Light tender flaky salmon, silky and savory peppers and garlic confit, big buttery chunks of avocado and roasty corn, salty bacon, and rivers of homemade smoky ranch. Have we said too much? Are you already making it? comment icon 63 more comments Oliver’s is a local spot here in POY’s neck of the woods and this little gem is a go-to order on their menu. And because one can’t just go to Oliver’s every single day, but one has giant salad needs that simply must be met, one must recreate it at home for maximum delicious salad consumption.
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Ingredients For This Salad
Have you ever had pepper confit? There are many delicious elements to this salad, but this pile of goodness is a real stunner. You just sort of slow simmer the sweet pepper rings and eventually the thin slices of garlic in olive oil until they are soft and buttery and caramelized. Then you store that mixture in your fridge and pile it on just about everything, namely, this salad. But let’s make the other elements too, shall we? For the smoked ranch:
mayo full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream milk or buttermilk white vinegar or lemon juice freeze-dried dill and chives smoked paprika onion powder & garlic powder salt & pepp
For the pepper confit:
olive oil mini sweet peppers garlic red wine vinegar salt
For our favorite salad build:
spinach or salad greens salmon (choose your adventure with how to cook salmon!) avocado bacon fire-roasted corn sunflower seeds
You can pick and choose a bit from that last list to really make it your own, but we suggest everything because we always do. Go big or go big!
Let’s Make The Oliver’s Salad
Here’s how to get your giant salad game on, let’s do this: We really cannot stress this enough so, just as a reminder, go big or go big.
What Makes This Salad So Good
This salad is such a star because it just screams “Hello! Hi! I have everything you love!” Like truly, how do you resist? So satisfying. So much flavor. It’s also one of those great recipes where you can prepare all of the elements ahead of time and then just have them at the ready to make this salad again and again. We always prefer to cook the salmon right before serving but the rest — the ranch, the bacon, the confit — will just be calling to you from your fridge shelves! It’s also flexible and you can really change it up and make it your own, depending on how you’re feeling. It would also be delicious with grilled chicken or maybe even shrimp (oooooh ok yes, must try). You could leave a protein out altogether and just double, triple, quadruple up on that pepper confit and those buttery avocado chunks and you probably won’t be mad! However you decide to doll it up for the day, just please be over-the-top with it. It’s the legacy this salad deserves. You know, go big or go big.
More Salad Recipes We Absolutely Love
Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad (easy to meal prep for lunches) Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad (let’s get those salad wheels spinning) Spicy Peanut Soba Noodle Salad (featuring a delicious homemade peanut dressing)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of Best Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes. Check it out! 4.9 from 23 reviews
1/2 cup mayo 1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice (more to taste) 2 teaspoons freeze-dried dill 2 teaspoons freeze-dried chives (or 2 tablespoons fresh chives) 1–2 teaspoons smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt black pepper to taste
The Pepper Confit
3 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound mini sweet peppers, sliced into rings 3 cloves garlic, sliced into thin pieces 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar salt to taste
The You-Picks
5 ounces spring mix (about 1-2 cups per serving) 24 ounces salmon or chicken (about 3-4 ounces per serving) 3 avocados (about half of one avocado per serving) 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled 2 cups fire-roasted corn 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
