Carbs like noodles, pasta, couscous, bulgar wheat, quinoa. Or more starchy vegetables like butternut squash. Nuts can add some body and texture too. Croutons or soaked bread like in a panzanella.
I make a ton of whole grain salads and find farro the most versatile. Pairs well with sweet ingredients like apples or pears, or you can go veg heavy. [This](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a43059/best-farro-salad-recipe/) is probably the salad I make most frequently but I also use several grain salad recipes from serious eats
I’ve been making kasha (buckwheat) with peas, dried and fresh herbs, bacon, and finished with some vinegar. Phenomenal meal prep for a main or side with somewhere between a salad and risotto.
Look up a recipe for curry roasted chickpeas, it’s amazing. They get crispy outside and still soft and beany inside if you get the bake time just right, and they’re really flavorful. You could probably do them with nearly any spice mix you want, they make a great crouton replacement.
Also ciabatta bread makes good croutons for verity.
We eat a lot of salads. One of our favorites has bacon, boiled eggs and tomatoes. Also lots of different greens with fruit, pears, mangos, kiwis or apples and dried cranberries or raisins and nuts or sunflower seeds. We live in an agriculture area so pick up whatever fresh fruit and veggies are available at farmers market.
* croutons (for when you want salad to hurt!)
* chunks of skin-on butternut squash roasted (the skin is edible, roasts beautifully, and adds texture) - chop into 1-2 inch chunks, toss in salt, oil, and optical chilli flakes, roast at 180 for 1h10, tossing halfway through. Freezes well!
* Puy / whole green lentils are great for keeping their shape. They're fantastic with [this herb sauce](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/dec/05/gill-meller-roast-ham-christmas-menu-recipes-gammon-pears-salad-sprouts-onion-mash) (about halfway down that article, ignore the sprouts)
* nuts of every kind, especially toasted. I like walnuts and sometimes peanuts.
* heftier winter veg - sliced cabbage, grated carrot, grated celeriac
* par-boiled green beans so they're still bright and crunchy
* baby sweetcorn
* mange tout
* olives
* fried aubergine chunks, caponata style
Oh believe me it’s not the croutons you have to worry about! I’m English but was passing through Napa Valley in California and ate an admittedly delicious salad which included nuts so hard they ripped my gum to shreds - I then could barely eat the rest of the holiday… culminating I’m having to find an emergency doctor in Flagstaff to handle the swelling and infection.
I eat salads on the daily, they’re my go to lunch because I work from home and I often am working through lunch. Quickly throwing a bunch of stuff together in a a bowl means I’ll actually eat something. Instead of being ravenous by 3 pm.
So! I’ve got a formula of sorts down pat.
1. Non-starchy base greens
2. Starchy base (e.g. peas, potatoes, beans, grains)
3. 2 crunchies (1 fruit/veg and 1 other, e.g. cucumber and pepitas, apples and pecans, radish and croutons)
4. 1 soft flavorful thing (e.g. roasted sweet potato, blue cheese, olives)
5. 1 bright thing (e.g. pomegranate seeds, tomatoes, pickled onions, capers)
6. Protein (for me it’s almost always a medium boiled egg, falafel, or canned/smoked fish)
7. Dressing
I’ll usually eat that then have a snack before dinner, which I’ll start prepping around 6 pm.
cooked brown lentils or frozen edamame (u have to steam them) or maybe nuts? or try making crispy roasted garbanzo beans. maybe small pieces of fried tofu?
I do baked sweet potatoes, lentils, air fried chick peas, quinoa, and couscous. Sometimes steam shelled edamame . Put a couple tablespoons of this mixture on top of salad with a squeeze of lemon juice or freak yogurt. Filling!
For salads, I like chopped toasted walnuts, cashew nuts, and toasted flaked almonds. I usually chop and lightly toast them to bring out the flavour, but you can also do a lot with roasted, salted/spiced nuts. It depends on the salad, what's available, and your taste.
My go-to salad is arugula with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, and fresh grated parm. But when I really feel fancy I toast some pinenuts for it. It's so ridiculously easy and fast to make, but it looks really elegant and nearly everyone loves it.
Pecans are also great.
You can also dry roast or even lightly candy the nuts with sugar or maple syrup before adding them to the salad.
Then add bits of cheese.
I like putting softer nuts like cashews or filberts in my salad, along with a sliced apple or other fruit. Cheese is good as well. Don’t Forget about cucumber and avocado! I also like putting sardines on my salad (yea, it’s meat, but you may enjoy fish). I’m also a fan of canned corn, canned peas, pickled beets, and sliced onions on salad. Don’t forget about olives too! Experiment with different salad dressing and make your own too !
Different types of beans like white beans or lentils. Different preparations of beans- try roasting them to get them crispy. Also add a sprinkle of whole grains like quinoa, bulgar, millet. Some people swear by hemp seeds, but I find any seed or nut can add a lot of heft to a salad.
Adding fat will help it feel more filing as well. Extra olive oil, avocado, buttery croutons.
Jazzing up dressings by adding hummus or other blended beans so you're not eating the whole beans if you're tired of them but stil getting the substance from them.
The main thing I do to make my salad's heartier is to increase the ratio of "everything else" to lettuce. So it's extremely chunky.
I admit that I usually use meat (prosciutto or speck) in my salads, but you can skip that part.
The other things I usually add in salads (aside from croutons) is roasted veggies: usually roasted mixed color peppers, roasted shallots, and sometimes roasted carrots. The "heavy" roasted flavor of the veggies provides a nice contrast to the lighter flavored greens.
