Ideas for salads please

Grateful for all the good ideas here, I’ve got rather tired of basic salads too. Have found that strawberries and blueberries work well in salads as do toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. I’m experimenting with mixing various flavours into the dressing.

If you like vinaigrette there are loads of different flavoured oils you can experiment with. I mix walnut oil with cider vinegar for a nutty taste. There are also different vinegars like raspberry you can mix with plain olive oil. Have a go.

Greek salad drizzled in balsamic glaze is a favourite in my house. Crumbly Feta cheese, mixed olives, and some torn coriander give it the essentially Greek flavours.

I occasionally make a salad of shredded fennel, oranges and red onion. With salt and pepper, good oil and balsamic…. Delicious!

Waldorf salad is a favourite of ours - mix together celery, walnuts and apple with mayonnaise and we sometimes add raisins or pieces of chicken.

My favourite is large prawns, fresh pineapple slices with the usual tomatoes, greenery, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

Dr Amir has a nice one if you like beans. Chop cucumber, tomatoes,red onion and chillie.Add tin of chickpeas and whatever beans you like. Add lime juice and 5 tbsp tamarind sauce.

Peppers and sweetcorn go in my very colourful salads.

Ours vary according to what's in the salad drawer but a quick way of adding a bit of extra taste is to add some shredded fresh herbs - I added basil, coriander and mint to ours this week and enjoyed them. Quick to do if you don't want to be cooking and cooling things in advance and are trying to avoid dressings on them.

Definitely add some herbs, parsley, basil etc maybe Gresham’s ginger grated over the salad. Croutons.

I'm new to salads - very grateful for this thread. From a friend:
Grated carrots, apple, sultanas/raisins, Baharat, chopped walnuts/any nuts.
I'm avoiding calories so barely any mayo, usually v little oil

Wonderful ideas! I've taken lot's of notes!

Pack of brown or green cooked lentils is very versatile. Last week I added some chopped garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and a splash of extra vjtgin olive oil. Salt and pepper. I just guess quantities!!

Butbin the last Ive added chopped up spring onion, tomato, cucumber or different herbs. Anything really!!!

Are chickpeas OK??
Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, put in a bowl and smash them up a bit with a potato masher. You are aiming for broken up pieces of chickpea with some still in halves or even whole.
Add in finely diced celery, cucumber, red onion, herbs of choice. I then chop up some pieces of sundries tomato in oil and add those and then tip in some of the oil tonjelp bind it together. It's great as a salady type thing or in a sandwich. (Its what vegans often call mock tuna. Not st all fishy though).

Otherbfavourites here are salad nicoise or a panzanella.

Crispy bacon, avocado, spinach, lambs lettuce in a walnut oil dressing.

I use tinned sweetcorn, diced cucumber (with the middle seeds bit hollowed out) grated carrot, red pepper chopped up lettuce mixed with some light mayonnaise - it's yum

I also do small chopped up florets of raw cauliflower & broccoli with diced cheddar again mixed with light mayo

Grated carrot with chopped apple, delicious and healthy.

Great ideas here ( or should I say ‘grate’!) will definitely try some

Grated carrot and apple some nuts and pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds. Doesn’t really need a dressing but try your favourite mayonnaise

Agree with Nana8 - love watermelon salad.

My salads are lettuce, avocado and grapes as the base then anything else available such as oranges, pears, apples, carrots, cold veg of any kind pasta and rice. I always top with French dressing, humous and grated cheese. Wonderful. Live on them

You could add celery, courgette, peppers,grated carrots and cheese for a change

Tin of black kidney beans
Tin of sweetcorn.
Red peppers or mixed coloured peppers
1.Empty black kidney beans into a colander and wash under cold water until all traces of original liquid from tin have gone. Place in serving dish.
2. Empty sweetcorn into colander and do same.
3. Slice open peppers. Remove pips and white bits. Slice thinly and chop smaller. Pop into serving dish with kidney beans and sweetcorn. Mix up a bit.
Eat!!!!!!!
If serving with pork chops, add chopped up sweet apple to ingredients or/and currants which you should wash in colander then soak in fresh water for minimum of an hour. But only with pork. Added apple and current mix not suitable for things like burgers, sausages or similar. Basic recipe learnt from German friends.

Be lazy buy ready prepared from M&S or Sainsbury or any other supermarket, they all do them.

Croutons flavoured with sumac add interest

These all sound so yum! I was going to mention grated carrot and sliced orange and a few sultanas but I think someone did and beetroot with orange too.
Then good old potato salad with spring onions and mayo.
Tomatoes are getting good again coming into season so you can't beat sliced toms in a French dressing with basil leaves.