Fresh Spring Salad Ideas You’ll Want to Make on Repeat

Gone are the days of a salad consisting solely of lettuce and tomatoes.

Today, the perfect salad is all-embracing, often including essential proteins and fats, like nuts, olives, grapes, cheese, beans, avocado, chickpeas, tofu, and even slices of fish or steak. Many of these ingredients (including the leafy greens) are excellent sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, and other nutrients.

Whether enjoyed as a main, a side, or a light lunch, salads are a healthy, appetizing, filling, and nutritional staple to incorporate into your diet. That’s why Fresh Prep includes seasonal salads in our weekly menus, with pre-portioned seasonal vegetables and signature dressings.

Salads are the ideal food for easy meal prep, weeknight meals, and hosting friends and family. If you’re looking for exciting new salad recipes to keep things fresh in the kitchen, keep reading for our favourite salad-making tips and delicious spring salad recipes.

Did you know?

Legend has it that Italian-American restaurateur Caesar Cardini invented the salad in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico.

What Makes a Great Spring Salad?

The best spring salads contain fresh, local, delicious, and in-season ingredients. These include sweeter ingredients like fruit, crisp greens, bright acids (like citrus and wine vinegar), silky floral ingredients, and some crunch! They’re typically lighter feeling than winter salads, which contain heavier ingredients like winter squash and root vegetables.

To make your spring salads light, yet filling:

Use a variety of leafy greens
Add lean, high-protein sources (like chickpeas and tuna)
Incorporate slow-digesting carbs (like quinoa or brown rice)
Add good fats in moderation (like avocado and quality olive oils)
Add freshness with fruits, berries, and seeds
Go light on the dressing (and try homemade vinegarettes instead)

Your options are endless, so don’t be afraid to experiment with flavour profiles and ingredients.

Tips to Build The Perfect Salad at Home

With so many possible ingredients, how do you create a balanced salad that is nutrient-rich, delicious, and satisfying?

Our Fresh Prep Recipe Developer Manager, Amy Mastrofini, shares her seven steps to building the perfect salad every time.

1. Choose ingredients seasonally

Capitalize on in-season veggies and fruits. Not only will this ensure that you get the most flavour and nutrients, but it’s also more cost-effective than buying out-of-season produce.

Farmers’ markets are a great place to get inspiration. For example, in summer, add fresh berries, ripe tomatoes and avocados. In autumn, consider adding pomegranate seeds or sweet potatoes.

2. Balance textures

A great salad needs a balance of textures to make every bite a little bit different. If you have creamy elements, like avocado, goat cheese, or hummus, try adding nuts, roasted chickpeas, baked tortilla strips, or homemade croutons.

Becky Brauer, Fresh Prep co-founder, does just that to spruce up her salads: “I always try to add something crisp and crunchy like a nut or seed, something creamy like a cheese or dressing, and something unexpected like a cooked grain or something pickled.”

3. Build a better base

Think beyond iceberg lettuce. There are so many different leafy greens available, so feel free to get creative. Delicate greens like a spring mix tend to do better with lighter vinaigrettes that won’t weigh the leaves down, whereas heartier greens like cabbage, romaine, iceberg or kale can hold up against creamier or heavier dressings.

4. Dress it up

A dressing can transform a plain ol’ bed of greens. It can be the star of the show or the background dancer. Just remember not to overdress your salad! Add dressing in increments so you don’t overdo it. If you add too much dressing and end up with a soggy salad, it’s hard to go back, but you can always add more.

Timing is also key. Dressing can sometimes act as a marinade for heartier greens (like cabbage or kale), which are best dressed earlier, whereas delicate greens (like spinach or spring greens) are best dressed right before serving.

5. Incorporate a protein

If a salad is going to be the star of the meal, incorporate a protein to make the salad more satiating. You can even get creative and think beyond the traditional chicken or beans as a salad topper. Roasted chickpeas, grated hard-boiled egg, warm quinoa, fried halloumi or paneer cheese, or baked falafel are great options.

6. Add healthy fat

Fats are another integral component in a salad. Not only will they help make it filling, but fats can actually facilitate absorption of nutrients and fat-soluble vitamins, such as lycopene, vitamin A and K, and beta-carotene found in vegetables and fruits. Even just a bit of olive oil, avocado, cheese, nuts or hummus is a great way to get more from your salad—literally.

7. Experiment with temperatures

Combining warm and cold ingredients can elevate a salad, such as the little touch of warmth you get from fresh-baked croutons in a Caesar salad, or something more dramatic, like grilled peaches on top of a bed of arugula.

Spring Salad Ideas to Try This Season

Do you want to include more salads in your dinner routine? We’ve got you covered. These salads are protein-packed, making them perfect for your main dish.

Lentil & Gemelli Salad with Goddess Dressing, Tomatoes & Arugula

Goddess dressing is a creamy, savoury sauce speckled with bright herbs that originated in San Francisco in the 1920s. It’s known for being equal parts herbaceous, creamy, and delicious.

This plant-powered pasta salad recipe uses Gemelli pasta, protein-rich lentils, gem tomatoes, sliced avocado and arugula, all tossed in a cashew goddess dressing with fresh dill and basil.

California Steak Salad with Avocado, Feta & Tomato Vinaigrette

A light yet supremely satiating salad starring perfectly seared AAA top sirloin steaks and tender red leaf lettuce. This light and fresh recipe is scattered with tomatoes, creamy avocado and lightly pickled shallots in a tangy tomato vinaigrette featuring Salt Spring Kitchen Co. Savoury Tomato Preserves.

Southwest Salad with Adobo Ranch & Crispy Tortillas

Tex-Mex and far from complex, this loaded taco salad recipe is a breeze to prepare. With a smoky adobo-chipotle ranch, aged cheddar, crispy fried tortilla strips, spiced black beans, and corn tossed with crisp romaine lettuce, this hearty vegetarian salad is the perfect balance of healthy and satisfying.

Top Spring Side Salad Ideas for Any Meal

A salad is a delicious way to add more vegetables to your meal. Side salads go well with almost anything—a mixed grill platter, a rich lasagne or a bowl of soup. Add a splash of colour to dinner with these add-on side salads from Fresh Prep, sure to showcase the many ways a side of greens can go:

“My favourite salad is the Citrus-Miso Sesame Slaw salad from our Add-ons menu,” Becky says. “The dressing is superb, and the Thai basil gives it the perfect punch of fresh flavour. And the perfectly crunchy honey roasted sesame sticks… omg.”

How to Make Spring Salads Weeknight-Friendly

A filling salad can be weeknight-friendly. Here are a few tips for having fresh salads, any day of the week:

Pre-wash your vegetables and greens
Pre-chop your ingredients
Make a larger batch of salad dressing to last several meals throughout the week.
Use leftover ingredients from other meals as toppings (such as rotisserie chicken, grated cheese, and hard-boiled eggs)

Having your salad ingredients ready to go makes it easy to have salad anytime, reducing your meal-planning stress.

Make Spring Salad Ideas Part of Your Weekly Routine

Spring salads work well as both mains and sides, making them an ideal addition to your weekly meal planning routine. They provide your family with fresh and flexible meals any day of the week.

Spring is one of the best salad seasons because of all the fresh produce available. Experiment with your favourite seasonal produce to create near-endless salad recipes. Fresh salads can make everyday cooking convenient and delicious.

For inspiration, check out the Fresh Prep recipe library, or order a new salad from our current weekly menu.

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