A simple, vibrant, crunchy green salad with easy vinaigrette dressing.
A great go-to side dish to serve with dinner. Easy to whip up in 10 minutes.
It’s always great to have a simple, quick, go-to salad to serve alongside dishes to bulk them out a little, and to get some fresh vegetables into everyone!
This is my go-to version – with lovely leafy greens, plus lots of crunch and flavour. The simple vinaigrette dressing really takes it to a another level – meaning you can even eat this salad on its own for a light lunch.
📋 What do we need?
For a green salad, we’re looking for all things green. I’m using lettuce (crunchy romaine and bagged baby leaf), celery, cucumber and spring onions (scallions).
You could also go with:
- Green bell peppers
- Sugarsnap peas or mange tout
- Fresh peas
- Tiny pieces of raw broccoli
- Green tomatoes (ripe tomatoes that are suppsed to be green, such as Green Envy or Green Zebra)
- Chopped avocado (toss with lemon juice to prevent it going brown)
- Halved green grapes.
I also like to add just a tiny bit of colour – with the addition of some finely sliced radishes. You could replace this with whatever hint of colour you like:
- Olives
- Tomatoes
- Shredded carrot
- Sweetcorn
- or even some fruit slices – such as nectarine, grapes or apple (if using apple, toss in a little lemon juice to prevent it going brown).
🔪 How to make this Simple Salad
We simply toss all of the salad ingredients together in a serving bowl, then whisk up the vinaigrette dressing ingredients in a small jar or jug. The KEY thing here is not to pour the dressing on the salad until right before serving – otherwise the salad leaves will go soggy.
👩🍳PRO TIP Double or triple the salad dressing – it keeps for a week, covered, in the fridge, so it’s worth making enough for further salads during the rest of the week.
🍽️ What to serve it with
You can serve a salad with pretty much anything, but I love to serve this green salad with:
- Pasta dishes such as Lasagne or Ravioli
- Pesto Chicken
- Homemade Burgers or Crispy Chicken Burgers
- Toasted sandwiches – like my Korean Steak Sandwich
It’s also great served alongside: - Soup – to make it a more substantial meal
- Alongside Curries – especially hotter ones such as Madras or Bhuna – to help cool the palate
I love the layering of those salad dressing ingredients in the jar. You can just give the dressing a quick stir (or shake if it’s in a lidded jar) to mix it all together again.
🍲 More fantastic Salad Recipes
If you like salads then I have a book out, Seriously Good Salads has 75 of my favourite salads, all packed with fresh flavour, loaded with exciting toppings and covered with delectable dressings. I want to smash the preconception that salads are just “diet food”.
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Simple Green Salad and Vinaigrette dressing
Ingredients
Simple Green Salad:
- 2 heads of crunchy green lettuce such as romaine or cos, sliced
- 100 g (3 cups) baby salad leaves such as baby spinach, pea shoots, lambs lettuce or baby chard
- ½ cucumber sliced
- 5 spring onions (scallions) sliced
- 3 celery stalks sliced
- 5 radishes thinly sliced
Vinaigrette Dressing:
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- ½ clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp honey
- pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place all of the vinaigrette dressing ingredients into a small jug or jar and whisk together for a few seconds, until combined.3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp white wine vinegar, ½ clove garlic, 1 tbsp honey, pinch salt and pepper
- Place all of the salad ingredients into a large serving bowl and toss together.2 heads of crunchy green lettuce, 100 g (3 cups) baby salad leaves, ½ cucumber, 5 spring onions (scallions), 3 celery stalks, 5 radishes
- Serve the salad dressing with the salad.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other Dressings to try
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I have enjoyed making and eating dozens of recipes from Kitchen Sanctuary.
They never fail to be delicious and nutritious. I’d recommend them for any aspiring chef or person that’s frustrated by not knowing what to make for any meal of the day…Catherine