9 Secrets, How To Make A Good Salad Great

Learning how to make a good salad is one of the marks of a good cook. Turn your next salad into a great salad. A salad of quality that’s vibrant in color. Learn the 9 secrets to preparing a tossed salad that’s well balanced, well dressed and remarkable in flavor and texture.

When is a good salad ever out of style, or place? Never! It’s pure, it’s palate cleansing and full of nutrition.

Well-made, and dressed with care, it’s a thing of itself. No need to endlessly search for good salad recipes, learning this solid method will turn out delicious salads every time. It’s an essential skill for any home cook to know how to make a good salad.

But what makes a salad a great tasting salad? Natural flavors should be heightened instead of disguised. Not complex or difficult, but rather fresh, crisp and balanced.

Follow these secrets, then sit back and wait for your guests to ask you why it’s so good. 

How to make salad step by step, a simple technique, so easy to do but a bit time consuming to explain.

Secret #1 – Choose the best salad ingredients

• Seek out the freshest lettuces and greens you can find. When choosing a head of lettuce, turn it upside down and look at the bottom of the stalk where it has been cut. It should be fresh, green and with no discoloring. Leaves should be vibrant and free of dark and shriveled leaves.
• Mix up lettuce varieties for texture and color. I like to start with Red Leaf for its showy beauty. Then look to add romaine, spinach, butter leaf, arugula and curly green leaf. This is only a start, but these are usually readily available.
• Purchase quality olive oil. I like it delicate and buttery for a green salad. An easy to find mass produced brand is Pompeian…but if you can find Terra Medi Organic you’ll be glad you spent the few extra dollars. A fresh and fruity oil will also work, Unio at supermarkets, or the higher end Lucini will work well. And an even easier option for purchasing olive oil –  any Whole Foods house brand is reliable.
• Don’t forget quality in commonly used ingredients such as fresh lemon, fresh garlic, a quality mustard, either grainy or Dijon, Worcestershire Sauce, and fresh parsley.

Secret #2 – How To Wash Lettuce

Give those greens a good washing. Lettuce washing is not difficult, but dedication is required to do the job right.

• Separate the lettuce into individual leaves.
• Rinse each leaf under cold running water and place the leaves in a large bowl.
• Run the bowl as full with lukewarm water, swish the leaves around, then remove them to a colander to drain.

How To Wash Lettuce and Keep It Crisp?

• Don’t let them soak in the water for long or you’ll rid them of vitamins, flavor and crispness.
• This second rinsing step is important, as you’ll be surprised to find there will still be some dirt at the bottom of the bowl even after that initial cold water rinse.
• After the final bath in the lukewarm water, run a blast of cold water over the leaves in the colander.
• Let them drain while you prepare for secret #3.

Secret #3 – A Thorough Drying, How to Dry Lettuce Leaves

Wet greens may be just alright, but dry leaves make a great salad greater. Why are wet leaves a less desirable?

• Wet leaves become soggy leaves
• Moisture on the leaves will dilute the dressing we apply in secret #8

Take the time and dry those leaves correctly.

• Dry each leaf carefully with paper towels
• Or better yet, use a salad spinner. I’ve had several salad spinners, and OXO Good Grips is my spinner of choice. I’ve included an affiliate link for your convenience. I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program. If you order this spinner, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Secret #4 – How to store lettuce. Proper storage of salad greens

• After the lettuce has been dried, lay out a length of paper towels or very clean cloth towels.
• Lay the washed greens on top and either roll them jelly roll style or gently fold the towels over the top of the greens.
• Place the covered greens in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them. 
• TIP: If you are planning to store them for a day, place the paper towel filled leaves in a sealed container or plastic bag.

Secret #5 – Garlic

Some suggest merely rubbing your wooden salad bowl with a clove of garlic and then tossing the clove of garlic away. I call that wimpy.

