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It's time for a final farewell to boring piles of lettuce.
"A salad should always, ALWAYS, be fresh. So use seasonal, fresh vegetables and herbs. For a little something extra, you can top it with roasted nuts, fruits, parmesan, or meat." —quirkydeer89
Check out more from BuzzFeed Tasty to see what's in season for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.
"I used to hate salad until I got a chopped salad knife as a gift one year. It’s this U-shaped blade with handles that you rock over the lettuce with to chop. This really helps the lettuce absorb whatever dressing you put on so you can basically consider salad a vehicle of dressing consumption. LOVE IT!" — erinwhit03
"I don’t love earthy or bitter lettuces. So I take romaine and spinach, throw it in a large bowl and use my chopper. This provides a great texture and the dressing is more evenly distributed on chopped salad." —stephanier4608d931a
Get a U-shaped salad chopper from Walmart for $14.99.
"Honestly, I learned how to cook vegetable dishes. I learned how to roast vegetables and how to make Chinese and Indian vegetarian recipes packed full of vegetables with delicious spices, flavors, and textures. Eating your veggies does not exclusively mean 'salad'!" —BrokenTryst
"ROASTED VEGETABLES, omg. I have a harder time digesting most raw veggies, other than greens (except for raw kale), so I love prepping a ton of roasted veggies, and then just putting that on a bed of greens with maybe some fruit chunks and nuts/seeds. Also, since I roast my veggies in oil, seasonings, and usually finish them with vinegar or lemon juice for some acidity; you don't really need dressing because the 'sauce' is already there and flavorful on the roasted veggies." —riley1st
"Roasted veggies are amazing! Almost any vegetable can be simply roasted in some oil, salt, and pepper, and be absolutely divine!" —lovelywolf
Check out Bev Cooks for this roasted veggie salad with arugula, marcona almonds, and chimchurri recipe.
"I start with romaine lettuce, then add diced tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled egg, shredded cheese, chicken, croutons, and ranch. It’s very filling and delicious!" —tawanab
"Temperature and texture differences are important! Use warm squash, mushrooms, chicken, or tofu with cold lettuce(s), creamy avocado with crunchy onions, and juicy fruits with chewy nuts. Obviously the stuff differs for whatever kind of salad I’m wanting (steak salad, squash and walnut, Cobb, etc.), but the basics of hot/cold, creamy/crunch, sweet/salt etc. remain the same." —Kat Skarsen, Facebook User
Check out Cafe Delights for this Mediterranean avocado salmon salad recipe.
"A good salad will always have a big bed of mixed greens, a few raw veggies, a couple of roasted veggies (I love corn and mushrooms), something crunchy (sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts), a warm protein of your choice (chickpeas, tempeh, chicken, salmon, etc), and possibly cheese (parmesan, feta). Always salt and pepper and I'm always making new dressings. I've got about eight in my rotation." —a45a628d99
"Add nuts to your salads! I love to add walnuts or cashews to a salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. It adds such a nice crunch to the salad and it’s good for you!" —lizzyd45c46fd90
"Roasted pumpkin seeds! A lil bit of crunch makes it feel fuller." —carlf4539e625c
Check out Pinch of Yum for this cashew crunch salad with sesame dressing recipe.
"My secret to making any salad amazing is my roasted red pepper dressing. Toss olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic, and roasted red peppers into a blender. Blend until smooth, and the amount of flavor it packs is incredible. It also makes a great bread dip!" —l44172b2d2
"Start with a really good basic, homemade vinaigrette. You'll need good quality olive oil, vinegar of choice (red wine, sherry, balsamic), minced shallot, dijon mustard, maple syrup or honey for a touch of sweetness, salt and fresh pepper. Add one part vinegar, add the shallot, and let them marinate in the vinegar for a minute. Whisk in the mustard and maple syrup or honey, then slowly whisk in three parts oil, and season with salt and pepper. Get out a big bowl and toss dressing gently with choice of greens and other add-ins such as cheese, toasted nuts, roasted veggies." —saladgrl
Check out A Beautiful Plate for this cilantro, lime, and jalapeño vinaigrette recipe.
