How to Build the Perfect Salad

There's a big difference between a handful of iceberg lettuce and a few slices of cucumber, and a salad that fills you up properly. The good news is it comes down to six things, and once you know them, putting a decent salad together from whatever's in the fridge takes about five minutes.

1. Build your base

Any kind of green leaves make a great base for salads – iceberg, little gem, baby spinach, rocket etc. Try to vary your base through the week to get a variety of leaves into your diet. You can even add a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs for an extra ‘zing’ of flavour.

2. Boost the colour

Next add some colourful raw veggies – peppers, tomatoes, grated carrots, radishes etc. Batch cooking some roasted vegetables at the weekend is another great way to add variety and colour with minimum fuss. Good options are root vegetables like beetroot, carrot and sweet potato; or Mediterranean veg like aubergine, red pepper, courgette and red onion. Keep them in the fridge and add a spoonful to your salad.

3. Add protein

This could be a tin of fish, some leftover chicken, eggs, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils or cheese. Crumbled feta, or some lightly fried halloumi are great options too.

4. Don’t forget healthy fats

Healthy fats – avocado, olives, olive oil, oily fish – are great for keeping you feeling fuller for longer. Dice half an avocado, throw in a handful of olives or drizzle a glug of olive oil over your finished salad.

5. Make sure you’ve got ‘crunch’

Adding a sprinkle of something that gives texture to your salad can make all the difference! A couple of tablespoons of raw or toasted seeds, a handful of chopped walnuts or some sliced radishes or carrots will all give a crunch to each mouthful.

6. Drizzle a dressing

You can opt for a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar, mustard and honey, or use plain yoghurt or tahini as the base. Add olive oil, half a clove of crushed garlic and some mint for a Greek-style flavour.

The salad questions we get asked most

What should I put in a salad to make it more filling?

Protein is the part most salads are missing, and it's the reason you're hungry again an hour later. Add a tin of fish, leftover chicken, a boiled egg, chickpeas or lentils, and pair it with a healthy fat (avocado, olive oil, a handful of olives) to slow digestion. Those two things together change a side dish into a proper meal.

What is the healthiest base for a salad?

Any green leaves work, and variety matters more than which specific leaf you choose. Baby spinach, rocket, little gem, watercress and mixed leaves all bring different nutrients, so rotating through them across the week is more useful than sticking to one. Adding a small handful of fresh herbs (parsley, mint, basil) gives extra flavour without anything extra.

How do I stop a salad going soggy?

Keep the dressing separate until you're ready to eat. For a packed lunch or a mason-jar salad, put the dressing in first and the leaves in last, so the leaves sit furthest from the liquid until you turn it out. Robust vegetables (beetroot, roasted peppers, fennel) can sit in dressing longer than delicate ones; cucumber and tomato are the fastest to go soft once dressed.

Can I make salads ahead for the week?

Yes, with a few caveats. Chopped vegetables, cooked proteins, grains and roasted veg all hold well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Keep the dressing separate, and add anything with high water content (cucumber, tomato, avocado) fresh when you're ready to eat, since these break down fastest once cut. A batch of roasted veg at the weekend makes the rest of the week significantly easier.

What dressing is best for a healthy salad?

A simple vinaigrette (olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, a teaspoon of mustard and a little honey) covers most salads and takes two minutes to shake together. For something creamier, plain yoghurt or tahini thinned with lemon juice both work well and are easier on the gut than most shop-bought dressings, which tend to carry more sugar and additives than the label implies.

Salad Recipe Ideas to Get You Started

Once you have the basics in mind, it’s so easy to throw together a delicious, nutritious salad from the ingredients you have in the fridge. However, if you’d like some recipe suggestions, then these are tried and tested favourites…

Mason-jar salad

The mason jar method keeps leaves dry and dressing separate until you're ready to eat. Image source: Canva

You might have seen mason jar salads on social media. It’s easy to make a couple of day’s-worth in one go, saving you time in the kitchen. They are also economical with storage space in the fridge.

It is a kind of upside-down way to make your salad but ensures the whole lot doesn’t go soggy by lunchtime. Simply empty it out onto a plate when you’re ready for it and the ingredients you put in first (the wetter ingredients) end up on the top, while the more delicate ingredients like the salad leaves end up on the bottom without being squashed.

Here’s how you make your own in 5 simple steps.

• The dressing goes in first. This is the key step as it guarantees the leaves don’t get soggy. Add enough so it can (eventually) coat all your ingredients.

• Next pop in your robust veg like beetroot or fennel.

• You can then add any softer veg like cucumber or green beans.

• Don’t forget your healthy fats – put in some olives or avocado.

• Add a layer of protein –tuna, chicken, egg, tofu – as well as any other things you’re using like cheese, nuts or seeds – those ingredients that you want to stay dry until just before you eat it.

• The leafy greens go in last. That way they’re kept nice and dry and, when you turn the jar over and empty onto your plate, the leaves make the salad bed.

Greek style quinoa bowl

Serves 1

2 cups rocket

100g cooked quinoa

80g artichoke hearts, quartered

1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/3 cup crumbled feta

1/2 cup assorted Greek olives

3 tbsp tzatziki

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and pepper

Assemble the bowls, starting with the rocket, then add the quinoa, followed by all the other ingredients. Drizzle the tzatziki and olive oil as a dressing when ready to eat.

Oriental chicken salad

Serves 2

2 cooked, skinless chicken breasts, shredded

1 medium carrot, grated

1/4 cucumber, grated

1/2 small red onion, grated

2 handfuls of bean sprouts

Small handful of fresh mint leaves

1 red pepper, sliced

25g unsalted cashew nuts, roughly chopped

Dressing:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp tamari soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed Juice of half a lime

Mix all the vegetables, mint, nuts and chicken in a bowl. Stir the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, pour over the salad, mix well and serve.

Other recipes to try

If you're after more recipe ideas to get started, we've recently added three new salads to the blog: a Bang Bang Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing with a sweet and spicy peanut dressing, a High-Protein Cottage Cheese, Egg and Tomato Salad that comes together in five minutes, and a Tex-Mex Black Bean and Corn Salad that holds in the fridge all week.

Stay in the Loop

If this steady, food-first approach makes sense to you, I share practical, evidence-based nutrition insights in my weekly email. You can sign up here and receive them straight to your inbox.