Easy House Salad

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a dinner at my house has most certainly eaten my house salad recipe! It’s a staple, and one that I make several times per week. Like a trusty friend, this salad never disappoints and always makes us happy. Made with two types of lettuce, shaved Brussels sprouts, and a simple Italian dressing that is so easy to whip up! Feel free to add your own favorite salad toppings to make it your own. Less than 10 minutes is all you need to make it!

House Salad: a family tradition!

Nothing fancy here guys, but something I think every home needs: a delicious salad recipe! Recently, my little guy was sharing on my Instagram Stories his top 5 favorite foods that I make. On his list? Mom’s salad. He went on and on and about how excited he is to eat it every night. So many of you reached out to me wanting that recipe! If a 10 year old can get excited about it, certainly it’s something we should all be making!

The story of this salad goes way back to when my little guy was not quite 3 years old and we were living in Germany. We were eating dinner at a German friend’s house, and I was helping make the salad in the kitchen. My friend chopped the lettuce pretty fine, and I helped put together an easy dressing with ingredients she had on hand. It was the easiest of salads.

But what happened after was the best part. We all sit down to eat, the little bear strapped into a booster seat. He is getting some cut up foods, but decides he is going to reach over on to my plate and grab a handful of salad. Shoves it in his mouth, and immediately grabbed another handful. He loved it! It had never occurred to me to feed my toddler chopped salad, but from that point on, I tried to make it a point to regularly serve it with dinner.

So here we are, years later and with a salad recipe that the 4 of us often fight over! I love the idea of a family having a “house salad”. It’s something that younger kids can always count on for dinner and get used to. As a nutritionist, I always tell parents that consistency is the key with feeding kids!

Even if they don’t eat much of it for years, they will slowly start to come around. This was definitely the case with my daughter! I don’t remember at which age she started slowly putting some on her plate, but it was not love at first bite like her brother. Some days when they aren’t as hungry, or not super excited about what we are eating for dinner, they can always count on the house salad.

So let’s get to work on this simple salad!

How to make House Salad:

Here is what you will need to make this salad (a few of these are optional and you can also customize!):

• romaine lettuce
• arugula
• brussels sprouts
• everything seasoning (or any kind of general “seasoning”)
• sunflower seeds or chopped nuts
• shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
• avocado oil or olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• dijon mustard
• Italian Seasoning
• sea salt

The Directions:

1. Put your greens on a large cutting board and begin to chop. Keep chopping! This is one of the key methods to make a delicious salad, finely chop the lettuce. I start with a large chef’s knife, and then use this salad cutter. I also finely chop the Brussels sprouts. The chopping is the most time consuming part of this entire recipe, but also shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes!
2. Now make the dressing. The dressing is only a few ingredients that you pour into a bowl or jar that has a lid. Oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, and sea salt. Shake it up, no blender or food processor required!! A few notes here, I use Trader Joe’s Garlic Aioli Mustard and I honestly think it’s the best mustard ever! Use one that you really love, I think it makes a difference. Also, sometimes I am out of Italian Seasoning, and I will just put in a few dried herbs like oregano and basil.
3. Place the chopped lettuce in a large bowl and top with chopped nuts, everything seasoning, parmesan cheese (if using), and the dressing. Using tongs, toss until well combined.

Serving and storing:

Serve immediately!! I usually give myself about 10 minutes before I want dinner to be served to make this. You can make ahead 1-2 hours before you serve (wait to put the dressing on until right before). This salad does not store well once it’s dressed.

You can easily double, or triple the dressing so you have a batch to last you throughout the week! I always keep a container of it in the fridge. It will last a few weeks (although it never lasts that long in our house 🙂

I pretty much serve this with anything, but if you’re looking for a nice pairing with a main course, my Chicken Cacciatore or Spaghetti is a great idea!

Make it your own!

You can easily use the base here, and then add some of your personal favorite veggies. Think cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, carrots, or whatever you have on hand! Sometimes I am just trying to clean out some leftover veggies in the fridge and will chop up different veggies.