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Side salads are those which accompany a main meal. These easy to prepare side salads can be made in a snap using shortcut ingredients. And they pair well with many dishes.
Recipe one:
Quick slaw
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 cups prepared coleslaw blend, not dressed
- ½ cup real mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- Coarse salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine coleslaw mix, mayonnaise, vinegar, and celery seed. Season with some salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Serving ideas:
This may be served as a standalone salad or used as a burger topping.
No prepared coleslaw? Create your own by combining white and red cabbage and adding in some other flavors you like such as minced carrots and parsley.
Make ahead:
This salad may be prepared a day ahead but do refrigerate it to keep it fresh. Alternatively, the ingredients can be prepped, refrigerated, and combined before serving.
Recipe two:
Easy bread salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small sweet red pepper, diced
- ½ English cucumber, sliced (leave peel on)
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh minced parsley
- 1 Tablespoon capers, drained (rinse to remove excess salt, then dry)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt & cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 cups of prepared buttery croutons or two cups toasted bread cubes (recommend using bread from a baguette)
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, sweet pepper, cucumber, red onion, parsley, and capers. Set aside to prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar and oil until well combined. To the dressing, add the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and gently toss. Fold in croutons or bread cubes and serve.
Serving ideas:
This salad can be served on a bed of lettuce as a standalone dish at a luncheon or as a substitute for a garden salad with meals.
No croutons? Use toasted bread pieces instead.
Make ahead:
This recipe can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. However, don’t add the croutons/bread until close to serving time. This prevents them from becoming soggy.
Alternatively, one may prep ingredients and keep them separate until ready to assemble and serve.
Interested in creating your own one-of-a-kind salad? Check out our Salad chart & dressings recipes.