We’ve all been there. You order a salad (or make one) and it’s just boring. It doesn’t taste great, it’s not interesting and you end up just staring at what your friends ordered. Enter this upgraded classic garden salad that will change your feelings on simple salads forever.
This garden salad recipe comes together in under 10 minutes, it’s super simple and easy, and best of all, it’s not boring at all. In fact, it couldn’t be more delish!
This vegetable garden salad is loaded with crunchy cucumbers and carrots, sweet tomatoes and raisins, along with crispy sweet lettuce and creamy avocado. Did I mention the creamy balsamic dressing?
All in all, I can guarantee you’ll love this loaded garden salad (don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients).
Classic Garden Salad Components
- Spring mix: most grocery stores sell this in the cased produce aisle.
- Iceberg lettuce
- Persian cucumbers: Ok, use whatever cucumber you have on hand. But if you can, spring for persian cucumber. They’re so good you might just snack on them on their own.
- Carrots
- Cherry tomatoes: One note on these, if they’re not in season don’t buy them. Cherry tomatoes tend to only taste good during the summer months, so don’t waste your money if they’re not in season.
- Avocado
- Pine nuts: Feel free to use walnuts or pecans for a cheaper option.
- Golden Raisins: These are totally optional, but I love the chewy texture that they add to this salad bowl
- Olive oil: Make sure to use a quality olive oil that has good flavor as it’ll shine through in the final dressing
- Balsamic vinaigrette
- Honey: Feel free to use maple syrup if you want the dressing to be completely vegan
- Lemon juice
- Vegan yogurt: I love the unsweetened almond milk yogurt from Kite Hill
- Spices: Such as salt, garlic and black pepper
Garden Salad Dressing
I’m a firm believer that a simple salad bowl can only taste as good as the dressing you use. Which is why I cannot recommend using this creamy balsamic vinaigrette dressing enough, it’s absolute heaven and instantly elevates this salad.
Here’s how to make this creamy honey balsamic vinaigrette — it couldn’t be easier.
- Add the yogurt, honey (or maple syrup), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and garlic powder into a bowl. Give this a good mix. Alternatively, you can add everything into a small blender or mini food processor and mix it like that.
- Once the dressing has become silky smooth and dark in color, it’s done. Adjust for salt before using!
In the recipe card, I included measurements for one portion, but if you want to make a big batch of this dressing, I’ll link the recipe here.
Even More Salad Recipes
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Classic Garden Salad
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Description
Enter this upgraded classic garden salad that will change your feelings on simple salads forever. It's crunchy, creamy, crispy and subtly sweet!
Ingredients
Salad Bowl
- Handful of Spring Mix, roughly chopped
- 1 cup Iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped
- 1 medium Carrot, chopped
- 1 medium Persian Cucumber
- ½ medium Avocado, sliced
- 8–10 medium Cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tbsp Pine Nuts ((sub with chopped walnuts))
- 2 tbsp Golden raisins ((or any chewy dried fruit))
Dressing
- 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Vegan yogurt
- 2 tsp Honey or Maple syrup
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
- ⅛ tsp Garlic powder
Instructions
- Begin by chopping the iceberg lettuce and spring mix. I don’t like getting a face-full of leaves, so chopping up the lettuce makes it more manageable.
- Next chop the cucumber and carrot. I recommend cutting the carrot and cucumber on a bias (angle the knife) to get an elongated oval shape. This makes the salad have a varying texture which makes it more interesting.
- Finally, make the dressing. Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and give this a good mix, whisking vigorously for at least 3-4 minutes. Alternatively, you can add everything into a small blender or mini food processor and emulsify the dressing like that.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat everything. I actually like to use my hands to very gently massage the dressing into the salad (somehow it just tastes better this way).
- Top with the pine nuts and raisins and enjoy!
Notes
If you want to make a big batch of the balsamic dressing, the full recipe is here.
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