"I use Thousand Island." —hitekx1
"Honestly it quite often comes down to dressings. Find a couple you like and always keep them in your fridge. My fave salad at home? Mixed greens, strawberries, feta cheese, and Olive Garden salad dressing. Don't skimp on the spinach, either! The other dressing we always have at home is Kraft ranch. Always." —Charlene Dee, Facebook User
"Olive Garden Italian dressing will make even the plainest of plain salads taste amazing. It's great for marinating steaks, too." —Brittany Peck, Facebook User
"I make salads for a living. It’s all about the homemade dressings!" —Cindy Kinnin Buchanan, Facebook User
"The trick is to pour your favorite salad dressing over your greens and mix it up. Don't dip or just pour it on top." —Becky Najera Moya, Facebook User
"Two words: RANCH DRESSING." —Ashley Garcia, Facebook User
"Litehouse Homestyle Ranch is the best bottled ranch that doesn't taste gross, and is a little bit healthier than a homemade mix of mayo and buttermilk. Nuts and seeds are always good, lots of veggies (I recently became obsessed with putting red cabbage in my salads), croutons, chickpeas, some parmesan, or feta cheese. Delicious." —a43920c533
"I add the best part of a salad, the dressing. Hidden Valley Ranch and a lot of it! The OG of dressing. And I'm fine with that!" —Stephanie Bougie Purvis, Facebook User
"Regular salad (romaine, cucumber, green onion) with little squares of feta, then pour on light tasting olive oil and then crack a lot of black pepper. My favorite way ever to eat salad. I also like some three cheese ranch once in a while, or peppercorn ranch." —Minerva Minoo, Facebook User
"Homemade ranch dressing and a little crunch 😋." —Jo Lynne Vielbig, Facebook User
Get a bottle of Kraft Hidden Valley Ranch dressing from Amazon for $7.52.
"Add fun stuff to them! I like to have a nice dressing, avocado, tortilla strips, and cherry tomatoes to keep it pretty simple, but still taste good. Before going vegan I'd use a spicy ranch and hard boiled eggs in there, too." —Mo
"I use arugula, rare roast beef finely sliced, julienned red chili peppers, olive oil, lime juice (lots), and grated parmigiano reggiano. To die for." —Gael Larche, Facebook User
"I love putting in diced Fuji apples. It adds such a different taste to the rest of the salad!" —aliciag4978dbd25
Check out Blissful Basil for this buffalo cauliflower salad recipe.
"Think of different textures and contrasting flavors! Add nuts and seeds, or dried cranberries and mandarin oranges." —victoriad13
"You have got to have a multitude of other ingredients to put in it other than just the leafy greens. Get yourself a nice balance of flavor profiles, textures, and colors. I like a mix of vegetable, some fruit, some cheese, some crunch, and something acidic. If you wanting some protein, you can add some egg or whatever meat/tofu you would like." —lovelywolf
"I like salads with seven different colors and textures, not including the dressing." —Shannon Marie, Facebook
"First, mix up your greens! Add some like arugula, frisée, and butterhead lettuce to the common lettuce. Second, come up with interesting dressing flavors. Try kimchi mayo/vinaigrette, strawberry vinaigrette, mango yogurt dressing, etc. Third, add varying texture and flavor with room temperature cheeses, candied/toasted nuts, fried wontons instead of croutons, raw thinly sliced cabbage, nori sheets, and crunchy bacon bits. Fourth, add fruit for sweetness! Try cantaloupes, mangoes, strawberries, kumquats, grapefruit, etc. And lastly, SALT YOUR GREENS!" —EverythingAndNothing
Check out Brooklyn Supper for this peal couscous, kale, and roasted squash salad recipe.
"Squeezing a lemon over it really adds that extra kick." —aaliyahbain20001
"Make a very lemony homemade salad dressing and add nuts or seeds. And put all your veggies in there." —Lori Reid, Facebook User
"EVOO and lemon, plus salt and pepper. Best dressing ever!" —Donna Sardella, Facebook User
"The perfect salad: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, bean sprouts, onion, bell peppers, apples, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, carrots, boiled eggs, bacon bits, cheese, salt n' pepper, red wine vinegar, and either Thousand Island or French dressing. The more the better. We like loaded salads in our house!" —lisiking12715
"I put tons of great stuff in it: bacon, feta, mozzarella balls, olives, croutons, artichoke hearts, steak or chicken, and fruit, depending on the greens I’m using." —Crystal Jackson-Moore, Facebook User
"My all-time favorite is the following: shredded iceberg, cherry tomatoes cut in half, red onion marinated in lemon juice (you don't have to marinate it more than 10 minutes), cucumber slices, crumbled feta cheese, dried cranberries for sweetness, and some nuts or seeds for a bit of crunch (it's often sunflower seeds). Top it with an olive oil, mustard and balsamic vinegar dressing, and you have the most delicious salad ever 😋🥗." —Marion Carole-Anne Douliez, Facebook User
"I add all the the things to my salads, so for instance if I'm making a salad with ranch, I'll put sunflower seeds, cooked quinoa, maybe some hummus, some type of beans, chopped lunch meat, cheese, maybe bacon, chopped hard boiled egg, raw broccoli and cauliflower, cucumber and dill pickle." —Tiffanie Lynn Hudson, Facebook User
Check out 40 Aprons for this loaded chicken Cobb salad recipe.
