These DIY salad bar ideas are easy to make! A plate loaded with salad is perfect for weeknight dinners or feeding a crowd.
Not everyone likes vegetables, but most people can stand behind a good salad bar. We love the concept of a salad bar for a quick dinner idea – something about calling it “salad bar” makes it more glamorous! There are certain salad ingredients that scream salad bar and make it even more special, like peas, hard-boiled eggs, or cottage cheese (or bacon, really!). Below we share our favorite salad bar ideas so you can recreate this easy weeknight dinner yourself.
Related: 10 Homemade Vinaigrette Recipes | The best green salad
Our favorite salad bar ideas
The key to making a salad bar at home? Allow some prep time for all vegetables; cleaning and chopping takes a little time. But when you’re done prepping, you’re done! We are happy to prepare extra vegetables for lunch or dinner days later. If you’re a fan of hard-boiled eggs like us, make them ahead of time or allow enough time for easy prep (about 30 minutes total).
If you’re making a vegetarian or vegan salad bar, use plenty of plant-based protein to ensure your salad bar ideas are filling. Here are high-protein salad toppings that will make your salad filling and keep you full (or satiated). directly to the recipe):
- Hard Boiled Eggs: With 6 grams of protein per pop, eggs are also one of the most nutrient dense sources of vegetarian protein.
- Dairy: Cheese and plain yogurt fill in vegetarian protein. (Avoid low-fat, fat-free, and flavored yogurts.)
- Legumes: Sample Green Peas, Lentils (Red, Green, Brown, French), Split Peas, Black-Eyed Peas and Beans (Black, Chickpea/Garbanzo, Lima, Navy, Pinto, White and Kidney)
- Full grain: Try quinoa, barley, bulgur, millet, and brown and wild rice
- Nuts and Seeds: Try almonds, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
And don’t forget raw vegetables for salad toppings like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers. Top it all off with some crunchy homemade croutons and your salad bar will be a hit.
The best salad dressings
Another key to having dinner at the salad bar is a good dressing! We have a whole collection of delicious homemade dressings that are perfect for salad bar ideas. Here are some of our favorite homemade salad bar night dressing recipes:
Looking for easier dinner recipes?
Aside from these salad bar ideas, here are some of our favorite easy dinner recipes:
This recipe is…
These salad bar ideas are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based depending on what ideas you use for your salad!
The description
These DIY salad bar ideas are easy to make! A plate loaded with salad is perfect for weeknight dinners or feeding a crowd.
- Green salad: lettuce, spinach, mesclun
- Hard boiled eggs
- Legumes: cooked chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans, cooked and seasoned
- Vegetables: carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, cherry tomatoes, peppers
- Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts
- Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
- Grains: Cooked and seasoned quinoa
- Cheese: Cheddar or Colby Jack cubes, Parmesan shavings
- Proteins: tuna, cooked chicken, prosciutto
- Homemade Garlic Croutons
- cottage cheese
- Vinaigrette:
Remarks
These salad bar ideas are a food concept, not a recipe: get creative and customize your toppings based on your preferences and what you have on hand! Add cooked meat for a non-veg option. For a vegetarian option, be sure to eat enough high-protein foods like eggs, chickpeas, cheese, and nuts.
- Category: salad
- Method: Raw
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Salad bar ideas, easy salad recipe
Last update: February 2020
