Anna and I were recently brainstorming topics to share with our readers and she mentioned her clients often ask her how to make a good salad. She suggested I write a post about salads. So, I thought I’d go ahead and share my family’s favorite everyday salad with you..
We all love salad in our house now. But that hasn’t always been the case. My kids would eat apples dipped in mustard vinaigrette or cucumbers and carrots dipped in dressing, or avocado drizzled with dressing, but no salad.
I stuck with it though. And I allowed my kids to decide what components (if any) of the salad they would eat and how much of the salad (or it’s components) they’d eat.
It can feel hard to trust our kids will get what they need or ever eat what we want them to because we’re up against diet culture messaging. But consistently supporting a child’s ability to eat and grow allows them to grow into a confident eater with a healthy relationship with food.
What You’ll Love About This Kid Friendly Mixed Green Salad
- It’s a kid friendly salad because it’s easy to serve deconstructed for kids who don’t eat salad, but are open to eating different components of it.
- It’s not just a salad for kids. Adults love it too!
- This mixed green salad recipes versatile and you can easily add proteins like nuts, cheese, and meat, chicken or fish to it to make it an entrée. You can also cut up any fruits and veggies your family likes and add them to the salad.
- This mixed green salad is easy to make on weeknights and is made using ingredients that are easy to keep on hand.
Tips for serving kids salad
Serve all the components of the salad separate and let kids choose which components they want to eat. Serve a favorite dip or dressing and allow kids to use as much or as little as they choose.
For my kids, it was always my Dijon mustard vinaigrette or Ranch dressing. They especially loved (and one still does) dipping apple slices into the mustard vinaigrette.Try serving any type of salad deconstructed to help kids feel comfortable learning to eat salad.
And remember that even if your child doesn’t eat any of the salad or the salad ingredients, seeing you eat the salad and simply seeing the salad on the table or their plate counts as food exposure to salad.
Everyday Salad Ingredients
- Mixed greens: I’ve always used the prewashed mixed greens and sometimes add chopped romaine. But this mixed greens salad will taste good with any combination of mixed greens you like.
- Apples: Use your favorite kind of apples. I tend to use Cosmic Crisp or Honeycrisp because they’re sweet and crisp. I also like Honeycrisp apples because they don’t seem to brown much even 24 hours after cutting them. If you like a more tart apple, try Granny Smith.
- Avocado: Serve the avocado on the side tossed with a little of the dressing you’re serving with the salad. This will keep it from turning brown quickly.
- Cucumbers: I love English cucumbers because they don’t have seeds and they have more flavor. However, in the summers when I can get cucumbers from the farmers market, I use regular cucumbers and just scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon.
- Carrots: If you have young children, cut the carrots into large enough pieces that they aren’t a choking hazard. You can also omit the carrots if you prefer.
- Mustard vinaigrette or your favorite salad dressing. Serve the dressing on the side so you can save any leftovers.
Steps to make my favorite everyday salad
1. If needed, wash your lettuce in your salad spinner. Kids seem to enjoy helping here by trying to get the spinner to spin as fast as possible!
2. Peel the cucumber and sliced it in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon. Place each cucumber half cut side down on the cutting board and cut into slices.
3. Core the apples. Place the cut sides down and chop the apples.
4. Cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit. With the avocado still in the skin, cut the avocado into pieces. Then scoop it out with a spoon. Alternatively, you can scoop out the avocado, lay each side cut side down on the cutting board and dice them.
5. Peel the carrots. Cut them in half crosswise and then in half lengthwise. Then chop the carrots.
6. Add all the ingredients to the salad bowl. If you’re planning to served salad for kids and want to deconstruct it. Now is the time before you toss it.
Expert tips for making salad
- How to keep mixed greens fresh: Add a paper towel to the airtight storage container. Doing this absorbs any extra moisture which helps to keep the salad greens fresh and crisp.
- How to keep avocado from browning. Toss the avocado with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. Alternatively, you can toss it with a little of the dressing you’re going to serve with the salad.
- If you’re packing kids salad (or anyone’s salad) for lunch, to keep the avocado from browning, cut it in half, remove the pit, squeeze a little lemon juice on the cut side and place it cut side down in an airtight container.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use diced fresh pear in place of the apple.
- Use sliced radishes in place of the carrots to add a little more zing to the salad.
- Substitute goat cheese for the avocado for different layer of flavor and creamy texture. Of course, you can keep the avocado and add the goat cheese if you’d like them both in the salad.
- Add your favorite toasted nuts for some crunch.
- Add croutons for even more crunch.
- Add dried fruit like diced dried apricots or dried cranberries for some additional flavors.
Tips for kids to help make salad
If your kids enjoy being in the kitchen, cooking with kids is another way to expose them to new foods or foods they don’t eat. Another reason this is a kid friendly salad is it’s easy for them to help make it. And they don’t have to help make the entire salad. They can help with one component. If you’re weeknights don’t lend themselves to having your child help you in the kitchen, try it on weekends when you feel you may have a little more time.
- Have kids help wash the greens.
- Very young kids can help by simply putting the lettuce or other ingredients in the salad bowl.
- Have them help peel the carrots and cucumber.
- Cucumbers are relatively easy to cut with a kid friendly knife (LINK)
- Once you pit the avocado, your child can scoop each avocado half out and cut it using a butter knife.
- Kids can also help by coring the apples with an apple corer. Older kids can help chop the apple.
- If you want to make salad dressing, it’s easy for kids to help measure, pour, and whisk the ingredients together.
More salads for kids
If you’re looking for more kid friendly salads, give these salad recipes a try: Asparagus Salad, Marinated Veggie Salad, and Easy Lentil Salad.
Expert tips from two registered dietitians
Feed your children the foods you want them to learn to eat. We’ve always told our kids that if they’re worried they won’t like a new food they can just take a very small taste of it. And they can even spit it out if they don’t like it. Some children have strong taste and texture sensitivities, or worries about new things, so it helps them feel less afraid if they have an out. If you’re interested in more information about feeding kids we’ve got you covered with blog posts about picky eating and diet free parenting.
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Sharing this salad recipe reminds me that family meals are about patience, consistency, and flexibility. What started as a dish my kids wouldn’t eat, has become our everyday salad.
I like to think it’s because I offered the salad with no pressure and allowed my kids to determine their own path forward. Whether you serve the salad tossed or deconstructed for kids to pick and choose, I hope this salad makes mealtimes a little easier and more enjoyable for your family, too.
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Favorite Everyday Salad
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups mixed greens washed and spun dry
- 1 cucumber peeled and sliced (see notes)
- 1-2 apples peeled, cored and chopped (see notes)
- 1 avocado pitted and diced (see notes)
- 1-2 carrots peeled and chopped
- Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Wash and spin mixed greens if needed.
- Place mixed greens in a large salad bowl.
- Peel the cucumber and sliced it in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon. Place each cucumber half cut side down on the cutting board and cut into slices. Add to the salad bowl.
- Core and chop the apples. Add them to the salad bowl.
- Cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit. With the avocado still in the skin, cut the avocado into pieces. Then scoop it out with a spoon. Alternatively, you can scoop out the avocado, lay each side cut side down on the cutting board and dice them. Add to the salad bowl.
- Peel and chop the carrots. Add them to the salad bowl. Not is the time to separate out the ingredients for a deconstructed kids salad.
- Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and toss the salad. Don't skip this step. Adding a little salt and pepper really adds flavor.
- Serve with Dijon mustard vinaigrette or your favorite dressing.