"A salad does not require lettuce! Try different bases — grains, roasted vegetables, various cabbage varieties, endive or radicchio, citrus, among a million other things. Bring it all together with an acid and an oil. Don't forget to season. Congratulations, you just made a seriously delicious salad." —desgroch
"I actually don’t put any lettuce! I pick my favorite vegetables (bell peppers, corn, carrots, purple cabbage, avocado, cucumbers, onions, etc.), top it with cheese, tortilla strips for some crunch, and end with a southwest dressing with lots of pepper! Lettuce doesn’t have much nutritional value and I always just want the veggies anyways." —graceleea
Check out Pinch of Yum for this couscous, peach, avocado, and corn recipe.
"I love pepperoncini and crunchy jalapeños. They are amazing!" —Cinnamon Charming Fear, Facebook User
"I love to put hot sauce on my salad with crispy onions and blue cheese crumbles." —Heather Crawford, Facebook User
"I love baby spinach, butter lettuce, grilled chicken breast tossed in some hot sauce, carrots, blue cheese, cucumber, salt, pepper, and some blue cheese dressing." —Rachael Johnson, Facebook User
If you want to add a kick, but don't dare to use ~really spicy~ hot sauce, Mike's Hot Honey is loved by many for mixing sweet and spicy.
"I have found that adding fried chicken to ANY salad makes me super happy." —Lisa Cunningham Mayfield, Facebook User
Check out Chelsea's Messy Apron for this crispy chicken salad recipe.
"You definitely want a few layers in the flavor and texture departments. I try to cover four flavors in every salad: bitter, salty, sweet, sour. Bitter can be your bitter greens and vegetables, sweet can be fruits/dried fruits, salty is typically the protein I add, and sour is in the dressing (lemon or citrus). This gives varying textures, layers of flavor (it is said you want every taste group represented in each meal), and lots of variety options. I have never made a bad salad! I also add herbs too — rosemary, parsley, cilantro, thyme, etc. Whatever sounds good with the rest of my mix. Experimentation is the way to go." —babysays
"I love crunchy romaine in my salads. I add some kind of fruit like apples, cranberries, or strawberries. I also use a good crumbly stinky cheese like feta or blue cheese, plus good meat like grilled chicken, or ham and turkey. Then I use something crunchy like croutons, almonds or walnuts. Throw in cucumbers and tomatoes. It's all finished off with a great vinaigrette dressing." —Heather Anne, Facebook User
"I use green leaf lettuce and butterhead lettuce mixed with shredded brussel sprouts (raw) and/or cabbage, cheddar cheese (sharper the better), green onion, bacon, a lightly breaded or grilled chicken, topped with half blue cheese dressing and half Catalina dressing. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds, pepitas, and/or cashews. It's perfection that I would eat every day." —Courtney C Biggerstaff, Facebook User
Check out Closet Cooking for this chicken shawarma salad recipe.
"Salt and pepper make all the difference in the world. A simple green salad with olive oil and lemon is delicious if you season it." —callipepla
"Add salt/pepper/garlic powder to your veggies BEFORE your dressing and just let it rest for a bit" —Emily Federico, Facebook User
"Add bacon. Bacon is a legit salad ingredient." —Anthony Maguire, Facebook User
Check out more from Drizzle and Drip for this BLT pasta salad recipe.
"I usually add different meat and strawberries together." —isabelle985
"I use strawberries and bacon. I make the bacon pretty small and very crunchy. The combo of sweet and salty really adds taste and the bacon adds another texture." —suzannapandat
"My go-to salad: romaine, apples or mangoes, avocado, sunflower seeds, cracked black pepper, diced deli meat! I don't even need dressing for it because the avocado provides the creaminess and the black pepper gives it a lot of flavor. Yum!" —pma0413
"I like vinaigrette sauces, meats, seeds, nuts, even orange segments or other fruit can really bring flavors through 😍." —Carly Davies, Facebook User
Check out Peas and Crayons for this strawberry steak salad recipe.
"I always make sure to add one thing I really look forward to! The dressing/an avocado, just things that are my favorite and maybe not the healthiest, but I think better than eating French fries for the eighth day in a row!" —Kerie Mainord, Facebook User
"I'm a big fan of my own version of taco salad, personally. Just use taco meat of your choice, sprinkle over a base of chopped lettuce of your choice, top with salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese, then roughly crumble hard shell tacos onto that. Mix together, and voilà, taco salad." —Mercedes Hardy, Facebook User
"I LOOOOVE feta and kalamata olives, so any salad with those automatically feels decadent." —Julie Balagia Forman, Facebook User
Check out Platings and Pairings for this cheeseburger salad recipe.
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.