If you’re in need of salad bowl inspiration, you’ve found yourself in the right place! Today I’m sharing 10 salad bowl combos for you to replicate at home. I switch my salads up so frequently by keeping my pantry stocked with grain blend pouches, nuts, dried fruit, canned beans, canned salmon/tuna, etc. Beyond that, I kind of pick a theme for the week. Like I’ll buy a certain type of lettuce, a bag of mini cucumbers and open up a can of hearts of palm and switch out nuts for something like pine nuts. I truly never get tired of salad bowls because the combinations are endless.
The other important piece of advice that I have is to invest in high quality olive oil and balsamic for your salads…and to salt your greens! HUGE add to the flavor profile and keeps dressings simple and clean. I only use my “good stuff” on my salads and buy cheaper olive oil and balsamic for cooking. For the salads below that call for “sea salt, olive oil and balsamic,” I added the greens to the bowl first, salted them with a pink Himalayan sea salt grinder and then drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. Sometimes I’ll do a second drizzle on top.
1. MY FAVORITE CRISPY CHICKEN SALAD
This salad is a go-to combo for me and I make it often for dinner.
- Air fried chicken nuggets – I like Just Bare or Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free chicken nuggets. Sometimes I’ll toss the nuggets in buffalo sauce after air frying.
- Chopped romaine lettuce – definitely recommend a crisper lettuce for this salad over something like spring mix or spinach.
- Carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers if I have them
- Avocado
- Shredded cheddar
- Croutons – this time I used Trader Joe’s rosemary croissant croutons and OMG they’re so good. I don’t always use croutons in this salad but really like the texture they add!
- Primal Kitchen Ranch (or ranch of your choice)
2. TRADER JOE’S CANNED SALMON SALAD
- Trader Joe’s lightly smoked canned salmon
- Power greens mix
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots
- Chickpeas
- Avocado
- Strawberries, dried cranberries
- Pine nuts
Here’s another one…
- Green leaf lettuce blend
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Cucumbers, mini red peppers, tomatoes
- Avocado
- Trader Joe’s rosemary roasted mixed nuts
- Kalamata olives
- Feta
- Trader Joe’s lightly smoked canned salmon
I keep a stack of the Trader Joe’s lightly smoked salmon in the pantry for a salad topper. It’s packed in olive oil and I love the texture with the salmon in big, flaky pieces. Each can has 21 grams of protein.
3. MEATLESS BEAN-BASED PROTEIN SALADS
- Power greens
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Tomatoes
- Edamame and chickpeas
- Avocado
- Feta
- Dried cranberries
- Pepitas
- Chopped romaine
- Carrots (I also added tomatoes after this picture)
- Blueberries, dried cranberries
- White beans, edamame
- Feta
- Avocado
- Trader Joe’s goddess dressing
- A drizzle of balsamic
4. CHICKEN, STRAWBERRY + AVOCADO SALAD
- Mixed greens
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Chickpeas
- Avocado
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots
- Strawberries, dried cranberries
- Feta
- Pine nuts
- Deli chicken
5. RADISH + HEARTS OF PALM SALAD
- Mixed greens
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Avocado
- Radish, cucumber, tomatoes, hearts of palm
- Pine nuts
- Feta
- Dried cranberries
- Deli turkey
6. TURKEY, HARDBOILED EGG + GRAIN SALAD
- Mixed greens
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Ready to eat grain blend
- Hardboiled egg
- Chopped turkey
- Toasted pecans
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, mini yellow peppers
- Feta
7. HARDBOILED EGG, GRAINS + COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD
- Green leaf lettuce blend
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Hardboiled eggs
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, mini red peppers
- Avocado
- Cottage cheese
- Grain blend pouch
8. CHICKEN + BEETS SALAD
- Mix of mixed greens and green leaf lettuce
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Tomatoes, pickled beets, mini peppers
- Dried cranberries
- Toasted pecans
- Avocado
- Feta
- Leftover chopped chicken thighs
9. CHICKEN, SWEET POTATO + GRAINS SALAD BOWL
- Mixed greens
- Sea salt, olive oil and balsamic
- Tomatoes, cucumbers
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Leftover chopped chicken breast
- Grain blend pouch
- Toasted pecans
- Feta
10. SHRIMP + AVOCADO CHOPPED SALAD
- Taylor Farms Mediterranean crunch chopped salad kit
- Add chickpeas, tomatoes, avocado and steamed shrimp
YUM! I just love how high in protein shrimp are.
LET’S GO MAKE A SALAD
I hope this post has you feeling inspired to go whip up a delicious salad bowl! They’re soooo easy to make at home and way more economical than getting them out (although that is a fun treat sometimes!).
