Garden Salad with oregano vinaigrette

This Garden Salad with oregano vinaigrette is packed full of garden fresh veggies and has an incredible variety of textures! There is crisp romaine, hardy kale, crunchy radishes and almonds, plus vibrant roasted peppers and meaty white beans. Plus it's studded with tangy calamata olives. The oregano vinaigrette dressing tastes wicked good, it's sweet, zesty and super zippy.

What is a garden salad?

Anyone who has spent any time being vegetarian or vegan is familiar with the phenomenon of a garden salad. Ironically garden salads are usually the most basic and boring of salad types. Most restaurants have their version which consists of iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumber. While I love these three veggies, they are the most uninteresting vegetables to add to a salad. When I hear the word "garden" I think of a colorful variety of fresh produce rather than the most basic and boring of veg. Therefore I think we need to change the image of a garden salad from simple and boring to colorful, flavorful and textural like this one!

Why you will love this garden salad

Like I said earlier, regular garden salads tend to be pretty boring! This one is anything but! Rather than bland iceberg lettuce we are using a combo of garden fresh crisp romaine lettuce and kale for the base. Talk about texture and crunch! Then we add colorful and crunchy radishes that are abundant garden vegetables. This summery salad features pantry staples like jarred roasted peppers, white beans and calamata olives which bump up the flavor and give the salad more visual interest and texture. We finish the salad with a wicked delicious oregano vinaigrette that is drinkably delicious and crunchy slivered almonds. This summer salad is balanced, filling and way better than a boring garden salad.

Ingredients for garden salad with oregano vinaigrette

This garden salad has fresh produce right from the garden, farmers market or supermarket. Plus it features easy pantry staple ingredients that are available year round. One of the best things about this salad is how remarkably versatile it is with the endless possibilities for substitutions. Let's talk about the ingredients and some ideas on the best variations:

• Romaine Hearts and Kale: The base of this garden salad is fresh greens. For this we use crisp romaine and hardy curly kale because they grow abundantly in summer and they have great texture. You can sub any greens you like for the romaine hearts like Spring Mix, Baby Spinach, Green Leaf or Red Leaf lettuce. For the kale you can sub Red Russian Kale, Lacinato Kale or any other green you have growing in your garden like Swiss chard, mizuna or mustard greens.
• Radishes- Radishes add such a welcome crunch, mild flavor and vibrant color to any salad. Use any kind you have. Easter egg Radishes, Breakfast Radishes, Watermelon Radishes will all be gorgeous here. If radishes are unavailable substitute a crunchy vegetable or fruit. Sliced apples, or chopped celery or jicama are excellent choices.
• Green Onions: Green onions, scallions or Spring onions add a mild bite to this garden salad. If you are an onion lover, use chives, shallots or red onions to bump up the oniony goodness.
• Jarred Roasted red Peppers- For convenience sake, I always have a jar of roasted red peppers in my pantry to make foods more colorful and delicious. Roast fresh ones if you prefer. Great pantry staple substitutes are artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, or marinated eggplant.
• Canned White Beans: Canned beans are the ultimate pantry staple because they can be used in so many recipes. White beans are full of fiber and plat-based protein and make any salad more filling. Sub lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, lupini beans or any other canned bean that you love.
• Pitted Calamata Olives- Olives instantly bump up the flavor of any salad plus they look so pretty! Greek Kalamata olives are my favorite but sub any kind of olive you like! Just be careful of pits.
• Sliced Almonds: I love adding nuts to salads because they bump up the nutrition and add an excellent crunch factor that is super craveable. Substitute walnuts, cashews, hemp seeds, macadamia nuts or whatever nut is your fave. If you have a nut allergy sub sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients for oregano vinaigrette salad dressing

This dressing is incredibly simple yet exceptionally flavorful. With just 6 ingredients this one will be a favorite that you make on repeat.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil- My favorite oil for making dressing, olive oil is robust and flavorful. It gives dressings a nice smooth texture and helps distribute the flavors.If you prefer, use avocado oil or go oil free completely.
• Balsamic Vinegar- I love how sweet, tangy and puckery balsamic vinegar is. You can sub apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, white balsamic or any other type of vinegar that you like.
• Pure Maple Syrup- Maple syrup balances out the flavors in this vinaigrette dressing. It lends a bit of sweetness for an otherwise super tangy salad dressing recipe. Use date syrup, honey or agave if you must substitute. Last resort is sugar. I don't like the grit of a granulated sugar and waiting for it to dissolve but if you must, you may.
• Oregano- Garden fresh oregano gives this vinaigrette a punch of flavor that is so herby and delicious. If it is not available you may use dried oregano or dry Italian seasoning. Or use your favorite copious garden herbs like mint, parsley or cilantro to kick up the flavors.

How to Make a Garden Salad

This summer salad can be yours in less than 15 minutes. It's so easy and beginner friendly that anyone can do it! Here is how:

• Make the Dressing: In a jar or bowl combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, herbs and maple syrup. Easy peasy.
• Optional Kale Massage: You know how much I endorse the simple act of massaging the kale with some oil and salt. It's an optional step that is a complete textural game changer.
• Assemble the salad: Add all the other veggies to the bowl of massaged kale.
• Dress the salad: simply for the dressing over the salad, toss and serve!

Variations of a Garden Salad

I have offered my favorite substitutes in the ingredient section. Let's focus on ways to add to or beef up this delicious summer salad recipe.

• Make it a pasta salad! Simply add some cooked farfalle, shells or rotini and toss it into the salad and you will have a pasta salad perfect for barbecues.
• Make it dinner! Add cooked grains like quinoa, brown rice, cous cous or wild rice to really make this a filling meal.
• Add More Protein- This salad is so versatile it will go really well with any of your favorite proteins. Add some baked tofu cubes or seitan bacon. Or if you are not vegan add crumbled cheese or grilled chicken or fish.
• Make it a meal prep recipe! Instead fusing romaine in the recipe, make it all kale so that you can dress it and it will last for 3 days in the fridge.

Tips for making the best garden salad

• Choose the freshest produce possible and use what is in season. Seasonal veggies are always the most flavorful. And nobody wants to eat wilted veggies in a salad, save those for soup!
• Drain your produce well. Either spin the lettuce and kale in a salad spinner or leave them draining in the colander. My mentor Janice Chapler from the Westside Caffe in Berkeley Ca taught me that water is the enemy of flavor. And these words guide me in all my salad making.
• Be creative! If you want to deviate from the recipe do it! I love when people improvise my recipe. I call it Jazz cooking and I think it's wonderful.
• Dress the salad right before eating! If a salad has lettuce involved, you must wait until right before consuming to dress it. Otherwise it will be horribly wilted.

Other salad recipes you will love

• Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad
• Snow Pea and Mandarin Salad
• The Best Kale Crunch Salad