This Garden Salad recipe has been perfected, tested and reviewed. Over the last four years, it has become a favorite side salad here on Healthy Seasonal Recipes! It’s the perfect formula of veggies (including iceberg lettuce, cukes and tomato wedges), cheese, croutons and a delicious homemade Italian vinaigrette. 

garden salad before it is tossed

What is Garden Salad?

Garden salad is a a type of tossed green salad made with lettuce (usually a blend including mostly iceberg lettuce.) As the name implies it also has garden fresh veggies including carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Often garden salads include croutons and cheese. 

If there is such a thing as a comfort food salad then this Garden Salad would be it. It’s the old school classic salad of childhood to pair with every meal!

two bowls of salad and the salad bowl. a hand taking one of the bowls out.

Garden Salad Ingredients

You can always mix these veggies up depending on the season, and what you happen to have. 

  • Salad greens blend (preferably with iceberg): To me, garden salad needs to have that distinctive crunch of iceberg lettuce. Feel free to buy whichever leafy greens you prefer, such as bagged salad mix, or make your own blend using your favorite lettuce. The last time I made this salad I used chopped iceberg and mixed baby greens and arugula from my garden and it took on a more gourmet attitude, but it was still delicious. 
  • Carrots: Some of the folks I polled mentioned their carrots were julienne cut. I opted to shred mine with a box grater since that was easiest. But if you prefer the look and texture of julienne, you can buy them pre-cut or cut them yourself with a mandoline. 
  • Bell pepper: For additional color and variety I also added in a bell pepper. Feel free to cut it into rings if you prefer the look of them. Use whichever color you like best. 
  • Tomato: At this time of year, tomatoes are still great so I used a fresh slicing tomato. In months that it is harder to find goo tomatoes, you can use cherry tomatoes (I like the cherry tomatoes on the vine.) 
  • Cucumber: I like to peel the cucumber skin off in strips to give the cucumber rounds a striped look along the edges. 
  • Red onion: You only need a little bit of the onion, as it can be overpowering to the other tastes in the mix if you use too much. I like to cut it into larger slices (French cut) so that if someone doesn’t like onions, they can easily pull them out of the salad. 
  • Cheddar cheese: Here in Vermont, we have white cheddar, but I really love the look of orange cheese in this recipe so I found a yellow cheddar to use. Either way, look for a sharp cheddar cheese for the best flavor. 
  • Croutons: You can make your own homemade croutons or you can buy them too. You’ll need 1 1/2 cups. 
  • Pepperoncini: these are optional. I know a lot of people associate garden salad with pepperoncini because of the Olive Garden unlimited salad bowl so I included them in here. Feel free to omit them if you don’t like them. 

For The Garden Salad Dressing

Today, in addition to the fresh garden salad, I included ingredients and instructions for a dressing too. It is very classic Italian dressing flavored. Of course, you can use whatever kind of dressing you like. I have dozens of salad dressing recipes here on the blog to choose from. If you prefer a creamy dressing, drizzle on blue cheese or ranch dressing. Or use bottled dressing for a shortcut.

  • Garlic: The taste of the fresh garlic in this dressing makes all the difference. To make it less biting, chop it finely and then make a paste with the salt.
  • Kosher salt: For the garlic and salt paste I find it easiest to use a coarse kosher salt. It helps to break apart the garlic and make it into a paste quickly. If you want to substitute table salt, you’ll just want to make sure you read this. 
  • Olive oil: Use your favorite extra-virgin olive oil. 
  • Red wine vinegar: for the acidic element in this dressing, I like the flavor of red wine vinegar. If you do not have it, you can substitute lemon, rice vinegar or white vinegar. I don’t recommend cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar. You can read more about what type of vinegars I recommend stocking here. 
  • Sugar: I am a big fan of natural sugars when possible, but in this case I used white table salad. In case you want to use a natural sugar, you can use agave which has a neutral flavor. If you want to make this recipe sugar-free simply skip the sugar. If you are used to a sugar-free diet, your palate likely won’t miss it! 
  • Dijon mustard: To help emulsify the salad dressing, I used a little Dijon. It makes the dressing stay blended together and it adds a peppy flavor too. 
  • Mrs. Dash or salt free seasoning blend: You’re going to have to trust me on this one, but Mrs. Dash seasoning is the key to this dressing my friends. It really adds a savory and lemony note to the dressing that I absolutely adore. I have been making this dressing over and over again! I like the Mrs. Dash original blend best. If you want to sub in another salt free blend that’s okay too, but look for one that has lemon in the ingredients if possible.
  • Dried oregano: I love the way that the oregano adds to the flavors in this dressing. It reminds me of Greek salad and I love the way it tastes with the onion and croutons. 

