There’s nothing nicer on a warm day than a cold salad. Not only are salads quick and easy to make, there’s no better way to make a start on your 5 veg a day. Salads are also one dish where recipes aren’t really needed or can just be guidelines on which to build with whatever you have on hand, or strikes your fancy.
For our purposes, the ‘pantry’ also includes the fridge and the freezer. So, below are a few salads that you can quickly throw together starting with a few favourite Crisper Essentials, perhaps supplemented with one or two Standby Vegetables and finished off with some Pantry Essentials.
Salads such as Couscous Salad, Quick Rice Salad, Noodle Salad or Gado Gado Salad can make a quick and refreshing light lunch. Other salads such as Garden Salad or Tomato and Cucumber Salad can serve as an all-vegetable entrée to your extended evening meal. Chicken or Tuna Salad, or their vegan equivalent, Chickpea and Mayo Salad, would make great sandwiches, while Salade Niçoise is a square meal in itself. I’ve also included a few Little Salads which you can serve as side dishes for chops, fillets or sausages.
You’ll notice that I use lemon juice in the salad dressings instead of vinegar. This is in keeping with my philosophy of sticking to a limited but versatile range of condiments. Lemon juice not only makes a good salad dressing, it can also be used in many other ways. I must also admit that I personally prefer the taste of lemon juice to vinegar. However, if you prefer wine or cider vinegar, or have balsamic vinegar on hand, do use them instead.
These aren’t the only salads on this website. You’ll find several more in the entries:
» Things to do with Fresh Spinach
» Things to do with Coleslaw Mix
Alternatively, just enter ‘salad’ in ‘Search’.
Recipes:
Little Salads
§ Dress ½–¾ cup coleslaw mix in 1 tbsp. mayonnaise, 1 tsp. lemon juice, pepper and parsley.
§ Toss 1 cup lettuce or spinach leaves in low-fat French or Italian salad dressing.
§ Halve 4 cherry tomatoes and slice 2 mushrooms. Dress with low-fat French or Italian salad dressing.
§ Halve 4 cherry tomatoes and slice ½ Lebanese cucumber. Dress with low-fat French or Italian salad dressing.
§ Rinse and halve ½–¾ cup canned new potatoes. Toss in 1–2 tbsp. mayonnaise, parsley and dried onion or garlic granules.
Garden Salad
- 1 cup lettuce, spinach leaves and/or coleslaw mix
- ½ Lebanese cucumber (or ¼ Granny Smith apple), sliced
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup red capsicum (or red onion) and/or carrot, sliced
- 2–3 mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Garlic and parsley
- Toss together mixed greens
- Add remaining vegetables
- Whisk lemon juice, garlic and parsley into olive oil
- Drizzle over salad and toss
Variation: substitute sliced celery for some of the cucumber, apple, capsicum or carrot
Tomato and Cucumber Salad
- 4–6 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup red capsicum (or red onion) and/or celery, sliced
- 2 tsp. basil pesto
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Mix vegetables together
- Stir pesto into olive oil
- Drizzle over salad and toss
Variation: substitute dried basil and/or oregano for the basil pesto
Couscous Salad
- ¼ cup instant couscous
- ½ Lebanese cucumber (or ¼ Granny Smith apple)
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ½ cup mushrooms, red capsicum (or red onion) and/or carrot, chopped
- 2 tsp. basil pesto
- 1 tbsp. olive oil.
- In a 1 litre bowl stir ¼ cup boiling water into couscous and allow to cool
- Peel (optional) and chop cucumber or apple
- Stir pesto and olive oil into couscous
- Stir chopped vegetables into couscous
Variations:
- substitute 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley for the basil pesto
- substitute sliced celery for some of the cucumber, apple, capsicum or carrot
Quick Rice Salad
- 1 single-serve microwave rice
- ¼ cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 tbsp. diced bacon
- 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- Pepper and parsley
- Microwave mixed vegetables in a little water on high for 90 seconds
- Drain and rinse to cool
- Empty microwave rice into a 1 litre bowl and break up with a fork
- Add diced bacon and vegetables to rice
- Whisk lemon juice, pepper and parsley into mayonnaise
- Stir mayonnaise into rice
Noodle Salad
- ¾ cup coleslaw mix
- 1 portion instant noodles
- 1 tbsp. canola oil
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Dried onion, garlic granules, ginger and pepper
- Douse coleslaw mix in boiling water for 10 minutes
- Whisk lemon juice into the oil and add spices
- Drain coleslaw mix and marinate in oil mixture for 30 minutes
- Meanwhile break instant noodles into longish pieces
- Douse in boiling water for 2–3 minute until al dente
- Drain and place in fridge to cool
- Toss noodles and coleslaw mix together
Gado Gado Salad
- 1 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. lime or lemon juice
- Mild curry powder and coriander
- 1 hard-boiled egg, sliced (see Eggs for Breakfast)
- ½ cup canned potatoes, sliced
- ½ Lebanese cucumber (or ¼ Granny Smith apple), sliced
