Salad recipes run the gammut from bean salads to basic iceburg lettuce side dishes. Salads can be hearty meal replacements filled with a variety of meats, pasta-based dishes, or a vegetable mixture. Most restaurant chains such as T.G.I. Friday's, Outback Steakhouse, and Applebee's dedicate part of their menu to salad options. Some restaurants like Golden Corral and Ruby Tuesday even feature a salad bar that allows patrons to customize their salad selections. While salads are often associated with American and Italian fare, salads are also a prominent part of Japanese, Chinese, and Mediterranean meals. Regardless of national origin, salads bring a hint of freshness, vitality and flavor to any meal. Many of the salad dishes offered by restaurants can be made at home in the kitchen.

Flickr:LMEGuides
Types of salad	Green, bean, pasta, potato
Basic salad ingredients	Lettuce, broccoli, green beans, peas, mushrooms, potatoes
Protein salad ingredients	Cheese, turkey, roasted chicken, ham, bacon, eggs, tuna, beef, tofu, beans
Preparation methods	Diced, chopped, sliced, mixed
Toppings	Anchovies, olives, seeds, croutons
Dressings	Ranch, oil and vinegar, mayonnaise, French, thousand island, blue cheese

Salad Dressing Recipes

Most standard salads offered at restaurants utilize a dressing or binding ingredient such as mayonnaise to enhance the flavor of vegetables and other ingredients. Many restaurant-style salad dressings can be featured in a healthy diet, especially those that include low-calorie or light ingredients. It is simple to bring home the restaurant flavor by preparing homemade copycat restaurant salad dressings. If you enjoy the taste of the dressings at Texas Roadhouse restaurants, you might like to prepare the chain's Italian Salad Dressing or French Dressing.^[1] At the Olive Garden, the house Salad Dressing is frequently offered as part of the appetizer course. Maggiano's Little Italy features a House Salad Dressing that goes well with just about any type of salad.^[2]

If you prefer creamy dressings, try making the Creamy Dill Dressing served at the Irish Coffee Pub. You might also appreciate learning how to make Hidden Valley Ranch's Dressing Mix, which you can use to make ranch dressing at any time.

Restaurant Salad Recipes

Many restaurants serve a salad course that is primarily a lettuce-based side dish with a few toppings and a flavorful salad dressing. Some base salads such as Olive Garden's Salad are integral to the restaurant dining experience. Some salads are based on beans such as KFC's Bean Salad, while others are cabbage-based like KFC Coleslaw or the coleslaw served at Sonny's Bar-B-Q.

Main course salads such as Olive Garden's Pasta Salad Supremo turn ordinary pasta into a hearty main dish. Applebee's makes a Santa Fe Chicken Salad, which includes grilled chicken, pico de gallo, and Monterey Jack cheese over a lettuce salad. This dish may be a filling option for either lunch or dinner. Another filling salad offering is P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps, which include chicken and mushrooms wrapped in lettuce leaves and served with rice sticks.^[3] Some salads such as Subway's Tuna Salad can be used as either a salad ingredient or a sandwich filling. Some fast food establishments offer salad options as well, including Wendy's Taco Salad.

Salad Recipes Video

References

1. ↑ http://www.texasroadhouse.com/menu#salads
2. ↑ http://www.maggianos.com/en/Pages/Menu.aspx#
3. ↑ http://www.pfchangs.com/menu/