Since fruits and vegetables are fantastic on their own, you don’t need to do much to turn them into a delicious meal. Great salad recipes are frequently used to highlight colorful, in-season produce. Salads are easy to put together and are utterly delicious.
Salads can be one of the best ways to consume colorful, nutrient-dense food, but it can be challenging to find the right salad recipes that are simple and delicious enough to make. Here are our very best green salad recipes.
Green Salad Recipes
Favorite Chopped Salad
Other than the dressing, making this chopped salad is just a matter of, well, chopping up all the ingredients. You can customize the veggies in this chopped salad to your liking.
Chopped salads are a great way to add nutrients and fiber to your diet. Add some grilled chicken to your chopped salad for some added protein.
Consider the following combinations:
- Crunchy veggies: shallot, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
- Jarred pepperoncini: Adds a tang and a touch of spice.
- Green olives: They provide the ideal salty kick.
The secret to a fantastic chopped salad is the homemade salad dressing.
Here’s how to create a creamy dressing, where the oil and vinegar perfectly combine:
- Whisk by hand with a large whisk.
- Use a medium-sized bowl to allow for enough movement of the whisk. (Trust us, we’ve done it in small bowls before and it’s almost impossible to get the oil and vinegar to meld.)
- Add the olive oil little by little. We add it tablespoon by tablespoon and whisk in between until the oil fully incorporates.
This chopped salad is so tasty, you’ll want to make it for every meal! To mix it up a bit, you could turn it into a main dish salad and eat it for dinner. We’d suggest to:
- Add protein like hard-boiled eggs, seared ahi tuna, or chopped chicken
- Serve with a side like cornbread or artisan bread
This salad is quite versatile and goes well with everything, including soup, lasagna, and pizza.
Caesar Salad
One of the easiest green salad recipes to make is the Caesar Salad. While many salads offer a variety of vegetables, Caesar salads primarily contain romaine lettuce. Romaine is healthy, but the lack of variety means you’ll be getting less variety of nutrients. If you frequently eat Caesar salads as a source of vegetables, we recommend modifying the recipe to add more vegetables. Caesar salad is simple, easy to make, and the ingredients are straightforward.
Needed are:
- 1 large or 2 small heads of romaine lettuce
- Parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved
- Crisp croutons – Homemade can be made several days ahead. The recipe below makes enough for 2 salads.
- Caesar salad dressing – homemade is best and here is our favorite store-bought dressing in a pinch
This salad is greatly elevated by the crunchy handmade garlic croutons, which give it great flavor. You will be munching on these croutons because of the cheese crust on each tiny toast.
Place the baguette on a baking sheet after cutting it in half lengthwise and slicing it into pieces that are 1/4″ thick. Combine 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic. Spread evenly and bake until crispness is achieved.
How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing:
The caesar salad dressing is easy to make and only requires a bowl and whisk. It is light, healthy, and flavorful without needing much salt. Whisk together minced garlic, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar. While adding oil, whisk until the dressing is smooth and creamy (not oily). Add 1/8 tsp. of black pepper and 1/2 tsp. of salt to taste.
Kani Salad
Is Kani Salad nutritious? Kani salad is a Japanese take on crab salad made with thin crab sticks and julienned crunchy vegetables, dressed with a spicy mayonnaise dressing, and topped with panko for an extra crunch. It is similar to the Kani salad you get at the sushi bar or a Japanese steakhouse. However, it can be made healthier by reducing the amount of mayonnaise used or using lower-fat mayonnaise.
You only need a few ingredients for the easy mayo-based dressing and five ingredients total for the green salad recipe.
What you’ll need is as follows: Crab sticks, mango, panko, carrot, and cucumber with dressing.
For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl whisk until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Add the crab sticks, the cucumber, carrot, and mango that have been julienned. Add the dressing. Toss well. Serve in a shallow bowl or serving plate. Top with panko and additional dressing.
Hot Kani Salad is spicy but it’s also sweet and sour. The veggies and panko are crunchy, and the dressing gives it a nice spicy creaminess. Kani salad can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days in an airtight container.
Greek Salad
Greek salad is low in calories and high in nutrients, giving you a healthy serving of vitamin A and vitamin C, potassium, iron, and phytonutrients. These nutrients lower your chance of developing diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Below are the ingredients for one of the best green salad recipes.
- 4 large vine tomatoes, cut into irregular wedges
- 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, then roughly chopped
- ½ a red onion thinly sliced
- 16 Kalamata olives
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 85g feta cheese, cut into chunks (barrel-matured feta is the best)
- 4 tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil
To prepare, combine in a big bowl: 4 large vine tomatoes, cut into wedges; 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, and chopped; 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced; 16 Kalamata olives; 1 tsp dried oregano; 85g chunks of feta cheese; and 4 tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil. After that, season lightly before serving with crusty bread to sop up the juices.
Key Takeaways
Did you like these green salad recipes? It’s easy to enjoy a salad when the ingredients are prepared in advance and kept in the refrigerator. You can also prepare salads in individual containers to take with you when you’re on the move. Just pack the dressing and wet ingredients separately to prevent your salad from becoming soggy. Use healthy sources of fat like avocados, nuts, seeds, plant oils, fatty fish, or cheese to upgrade your salad today.
Check out other Heathy Recipes here.
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