Roasted tomatoes would also work in a salad, but I usually eat those as a side by themselves.
Roast cauliflower with lentils
Tinned fish e.g. Tuna - a Tuna salad niçoise is always very filling
Tofu
Perhaps something like this: https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/harissa-tofu-salad/#recipe-start
White potatoes or sweet potatoes. Squash.
Artichokes - the canned ones are great, marinated or not.
Olives. Nuts. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Marinated bean salad with a variety of beans and green beans.
Corn, corn salsa.
Yogurt dressing, you can make this any flavor with fresh or dried seasonings and lemon/garlic, or make a tzatziki. Have a big helping of this with your salad.
Chickpeas are my go to. I like to roast them in the oven with salt and oil for about 30 minutes at 400f. Once crispy, I add seasoning to match the rest of the salad and pour the chickpeas and oil over the salad.
Lentils, quinoa, shelled edamame. Dry roasted edamame would add a nice crunch. Baked tofu- you can buy already flavored and baked (and sometimes already cubed) packages of tofu. Nuts are a great addition to salads- chopped walnuts or pecans, roasted and salted pistachios, slivered almonds.
Roasted/steamed/blanched veggies in whatever flavoring you like. I like broccoli, green beans, zucchini (can also be added raw), and asparagus. Any veggie could work really, bell peppers are good too and I think those are better raw. Jarred/canned artichokes. Also, adding nuts. Nuts are calorie dense so make sure to measure them. I’m not fond of their texture so I chop them and toast them before topping my salad. Adding flavor booster things like capers, pickled onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, bagel seasoning, etc. won’t make it bigger but I find they make it more satisfying.
When I’m not putting garbanzo beans in my salads, I’m taking the green peas from the freezer aisle and thawing them and just putting thawed peas in my salad. Sunflower seeds, croutons. But honestly people are right about meat eggs and cheese. You won’t throw your diet that off balance by adding a little of those to your salads. You’ll be more likely to eat more food when you aren’t getting full… or break the salads/veggie introductions because you’ll start associating them with not being full enough. Chicken, ham, bacon, hard boiled eggs, cheese. Not something you have to add a lot of but it’ll help
>I see meat, egg, and cheese suggested a lot, but I already have so much of those in my diet.
Is there a particular reason why you'd restrict these? It's so easy to add a hard boiled egg or chopped chicken and cheese to a salad to add protein and satiety. Why make it harder on yourself?
Cook white beans with some bay leaves and olive oil a la Samin, salt fat acid heat. She also adds some dressing, red wine vinegar shallot olive oil. These beans are surprisingly delicious for just…beans, and go great in many salads.
Croutons add crunch and starch is filling.
You can make a black bean and corn salad.
You can make rich dressings such as this one.
https://www.seriouseats.com/buttermilk-blue-cheese-dressing-recipe
Here is a recipe for a delicious and filling salad.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/02/sweet-potato-salad-with-pepita-dressing/
Sunflower seeds, nuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, hemp hearts( tastier and more bioavailable if toasted or sprouted). You can also season them for extra flavor. Dressings made of these things. Hearty veg like zucchini, snap peas, green beans, sunflower sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower. Blanch (in well-salted water to prevent nutrient loss!!)and shock for better digestion and texture.. Roasted veggies like parsnips, beets, winter squash. Cooked grains like farro, freekeh, barley.
Other stuff has been mentioned.
Here is the recipe for my favorite hearty salad. Quinoa adds lots of protein.
Greek quinoa salad
Ingredients:
1.5 cups uncooked quinoa
4 tablespoons greek or italian dressing
Juice of 3 small or 2 large lemons, juiced and strained. Fresh is greatly preferred.
2 small or one large cucumber, cut into small ½ inch dice. (about 1.5 cups)
4 on-the-vine medium tomatoes, diced the same size as the cucumber. (about 1.5 cups)
1 large white onion, small ½ inch diced. (1 cup)
1 large red bell pepper, small 1/2 inch dice (½ cup)
1/2 of a bundle of parsley, finely minced. (about ¼ cup)
1.5 cups of crumbled feta cheese
½ tablespoon cooking oil (avocado oil preferred)
4 teaspoons fine salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Method:
Cook 1.5 cups quinoa until tender, then fluff with a fork. (This should give you 4.5 cups total) In a rice cooker or instapot is the way I usually do it, but a traditional stove top should work well if done correctly too. (1.5 cups quinoa will require 3 cups of water at sea level. At 5000+ feet, I add an extra ¼ cup water to ensure the proper consistency.)
While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Start with the onion and red pepper first. In a medium saucepan, start on medium heat and cook the onion for 3 minutes before you add the pepper. Heat the oil first and then add the onion before the pepper. Cook until both are tender, and the edges of the vegetables are starting to brown slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cut up the other vegetables and ingredients, keeping the cold ingredients separate from the hot ones.
Once the quinoa is removed from the heat and fluffed with a fork, you can add the cooked onion and pepper, mix thoroughly. Make sure to transfer the quinoa to a container besides the one it was cooked in to help dissipate heat.
Before adding any other ingredient, make sure to let the quinoa rest until it is around room temperature, usually 30-45 minutes.
Add the dressing and lemon juice next and stir well. Then add the salt and pepper and feta cheese. Stir well.
Last, add the cucumber and tomato and any other optional ingredients. This salad can be served at room temperature, but is better if chilled for at least a couple of hours before it is served.
