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10+ 5-Ingredient Salad Recipes
Salads are refreshing and easy options when you need a healthy side dish, and these recipes make them even easier. Aside from pantry staples like salt, pepper and oil, these salads require no more than five ingredients to make, so shopping will be minimal for a tasty result. Recipes like our 5-Ingredient Avocado & Chickpea Salad and Cacio e Pepe Kale Salad are simply delicious.
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5-Ingredient Avocado & Chickpea Salad
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Stylist: Sammy Mila, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco.
This avocado-and-chickpea salad is a fresh, flavorful dish that comes together in minutes. Made with just five ingredients, it’s as simple as it is satisfying. Creamy avocado pairs perfectly with hearty chickpeas for a filling, plant-based meal. With no cooking required and minimal prep, it’s a perfect quick lunch or dinner.
Simple Tomato Salad with Fresh Garlic
In this installment of Diaspora Dining, Jessica B. Harris’ series on foods of the African diaspora, the author and historian offers a summer salad that is simply delicious, but not for the fainthearted. Minced fresh garlic gives this salad, inspired from a visit to Guadeloupe, its special flavor.
Spinach & Artichoke Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Ali Redmond
Inspired by the classic warm party dip, this simple salad can be served up right away or divided into small lidded containers for a week of delicious lunches. To keep the hard-boiled eggs tasting fresh, we suggest adding them to your salad just before serving or in the morning before packing your lunch to go.
Cacio e Pepe Kale Salad
Heami Lee, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley
This easy kale salad draws flavor inspiration from the classic Italian pasta dish cacio e pepe, which translates to “cheese and pepper.” The signature flavors of sharp Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground black pepper transform kale into a delicious, anti-inflammatory side salad.
Chickpea Snack Salad
Take 5 minutes to toss together a fiber-rich chickpea and tomato salad for a satisfying snack.
Watermelon Caprese Salad
This refreshing twist on the classic caprese salad replaces tomatoes with sweet, juicy watermelon. Basil and balsamic vinegar push this easy summer salad to the savory side, but if you want some sweeter notes, opt for balsamic glaze. An optional drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil at the end helps marry the flavors.
Cucumber Vinegar Salad
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
This cucumber vinegar salad has the perfect balance between sweet and sour flavors, plus a hint of fresh dill. The red onion adds a nice crunch.
Mason Jar Power Salad with Chickpeas & Tuna
This power salad will keep you fueled for hours, thanks to 26 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. Tossing the kale with dressing and then letting it stand in the jar softens it enough that you don’t need to massage or cook it to make it tender.
Spinach Salad
This fresh-tasting, 10-minute salad is a simple mixture of fresh baby spinach and dried cranberries. To save time, we use bottled Italian dressing, but with a few extra minutes you can easily switch up the flavor by making your own dressing–just try our All-Purpose Vinaigrette (see associated recipe).
Roasted Veggie Mason Jar Salad
This vegan mason jar salad is easy to pack up and take for lunch. Layering the creamy cashew sauce into the bottom of the jar ensures that your big, bold power salad won’t become wilted by the time you’re ready to eat.
3-Ingredient Green Goddess White Bean Salad
Bagged salad and slaw blends are great shortcut ingredients for adding variety without needing to wash and chop lots of different vegetables. Toss a kale-and-broccoli slaw mix with canned white beans and yogurt-based green goddess dressing for a crunchy main-dish salad in minutes.