• Either fine chop or use a garlic press to add garlic to the salad bowl.
• Rub the chopped garlic against the sides and bottom of the bowl and leave the pieces there until you’re ready to go.

Secret #6 – The Salad Bowl. Are Wooden Salad Bowls Better?

Think wooden and think large.

A wooden salad bowl needn’t cost you an arm and a leg. There are some absolutely beautiful showy bowls if you’re willing to spend. I found one that works quite nicely at Ikea for under $15.

Not only for nostalgic reasons, but the fact that the garlic will flavor and stick to the sides of a wooden salad bowl much better than ceramic.

Simply stated, a salad just looks better and presents better in a wooden salad bowl.

Tip: How To Clean A Wooden Salad Bowl: To clean a wooden salad bowl, just use a mild dish soap, a sponge and rinse it well under under warm water. Important: dry the bowl thoroughly, as liquid is the enemy of wooden salad bowls. Never put a wooden salad bowl in the dishwasher. It will warp or crack.

Secret #7 – Salad Plates

Chill those plates. Chill them in the refrigerator, or even better in the freezer. A salad on a chilled plate just tastes better. Try it!

Secret #8 –  Construction Time, How To Build A Salad

Don’t begin construction of the salad until a few minutes before serving. Of course, you can chop and slice any vegetables you’re adding in advance.

• Add four tablespoons of good fruity aromatic olive oil to that garlicky salad bowl.
• Remove the salad leaves from the refrigerator and tear them into bite sized pieces.
• Add the lettuce pieces to that garlicky salad bowl on top of the olive oil.
• Using tongs, salad tossers, or even your very clean hands, toss the greens until each leaf glistens beautifully with olive oil.

TIP: The olive oil seals in the leave’s moisture keeping each leaf crisp, the crispness that was achieved by following the previous steps.

Secret #9 – How to Dress a Salad

Right after you’ve coated the salad leaves with the oil, sprinkle the following over the salad:

• Juice of 1/2 lemon, squeezed directly into the bowl, picking out seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Several grindings of black pepper
• In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, and a dash of Tabasco Sauce (then add to salad)
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Toss again vigorously but gently until the ingredients have been well distributed among the lettuce leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Grab the salad plates from the freezer and plate that beautiful salad.

Green Salad Ingredients. What To Put In Salads

Looking to add more ingredients to your perfect tossed salad?

Here’s a list of salad ingredients, what you can add, and when you add it.

Hard, crisp and non moist ingredients can be added with the lettuce with the first tossing in Secret #8:

• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Onion
• And Cabbage for example.

Add more delicate and porous ingredients after the olive oil, at the same time you’re dressing the salad in Secret #9.

• Sliced fresh mushrooms
• Firm cheeses
• Chilled meats
• Whole grapes
• Raisins (I like to add soaked raisins)
• Fresh apple
• Radishes
• Olives
• Seeds or nuts would fall into this category.

Ingredients to add only at the end, right before serving would be delicate or crumbly items that will serve as a topping. Examples:

• Hard boiled egg
• Ripe avocado
• Juicy fresh tomatoes
• Soft cheeses and most fresh fruit

How To Make a Good Salad

I like to keep my salad pretty simple. Especially when it’s the starter for a beautiful dinner.

Below you’ll find my recipe for a simple dressing that brings out and enhances the natural flavors of greens without disguising or over powering their delicate and fresh flavors.

Turn ordinary salads into delicious salads.

And if you have a favorite tossed salad recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

Now that you’re a salad making expert you’re probably looking for more ideas to make your best tossed green salad recipe for your next meal. Try the technique on these mixed green salad recipes.

Some of Our Best Green Salad Recipes

• Baby Kale and Apple Salad with Cider Vinaigrette
• Hearts of Palm Salad with Avocado
• The Only Strawberry Spinach Salad You’ll Ever Need
• Southwestern Salad Recipe
• Tree House Salad
• Lettuce Salad with Crispy Chow Mein Noodles