Best Salad Ever (Whole30 + Paleo)

This salad is going to change your life.

I know, I know…it’s salad. But guys, there’s a reason that it’s called the Best Salad Ever. I have found a technique that somehow turns a few really simple ingredients into the tastiest of whole food salads that ever lived. Keep reading, this is going to be your lifelong salad recipe, I promise.

To be fair, I’m not exactly one of those people who struggles to eat my salads or my veggies. I easily get through 10-12 servings of veggies a day. In fact, I sometimes have to keep myself from going overboard because you really can have too much of a good thing. All of that excess fibre can really mess with a girl’s tummy…

But, this salad isn’t just for vegetable loving freaks like me. This salad will convert even the pickiest of eaters. In fact, I have trustworthy feedback that little ones who ONLY eat their greens slathered in ranch dressing will happily trade it for this version. I’d call that a real food win.

Ingredients in the Best Salad Ever

The Base

To make this salad, we start out with some really simple ingredients.

Firstly, we need to choose a lettuce. This step is crucial. I love spinach + baby lettuces as much as the next guy, but in my opinion, they won’t work here. You don’t want a wimpy, soft green. (I have had friends try this salad with soft greens + love it, its just not my cup of tea! Feel free to try at your own risk.) This salad needs something hearty with a bit of crunch, something that will hold up to the “dressing”. Romaine is absolutely my lettuce of choice, but you could definitely use something else too – maybe kale or radicchio? If you have to, you could probably get away with iceberg too.

The “Dressing”

Secondly, we move on to the dressing. The first ingredient is the most important: avocado. Here’s the deal, this recipe needs a soft avocado. It really wont work if you’re using one with a bit of bite. It needs to be soft, soft, soft and perfectly green because you’re going to mash it. This mashed avocado puree is going to be the base for this dressing.

Depending on what size salad you’re making, you’ll either use half of the avocado or the whole thing. I generally make a giant bowl just for myself + use half, but feel free to experiment and find the right amount for your dressing. If you’re making this as a side for family dinner, you’ll definitely want to use a whole one!

Next, we’ll need some sort of acid. Lemon juice is my favourite option, but lime is also spectacular. If you don’t have any fresh citrus, just throw in a few splashes of vinegar – apple cider, white wine or red wine vinegar are all delicious.

The Unexpected Touch

Finally, we’re going to season our greens. I don’t know why most of us forget to do this, but we do. And just like anything else, unseasoned salad is boring. So, throw in a good sprinkle of salt, some pepper if you like it, and about 1/4-1/2 tsp of garlic powder. You can thank me later.

The “Magic” in the Best Salad Ever

Now, here’s where the real magic happens. Once you have all of your ingredients in a bowl together (choose a larger bowl than you think you’ll need), I want you to stick your hands into your salad. That’s right, I want you to get your hands down in there and massage your greens. When I make this, I generally find that 30 seconds or so of hand time is enough to really get them covered. You want to be sure that you disperse the avocado + the acid onto all of the chopped pieces of lettuce. You’ll see the volume of your salad begin to decrease as the dressing starts to break it down. This is why I prefer a heartier lettuce – it just stands up better to this process.

I know that getting avocado, salt + lemon juice all over your hands isn’t the most fun feeling for some people, but I promise that once you taste it, you won’t even care. Massaging the dressing ingredients into the lettuce is what makes this salad so spectacular. I have no idea what sort of magic happens in this bowl, but I’m so happy I found it.

Once you have your salad mixed, taste it + adjust your seasonings as needed. If you’d like a little more tang, add some more lemon. A bit more salt? Throw that in too. After you’ve reached salad nirvana, feel free to top your greens with whatever toppings you choose. It’s absolutely divine with my easy paleo greek chicken or chicken salad thrown on top. But my real favourite way to eat it, is absolutely covered in roasted salt + vinegar potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes. Or, tons of these babies or even these. It’s HEAVEN.

Can I store leftovers of this salad?

When you make this salad, be sure that you’re going to eat it within an hour or so. Unfortunately, this isn’t really great for meal-prep (unless you use kale) as the lettuce will continue to break down and get too soggy. But the great news is that it literally takes 5 minutes. When the rest of dinner is just about ready, throw the ingredients all in a bowl + you’re about there. It couldn’t be simpler.

This salad is unbelievably flavourful. I could eat it every single day of my life and not get sick of it. And hey, it’s greens + avocado. Eating it every day of my life would be a great decision for my body too. Plus, it uses none of those scary ingredients that you find in store bought salad dressings like gluten, MSG + artificial flavour. This is absolutely a dish that you can feel great about eating + serving to the people you love.

This salad is already a crowd favourite over on instagram. If you’re looking for a go-to salad recipe, or if you or your loved ones are picky veggie eaters, I highly encourage you to give this Best Salad Ever a try. It believe in its power to convert everyone to the green side. After you’ve tried it, I’d love to hear if you think it really is the best salad you’ve tried. Let me know what you think in the comments below or tag me in your photos on insta too!

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