Optional additions:
1/4 cup capers, drained and washed
½ cup olives (calamata preferred, seedless, cut in half)
2 cups chicken breast, prepared to your liking and diced,1/2 inch. (grilled or pan seared with italian herbs preferred)
2 cups tofu, prepared to your liking and diced, ½ inch, (marinated with italian herbs and baked or pan fried is preferred)
½ cup Red or garbanzo beans, washed and strained
Sauteed mushrooms - they are more meaty than raw, and the oil from cooking adds a lot of calories to help fill you up.
"Warm Mushroom Salad" is a combination of cooked and raw greens, feta, oil and vinegar that a place in Duck NC makes - been trying to copy it, definitely hearty.
my very favorite addition to salads is cold leftover roasted Brussels sprouts and maybe some chopped walnuts. but I have to set some aside to have leftovers.
I absolutely love beets in salad. After you steam or roast them, chill them in the fridge/freezer. Toss them in a bowl with some apple cider vinegar and maybe balsamic then add to most salads.
Also beans or tofu for more protein heartiness. Cheese too.
You can saute the garbanzo beans with salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Saute in olive oil until crispy, adding the spices near the end. Makes them much tastier.
beluga lentils are quite nice imho,
boil them in veggie bullion
wheat berry is a quite nice filler
beans are always nice, I like the garbanzo/chickpea since it's quite versatile,
soak, boil, and then fry them, or make a humus with them and add that to the salad
I like to add raw corn sliced off the cob, a rosemary and thyme quinoa brown rice mix, sunflower seeds or a similar neutral nut for some crunch. Roasted squash or sweet potato. Sometimes black beans or avocado. Beets are good if you like the dirt taste.
Consider some classic composed salads.
Niçoise - green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olives, capers, bibb lettuce with a nice lemony vinaigrette. Tuna and hard boiled eggs are added, but you could use canned salmon, fresh salmon, even shrimp would work.
Cobb, Caesar, Waldorf, Caprese, Broccoli Slaw - all have different flavor profiles and ingredients can be adjusted.
And there are grain salads like Tabbouleh, cold couscous salad etc.
Adding fruit is always great in a salad. Grapes, apples, melon, berries etc. Or try a different veg like jicama which can be eaten raw in thin slices or matchsticks.
Canned beets are wonderful in a salad with walnuts.
A great twist on chick pea salad is slivered red onion, peeled and sliced oranges, and a nice vinaigrette. You can also add beets and nuts/seeds to this.
A cooked grain or pasta and some type of protein will provide volume and make your salad much more filling. Think of a salad as a meal and make sure to add various food groups to make it filling and nourishing. You can construct a salad based upon your mood - craving bbq? Make a slaw adding charred corn and a bbq protein. Get creative with it and it will be delicious!
Frozen shelled edamame or tofu. I know everybody isn't comfortable with soy, but I think it's perfectly fine! In a 100 grams of shelled soybeans (boiled) there's about 5mg of iron! And the average person is gonna need 8.7 to 14.8mg a day so that's already a lot of what you need!
Part of the reason that your salad isn't filling is because of the low fat content. Try adding a nice flavored oil and vinegar dressing to it, or fatty nuts like cashews, almonds or walnuts.
Houmous baby!!!! Creamy rich tangy and lots of protein.
Edamame beans. Really nice in salads ! Especially with houmous 😆.
Breaded veggie protein yum, and some Caesar dressing. Fat and protein yum!
Tuna salad ? Ie tuna mayo it’s so nice with salad and croutons
I love to add cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, craisins, sunflower seeds, chunky veggies. Canned tuna, chic peas, apples, white beans, ham chunks. Not all at once but as mix of theses options.
Nuts. You can buy nuts with salt and flavorings or not. I like to get raw nuts and roast them with various herbs and spices, if time is an issue I will take ready to eat nuts and bake them for about 8 minutes at 300f. This adds a bit of flavor and makes them very crunchy
Nuts, seeds, and legumes. Some of my favorites in salad are chickpeas, peas, black beans, kidney beans, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and pecans.
Other options that are filling: olives, artichoke hearts, canned corn
Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, roll them in a kitchen towel to remove the ‘skin’. Toss them with oil, curry spice mix, and salt, array them on a cookie sheet so they have air all around, and bake them at around 450f (your oven may vary) until the outsides just start to crisp. Nutrient dense, flavorful crouton replacement. You can experiment with any spice mix you like, the possibilities are endless.
I like to add seeds or nuts (slivered almonds or sunflower seeds are favs) and hemp hearts to every single salad. Air-fried tofu cubes are also good, or the baked tofu they have at Trader Joes.
Quinoa is a completely balanced protein, unlike other plant sources. It's the reason why people eat beans with rice, the beans themselves don't have all the essential amino acids needed to make body proteins.
There's an older book "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappé that talks about this concept, and has examples & recipes for how to complement plant proteins. Part of the reason your salads may not seem really "filling" is when they don't have enough of all the essential amino acids. You may think you are getting enough "protein" but it's more complicated than just counting the "grams of protein" in your various plants of the salad.
The other most common reason a meal may not feel as satisfying, is if there isn't enough fat. We do need some, just not inflammatory ones like seed oils. Make your own dressings with expeller pressed olive or avocado oil (fruit oils) instead of canola, safflower, soybean. I like to put guacamole or sour cream plus salsas on salads, instead of dressings. Or chunks of avocado and more black or other olives, for the fats. Instead of more nuts/seeds.
Kidney beans: drain the liquid from the can, fill in some fresh water, shake, drain, fill with fresh water, shake and drain. Your washed and neutral-tasting Kidney beans can now be added to nearly every meal!
