A salad can be a hearty, filling meal if done right. If you follow this basic "formula" for a nutritious salad, you will build yourself a salad that will leave you feeling satisfied each and every time. ⠀

When I was little, my first memorable foray into the kitchen was making something I proudly dubbed Salad Sandwiches. It was nothing more than salad mix on a slice of rye bread from our favorite bakery, topped with a generous drizzle of ranch dressing. Not the most majestic of meals and I'd probably still eat it, but my salad game has greatly improved since then.⠀

This odd lettuce/bread combo thing I had going on is what I would now consider a (very) wimpy salad. A salad can be a hearty, filling meal if done right. Following this basic "formula" for a nutritious salad, you can build a salad that will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied after you eat.

You Don’t Need A Recipe to Cook Like a Pro (Part I)

You don't need to follow this exactly. Keeping the components of the formula loosely in the back of your mind as you’re in the kitchen making lunch or dinner is beneficial to ensuring you include delicious, nutritious, and filling ingredients in every salad. Knowing the basic components is what allows you to whip up a meal with a handful of this, a dash of that, and a sprinkle of this. Its purpose is to provide a framework. You can mix and match as you please to suit your tastes, but this formula is a good jumping off point.

How to Make a Salad--the formula and guide for a nutritious and filling salad

1. Greens

Examples include kale, spinach, arugula, romaine, field greens, radicchio, escarole, endive, iceberg, and Swiss chard.

Pick one or combine several for a mix of crunchiness, spiciness, and bitterness. If you’re sick of boring salads, get your base right with flavorful greens.

Not sure you’ll like a green but interested in trying a new one? Mix it in with one that you already like to get a taste for it.

2. Proteins

Plant-based examples include beans, lentils, tofu, seitan, tempeh. Flavored proteins are great--think barbecued chickpeas, lemon garlic baked tofu, or spicy black beans.

Several of the ingredients in category 5 below also contain plant-based proteins. For example, nuts and seeds provide some protein for your meal along with healthful fats to fill you up.

3. Grains

Mixing whole grains into your salad is great to add texture and carbohydrate for energy. They are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals and add an additional amount of protein to your salad as well.

Examples include rice, farro, quinoa, and barley.

4. Vegetables

A generous handful of a few different veggies can really help you bulk up a typical garden salad.

Load up on a variety of vegetables--the options are endless. Try switching up how they are prepared, too, for better tasting salads and to keep things interesting from meal to meal. Raw, roasted, pickled—whatever way you like them. You could have a salad with roasted broccoli and pickled carrots or one with completely raw chopped veggies.

Mixing and matching helps ensure variety when eating; a boring salad won’t fill you up or allow you to enjoy your meal while eating, so load up on the veggies for their different flavors and textures.

5. Extras

There are so many additional ingredients you can add to your salads for extra flavor, texture, and bulk. Try sprinkling in a few of the following:

Nuts (e.g. walnuts, roasted almonds, spiced pecans)
Seeds (e.g. sunflower, sesame, hemp)
Dried or fresh fruit (e.g. dried cranberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries, diced apples)
Fresh herbs and spices (e.g. chopped basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, mint, black pepper)
Plant-based cheese alternatives or nutritional yeast sprinkles
Fun stuff (e.g. frizzled onions, croutons, wasabi peas)

6. Dressing

Homemade or store-bought is just fine. A simple vinegar/oil mixture will do; or look for something different at the store that piques your interest. Picking something you enjoy is key.

If you’re looking for a simple homemade dressing, mix together oil, vinegar, and a bit of mustard (dijon or spicy mustard are great options here). If you want to get really technical, a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar (3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar) makes a typical salad dressing, but eyeballing it is okay. If you taste it and it’s too bland, add more vinegar; if you went over the top and it’s too sour/acidic, add more oil. The addition of mustard helps to mix the oil and vinegar and also provides flavor. Although a 3:1 ratio is traditional, I’m a big fan of very acidic dressings and will make my ratio somewhere closer to 1:1. Again, it’s all about what you prefer and enjoy.

Prepare your salad

Chop your salad greens and any large components (e.g. fruits, vegetables) into smaller/bite-sized chunks. This helps with flavor and allows the dressing to coat better. Plus, it's easier to eat! Toss with dressing just before eating.

What should you do with leftovers?

Whether you’re meal-prepping ahead for several days or you have leftovers, salad can be a great option. If you’re planning ahead, tougher greens such as kale or chard keep better. If you’re using a softer green (e.g. spinach, spring mix),you may find the greens get wilted more quickly.

To help prevent this with softer greens, do not store them tossed in dressing but instead coat just before eating. If you’re using a tougher or crunchier green, tossing it in dressing to store can be great for both flavor and to soften the green for a better texture.

Despite the endless combinations, if you don’t feel like having another salad or just have too many leftovers, reuse them and switch things up by throwing it in a tortilla shell to make a wrap or use it as the filling for a sandwich (this option may be a little messier than the wrap, though).

You don’t need a recipe to cook like a pro. Having a basic understanding of what should go in a dish allows you to learn to cook without a recipe or easily whip up a meal with what you have on hand. With that said, it can be convenient when learning to have a recipe to base things off of, so below you will find a few options to get you started. Feel free though to eyeball what you’re putting in to get a feel for cooking without recipes. Salads are great places to start because you really can’t mess it up! Get creative and start feeling comfortable in the kitchen.

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