This simple tossed salad for a crowd is the perfect side dish for all of your summer parties, potlucks and BBQs. It features flavorful, inexpensive ingredients, like crisp fresh veggies and a simple homemade vinaigrette dressing, making it an affordable way to serve tons of veggies to a big crew. The best part? It’s completely customizable and I’m sharing all of my favorite tips to make a loaded garden salad your friends and family will devour! {Gluten-free, vegetarian & dairy-free}
Tossed Green Salad for a Crowd – So Simple!
When you’re entertaining, it can be hard to find just the right side dish that people will eat and love that won’t break the budget. This simple tossed salad recipe is always a great choice.
It makes a big batch, big enough for 6-8 generous servings, can easily be doubled (or tripled) and features lots of fresh veggies, like tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and carrot.
It’s like your basic restaurant-style house salad, but with extra fresh ingredients and the most refreshing honey Dijon dressing. It’s my go-to healthy side dish anytime I’m feeding a big crew, and it goes with basically any main course. It’s the perfect side!
Featured Comment
“Delicious! And so easy to put together with basic ingredients. We all loved it! It was perfect alongside your Easy Chicken Burrito Casserole.” – Sue
If you’re looking for more easy side salad recipes, be sure to try this Broccoli Salad without Bacon and Asparagus Tomato Salad too!
Why We Love This Loaded Garden Salad
- You just need about 15 minutes to throw it together, including making the dressing.
- Completely customizable (see lots of options and ideas below!)
- Formulated by a Registered Dietitian to be a great source of nutrients, fiber, healthy fats, and flavor
- Affordable (and expandable) side dish to feed a big crowd
- Always a big hit at potlucks and parties
- Elevate it with more gourmet toppings for a dinner party or make a salad bar for a potluck
Ingredient Notes
For the salad
- Romaine lettuce: Crisp romaine tends to be popular with everyone, but you can also use iceberg lettuce, spring mix, or a mix of different greens.
- Plum or cherry tomatoes
- English cucumber
- Red onion: To reduce the bite, soak the halved red onion in ice water for 5-10 minutes.
- Shredded carrot
- Your favorite veggies: Feel free to (red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, etc)
For the dressing
- Olive oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil for the simple vinaigrette since I always have it on hand, but you can use light for a milder dressing taste. Avocado oil will work well too.
- Red wine vinegar: This helps to balance out the sweetness. Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar can also be used.
- Dijon: For a tangy dressing. For a milder taste you can use wholegrain or yellow mustard if you’d prefer.
- Honey: To add some extra sweetness to offset the tanginess.
- Salt and pepper: Added to taste.
How to Make Tossed Salad for a Crowd – Step by Step Instructions
- Place the fresh greens in a large serving bowl and top with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and carrot.
- For the homemade dressing, place oil, vinegar, Dijon, honey and garlic (if using) in a small jar or container (you can also use a small bowl). Put the lid on the jar or container and shake dressing until well combined.
- Pour dressing over salad. Season salad with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips for the Best Tossed Salad
- For milder onions: If you don’t like the taste of raw onion, you can soak the onion in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. Also, be sure to chop up the onions finely so that they don’t overpower the salad.
- Look for firmer tomatoes: I like to use firmer tomatoes so that they hold their shape when diced. Additionally, I typically remove the seeds from the tomatoes when chopping them, but it’s a personal preference.
- If making this salad ahead of time: I recommend placing all of the vegetables into a large bowl or container and keeping the dressing separate in a jar or small container. Pour the dressing on right before serving and toss to prevent the salad from getting wilted and soggy.
- Adapt according to taste preferences: This is a basic salad recipe, but I love adding in extras like croutons for extra crunch, feta cheese, or diced avocado for additional flavour and texture. See below for more suggestions!
Storage Guidelines
Make ahead: For best results, store the salad and dressing separately. The dressing will keep well for up to a week and the salad can be stored covered in a bowl or airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
Leftover salad: Any dressed leftover salad can be kept in the fridge for up to one day. Any longer than that, and it will lose its freshness and start to wilt.
Recipe FAQs
For best results, this salad is best made up on the serving day so that the vegetables are fresh and crunchy. If making ahead, it’s recommended that you hold off on dressing the salad until just before serving so that the greens stay crisp and fresh.
