My Marinated Salad Recipe is an accidental creation that has become a regular standby for me. It’s the result of having a surplus of leftover Organic Sweet Kale Salad from a family gathering. BTW…I acknowledge that this is my first post in a very long while, but it’s perfect timing since I was supposed to complete a Recipe Card for a special Bridal Shower that I could not attend today. (Sorry Athena! In addition to this recipe, feel free to check out the Recipe Category of my blog. )

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Key Ingredients

This recipe works best with salad bags/kits that include heartier salad greens such as kale and/or cabbage, brussel sprouts etc. While romaine (or other types of) lettuce can be included, ideally it’s best if lettuce isn’t the main ingredient. That said, this recipe even works with a coleslaw bag or chopped kale or broccoli stalks etc. While it may not matter for large families/groups, this Marinated Salad Recipe keeps very well for a few days in the fridge.

Salad Kit… or Not!

Using a Salad Kit (or a Salad Bag) which already includes everything already chopped is very convenient and saves time. However buying the salad ingredients and chopping them yourself is certainly an option, especially if you have time to spare and/or enjoy doing it. Typically, I am looking for shortcuts!

Organic or Vegan Options

I prefer to buy organic ingredients whenever possible, but it’s certainly not a must. Additionally, while many kits include non-vegan ingredients, you can make the salad vegan, by either omitting or replacing them. Typically those ingredients are packaged separately in the kit so it’s easy to do. For example, when my Aunt and Uncle visited, I omitted the cheese and replaced the salad dressing with a vegan one – in this case Annie’s Asian Sesame Dressing.

Recipe

1 Pkg Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit – salad greens only
4 oz Asian Sesame Dressing

Recipe Instructions

Wash salad greens and drain excess water. A *Large Salad Spinner works great for this, or a colander will suffice. Add half of an 8 oz bottle of the salad dressing and mix thoroughly. It may look like it’s not enough, but it is. Cover the salad and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer. Before serving, mix the salad again – making sure to move the salad greens currently at the top of the bowl, to the bottom. That’s it! The salad is ready to serve. For the Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit, I chose to omit the dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds and save them for my breakfast bowl. 🙂

Variations

It goes without saying that you don’t need to use the Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit, nor the Asian Sesame Dressing. Make this recipe your own! Several varieties and brands of chopped salad kits exist and they are available at many grocery stores – not just Whole Foods. I have tried the Organic Kale Caesar Chopped Salad kit, and I’m currently looking forward to trying an Organic Mediterranean Crunch Chopped Salad Kit that I picked up from Costco (2-pack of course). Speaking of which, you can also easily double the Marinated Salad Recipe for large families or gatherings.

Side or Main Event?

For the most part, I serve this salad as a side to a meal that already includes protein selections. Naturally, you can choose to add protein directly to the salad when you serve it and make it the Main Event. For example, recently my sister Marcy shared that she added rotisserie chicken to her Bacon Caesar Salad Kit for lunch. Grilled chicken, Chicken tenders, or hard-boiled eggs, are also non-vegan options. Vegan protein options run the gamut, but also include little know delicious plant-based meat choices. Do check out the link to learn more about them…. and give them a try. Like me, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Deja Vu?

Those who have followed me for a while may be experiencing a bit of deja vu. Does this salad recipe look a bit familiar? OK… this may be a bit reminiscent of my Kale Salad recipe from long ago. In fact, in a nod to that recipe, I picked up a jar of Trader Giotto’s (Trader Joe’s) Bruschetta and used 1/2 a jar to one package of chopped salad. As expected, it was delish! Don’t worry. That product link is NOT an affiliate link (nor are any of the links without asterisks). It’s only purpose is to show you what the item looks like.

Conclusion

That’s it! I’ll have more to post later, but I hope this recipe is helpful for anyone who tries it. Please hit me back and let me know how you made it your own etc.