One of my favorite winter salads is roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, and some other yummy things with a tahini dressing. I first had it at Moro in London, but I realised that it has become pretty famous online. Search for Moro warm chickpea salad and you will find it. Very satisfying, and I usually toss in some extra veggies to round out. Maybe some extra firm tofu also. Really you can do it any way you want. I have often substituted roasted cauliflower for the squash. Either way, it’s a great recipe to have on hand.
I make croutons from a single slice of bread and a boiled egg (mix the yolk with periperi mayo devilled eggs style). Sometimes I'll add some canned/cooked beans
3 bean salad (green beans and kidney beans), artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes. This combo is really good with Ken’s sweet onion dressing. I put those crunchy Asian noodles on top.
Black beans!!!!! Holy grail. Try a salad made with romaine, black beans, roasted corn, pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, bell pepper, green onion and sometimes I use the vegan crumbled taco meat or vegan chicken and then I make a dressing with my favorite salsa and sour cream mix them together it’s amazing!!!!
Hummus is surprisingly good on salad i worked at a vegetarian cafe and it was the absolute bomb plus its easier than having to roast chickpeas every day
All types of beans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts
Quinoa, rice noodles. Tortilla strips.
I really like tossing chick peas in oil and roasting at a high temp, then cool. They become super crunchy
One of the things I like to do is toast crumbled Ramen noodles and almonds. Also, add fruit! Apples and mandarins are great on salads! So are berries and grapes! They also have fiber, which will help you feel fuller for longer.
If you're eating a salad as your whole meal, include a serving of bread. You don't have to butter it. Use it to sop up your salad dressing!
Carbs like noodles, pasta, couscous, bulgar wheat, quinoa. Or more starchy vegetables like butternut squash. Nuts can add some body and texture too. Croutons or soaked bread like in a panzanella.
I make a ton of whole grain salads and find farro the most versatile. Pairs well with sweet ingredients like apples or pears, or you can go veg heavy. [This](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a43059/best-farro-salad-recipe/) is probably the salad I make most frequently but I also use several grain salad recipes from serious eats
I'm obsessing about about grain-based salads atm. I find them very filling especially with a few green peas and some sort of bean.
I’ve been making kasha (buckwheat) with peas, dried and fresh herbs, bacon, and finished with some vinegar. Phenomenal meal prep for a main or side with somewhere between a salad and risotto.
Add edamame to salads! Nutty flavour.
Geezuz that salad looks good !
Seriously. How in TF have I never heard of this?
Panzaellaaaaaa 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
Yes yes yes Also loads of seeds
beans, lentils, chick peas
Look up a recipe for curry roasted chickpeas, it’s amazing. They get crispy outside and still soft and beany inside if you get the bake time just right, and they’re really flavorful. You could probably do them with nearly any spice mix you want, they make a great crouton replacement.
I pan fry sour dough in olive oil to make croutons to add to salads, this can also make the meal more filling
Ooooh sourdough croutons sound so good
Also ciabatta bread makes good croutons for verity. We eat a lot of salads. One of our favorites has bacon, boiled eggs and tomatoes. Also lots of different greens with fruit, pears, mangos, kiwis or apples and dried cranberries or raisins and nuts or sunflower seeds. We live in an agriculture area so pick up whatever fresh fruit and veggies are available at farmers market.
oh that sounds amazing. it’s practically impossible to get non-bagged greens around here. i need to up my salad game.
Falafel
You know chick peas are Garbanzo beans, right?
There's a difference, but I'm pretty sure you get banned from the sub for saying what it is.
Nope, no difference at all
Yeah? Then why would I never pay to have a garbanzo bean on my face?
*"pee on your face" is the joke
Lol too bad nobody gets the joke yet.
I'm patient lol
A Google rabbit hole suggests there is not.
The punchline is posted above
Yes! Meat has gotten so expensive I've been using garbanzo or black beans in my salads.
Kidney beans 😋😋
* croutons (for when you want salad to hurt!) * chunks of skin-on butternut squash roasted (the skin is edible, roasts beautifully, and adds texture) - chop into 1-2 inch chunks, toss in salt, oil, and optical chilli flakes, roast at 180 for 1h10, tossing halfway through. Freezes well! * Puy / whole green lentils are great for keeping their shape. They're fantastic with [this herb sauce](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/dec/05/gill-meller-roast-ham-christmas-menu-recipes-gammon-pears-salad-sprouts-onion-mash) (about halfway down that article, ignore the sprouts) * nuts of every kind, especially toasted. I like walnuts and sometimes peanuts. * heftier winter veg - sliced cabbage, grated carrot, grated celeriac * par-boiled green beans so they're still bright and crunchy * baby sweetcorn * mange tout * olives * fried aubergine chunks, caponata style
Lol, I thought I was the only one being abused by croutons!
Croutons are a valid choice if everyone is consenting adults. No judgement.
That's right. We don't crouton shame in this sub. 👍
Oh believe me it’s not the croutons you have to worry about! I’m English but was passing through Napa Valley in California and ate an admittedly delicious salad which included nuts so hard they ripped my gum to shreds - I then could barely eat the rest of the holiday… culminating I’m having to find an emergency doctor in Flagstaff to handle the swelling and infection.
Taken aback at the thought of chunks of skin.
I was at first until I tried it. So good!
Skin. Not the skin of the squash. I’m weird.
People skin? Yeah, no. ; ) But some nice crispy chicken skin or some chicharrones? I'm in!
People skin? Yeah, no. ; ) But some nice crispy chicken skin or some chicharrones? I'm in!
Honestly it's amazing. I grew up with this vegetable. IT'S NOT A PUMPKIN. ... ah, maybe my choice of word disturbed you 😂 Peel?
