Everyone needs an easy house salad recipe in their life! The type of simple salad recipe that uses common ingredients that likely already have on hand in your produce crisper drawer. Crisp Romaine lettuce, juicy tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, shredded Parmesan, and crunchy croutons are a must. After that, I use whatever I have on hand since and am craving or need to use since this is a super flexible salad recipe. It’s the salad you serve before or alongside weeknight dinners at home as a way to round things out and get some greenery and vegetables into your diet, or your family’s, and balance out your plate.
House Salad Ingredients
There’s a ton of flexibility in what ingredients you use. Here’s what I use in my Italian house salads as well as ways to tweak the ingredients in parentheses:
For the Salad:
Romaine lettuce (or a lettuce blend, spring mix, or mix with a variety of lettuces including spinach, baby spinach, endive, arugula, butter lettuce, iceberg lettuce, radicchio, and so forth) Tomatoes (Beefsteak, heirloom, Roma, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, yellow or orange tomatoes, etc.) Cucumber (English or regular) Carrots Red onions or shallots (white or yellow onions) Croutons, for garnishing (homemade or store bought) Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnishing (or another favorite shredded or grated cheese Pecorino, Romano, grated white cheddar, feta or blue cheese crumbles, cheddar cheese, or shredded blend/mix such as a “Mexican cheese blend” or “pizza cheese blend” or whatever looks good to you)
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
Extra virgin olive oil Red wine vinegar (or rice vinegar/rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, balsamic vinegar, etc. but I am not a fan of basic white vinegar here. And see below that you can use equal parts lemon juice + vinegar rather than solely vinegar too) Dijon mustard Honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar Garlic powder Onion powder Dried oregano Salt Pepper
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make a House Salad
It’s a near foregone conclusion that you’re going to be serving this salad alongside something else. Therefore, don’t obsess! You can either:
Add the lettuce torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces, and then all remaining ingredients on top of it, in a large bowl. I use this method for big family gatherings and we pass the bowl around family-style. OR add a handful of lettuce to individual plates, and top each with the remaining ingredients. I tend to prefer this method when I am serving it to my family because it’s one less big bowl to wash.
Then, top the simple side salad with the homemade vinaigrette and serve!
Adjusting the Flavor of the Vinaigrette
Lemon lover? You can use equal parts vinegar + lemon juice. For today’s recipe, you would use 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar + 2 tablespoons lemon juice, rather than 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar for a lemony vinaigrette. Vinaigrettes and salad dressings in general I find are highly personal. My measurement guidelines are just that, a rough framework for you to use, but always add ingredients to your personal taste preferences including more salt, pepper, garlic or onion powder. Want it spicier? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or even the tiniest pinch ever of cayenne pepper. Lacks pizzazz or oomph? Likely this is a fault of not enough salt. Add more, and don’t be shy! This is the most common error home cooks make is under-salting. Want it bolder? Add more garlic powder or minced garlic, and/or more onion powder. Have fresh herbs? Finely dice your fresh basil, fresh mint, fresh parsley, and add them. You can also use a blender like I do in the two basil vinaigrettes that I link below. Add more sweetener (honey, maple, agave, or a pinch of sugar) if you want to cut the pungentness of the vinegar. And/or if you used balsamic vinegar rather than red wine vinegar for example.
More Easy Salad Recipes:
30 Best Easy Healthy Salads — Looking for easy salad recipes that are both filling and flavorful? The 30 healthy salads on this list are the BEST salads you’ll ever eat!! However, if you do have leftover homemade vinaigrette or homemade salad dressing, they tend to keep well in an airtight container or jar for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. Note that the olive oil + honey or maple syrup will tend to firm up in the fridge (not harden fully like gravy for example) but take it out 30 minutes before you plan to dress your salad so you can shake and add it with ease. Otherwise a 5 second zap in the microwave can help! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Chopped Chicken Salad — An EASY chopped salad with so much FLAVOR and CRUNCH topped with PERFECT juicy oven-baked chicken that’s ready in 15 minutes!! Homemade honey apple cider vinaigrette adds the finishing touch!! BLT Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing — A BLT salad packed with an abundance of veggies for added texture and flavor, all topped with homemade ranch! Fast, fresh, healthy & satisfying! Southwest Chicken Cobb Salad – A Southwestern spin on traditional Cobb salad complete with tender chicken, crispy bacon, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and avocado over a bed of Romaine lettuce! Mediterranean Cobb Salad — This Mediterranean salad easy, healthy, accidentally vegetarian, ready in 10 minutes, and you can easily size the recipe up if you’re making it for a larger group. Strawberry Chicken Salad — The grilled chicken is so JUICY and moist thanks to a homemade pecan butter marinade!! Sweet strawberries and crunchy pecans add extra texture and FLAVOR!! Salmon Niçoise Salad with Basil Vinaigrette — An ELEGANT French-inspired salad with juicy salmon, tender potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, crispy haricots verts, and more. And it’s all drizzled with a super FLAVORFUL fresh basil vinaigrette!! This BEAUTIFUL salad has something for everyone!! Honey Lemon-Glazed Salmon Salad— Ready in 15 minutes and can easily be meal prepped. My whole family loves this recipe and said it’s their favorite salmon salad I’ve ever made! Spinach Apple Salad with Cheddar & Cranberries — The flavors just POP in this fast, easy, and healthy spinach salad! There are so many wonderful textures and flavors in every bite you can’t help but like it!
