Make eating salad as simple as can be with these salad ideas and easy salad recipes for every day of the week. Salad meal prep has never been so easy!
Love these salad recipes? Check out the eBook for How To Eat A Salad Every Day for more fantastic salad ideas, dressings, and tips to simplify your salad making!
With this eBook, if you’re grocery shopping, meal planning, or just trying to eat more salads, you’ll have this information at your fingertips whenever you need it.
“How To Eat Salad Every Day And Like It!” could also be called “My FAVORITE Salads {a.k.a. the Fritos Every Day Diet}.”
This salad meal prep post was first published three years ago and almost immediately it became one of the most popular posts on this site. I’m updating the post today to answer some of the more frequently asked questions.
Many of you have commented on my daily salads that I share on Instagram, and you asked for a post sharing tips for making the daily salad happen.
Salad Ideas
Today I’m sharing all of my favorite salad meal prep tips: the recipes, the toppings, the fillings, and more in one giant blog post. I promise you now, that if you give it a try, this just might rock your salad-eating world.
I made you this video to show how I do this. Be sure to check it out! There are endless salad ideas and so many delicious ways to keep things interesting when you’re prepping salads.
While I’d like to say that I’ve always been a fan of salad, that hasn’t always been true.
Salad Topping Ideas
I’ve always tried to love eating salad, but unless I went to the trouble of making a really great salad (something that often felt like a whole lot of effort in the past), it was hard to get excited about eating a salad most days.
That all changed when I topped my salad with a handful of Fritos for the first time. I know, that sounds completely ridiculous, but I’m telling you now that Fritos are a salad game changer.
Not only does that simple corn chip add great salty flavor and crunch to any salad, the Frito fits perfectly on a fork, it is bite-size, and it’s a fun way to tell all the greens that there is more to the salad life than just vegetables.
Still not convinced? I can’t even tell you how many people have snapped me pictures of their salads with Fritos on top while laughing and telling me that I’m to blame for their newfound love of salads + Fritos.
I swear that there really is no better way to top a salad.
Salad Meal Prep
There are countless ways to make a killer salad completely your own, so I’m sharing some of my favorite salad meal prep tips today. The key for me is to prep all the greens and vegetables for the salads about once a week; I typically do this on Sunday.
It takes me about 30-45 minutes, but in the end, I have lunches made for the week and that keeps my healthy eating on track without having to fuss with it during the week.
I use 6 large containers that I line with a paper towel. The paper towel absorbs moisture and as a result, the greens and other vegetables will stay fresh longer. (I use these containers and these containers to store the prepped salads.)
Easy Salad Recipes
Any combination of the below ingredients will keep nicely for several days in the refrigerator:
chopped greens: typically a mix of romaine, spring mix, spinach, arugula, or butter lettuce (rarely all of them, just whichever ones I have on hand at the time)
tomatoes: sliced or chopped
cucumber: sliced or chopped (I often remove the seeds, but it isn’t required)
corn: canned, frozen, or fresh
bell peppers: sliced thin or chopped small
red onions: sliced thin
green onions: sliced thin
The proteins can be made just for the salads or simply be saved as leftovers from dinners through the week.
Anytime we grill steak or chicken I thinly slice the leftovers and save them for my salads.
I’ll cook and crumble a couple pounds of ground beef or ground turkey seasoned generously with Mexican seasoning mix (store-bought taco seasoning works great too) and then portion it into ½ cup servings and freeze it to use as needed.
Anytime I make pulled pork, I portion the leftover pork into individual containers and freeze them to be reheated for salads.
Protein for Salads
ground beef or ground turkey: cooked and seasoned generously with Mexican spices or taco seasoning
taco meat: with black beans and corn
pulled pork or carnitas: shredded and chopped bite-size
cooked or roasted chicken: shredded or diced
ham: diced
hard boiled eggs: chopped
canned tuna fish: drained well
beans: black, kidney, or pinto beans
Salad Toppings
cheese: shredded, diced, or crumbled
avocado: sliced or diced
fruits: diced apples or pears, orange slices, fresh berries
plenty of crunch: croutons, tortilla chips, or my personal favorite Fritos
fresh lime
salt and pepper
salad dressing of your choice: Italian, Poppyseed, White Balsamic Vinaigrette, and the absolute BEST Homemade Ranch Dressing are a few of our favorites.
Meal Prep Salad Ideas
- Carnitas (or pulled pork), avocado, cotija cheese, lime, salt, and pepper
- Grilled chicken, bacon, hard-boiled egg, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing
- Chicken, berries, feta cheese, almonds or walnuts, poppyseed dressing
- Tuna fish, strawberries, avocado, lime, salt, and pepper
- Chicken or bacon, red grapes, shaved parmesan cheese, candied walnuts, white balsamic dressing
- Taco meat, beans, corn, avocado, shredded Mexican cheese blend, lime, salt, and pepper
When Ready To Serve
Warm the protein and chop it bite-size, if needed. Add the protein to the pre-made salad greens and vegetables. Add the toppings of your choice, although Fritos are never optional.
Squeeze lime generously over the salad, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Or toss with your favorite salad dressing.
Love these salads? Check out the eBook for How To Eat A Salad Every Day for more fantastic salad recipes, dressings, and tips to simplify your salad making! (link for the eBook is at the top of this post!)
With this eBook, if you’re grocery shopping, meal planning, or just trying to eat a little bit healthier, you’ll have this information at your fingertips whenever you need it.
{originally published 1/7/17 – recipe notes updated 1/24/23}
Love these salads? Check out the eBook for How To Eat A Salad Every Day for more fantastic salad recipes, dressings, and tips to simplify your salad making! (link for the eBook is at the top of this post!)
With this eBook, if you’re grocery shopping, meal planning, or just trying to eat a little bit healthier, you’ll have this information at your fingertips whenever you need it.
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