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Simple Tossed Salad – an easy and healthy side dish with fresh vegetables, your favorite greens, and a homemade vinaigrette dressing.
Figuring out a side dish is something that I find difficult on a regular basis. With a house full of picky eaters, It can be hard to just make a bunch of Air Fryer Asparagus and have everyone dig in.
But one thing we can all agree on is an simple side salad. It is pretty much a staple and we have it a few times a week.
The best thing about making a tossed salad is how you can really mix it up to make what your family likes. You can prepare a big bowl that everyone serves them self from. Or if you are like my family we just fill our own bowls and top how we like.
What To Add To A Tossed Salad
The possibilities are pretty much endless if you want to get fancy, but I like to keep it simple on busy weeknights.
Start with your favorite greens. I like to use a base of romaine, but my husband’s favorite is spring mix; so really anything works! Fresh baby spinach, arugula, iceberg….pick what your favorite is or use whatever you have.
Then you start adding the veggies! So many options and combinations you can come up with.
- Cucumbers
- Red Onions
- Grape Tomatoes
- Black Olives
- Peas
- Radish
- Shredded Carrots
- Edamame
- Bell Peppers
And of course you can add in the fun crunchy stuff at the end!
- Croutons
- Fried Onions
- Dried Fruit
- Bacon Bits
- Toasted Nuts and/or Seeds
- Cheese
A salad is often over looked and thought of as boring, but there are so many ways to mix it up and make it something that you enjoy. For this recipe I went simple with shredded carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion. But you don’t have to keep it simple.
What Kind Of Dressing Goes On Tossed Salad
In my mind the thing that makes a salad worth while is the dressing. You can easily use your favorite bottle of dressing with this, but I have a homemade Dijon vinaigrette dressing that is so easy and I think pairs perfectly with it.
To make a vinaigrette dressing just add all the ingredients to a mason jar, put on the lid and shake well. Super simple, and so much better than a bottle!
Other Dressings To Try
- Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Greek Vinaigrette
- Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette
- Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
- Thousand Island Dressing
How To Make Tossed Salad
The best thing about making a side salad like this is there is no real recipe to follow, you just assemble! So fill a bowl with your favorite greens, top with the veggies you want and then pour on your dressing. Mix it all together, sprinkle on a few of your favorite crunchy toppings and dig in!
The one thing about making is a salad is you do not want to make it ahead of time. You can cut all the veggies and have everything ready, but as soon as you add dressing it will start to get soggy. So wait to mix it all together until right before serving.
More Great Salad Recipes
- Southwest Cobb Salad
- Thai Beef Salad
- Spinach Chicken Salad
- Chicken Fajita Salad
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Berry Almond Salad
- Mexican Chopped Salad
Simple Tossed Salad
Ingredients
- 4 -5 cups chopped romaine lettuce, or favorite greens
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup shredded carrots
Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinaigrette
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- To make the dressing add all of the ingredients to a mason jar, cover and tighten the lid. Shake well until everything is combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, or 4 smaller bowls arrange lettuce in the bottom.
- Top with the vegetables.
- Pour 1/4 of the dressing over the lettuce and mix to coat everything. Serve additional dressing on the side as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The perfect side dish, I come back to this recipe again and again.
Yummy greens! So easy and tasty!
This was perfect! My 9 and 11 year olds have been wanting to cook more independently and this recipe was easy for them to follow and they were thrilled with their creation! 🙂
Love this for a light lunch or dinner. Makes for a great starter for dinner also!
I love salads as side dishes. So I am always looking for new recipes!|
This is super easy to throw together with dinner! Thanks for the step-by-step directions
This salad was perfect yesterday for lunch! My hubby and I enjoyed this recipe so much! Can’t wait to make this again!