- ¾ cup spinach leaves, lettuce or coleslaw mix
- In the small cup of a bullet blender, blend together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, curry powder and coriander with 2 tbsp. water
- Arrange vegetables in a wide bowl
- Top with egg slices
- Drizzle peanut sauce over salad
Marinated Mushroom Salad
- ¾ cup mushrooms, sliced
- 3 – 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup spinach leaves, torn lettuce or coleslaw mix
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 tsp. lemon juice
- Dried onion and pepper
- Marinate mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice, dried onion and pepper for 30 minutes
- Toss with cherry tomatoes and greens
- Add a little more lemon juice and olive oil if necessary
Mushroom and Potato Salad
- 3–4 button mushrooms, quartered
- 1 cup canned potatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp. diced bacon (or 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil (or mayonnaise)
- 1–2 tsp. lemon juice
- Pepper, garlic and parsley
- Mix together mushrooms and potatoes
- Stir in diced bacon or chopped egg
- Whisk 2 tsp. lemon juice into olive oil (or 1 tsp. lemon juice into mayonnaise)
- Stir in pepper, garlic and parsley
- Drizzle over salad and stir
Tip: to make hard-boiled egg, see Eggs for Breakfast
Chickpea Salad
- 1 x 125gm can chickpeas, drained
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ Lebanese cucumber (or ¼ Granny Smith apple), sliced
- 1 tbsp. carrot, grated
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Dried onion, oregano and garlic
- Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and carrot
- Whisk lemon juice, dried onion, oregano and garlic into olive oil
- Drizzle over salad and toss
Variation: substitute sliced celery for some of the cucumber or apple
Chickpea and Mayo Salad
- 1 x 125gm can chickpeas, drained
- ¼ Granny Smith apple
- ¼ cup carrot, grated
- 1–2 tbsp. mayonnaise or natural yoghurt
- 1 tsp. lemon or lime juice
- Mild curry powder, dried onion and garlic granules
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
- 3–4 lettuce leaves (optional)
- Place the chickpeas in a shallow bowl and mash roughly with a potato masher
- Whisk lemon juice, dried onion, garlic and mild curry powder into mayonnaise
- Peel and grate the apple
- Stir apple and grated carrot into the mashed chickpeas
- Stir in mayonnaise
- Serve with cherry tomatoes and/or lettuce (optional)
Bean and Potato Salad
- 1 x 125gm can four bean mix, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup canned potatoes, quartered
- ¼ cup red capsicum (or red onion) and/or celery, chopped
- 1–2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- Garlic, pepper and parsley
- Mix together beans, potatoes and capsicum
- Sprinkle salad with herbs and spices
- Stir mayonnaise into salad
Variation: substitute ¼ Granny Smith apple, peeled (optional) and sliced, for the canned potatoes
Bean and Corn Salad
- 1 x 125gm can four bean mix, drained and rinsed
- 1 x 125gm can corn kernels, drained
- ¼ cup red capsicum (or red onion) and/or celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp. carrot, grated
- 1–2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- Garlic, pepper and parsley
- Mix together beans, corn, capsicum and carrot
- Sprinkle salad with herbs and spices
- Stir mayonnaise into salad
Variation: substitute 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels for the canned corn. Microwave on high with a little water for 2 minutes, drain and rinse to cool before adding at Step 1.
Chicken Salad
- 1 x 85gm can shredded chicken in water
- ¼ Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp. chopped onion (or red onion)
- 1 tbsp. mayonnaise or natural yoghurt
- Oregano and garlic granules
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
- 3–4 lettuce leaves (optional)
- Drain water from shredded chicken
- Place in the small cup of a bullet blender with apple, onion, mayonnaise or natural yoghurt, oregano and garlic granules and process lightly
- Serve with cherry tomatoes and/or lettuce (optional)
Variation: substitute sliced celery for some or all of the apple
Tuna Salad
- 1 x 95gm can tuna in oil
- ¼ Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp. chopped onion (or red onion)
- 2 tsp. mayonnaise
- Parsley and garlic granules
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
- 3–4 lettuce leaves (optional)
- Place tuna with oil in the small cup of a bullet blender
- Add apple, onion, mayonnaise, parsley and garlic granules and process lightly
- Serve with cherry tomatoes and/or lettuce (optional)
Variation: substitute sliced celery for some or all of the apple
Salade Niçoise
- 1 x 95gm can tuna in oil
- 3–4 (frozen) broccoli florets (or 1/3 cup green beans)
- 3–4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup canned potatoes, halved
- 1 tsp. basil pesto
- Olive oil
- Lightly steam and cool broccoli (or green beans)
- Arrange on a plate with cherry tomatoes and potatoes
- Drain oil from tuna into a cup, top up to approx. 1 tbsp. with additional olive oil and stir in pesto
- Place tuna with the vegetables and drizzle with oil