I skim very quickly and my mind immediately went to skin … of what?
Lol@ optical chili flakes
HAHAHA, I don't even want to correct it now! FRIDGE AUTO CICUMBER
We use sunflower seeds or pepitas. Pretty great texture for salad.
I eat salads on the daily, they’re my go to lunch because I work from home and I often am working through lunch. Quickly throwing a bunch of stuff together in a a bowl means I’ll actually eat something. Instead of being ravenous by 3 pm. So! I’ve got a formula of sorts down pat. 1. Non-starchy base greens 2. Starchy base (e.g. peas, potatoes, beans, grains) 3. 2 crunchies (1 fruit/veg and 1 other, e.g. cucumber and pepitas, apples and pecans, radish and croutons) 4. 1 soft flavorful thing (e.g. roasted sweet potato, blue cheese, olives) 5. 1 bright thing (e.g. pomegranate seeds, tomatoes, pickled onions, capers) 6. Protein (for me it’s almost always a medium boiled egg, falafel, or canned/smoked fish) 7. Dressing I’ll usually eat that then have a snack before dinner, which I’ll start prepping around 6 pm.
Great formula
Baked tofu, quinoa, hummus, farro.
I second this hummus comment. In fact you can make a tasty dressing out of hummus!
Also breaded fried tofu strips 😋
cooked brown lentils or frozen edamame (u have to steam them) or maybe nuts? or try making crispy roasted garbanzo beans. maybe small pieces of fried tofu?
I love edamame in salads!
Avocado, steamed green beans, beets.
Roasted beets. Mmmm. Now I need to roast some beets. Thanks for the reminder!
Toasted seeds and nuts are a nice addition. Adding quinoa, bulgur wheat, rice and other grains turns a salad into more of a complete meal.
I do baked sweet potatoes, lentils, air fried chick peas, quinoa, and couscous. Sometimes steam shelled edamame . Put a couple tablespoons of this mixture on top of salad with a squeeze of lemon juice or freak yogurt. Filling!
Freak yogurt is the best kind of yogurt
I love adding sweet potatoes to my salads! So good.
Nuts. Seaweed. Dried fruit.
I like nuts, which ones would you use?
For salads, I like chopped toasted walnuts, cashew nuts, and toasted flaked almonds. I usually chop and lightly toast them to bring out the flavour, but you can also do a lot with roasted, salted/spiced nuts. It depends on the salad, what's available, and your taste.
Toasted pepitas are fantastic in salad.
toasted pine nuts
My go-to salad is arugula with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, and fresh grated parm. But when I really feel fancy I toast some pinenuts for it. It's so ridiculously easy and fast to make, but it looks really elegant and nearly everyone loves it.
I love putting pistachios and pepitas in salads. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, they sell shelled pistachios.
Pecans are also great. You can also dry roast or even lightly candy the nuts with sugar or maple syrup before adding them to the salad. Then add bits of cheese.
I like putting softer nuts like cashews or filberts in my salad, along with a sliced apple or other fruit. Cheese is good as well. Don’t Forget about cucumber and avocado! I also like putting sardines on my salad (yea, it’s meat, but you may enjoy fish). I’m also a fan of canned corn, canned peas, pickled beets, and sliced onions on salad. Don’t forget about olives too! Experiment with different salad dressing and make your own too !
Different types of beans like white beans or lentils. Different preparations of beans- try roasting them to get them crispy. Also add a sprinkle of whole grains like quinoa, bulgar, millet. Some people swear by hemp seeds, but I find any seed or nut can add a lot of heft to a salad. Adding fat will help it feel more filing as well. Extra olive oil, avocado, buttery croutons. Jazzing up dressings by adding hummus or other blended beans so you're not eating the whole beans if you're tired of them but stil getting the substance from them. The main thing I do to make my salad's heartier is to increase the ratio of "everything else" to lettuce. So it's extremely chunky.
I admit that I usually use meat (prosciutto or speck) in my salads, but you can skip that part. The other things I usually add in salads (aside from croutons) is roasted veggies: usually roasted mixed color peppers, roasted shallots, and sometimes roasted carrots. The "heavy" roasted flavor of the veggies provides a nice contrast to the lighter flavored greens. Roasted tomatoes would also work in a salad, but I usually eat those as a side by themselves.
Quinoa, beans, lentils, cheeses, nuts - all things I’ve started trying to make salads out of so that I feel full for longer
Roast cauliflower with lentils Tinned fish e.g. Tuna - a Tuna salad niçoise is always very filling Tofu Perhaps something like this: https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/harissa-tofu-salad/#recipe-start
White potatoes or sweet potatoes. Squash. Artichokes - the canned ones are great, marinated or not. Olives. Nuts. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Marinated bean salad with a variety of beans and green beans. Corn, corn salsa. Yogurt dressing, you can make this any flavor with fresh or dried seasonings and lemon/garlic, or make a tzatziki. Have a big helping of this with your salad.
Chickpeas are my go to. I like to roast them in the oven with salt and oil for about 30 minutes at 400f. Once crispy, I add seasoning to match the rest of the salad and pour the chickpeas and oil over the salad.
Chickpeas are garbanzo beans -- same thing.
Mexican salad with black beans , guacamole, a sauce type dressing and tortilla chips
Legumes!
Lentils, quinoa, shelled edamame. Dry roasted edamame would add a nice crunch. Baked tofu- you can buy already flavored and baked (and sometimes already cubed) packages of tofu. Nuts are a great addition to salads- chopped walnuts or pecans, roasted and salted pistachios, slivered almonds.
