Sharing 3 pantry staple salad recipes today. All you need are 10 pantry-staple ingredients plus lettuce and you can make these three salad recipes: Italian Chopped Salad, Greek Lentil Salad, and Niçoise Salad!
This post is sponsored by Little Leaf Farms. Thanks for supporting the brands and organizations that make TFD possible. As always, opinions are my own!
I don’t know about you but we’re trying to limit our trips to the grocery store as much as possible. Which TBH as a food blogger is pretty challenging, not gonna lie. It’s requiring a lot of advanced planning and using up all of our frozen and shelf-stable items in the pantry. We’re adjusting to meals looking simpler and not as exciting as they usually do. And that’s quite alright. It’s a good reminder that not every meal has to be amazing and super satisfying. Some meals will just be meh and you can move on.
I’ve had a number of people asking me how to eat healthy while eating shelf-stable products. It’s important to remember that how ever you are eating now, even if it’s different than usual, is totally fine. The number one priority right now is safety, above all else. It’s also important to remember that just because a food is processed doesn’t mean it’s “bad” for you! Lots of nourishing foods are processed – whole-wheat bread, almond milk, canned chickpeas, and hummus, just to name a few. Processing doesn’t make a food less nutritious, it makes it more accessible. And thank goodness for foods with a long shelf life right now!
For those of you who are missing your refreshing crunchy fresh salads, I’ve got three salad recipes today that use just ten pantry staples. That means the only fresh ingredient you’ll need is lettuce! All the rest you can find in your pantry or fridge.
And speaking of nutrition, these recipes are packed with a variety of nutrients, including protein, fiber, B vitamins, vitamin K, iron, vitamin D, choline, and omega-3s, to name a few.
How to Make Pantry-Staple Salads
Here are the pantry staples you’ll need:
- roasted red peppers
- artichoke hearts
- chickpeas
- black olives
- red onion
- cheese (ideally feta and provolone or cheddar)
- lentils
- baby potatoes
- tuna
- eggs
For dressing ingredients, just make sure you have some type of acidic ingredient (red wine vinegar, lemon juice or white wine vinegar) and olive oil. Both the salad and dressing recipes are v. forgiving so if you don’t have something, just leave it out, or feel free to make your own substitution based on what you have on hand.
The three salad recipes are each inspired by a different country, which I think was a subconscious decision because 1. I wish I could travel right now and was supposed to go to Europe next week! and 2. We’re all connected right now through this collective experience so why not celebrate our friends in other countries who are experiencing the same thing we are right now. We’ve got an Italian Chopped Salad inspired by Italy, a Greek Lentil Salad inspired by Greece, and a Niçoise Salad inspired by France! And if you want more travel inspiration, you can check out my travel recaps from Italy, Greece, and Nice!
I’m so thrilled to be partnering with Little Leaf Farms today because their baby lettuce is the best of the best. It’s so fresh and crisp, making for a super satisfying salad with lots of CRUNCH. Plus, with the most technologically-advanced, lettuce growing greenhouse in the world, they grow their baby greens year round in New England, using 100% captured rainwater, no chemical pesticides, and ship their greens within a day’s drive. If that’s not sustainable, I don’t know what is. It’s also been awesome to see them donating their lettuce to local food banks in the Greater Boston Area during this time when a growing number of people have limited access to food.
Because it only takes a day to get from the greenhouse to the store, Little Leaf Farms lettuce easily lasts 2+ weeks in your fridge. This makes it easy to stock up on fresh greens if you’re trying to limit trips to the grocery store. If you’re relying on grocery delivery or curbside pickup right now, Little Leaf Farms is currently available through Instacart, Whole Foods, and the Baldor home delivery program.
These recipes are so easy to make and are easy on the wallet too. They’re also easily customizable so you can add more protein if you have some leftover in your fridge or if you’re vegan, you can omit the cheese/tuna/eggs!
I can’t wait to hear you think of these recipes! If you want to learn how to make them, be sure to check out my Instagram Live on Monday at 12 PM EST!
Greek Lentil Salad
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2-4 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 containers Leaf Farms Baby Crispy Green Lettuce (about 8 ounces lettuce)
- 1 cup dry green lentils (or black or brown lentils), rinsed and sorted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (about 2 large peppers), chopped
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from ~1 lemon)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
For the salad:
- In a medium saucepan, add lentils and 2 cups of water. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, about 20-30 minutes, adding more water to just cover lentils, as needed.
- Drain remaining water and stir in salt to flavor lentils.
- In a large bowl, add Spring Mix, cooked lentils, roasted red peppers, olives, onion, and feta cheese. Toss ingredients to combine.
- Add desired amount of dressing and toss to evenly coat.
For the dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, until combined. While whisking, slowly pour in olive oil, whisking until emulsified.
Notes
- The salad and the dressing are very forgiving. Feel free to make substitutions and/or omissions based on what you have on hand!
- To make this vegan, omit cheese.
- You can make and store the dressing in a mason jar. Simply add ingredients and shake until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
- Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Pantry Staples
- Cuisine: Greek
Italian Chopped Salad
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Loading...
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2-4 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 containers Little Leaf Farms Baby Crispy Green Lettuce (about 8 ounces lettuce)
- 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts (canned or jarred)
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (about 2 large peppers)
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup chickpeas (or white cannellini beans)
- 3 ounces provolone or cheddar cheese, cubed (about ¼ cup)
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the salad:
- Roughly chop lettuce, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, olives, and cheese. Add to a large bowl. Add in onion and chickpeas. Toss with desired amount of dressing to coat.
For the dressing:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk red wine vinegar, garlic, honey, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper until combined. While whisking, slowly add in olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Serve with salad.
Notes
- The salad and the dressing are very forgiving. Feel free to make substitutions and/or omissions based on what you have on hand!
- To make this vegan, omit cheese.
- You can make and store the dressing in a mason jar. Simply add ingredients and shake until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
- Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Pantry Staples
- Cuisine: Italian
Pantry Staple Niçoise Salad
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Loading...
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 lb baby red potatoes (about 8 potatoes), halved
- Salt
- 2 containers Little Leaf Farms Baby Spring Mix (about 8 ounces lettuce)
- 2, 5-ounce cans albacore tuna packed in water, flaked
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 4 eggs
- Optional: 1/4 cup capers for garnish
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
For the salad:
- In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Gently add in eggs and cook for 10 minutes (for hard-boiled eggs). Using a slotted spoon transfer eggs to an ice bath and let cool until cold, about 5 minutes. Peel eggs and cut in half.
- Using the same pot, salt the boiling water. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to an ice bath and let cool, about 3 minutes. Pat potatoes dry.
- To assemble salad, in a large bowl combine lettuce, cooked potatoes, flaked tuna, olives, and hard-boiled eggs. Toss with desired amount of dressing to evenly coat.
- Optional: add capers for garnish.
For the dressing:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk white wine vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper until combined. While whisking, slowly add olive oil until emulsified.
Notes
- The salad and the dressing are very forgiving. Feel free to make substitutions and/or omissions based on what you have on hand!
- To make this vegan, omit cheese.
- If you want to make soft-boiled eggs instead, boil eggs for 7 minutes.
- You can make and store the dressing in a mason jar. Simply add ingredients and shake until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
- Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Pantry Staple
- Cuisine: French
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