This easy-peasy Everyday Garden Salad recipe will come together quickly and deliciously for any night of the week. With fresh-as-can-be vegetables, a lively dressing, and amazing “homemade” croutons, this salad will be one you put on the table again and again as a perfect side.
Do you love a great salad and want more? Try our Best Ever Wedge Salad, Lebanese Fattoush Salad, or our Best Chef Salad. Either is a great choice. You can also try this salad with our Avocado Ranch Dressing, so delicious!
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Wooden Salad Bowls with Salad Spoon and Fork 12.5″
What is in an Everyday Garden Salad?
We eat a side salad a lot in our house, and I want it to be good and something that I look forward to. This side dish salad mix is all the things that I love. Fresh garden veggies, fresh herbs (add in more than just parsley if you have it), frozen garlic toast for fresh croutons (this is the cat’s meow), and a tangy simple dressing.
All are easily accessible, and most you may have in the freezer, fridge, and pantry already. This salad takes 15 minutes to throw together and can be made while the entree is cooking.
Ingredients
Salad
1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into pieces (you can also use any leafy greens or iceberg lettuce too)
½ small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup mini cucumber, sliced
¼ cup parsley, chopped
2-3 slices of frozen garlic toast (for homemade croutons)
Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp good olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
How to Make This Everyday Garden Salad
Toast the frozen garlic toast as per the package directions, then toast for 2-3 minutes more so they are crispy. Let cool.
Slice the toasted garlic bread into cubes and set aside.
Combine all the ingredients for the salad except the parsley in a large bowl.
Whisk all the ingredients for the vinaigrette together in a small bowl (or shake in a mason jar) until combined.
Drizzle the vinaigrette evenly over the salad and toss to combine.
Add the homemade croutons and parsley to the top of the salad. Simple addition is a bit of cheese if you have it kicking around, like grated Parmesan cheese, crumbled blue cheese, or cubed cheddar cheese.
Enjoy!
Note: Use the vinaigrette dressing immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
How many calories are in a Garden Salad?
For our salad, it is 266 calories per serving. Not bad for the deliciousness of having the garlic toast and all that yummy dressing. You can alter that, of course, by using less dressing and omitting the croutons.
What’s the Difference Between Garden Salad and Tossed Salad?
There really is no difference between the two of them. Garden salad usually means vegetables that are easily grown in a garden, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce. Then they are all tossed together.
A green salad is close to a garden salad also but may have a variety of lettuce like mixed greens, red leaf lettuce, iceberg plus spinach, kale, arugula, etc., along with tomatoes and cucumber. I love the addition of red onion, too, not too much but enough for a little punch of flavor and color.
What are the Different Types of Salads?
Salads, mmm, they can be endless really with so many combinations and plating. A creative salad is a memorable one. Here are some of the different types of salads and links to our favorites.
Caesar Salad – This Classic Caesar Salad is one of our favorites and has been made countless times.
Green Salad – This category can contain a lot of different salads like our Fattoush.
Chef Salad – Another classic that is pure comfort.
Waldorf Salad – I love this salad for a quick lunch when I have grapes hanging around.
Coleslaw – Our Pineapple Walnut Raisin is a step away from the usual coleslaw, and it is always a slam-dunk hit.
Pasta Salad – Need a great salad for a potluck, then this Best Italian Pasta Salad will be the right choice.
Bound Salad – This is a different category that many of you may not have heard of before. A bound salad is something like a ham salad, chicken salad, or potato salad.
Additional Types of Salad – There are other types of salad that don’t fall into these categories, like a Salade Nicoise, which is another one of my favorites that we make a lot. Fruit Salad is another.
What is your favorite salad?
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Everyday Garden Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head of Romaine lettuce washed and torn into pieces
- ½ small red onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cup mini cucumber sliced
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- 2-3 slices frozen garlic toast for homemade croutons
Vinaigrette
- 3 Tbsp good olive oil
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp garlic minced
Instructions
- Toast the frozen garlic toast as per the package directions, then toast for 2-3 minutes more so they are crispy. Let cool.
- Slice the toasted garlic bread into cubes and set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients for the salad except the parsley in a large bowl.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the vinaigrette together in a small bowl (or shake in a mason jar) until combined.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette evenly over the salad and toss to combine.
- Add the homemade croutons and parsley to the top of the salad. Simple addition is a bit of cheese if you have it kicking around, like grated Parmesan cheese, crumbled blue cheese, or cubed cheddar cheese.
Comments & Reviews
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