5 Salad Recipes You Need To Make
I want to share 5 salad recipes you need to make for parties, family reunions, neighborhood get-togethers, or for your own meals at home today. I think we are all trying to eat healthier and exercise more. I’m still working on both of those. Here’s the deal, I am going to break it out for many more salads as well. For instance, the greens, the add-ons, and the dressings. I must confess, I love salad dressing, but I also know that’s where a lot of the calories are, but that’s how I roll.
When I was growing up, sometimes we had just lettuce with a little mayonnaise on it. If our garden was in season we had tomatoes, carrots or radishes to add to our salads. Well, we’ve come a long way baby with salads. I have to laugh, things have changed. It’s a good thing, right? I’m going to share some sections below so we can all use our imagination and maybe eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc.
My cute grandson plays volleyball at a college in California and he explained to me the difference between eating vegetables and fruits. The whole team has a nutritionist teaching them how to eat, what to eat, what not to eat, and how to cook it. He said, “Grandma you need to eat more vegetables, and few fruits, but remember fruits are like dessert if eaten in excess.”
I’m glad he didn’t talk to me about chocolate, I love chocolate, I thought that was dessert or candy. So, I have been eating more vegetables and a few fruits. We have to do what is right for our bodies and our health, but I had to share that story. Life is good with grandkids.
Salad Recipes
1. Strawberry Salad
- One bag of baby spinach or salad greens (your choice, any size)
- 6 pieces of thick bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews or sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup craisins
- 1/4 chopped red onion
- 8-10 ounces of sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/8 cup of your favorite balsamic vinegars (strawberry is good for this salad)
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
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Grab a large bowl and layer the spinach, bacon, cashews, Craisins, chopped red onions, and freshly sliced strawberries.
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Use a blender to mix the ingredients for the dressing. Chill the dressing and pour it over the salad just before serving.
2. Cheryl’s Chinese Coleslaw Salad
- 4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) Please note: I love this salad without the chicken as well.
- 1 large cabbage head (shredded)
- 1 bunch green onions (washed and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces)
- 2 packages of Oriental noodles with seasoning (like Snack Ramen ***SAVE the packets of seasoning) DO NOT COOK THE NOODLES
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1 cup oil (I use vegetable)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ***2 Seasoning packets from oriental noodles
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1. Combine the cooked shredded chicken, shredded cabbage, chopped green onions, the Oriental noodles, the sliced almonds, and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
2. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.
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1. Blend the ingredients in a blender, starting with the oil, white vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and the seasoning packets until smooth.
2. Refrigerate the salad dressing until ready to serve.
3. Pour the Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing over the salad JUST before serving.
2. Please Note: the salad is even better the next day! Enjoy.
3. Linda’s Spinach Salad
- 2 packages of baby spinach (this depends on how large you want your salad)
- 3 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 3/4 pounds sliced mushrooms
- 1- pound bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
- 2 handfuls of bean sprouts (rinsed) or 2 cans of bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
- 1 bag of croutons (or make your own)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
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1. Gather all of the ingredients.
2. Grab a large bowl and layer the baby spinach, the shredded Swiss cheese, the sliced mushrooms, the chopped cooked bacon, and the bean sprouts.
3. Add the croutons just before serving. When ready to serve, drizzle with the spinach salad dressing. Enjoy.
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Combine the ingredients above in a blender and pour over salad JUST before serving.
4. Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato Salad
- 1 medium head of lettuce (cut into bite-size pieces)
- 2 large tomatoes (chopped)
- 1- pound bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
- 2 cups bread croutons
- Place the ingredients above in large salad bowl and make the dressing below.
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
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Add the dressing ingredients into a jar and whisk or blend until mixed. Pour over the BLT salad above and serve immediately.
5. Linda’s Chicken Grape Salad
- 4 boneless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
- 2 chopped apples
- 3 stalks celery chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups halved purple grapes
- 3 green onions minced or chopped into very small pieces
- 5-6 ounces chopped cashews
- Place the ingredients above in a large salad bowl. Make dressing below.
- 1/3 cup Miracle Whip
- 2/3 cups mayonnaise
- Add a little milk if needed to thin
- 1 teaspoon dill weed crushed
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Combine the dressing ingredients above and serve over the salad above JUST before serving.
Your Salad Recipes
Greens
Butterhead Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Looseleaf Lettuce
Spinach
Arugula salad mix
Baby beet greens
Cress
Vegetables
Green onions
Pickled beets/beets
Carrots
Cucumber
Radishes
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Fruits
Apples (every flavor you love)
Mandarin oranges
Tomatoes (any kind you prefer)
Pears
Oranges
Kiwi
Grapes
Meats/Protein
Cooked chicken
Cooked turkey
Cooked Pork
Cooked steak
Cooked bacon
Boiled eggs
Cheese (so many choices)
Cooked Quinoa
Cooked Kamut (TM)
Nuts
Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Pine nuts
Here’s how I make my sugared almonds or any nut for that matter:
Grab a frying pan, sprinkle the nuts of choice in the pan, and sprinkle with sugar. I typically use the ratio of one cup of nuts to two tablespoons of white granulated sugar. I stir them over low to medium heat on the stove and cook until they are slightly brown. Watch them carefully, they will burn. Have a cookie sheet covered with foil sprayed with vegetable oil ready to evenly spread the very hot nuts onto the greased foil. As they cool, you break up the chunks.
Dressings
Bottled dressing you can buy
Homemade salad dressings
Lemons
Limes
Olive Oil
Balsamic vinegar (plain and there are so many yummy flavors)
I hope you enjoy my salad recipes today, I love digging out old family and friends’ recipes to share with people. May God bless you and your family. Please be prepared for the unexpected.
Copyright pictures:
Salad: AdobeStock_60001499 by Daniel Vincek
They sound really yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Gay, thanks for stopping by, I love salads! Linda
I absolutely love salads. I am trying to eat the Mediterranean way. Lots and lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy. Thank you for sharing these salad recipes can’t wait to try them all.
Hi, Morgan, Oh, I’m glad to hear you love salads, I eat a salad every day and there are so many ways we can change a plain salad with LOTS of vegetables and or fruits! Love your comment, Linda
Had to laugh when you mentioned plain lettuce with a little mayo. That used to be called “Honeymoon Salad” as in “Lettuce alone!”
Hi, Linda, oh my gosh, I love this!!! LOL! I have never heard it called “Honeymoon Salad” or “Lettuce Alone!!!” LOVE it, Linda