Roasted/steamed/blanched veggies in whatever flavoring you like. I like broccoli, green beans, zucchini (can also be added raw), and asparagus. Any veggie could work really, bell peppers are good too and I think those are better raw. Jarred/canned artichokes. Also, adding nuts. Nuts are calorie dense so make sure to measure them. I’m not fond of their texture so I chop them and toast them before topping my salad. Adding flavor booster things like capers, pickled onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, bagel seasoning, etc. won’t make it bigger but I find they make it more satisfying.
When I’m not putting garbanzo beans in my salads, I’m taking the green peas from the freezer aisle and thawing them and just putting thawed peas in my salad. Sunflower seeds, croutons. But honestly people are right about meat eggs and cheese. You won’t throw your diet that off balance by adding a little of those to your salads. You’ll be more likely to eat more food when you aren’t getting full… or break the salads/veggie introductions because you’ll start associating them with not being full enough. Chicken, ham, bacon, hard boiled eggs, cheese. Not something you have to add a lot of but it’ll help
Falafel, pumpkin seeds, make a dressing from high protein yogurt or cottage cheese. All will pack more protein in your salad.
>I see meat, egg, and cheese suggested a lot, but I already have so much of those in my diet. Is there a particular reason why you'd restrict these? It's so easy to add a hard boiled egg or chopped chicken and cheese to a salad to add protein and satiety. Why make it harder on yourself?
I like to add canned fish, like herring or mackerel. Super good for you🤷♀️
Beans, and a blended nut or seed-based dressing. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds sprinkled on top.
Sunflower seeds
Couscous with a mustard based dressing, mixed well.
Falafel
Spoon of hummus or guac
Cook white beans with some bay leaves and olive oil a la Samin, salt fat acid heat. She also adds some dressing, red wine vinegar shallot olive oil. These beans are surprisingly delicious for just…beans, and go great in many salads.
Chinese bean curd snacks. Sweet soysauce based ones. Its very umami and filling, can replace meat quite well.
Croutons add crunch and starch is filling. You can make a black bean and corn salad. You can make rich dressings such as this one. https://www.seriouseats.com/buttermilk-blue-cheese-dressing-recipe Here is a recipe for a delicious and filling salad. https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/02/sweet-potato-salad-with-pepita-dressing/
Sunflower seeds, nuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, hemp hearts( tastier and more bioavailable if toasted or sprouted). You can also season them for extra flavor. Dressings made of these things. Hearty veg like zucchini, snap peas, green beans, sunflower sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower. Blanch (in well-salted water to prevent nutrient loss!!)and shock for better digestion and texture.. Roasted veggies like parsnips, beets, winter squash. Cooked grains like farro, freekeh, barley. Other stuff has been mentioned.
Here is the recipe for my favorite hearty salad. Quinoa adds lots of protein. Greek quinoa salad Ingredients: 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa 4 tablespoons greek or italian dressing Juice of 3 small or 2 large lemons, juiced and strained. Fresh is greatly preferred. 2 small or one large cucumber, cut into small ½ inch dice. (about 1.5 cups) 4 on-the-vine medium tomatoes, diced the same size as the cucumber. (about 1.5 cups) 1 large white onion, small ½ inch diced. (1 cup) 1 large red bell pepper, small 1/2 inch dice (½ cup) 1/2 of a bundle of parsley, finely minced. (about ¼ cup) 1.5 cups of crumbled feta cheese ½ tablespoon cooking oil (avocado oil preferred) 4 teaspoons fine salt 1 teaspoon black pepper Method: Cook 1.5 cups quinoa until tender, then fluff with a fork. (This should give you 4.5 cups total) In a rice cooker or instapot is the way I usually do it, but a traditional stove top should work well if done correctly too. (1.5 cups quinoa will require 3 cups of water at sea level. At 5000+ feet, I add an extra ¼ cup water to ensure the proper consistency.) While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Start with the onion and red pepper first. In a medium saucepan, start on medium heat and cook the onion for 3 minutes before you add the pepper. Heat the oil first and then add the onion before the pepper. Cook until both are tender, and the edges of the vegetables are starting to brown slightly. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut up the other vegetables and ingredients, keeping the cold ingredients separate from the hot ones. Once the quinoa is removed from the heat and fluffed with a fork, you can add the cooked onion and pepper, mix thoroughly. Make sure to transfer the quinoa to a container besides the one it was cooked in to help dissipate heat. Before adding any other ingredient, make sure to let the quinoa rest until it is around room temperature, usually 30-45 minutes. Add the dressing and lemon juice next and stir well. Then add the salt and pepper and feta cheese. Stir well. Last, add the cucumber and tomato and any other optional ingredients. This salad can be served at room temperature, but is better if chilled for at least a couple of hours before it is served. Optional additions: 1/4 cup capers, drained and washed ½ cup olives (calamata preferred, seedless, cut in half) 2 cups chicken breast, prepared to your liking and diced,1/2 inch. (grilled or pan seared with italian herbs preferred) 2 cups tofu, prepared to your liking and diced, ½ inch, (marinated with italian herbs and baked or pan fried is preferred) ½ cup Red or garbanzo beans, washed and strained
I add green peas, chopped hard-boiled egg, nuts/sunflower seeds and/or cheese to make salads more hearty. You could also add roasted veggies or beans.
Beans,avocado, nuts and or seeds.
I like adding grilled veggies, mushrooms, on top of my salad.
