If I say ‘salad’ and you immediately think ‘Lettuce…tomatoes…boring’, you are in for a pleasant surprise! Salads can be much more than leafy greens.
As I once told my daughter after announcing her disdain for salad, almost any food you like, served cold, can be made into a salad. The recipes below use cashews, feta cheese, pasta, potatoes, avocado, corn, nectarines, lime juice, and more fun, flavorful ingredients to jazz up healthy staples like quinoa, black beans, red peppers, kale, and more.
Read on for salad inspiration: Seven unique types of salad and links to ten great recipes – no lettuce required.
Salads with cereals
(I actually took this photo! It’s not a stock photo.)
Whole, intact, low-glycemic grains such as barley, quinoa, or farro Make a more filling salad with slow energy that will last you until your next meal.
Toss cooked grains with ingredients like chopped bell pepper, tomato, spinach, feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.
RD Pro Tip: Save time by freezing a large batch of cooked grains in meal-sized portions.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Crispy Thai Quinoa Cashew Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing – Ambitious Cuisine – If you’re not a fan of quinoa, this heavenly Ginger Peanut Dressing might make you reconsider. This salad keeps in the fridge for several days so you can have your lunch ready.
Runner up: Kale and Quinoa Salad with Cranberries and Feta – Julie van Rosendaal – This is another one of our favorites, especially on busy weeknights, so I had to include it. (Go easy on the sweetened dried cranberries.)
Pasta salads
Pasta Salad Can Be Heart Healthy! When baked and cooled, the starch structure changesso it is digested and raises blood sugar more slowly.
Neat, right? Science!
Aim for a vegetable pasta salad versus a vegetable pasta salad. Roasted red pepper, spicy arugula, tiny chopped broccoli florets, toasted sunflower seeds and grated Parmesan go well with cold pasta.
If you don’t have it in you make a dressingsimply drizzle with your favorite bottled balsamic or Italian dressing.
RD Pro Tip: Check the label and look for one relatively low in sodium and sugar. Don’t worry about the fat in the sauces. (In fact, low-fat or fat-free sauces often have the most sodium or sugar.)
Favorite Sweet Spot: BIG Kale Pasta Salad – Budget Bytes – As you may have guessed, I love cabbage. Cut into thin ribbons and massage the dressing into it with your hands for 60 seconds. It will be much more tender and tasty.
Potato salads
Like pasta, potatoes are gentler on blood sugar when cooked and cooled. In addition, potatoes help you get vitamin C, potassium and fiber. (More so if you eat the skin.)
Add vegetables such as minced red onion and blanched green beans, as well as fresh herbs. For a change, try one sweet potato salad. (Bonus: lower glycemic index.)
Favorite Sweet Spot: Italian potato salad with green beans and tomatoes – Sp & Feast – You’ll get rave reviews at a summer potluck with this colorful offering. As with pasta salad, the idea is to dial in the portion of vegetables.
Bean salads
Legumes, which are lentils, dried beans and peas, are incredibly rich in nutrients: fiber, potassium, magnesium and more.
If a typical four-bean salad isn’t for you, how about black beans, corn, ripe tomato, and avocado?
Or lentils with crunchy apples and almonds? Pair with a handful of whole grains and turn the salad into a hearty meal.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, Avocado & Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette – Once Upon a Chef – Delicious but note that this is a huge recipe. I like to cut it in half except for the lime vinaigrette. (Start with half the salt and sugar as well, and add more to taste if needed.) Use frozen corn if time is short.
Runner up: Electric Chickpeas – Sweet Spot Nutrition – A delicious way to enjoy chickpeas, with or without the recommended additions such as shrimp, avocado or spinach.
Fruit salads
Not a fan of vegetables? Fruit offers many of the same nutrients in a sweeter package and is also linked to better heart health.
For a classic fruit salad, simply toss your favorites in lime or lemon juice mixed with honey.
For a fresh twist, try watermelon, feta cheese and mint.
Or add fruit to a barley or lentil salad: Oranges, mangoes, pomegranates… all add a colorful touch.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Corn Salad – Energize Nutrition – A creative way to enjoy delicious nectarines when they are in season. Again, a very large recipe, so consider making half.
Bol
Bowls are like salads served over whole grains. You’ve probably seen them on menus with names like ‘Ninja Bowl’, ‘Buddha Bowl’ or ‘Burrito Bowl’.
Make one with your favorite vegetables – cooked or raw. There are no rules. The bowls are usually topped with a rich, creamy dressing based on ingredients such as tahini, peanuts or miso.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce – Budget Bytes – This pushes the limit of what can be called a salad, but it’s so good I wanted to include it. I like to use ground turkey and add a head of broccoli.
Vegetable salads
Vegetable-based salads don’t have to include leafy greens! I’m thinking caprese salad for example: fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Perfect for a warm summer night.
Try chopping and tossing some of your favorite vegetables with a juicy vinaigrette. Cut vegetables creatively: For example, grate carrots, shave with a vegetable peeler or cut into matchsticks. Finish it off with a handful of crumbled goat cheese or roasted pumpkin seeds.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Crunchy Peanut Salad with Kale – Sweet Spot Nutrition – This is another one that sweetens things with fruit (mandarins) and adds weight with a grain (farro).
Leafy vegetables
Of course, if you want, a salad can be made with leafy vegetables other than lettuce. Experiment with spinach, arugula or kale. Even chard can make a great salad.
Favorite Sweet Spot: Crispy Spinach and Beet Salad – Sweet Spot Nutrition – Between the feta, chopped apple, and sharp vinaigrette, this salad has so much going for it!
Runner up: The Best Shredded Kale Salad – Oh She Glows – If I haven’t convinced you about cabbage yet, this might do it. The pecan parmesan is divine, although I like to grate real parmesan on top as well. And massage the dressing. It really works.
More salad tips
- Heart-healthy dressings are often based on extra virgin olive oil, but for a change, try walnut oil, flaxseed or even mayonnaise, which are surprisingly mostly heart-healthy fats! Good for brewing creamy sauces.
- If you make a batch of homemade salad dressing, it will last about two weeks in the fridge, according to the USDA. If it solidifies, don’t worry. Olive oil does this. Just let it sit for a few minutes.
- Add grilled chicken, poached salmon, boiled eggs, canned beans, or canned tuna for a boost of muscle-building protein.
- When you’re pressed for time, salads for the win! They may have more sugar and sodium than homemade, but if they have more vegetables on your plate, it’s a win. You can substitute extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar some of dressing if you want to cut.
- Or look for coleslaw, coleslaw or broccoli. Just add your favorite dressing. Voila! Salad, without chopping.
Summer is when salads shine! Keep the kitchen cool, take advantage of fresh seasonal produce and enjoy.
Combine salads without a word of lettuce
Have you tried any of these salads? What did you think; Do you have favorite lettuce-free salads?
Join the conversation for free Sweet Spot Heart-Healthy Cooking Club on Facebook.
Note: If this post looks familiar, it’s because I submitted a variation of it Life in Hearts (Issue #3). For this version I added the recipe links.
