Who doesn’t love a great salad? Whether we are hosting, bringing a dish to an event, or making a lunch for ourselves, a great salad is a go-to. Over the years, we have learned a few secrets to making a great salad. These 5 secrets to making a great salad provide endless options for your salad-making and allow for individual tastes and creativity!
Summer Spinach Salad
Secret #1: Simple Homemade Dressings
There are some nice, delicious store-bought dressings out there. We do tend to purchase the creamy style of dressings, such as Bleu Cheese, Ranch, and Caesar dressing in bottled form. However, if you are making a green salad of any type, you likely have the perfect ingredients for the best homemade dressings in your pantry.
Our favorite light vinaigrettes are 3-4 ingredients made in about 3 minutes. Here are some example combinations we love:
- Olive oil (2 T) and red wine vinegar (1 T), a dash of salt and pepper
- Olive oil (2 T) and balsamic vinegar (1 T), a dash of salt and pepper
- Olive oil (2 T), red wine vinegar (1 T), Dijon mustard (1/2 T), and minced shallots (1 tsp)
- Lemon juice (1/2 lemon), garlic (1 clove minced or pressed), olive oil (2 T), a dash of salt and pepper
We recommend adding these ingredients to a small mason jar and shaking them up. Or whisk together in a glass measuring cup. Then toss them into your salad before serving.
The secret truly is all about simple ingredients in a simple combination.
Secret #2: Follow the 4 Rules
Thanks to our Ant K, we have had these 4 salad rules in our minds for many years. She has always said, “All you need for a great salad is a lettuce base, a nut, a cheese, and a fruit/ vegetable.” These 4 components provide a perfect combination of texture and flavor.
A note on nuts: We recommend toasting them, as it brings better flavor and a more palatable crunch. Do this slowly, over low heat in a small skillet. No need for oil, as the natural oils in the nuts will suffice. Use a wooden spatula occasionally to toss them, ensuring an even, light brown color.
Using this 4 component rule, it becomes easy to put together a combination of items for a salad in your mind or right out of what you have stocked in your kitchen right now.
Try this Summer Spinach Salad (image at the top of this post) we created following these simple rules.
Secret #3: Add a Crispy Cured Meat
We can’t lie, crispy, cured meats in appropriate proportion are an absolute favorite addition to salads. Bacon crumbles or crisped pancetta or prosciutto offer huge flavor and texture. You cannot go wrong adding one of these to a green salad.
Because cooking bacon and crisping pancetta takes extra time, I try to plan ahead. If I know I am going to make a salad like this favorite Kale Bacon and Avocado Salad to take to my mom’s for dinner or to a friend’s, I make bacon for breakfast and reserve cooked strips for my salad.
Kale Bacon Avocado Salad
If I am thinking I want to add pancetta, another huge time saver is to buy the pre-diced version from the deli. Then, while I am assembling my salad, I can slowly crisp the diced chunks over low heat on the stove. Then, add them to my Simple Italian Salad after they cool.
Simple Italian Salad
Secret #4: Keep it Simple
Complicated salads are delicious but can be impractical. If I find a great recipe online and have to run to multiple stores to get all of the ingredients, I will already be creating bad memories/ feelings toward this salad.
When I have time to go to Farmer’s Market and can see which salad ingredients are in season and looking beautiful, I begin the brainstorming there. Even going to the grocery store and seeing what is plentiful and available helps to steer my salad brainstorming in a good direction.
When we took a trip to France and stayed with family, we had the most delicious, fresh, yet simple salads. Crisp-torn green lettuce was tossed with a simple homemade dressing only! I came home from that trip on a mission to find the most fresh and beautiful lettuce I could to replicate the French salad experience.
Other ways to keep it simple could include making a “veggie only” salad by marinating your family’s favorite chopped vegetables in a homemade dressing. Our favorite version is easy, with bell pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli florets.
Another favorite is this Cucumber Medley Salad.
Cucumber Medley Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
Secret #5: Seasonal Flare
Get your creative juices going by thinking about what ingredients are in season. Heading to the Farmer’s market (for those lucky enough to have one of these going year-round, it is perfect) can help shape your plan. But also, thinking of your favorite tastes of each season helps too. For example, adding pomegranate seeds to a green salad during the Christmas season adds unique texture, flavor, and visual appeal. I also love using citrus fruits in salads during spring and summer with a light cheese crumble, such as goat cheese.
This Harvest Salad has the fall ingredients we all love, with crisp apples, corn kernels, and toasted pumpkin seeds. If I am short on time, this salad still comes out well even if you have to leave out a few of the ingredients.
Harvest Salad
Make Your Salad Great!
Many people see salads as an add-on or afterthought in a meal. We think that a great salad has the potential to be the highlight! Figuring out the secret to what you like best about a salad and how it can complement your meal can elevate the side dish to center stage for sure. We hope one of these 5 secrets to making a great salad will inspire a new salad for you!
XO –
