7 salad ideas for dinner that are healthy and filling
It’s nothing new to get a little hungry while scrolling through your TikTok feed. But the most recent food trend showing up on For You Pages is a little greener than candy-coated “crack grapes” or baked berry oatmeal. Massive dinner-sized salads are taking over TikTok and some of the quick and easy dinner ideas look almost too good to eat.
But these gigantic bowls of greens aren’t your ordinary side salads. Instead, TikTokers are creating specialty salads that serve as a whole meal with carbs, fats, vegetables and proteins. Corn, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, chicken, turkey, chickpeas, cheese and more — these foodies are here to prove anything you can think of really can be mixed into a salad.
From classics like Greek salad or Caesar salad to summer salads made with kale, pasta, goat cheese and beyond, Yahoo Life chatted with TikTokers who are changing the salad game through their viral videos. Curious what to make for dinner tonight? These types of “big salads,” may be the perfect way to please everyone at your dinner table.
Vegan barbecue chopped chickpea salad
For those who follow plant-based diets but still want filling and delicious salads that serve as an entire meal, Danielle Brown is changing the game. On her account, @healthygirlkitchen, nearly two million TikTok users watch Brown create healthy plant-based meals that are not only easy to make, but taste delicious.
One of her most popular salads is vegan barbecue chopped chickpea salad, inspired by one of her favorite restaurant dishes. “This barbecue chopped chickpea salad is a completely vegan version of a barbecue chicken salad,” Brown tells Yahoo Life. “I always used to order the barbecue chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen and this salad is inspired by it.”
“I knew I had to figure out a way to make a meatless version,” she says. “I used chickpeas instead because they’re packed with protein, hearty and go great in salads.”
To make Brown’s vegan version of a restaurant favorite, combine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, corn, cilantro, chickpeas (sauteed in barbecue sauce), avocado, corn chips, red onion and vegan ranch dressing.
Grinder salad
The creator behind The Salad Lab, Darlene, took a popular style of sandwich and gave it a salad-style makeover.
“The original grinder was a [deli] sandwich topped with shredded iceberg lettuce and tossed in a mayonnaise-based red wine vinaigrette with garlic, some Italian spices and sometimes chopped banana peppers or pepperoncini,” says Darlene, who prefers to omit her last name, of the New England staple, typically served on a long roll that resembles Italian bread. “I thought, ‘Why not make the whole sandwich into a salad?’ Because that’s what I do.”
Her viral salad, which has garnered over one million views, contains mayonnaise, spices, red onions, banana peppers, red wine vinegar, iceberg lettuce, croutons, tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, cheese and Italian deli meats.
“I think it resonated so well with a lot of people because most of the ingredients are staples we keep in the fridge and pantry anyway,” she says. “And who doesn’t love a good Italian deli sandwich?”
Chicken avocado salad
Shantelle Amigable, known as @ChipsInASandwich to her nearly 600,000 TikTok followers, came up with a recipe for a chicken avocado salad that’s received more than 15 million views.
Made with diced bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, avocado and herbs, along with quinoa, chicken and a lemony hummus dressing, it’s definitely one worth bookmarking.
“When I think of the perfect salad I think colorful [and] big with just the right amount of equal parts vegetables, grains, protein and healthy fats,” she shares. “I love avocados. I love quinoa. I love tomatoes. So when I came up with this, I almost wanted it to mimic a salsa or a dip that I could easily eat by the spoonfuls without any guilt.”
The best part about this salad? Amigable says it can be stored in the fridge for three to four days without the flavor changing.
The “Jennifer Aniston” salad
Ariana Negri, who posts to TikTok as @the_bottomlesspit, has recreated popular recipes from Friends before, but one of her most recent creations is a take on the salad supposedly eaten daily by Jennifer Aniston on the set of the popular sitcom.
“I found multiple variations of the recipe across the internet and decided to make my own version,” says Negri. “I never guessed my video would go viral.”
“As for the recipe itself, it’s a breeze to make because besides cooking the quinoa, all the other ingredients are raw,” she continues. “The salad is also gluten-free and vegetarian, so it’s very accessible. The freshness of the cucumber paired with the pickled red onion and brininess of the feta is a match made in heaven.”
To make Negri’s version of an Aniston classic, combine chickpeas, cucumber, parsley, mint, feta cheese, pickled red onion, pistachios, quinoa, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Another version of the trendy salad, shared by food blogger Eating Bird Food, subs lemon juice for balsamic in the dressing.
Mediterranean chopped salad
Kathleen Ashmore, the personality behind @KatCanCook, is known for easy healthy recipes that can take any meal from drab to fab. As part of her “Hungry Lady Salad” series, Ashmore created a Mediterranean chopped salad with roasted red pepper dressing that nearly broke the internet. The salad garnered over five million views on TikTok, leading to Ashmore’s recipe being featured on The Rachael Ray Show.
“The dressing is really where the magic is,” she says. “I love to experiment with using ingredients like avocado, nut butters and leafy greens as the base of a dressing, and it dawned on me that roasted red peppers would add so much body and flavor with a tangy sweetness already built in.”
The beautiful salad includes romaine lettuce, cabbage, red onion, cherry tomatoes, parsley, green olives, mozzarella cheese and chickpeas. To make the dressing, combine roasted red peppers, garlic, honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and season to taste.
“The best part is the dressing is only five ingredients,” she adds, “and comes together in less than 30 seconds in a blender.”
Tabbouleh salad
Arash Hashemi, founder of @KetoRecipes, is known for his “bangin’ low carb salads,” developed during his weight loss journey. Since Hashemi decided to share his salad creations with the world, one of his most popular has been a low carb tabbouleh salad which has nearly three million views.
For the recipe, Hashemi shares a hack he thinks is a total game-changer.
“One of the things I love to do is make ‘little snowflakes’ out of cauliflower rice,” he says. “The cauliflower rice we buy from supermarkets can be chunky and bulky, and the mouth feel just isn’t right. By tossing cauliflower florets in the food processor for a few seconds, they become [light and flaky] and I use those in so many dishes,” he explains. “My low carb tabbouleh salad uses that instead of wheat bulgur or couscous and it’s absolutely delicious.”
To make Hashemi’s version of tabbouleh, a salad typically made with bulgur, combine riced cauliflower, cucumber, scallions, tomatoes, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, mint and garlic then dress with high-quality olive oil and sea salt.
Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh “edit meeting salad”
Shannon Doherty, a mom of four and creator of @AtHomeWithShannon, made a salad TikTok inspired by Kourtney Kardashian’s go-to “edit meeting” salad recipe on Poosh, the reality star’s lifestyle and wellness website.
“I love making salads in the summer and one of my all time favorites is this salad that was inspired by Kourtney Kardashian’s go-to salad recipe on Poosh,” says Doherty. “It is so easy to make and the grilled chicken marinated in orange juice is definitely the secret touch.”
For this salad, Doherty uses romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, cucumber, avocado and cherry tomatoes. To the veggies, she adds chicken marinated in orange juice, then tops with a lemony mustard-based dressing and sunflower seeds.
“It is so refreshing and my entire family loves it,” Doherty says of the colorful dish. “The sunflower seeds are a great crunchy addition too.”
“Kourtney made hers with romaine lettuce, but my favorite is with iceberg,” she continues. “I add cherry tomatoes to mine as well, but those are optional. This salad is so filling and can last a few days [in the fridge] as well.”
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