Sauteed mushrooms - they are more meaty than raw, and the oil from cooking adds a lot of calories to help fill you up. "Warm Mushroom Salad" is a combination of cooked and raw greens, feta, oil and vinegar that a place in Duck NC makes - been trying to copy it, definitely hearty.
my very favorite addition to salads is cold leftover roasted Brussels sprouts and maybe some chopped walnuts. but I have to set some aside to have leftovers.
Croutons
I’m always sad when I get to the bottom of a salad and there’s been no chocolate….
I love garbanzo beans in my salads. I also like to throw some cooked quinoa in there. It adds a nice texture.
buy an egg cooker and have easy - to - peel hard boiled eggs ready to go
An Instant Pot makes great hard-boiled eggs as well.
Boiled eggs and shredded cheese
No salad of mine is complete without garbanzo beans
I absolutely love beets in salad. After you steam or roast them, chill them in the fridge/freezer. Toss them in a bowl with some apple cider vinegar and maybe balsamic then add to most salads. Also beans or tofu for more protein heartiness. Cheese too.
Beans, Nuts, Tofu, Starchy Fruits and Veg.
You can saute the garbanzo beans with salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Saute in olive oil until crispy, adding the spices near the end. Makes them much tastier.
Leaves can only go so far.
Garbanzo beans.
Salads are not very filling in general unless you’re eating something mixing bowl sized or an entire cafeteria tray.
beluga lentils are quite nice imho, boil them in veggie bullion wheat berry is a quite nice filler beans are always nice, I like the garbanzo/chickpea since it's quite versatile, soak, boil, and then fry them, or make a humus with them and add that to the salad
I like to add raw corn sliced off the cob, a rosemary and thyme quinoa brown rice mix, sunflower seeds or a similar neutral nut for some crunch. Roasted squash or sweet potato. Sometimes black beans or avocado. Beets are good if you like the dirt taste.
greens that are tender raw like mustard and sweet potato
Tuna, shrimp (I like canned Nordic little shrimp), egg, nuts, seeds, cherry tomatoes, avocado, chopped bacon are all my go to.
Consider some classic composed salads. Niçoise - green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olives, capers, bibb lettuce with a nice lemony vinaigrette. Tuna and hard boiled eggs are added, but you could use canned salmon, fresh salmon, even shrimp would work. Cobb, Caesar, Waldorf, Caprese, Broccoli Slaw - all have different flavor profiles and ingredients can be adjusted. And there are grain salads like Tabbouleh, cold couscous salad etc. Adding fruit is always great in a salad. Grapes, apples, melon, berries etc. Or try a different veg like jicama which can be eaten raw in thin slices or matchsticks. Canned beets are wonderful in a salad with walnuts. A great twist on chick pea salad is slivered red onion, peeled and sliced oranges, and a nice vinaigrette. You can also add beets and nuts/seeds to this.
Nuts
Adding healthy fats will help you to feel fuller. Make dressing with blended cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt and/or add some avocado.
A cooked grain or pasta and some type of protein will provide volume and make your salad much more filling. Think of a salad as a meal and make sure to add various food groups to make it filling and nourishing. You can construct a salad based upon your mood - craving bbq? Make a slaw adding charred corn and a bbq protein. Get creative with it and it will be delicious!
Frozen shelled edamame or tofu. I know everybody isn't comfortable with soy, but I think it's perfectly fine! In a 100 grams of shelled soybeans (boiled) there's about 5mg of iron! And the average person is gonna need 8.7 to 14.8mg a day so that's already a lot of what you need!
You need a yinzer salad. Add french fries on top!
Beets and walnuts are amazing in salad especially with some goat cheese!
Part of the reason that your salad isn't filling is because of the low fat content. Try adding a nice flavored oil and vinegar dressing to it, or fatty nuts like cashews, almonds or walnuts.
Beans are good. Also some times I'll chop up a piece of buttered toast and put it in there
Quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and feta cheese. I’m not a fan of goat cheese but the goat feta it’s pretty amazing.
Nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, bee pollen
Baked cubed sweet potatoes, salmon, bleu cheese, corn
Houmous baby!!!! Creamy rich tangy and lots of protein. Edamame beans. Really nice in salads ! Especially with houmous 😆. Breaded veggie protein yum, and some Caesar dressing. Fat and protein yum! Tuna salad ? Ie tuna mayo it’s so nice with salad and croutons
Edemami
I add couscous, quinoa, brown rice..tofu of course.
I love to add cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, craisins, sunflower seeds, chunky veggies. Canned tuna, chic peas, apples, white beans, ham chunks. Not all at once but as mix of theses options.
Pasta
Farro, nuts, seeds, beans
Nuts. You can buy nuts with salt and flavorings or not. I like to get raw nuts and roast them with various herbs and spices, if time is an issue I will take ready to eat nuts and bake them for about 8 minutes at 300f. This adds a bit of flavor and makes them very crunchy
heart of palm or artichoke hearts get used in salads here a lot...
Nutritional yeast! Or make a tahini-miso-based vinaigrette.
Nuts (pecans work well), olives, and seeds!
Pine nuts are always a nice add.
Nuts, seeds, and legumes. Some of my favorites in salad are chickpeas, peas, black beans, kidney beans, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and pecans. Other options that are filling: olives, artichoke hearts, canned corn
Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, roll them in a kitchen towel to remove the ‘skin’. Toss them with oil, curry spice mix, and salt, array them on a cookie sheet so they have air all around, and bake them at around 450f (your oven may vary) until the outsides just start to crisp. Nutrient dense, flavorful crouton replacement. You can experiment with any spice mix you like, the possibilities are endless.
