about me here | Subscribe to my newsletter and freebies

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Comments

15 Comments
  1. 5 stars
    It is salad season, There is a heat wave right now where I live, and the house has no AC! I am super excited to try this bad boy.

    1. I hear ya about the heatwave. It seems all I can stomach at the moment is salads and smoothies.

  2. 5 stars
    This salad is so pretty and vibrant! I love those little cucumbers, I’ve never seen any like that – I’ll have to look for some this summer.

  3. 5 stars
    Beautiful salad and I’m especially intrigued about the walnut dressing. I always appreciate healthy salad recipes. They are so healthy and friendly year-round !

    1. I’ve had it with lots of different herbs so I think it’s about whatever you have on hand at the time. I reckon basil would be wonderful!!! And pomegranate, yum 🙂

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