Store the chopped salad separately from the dressing. Wash your salad greens and dry them well with a salad spinner or dab with some paper towel before chopping them. Store the salad in a covered container to help keep it fresh.
Garden salads usually have a variety of vegetables, such as leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and peppers — ingredients that you typically grow in a garden. Caesar salads tend to have a more creamy dressing and traditionally contain croutons and parmesan, in addition to anchovies, chicken or bacon.
What to Put in a Tossed Salad for a Crowd
This tossed green salad recipe is designed to be very basic, so you can keep it as is or jazz it up with any extra add-ins or toppings you’d like to give it a fancier twist!
If you aren’t sure about your guests dietary preferences, consider serving the toppings and dressing on the side and let them serve themselves. These options are just ideas and you always want to consider how the flavors will work together first. Less is more!
- Store-bought or homemade croutons
- Cheese: I like to use feta cheese or parmesan since it tends to be a big crowd-pleaser. People also love shredded cheddar for a milder, more classic flavor. If using more controversial cheeses, like blue cheese or goat cheese, serve them on the side.
- Nuts and seeds: Sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, pine nuts are great options.
- Fruits: Keep it fresh with mandarin oranges or blueberries, dried fruits like sweetened dried cranberries, or creamy diced avocado. Depending on the flavors used, I also like to add chopped apple or pear or a sprinkle of pomegranate arils.
- Cured olives: I like to use kalamata or green olives, but you can also add pepperoncini, roasted red peppers, stuffed olives, and more.
- Fresh herbs: Chopped chives, dill, mint, green onions, and parsley add a ton of flavor and elevate simple ingredients.
- Vegetables: You can add a variety of different fresh vegetables, like blanched green beans, snap peas, radishes, raw tomatoes, sliced sweet corn, red bell peppers and so much more
- Protein: Add grilled and sliced chicken breast, chopped hard-boiled egg, crumbled bacon, tuna, strips of salami, or even a few cans of beans (rinsed and drained well) for plant-based protein.
What Goes Well with Salad
This simple green salad is a great side dish to serve with lots of different main dishes since it’s so versatile! Try it with some of these meal ideas:
- Grilled chicken breast (marinated in one of these healthy chicken marinades)
- Worcestershire Sauce Burgers
- No Ricotta Lasagna
- Lemon Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Pasta
- Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick
- Baked Pesto Salmon
Popular Variations
- Add some extra seasonings: Try adding Italian seasoning or dried oregano to the dressing.
- To make vegan: Simply swap the honey in the dressing for maple syrup.
- Incorporate different dressings: For people who prefer creamier dressings, offer an assortment of dressings (try these healthy homemade dressings), or my homemade Caesar dressing or Ranch.
More Easy Salad Recipes
- Blueberry Walnut Salad
- Arugula Nectarine Salad
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Cranberry Walnut Coleslaw
- Roasted Beets and Carrots Salad
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Best Tossed Green Salad for a Crowd
Ingredients
For the garden salad
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
- 2 medium plum tomatoes, (or regular tomatoes) diced
- 1/2 large English cucumber, quartered and sliced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
For the vinaigrette dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic (optional)
Instructions
- Place romaine lettuce in a salad bowl and top with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and carrot.
- Place oil, vinegar, Dijon, honey and garlic (if using) in a small jar or container. Put the lid on the jar or container and shake dressing until well combined.
- Pour dressing over salad. Season salad with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For milder onions: If you don’t like the taste of raw onion, you can soak the onion in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. Also, be sure to chop up the onions finely so that they don’t overpower the salad.
- Look for firmer tomatoes: I like to use firmer tomatoes so that they hold their shape when diced. Additionally, I typically remove the seeds from the tomatoes when chopping them, but it’s a personal preference.
- If making this salad ahead of time: I recommend placing all of the vegetables into a large bowl or container and keeping the dressing separate in a jar or small container. Pour the dressing on right before serving and toss to prevent the salad from getting wilted and soggy.
- Adapt according to taste preferences: This is a basic salad recipe, but I love adding in extras like croutons for extra crunch, feta cheese, or diced avocado for additional flavour and texture. See post above for more suggestions!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in June 2022 and was updated with revised text, photos and formatting in February 2025.
Delicious! And so easy to put together with basic ingredients. We all loved it! It was perfect alongside your Easy Chicken Burrito Casserole.
So happy you enjoyed it! I agree – it’s so good paired along with the chicken burrito casserole! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review :)