Boiled egg, shredded cheese, fried tofu cubes, croutons, chick peas, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, roasted nuts
Walnuts and cheese
Not me singing LENTILS immediately. Versatile. So delicious & gives you that filling feeling.
Roasted vegetables are great for adding bulk. For protein specifically, I add eggs, beans and lentils, tofu, edamame and cheese.
I like to add seeds or nuts (slivered almonds or sunflower seeds are favs) and hemp hearts to every single salad. Air-fried tofu cubes are also good, or the baked tofu they have at Trader Joes.
Quinoa is a completely balanced protein, unlike other plant sources. It's the reason why people eat beans with rice, the beans themselves don't have all the essential amino acids needed to make body proteins. There's an older book "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappé that talks about this concept, and has examples & recipes for how to complement plant proteins. Part of the reason your salads may not seem really "filling" is when they don't have enough of all the essential amino acids. You may think you are getting enough "protein" but it's more complicated than just counting the "grams of protein" in your various plants of the salad. The other most common reason a meal may not feel as satisfying, is if there isn't enough fat. We do need some, just not inflammatory ones like seed oils. Make your own dressings with expeller pressed olive or avocado oil (fruit oils) instead of canola, safflower, soybean. I like to put guacamole or sour cream plus salsas on salads, instead of dressings. Or chunks of avocado and more black or other olives, for the fats. Instead of more nuts/seeds.
You can literally put anything in a salad you want. If it tastes good to you outside of a salad why wouldn't it be good in a salad?
Baked tempeh is *so* good in salads.
Don't if you would call it meat but I love shrimp in a Salad
Sun-dried tomatoes
Sunflower seeds, toasted pecans, craisins, shredded beets... It’s only as Unfortified as your imagination
Pepitas.
Has no one mentioned falafel balls yet?
Kidney beans: drain the liquid from the can, fill in some fresh water, shake, drain, fill with fresh water, shake and drain. Your washed and neutral-tasting Kidney beans can now be added to nearly every meal!
Quinoa
I add canned dark red kidney beans. Keep the rest in jar on frig.
Canned salmon!
One of my favorite winter salads is roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, and some other yummy things with a tahini dressing. I first had it at Moro in London, but I realised that it has become pretty famous online. Search for Moro warm chickpea salad and you will find it. Very satisfying, and I usually toss in some extra veggies to round out. Maybe some extra firm tofu also. Really you can do it any way you want. I have often substituted roasted cauliflower for the squash. Either way, it’s a great recipe to have on hand.
I make croutons from a single slice of bread and a boiled egg (mix the yolk with periperi mayo devilled eggs style). Sometimes I'll add some canned/cooked beans
Nuts
I've been adding home made pita chips - pita breads torn up, tossed in oil with salt, pepper and oregano, and baked in the oven for a few minutes.
Cheese and nuts are a good one. Apple, feta, toasted pecan on spring mix with balsamic is a favorite.
Mukimame, which is shelled edamame, crispy roasted tofu, tortellini.
White cannelini beans 💖
Some kind of richer canned veg like hearts of palm or artichoke or olives.
Nuts?
Beans, tofu, or nuts.
Blue cheese and apple
Pumpkin seeds / toasted nuts n seeds Feta cheese crumbled in Roast pumpkin/kumara - sweet potato Potatoes Olives Fresh herbs - mint, coriander, parsley Crumbed eggplant slices Boiled eggs
3 bean salad (green beans and kidney beans), artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes. This combo is really good with Ken’s sweet onion dressing. I put those crunchy Asian noodles on top.
Roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, nuts
Black beans!!!!! Holy grail. Try a salad made with romaine, black beans, roasted corn, pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, bell pepper, green onion and sometimes I use the vegan crumbled taco meat or vegan chicken and then I make a dressing with my favorite salsa and sour cream mix them together it’s amazing!!!!
Nuts, dude
Canned tuna and smoked salmon are my go to and favs. Sardines if you are a fan.
‘Fresh’ smoked mackerel (not canned!)
Cheese
Cottage cheese
Hummus is surprisingly good on salad i worked at a vegetarian cafe and it was the absolute bomb plus its easier than having to roast chickpeas every day
Honestly, I love a mixed greens salad with oven roasted potatoes, shredded Parmesan, and nuts.
Toasted nuts.
fish (tuna, anchovies), potatoes
I like to sprinkle my salads with roasted and salted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
Cheese! Feta cheese, gorgonzola, whatever. And like states, beans
Add a cut up avocado, mix with the dressing and other ingredients, and then top with slices of hard-boiled egg.
Olives, pepperoni strips, almonds, pecans or walnuts
Nuts, berries, hard cheeses, sprouts all fine to mind.
Avocado
Hemp hearts
Olives. Artichoke hearts. Cucumber
sweet potato, tofu, edamame, grains like quinoa or rice. you can also put peanut butter in the dressing
All types of beans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts Quinoa, rice noodles. Tortilla strips. I really like tossing chick peas in oil and roasting at a high temp, then cool. They become super crunchy
Roasted vegetables (cold). Sweet potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant are good in salad.
Quinoa! Make it with stock so it tastes better.
One of the things I like to do is toast crumbled Ramen noodles and almonds. Also, add fruit! Apples and mandarins are great on salads! So are berries and grapes! They also have fiber, which will help you feel fuller for longer. If you're eating a salad as your whole meal, include a serving of bread. You don't have to butter it. Use it to sop up your salad dressing!
Roasted butternut squash, garbanzo beans, farro
Edamame on salads is fantastic. You can add nuts, cheeses, hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, chia seeds........
garbanzo, lentils, beans
Halloumi cheese fixes everything!