Classic House Salad

5 from 2 votes

A great house salad can be a side salad or a dinner salad. This easy recipe has romaine, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage and tomatoes, all tossed in red wine vinaigrette plus homemade croutons.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Salads

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

For croutons

3 cups bread cubes (about 1 inch)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salad
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil

For salad

3 romaine hearts, chopped
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

For croutons

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
On a sheet pan, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Use your hands to make sure the bread is evenly dressed in the oil.
Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Turn it over to the other side. Continue baking for 7-10 minutes until the croutons are golden brown. Let them cool.

For vinaigrette

In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil.

For salad

Combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, cabbage, parmesan, sunflower seeds and parsley in a large bowl.
Drizzle in the dressing. Toss to combine.

Notes

You can store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. It’s best if you plan ahead and not toss the entire salad in the vinaigrette if you know you’re planning to save some of it. Then it won’t get soggy. Keep the dressing in a mason jar in the fridge.

Keep the croutons in a separate airtight container at room temperature. I recommend fishing them out of the salad if you have tossed them in the greens. The croutons will soften if they are in the fridge with the salad.

You can make the vinaigrette up to 2 days in advance. When you take it out of the refrigerator, give it 15 minutes at room temperature and then stir it. This allows the oil to liquify again assuming it hardens in the chill of the fridge.

Nutrition