How to make a Classic Garden Salad

Step 1. Mash garlic and salt
Step 2: Combine ingredients in a jar, shake well
Step 3: Assemble salad in a large bowl and add dressing. Toss.

Step 1: Garlic Salt Paste

Start by making a paste with the garlic and salt. This helps the raw garlic melds into the dressing. Chop the garlic first, then sprinkle on the salt. Then press down hard with the side of your chef’s knife using a smearing motion to grind the salt into the garlic until it is a smooth paste.

Step 2: Make The Dressing

To make the dressing add the garlic salt paste into a jar ( I use a half-pint canning jar.) You can also use a blender or whisk. Add the remaining ingredients and shake the jar until the sugar is dissolved and the mustard belnds into the dressing. 

Make Ahead TIP for Dressing: This dressing can be made up to 1 week ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator. The olive oil in the dressing will become solidified after a day or two. To make it liquid again, simply let it sit at room temperature or set it in a dish of warm water and shake it every minute or two. Shake it well before serving.

Step 3: Making and Serving The Salad

From here, you’ll obviously just combine the greens, garden veggies, cheese and croutons in the salad bowl. I like to use a big wooden bowl because this is a tossed salad and having enough room to toss the veggies together without them spilling out is helpful! Add The Dressing and Toss. This salad wilts fast because of all the veggies. So you’ll want to add the dressing and toss it just before you serve it.  

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Make Ahead Notes For Salad

  • Make this salad ahead up to 24 hours in advance but do not add the croutons or tomatoes. 
  • Layer the greens, cucumbers, pepper, carrots and onion in the bowl.
  • I like to take a damp paper towel and lay it over the top of the salad and then loosely wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate the salad. 
  • Keep the dressing separate. (This can be made up to 1 week ahead.)
  • Cut the tomato and add it with the croutons and dressing just before tossing and serving. 
overhead of a turquoise painted salad bowl with garden salad in it, two salad tongs and hands on the tongs

More Salad Dressings for Garden Salad

garden salad tossed close up

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Garden salad up close overhead

BEST Garden Salad

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5 from 7 reviews

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Description

This classic garden salad has all your favorite toppings including cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, croutons and cheddar cheese! Serve it tossed with this easy homemade Italian dressing for a 15 minute green side salad.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Vinaigrette

  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar, optional
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash or salt free seasoning blend
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salad

  • 12 ounces salad greens blend (preferably with iceberg)
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or shredded on a box grater
  • 1 bell pepper, cut into rings or strips
  • 1 large tomato, cut into wedges
  • 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into rounds
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 3/4 cup shredded orange cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
  • 1 1/2 cup croutons, gluten-free if desired
  • 8 pepperoncini, optional

Instructions

  1. Make Vinaigrette: Mash garlic and salt with the side of a knife on cutting board until it forms a paste. Scrape into a jar. Add in oil, vinegar, sugar Dijon, Mrs Dash and oregano. Close jar and shake well to combine.
  2. Make Salad: Add salad green to large salad bowl. Arrange carrots, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, onion and cheese on top. Just before serving, drizzle on dressing and toss to coat. Add croutons and toss again. Serve immediately with pepperoncini if using.

Notes

Make Ahead Notes For The Dressing:

  1. This dressing can be made up to 1 week ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator.
  2. The olive oil in the dressing will become solidified after a day or two. To make it liquid again, simply let it sit at room temperature or set it in a dish of warm water and shake it every minute or two.
  3. Shake it well before serving.

Make Ahead Notes For The Salad

  1. If you want to make this salad ahead of time do not add the croutons or tomatoes.
  2. Layer the greens, cucumbers, pepper, carrots and onion in the bowl.
  3. I like to take a damp paper towel and lay it over the top of the salad and then loosely wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate the salad.
  4. Keep the dressing separate.
  5. Cut the tomato and add it with the croutons and dressing just before tossing and serving.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 1/2 cups
  • Calories: 334
  • Sugar: 6 g
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 2 g

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blue bowl with Garden salad in it and a person holding the salad tongs