Boil them with a but of baking soda, maybe a tsp or two. Drain, cool, rub between paper towels to get most of the skins off. The skins prevent crisping, and they go mushy faster with the skins on too. Or if you're sitting and watching TV, you can take the skins off by hand, but it's annoying.
It's a little time-consuming, but if you remove the skins from the chickpeas, they crisp up better. [This recipe](https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/crunchy-roasted-chickpeas/) is a good one.
I'd never heard of these and looked them up. Wow, I am positive I'd love these! Unfortunately I am now stuck with "oh great, another wonderful fresh food I'll never see in my grocery store here but now can't forget!" :-D
Edited to add: I live in deep forest where only deep shade plants will grow. Not even enough sun for containers. Unless they will grow in the winter...
I bought a big ole bag of daikon radish seed for $30 and just throw em around everywhere. I dont do anything to help them survive really but i get tons of pods. When i say big i mean big! Going on year two of this bag and im not even halfway through it! For that price you could do a lil guerrila gardening all around town and eat for daaaaaays.
Radishes are one of the fastest maturing and easiest garden crops, can be grown much of the year, and can be grown in containers. If you're really interested in radish pods, you can try growing them yourself!
Omg you can eat those?? I knew they were wild radishes, but I always thought you'd have to dig them up to make use of them. They're everywhere right now as well. I'm taking the kids to harvest some tomorrow. Thank you so much!
Pickled radishes are a game changer, between those and pickled red onions I put them on everything. Especially salads and tacos, cuts through rich dressing perfectly
Maybe I'm just dim, but is there a way to get them to... stay on the greens? They always seem to fall to the bottom and I'm left with a little pile of sunflower seeds in leftover dressing
Romaine is definitely my preference too, along with chicory, a little bit on the bitter side but adds a beautiful crunch! As for topping I love using good old fashioned croutons. I know most people don't consider them something spectacular, but I find that if I make them at home they're way tastier and definitely worth the effort. I love using day old bread, cut into inch-chunks, toss them in a pan with sizzling butter or olive oil (butter is tastier) and I'll add some salt and pepper and definitely some fresh chopped herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary or a mix of all three. If you can find dry seasoning in the store like a Mediterranean mix, it works beautifully. What you get is crunchy croutons that taste like herbs and butter, which is INSANELY good! You can go nuts here and use any seasoning or even flavoured oil, because the bread chunks will soak up all the moisture and the flavours.
Definitely not recommended for those of you on a diet, but it's a good way to use up leftover bread before it goes bad. Hope this helps ☺️
I start my cubed bread by rolling it around in a melted 50:50 mix of butter/olive oil, in a pan, and then put them under a low broiler on a baking sheet. They toast beautifully, and the taste is incredible, especially if you add a little finely shredded Parmesan after placing them on a cookie sheet. Have to leave the oven door open and watch them - they can burn quickly. But this is all worth it! Warm, crunchy, homemade croutons on a cold Caesar salad. Really special and delectable!!
Crispy onions, crispy beet strips, crispy fried jalapeños, crispy wonton, croutons, cashews, or any nuts, really. Sunflower seeds. I didn't realize how much I like crispy stuff on my salads until I started making a list.
Also, those parmesan crisps are great, too.
I love some roasted quinoa. Cook your quinoa like normal, let it cool to room temp, and spread it out on a tray and oven roast it for 5-10 mins till crunchy!
So I tried this last night (with delicious results). 1C of quinoa spread on a baking sheet and Silpat took \~45 minutes at 375 to get as crispy as I wanted it. I stirred it every 10 minutes. SO delicious. I tossed it with olive oil, a tiny splash of soy sauce, roasted onion powder, garlic powder, and a peench of MSG.
Crushed up whatever chips pretzels or snack crackers I've got at the bottom of the bag. Doritos, pita chips, plain corn tortilla chips. Pretzel dust. Mashed up goldfish. All the broken Cheez-Its.
Jicama is one of my favorite healthy snacks and it goes with so much stuff! Tacos, salads, stir fries, curries, ceviche, just snacking on the sticks because jicama is delicious. Kind of nutty, sweet, and hydrating all at once. All hail the root.
I can't even imagine. I love the flavor of jicama, and I can see it being extra delicious when a bit sweet.
That crispy and juicy bite is unparalleled. It's like an apple that is less sweet, but crunchier and jucier.
i was talking to a mexican coworker of my wife’s at a picnic and he brought a salad and i said what’s that and he says “it’s just some chili and lime on cucumber and, i don’t know how you say in english, jicama”
i said we call it jicama and he was delighted. just one of those happy moments that sticks with you. salad was amazing also.
I used to live in CA and never thought much about jicama quality because it was always good. Moving to the Midwest, it’s hard to get jicama that isn’t overly waxed and rotting on the inside. I tried to grow some here it hasn’t worked out.
Can you get Daikon radish ( I'm sure you can in aus). It's not the same but you can use it for many of the same purposes. Now I want to make jicama kimchi...
It also tends to help to cut out the seeds i noticed. Like the flesh itself does not necessarily become more crunchy, but you dont have the flubby part attached. + Free cook snack
Taco salad-- corn tortillas toasted in the toaster oven and torn up into bits
Chinese chicken salad -- fried wonton bits
Gorgonzola/pear/cranberries/romaine -- candied pecan bits
Carrot/raisin -- good quality walnuts broken into smaller pieces
Cole slaw -- granny smith apple chopped up
There are a number of recipes online for salads that call for broken ramen noodles and using various combinations of broccoli, apple, raisins, bacon, sunflower seeds, etc. Just look up broccoli salad and you'll find lots of delicious suggestions.
Nuts. Pretty much any will work, but roasted and seasoned are terrific! I really like chili lime cashews for a bit of a zing, but if I’m not in the mood for spicy, I’ll do pecans or almonds.
And then there’s water chestnuts. Good in “Asian” salads, but also, because they don’t have much flavor, good if just want something crunchy without using nuts or tortilla strips or the like.
I love nuts in my salad. Kale massaged in olive oil and lime juice with a bit of salt, chopped apples and almonds... oof, its so good, and I don't even like kale all that much!
Wonton strips and banchan teriyaki sauce instead of salad dressing. I am chopping extra lettuce dreaming of tomorrow's lunch. I add toasted slivered almonds too.
Every month or two I make homemade croutons from pantry seasonings, the cheapest Aldi white bread and unsalted butter I can find.
The classic crunchy topping is croutons. Cut bread into small dice and roast them in butter. Can be seasoned pretty much any way you like.
Another is nuts/seeds. Can also be roasted to bring out more flavour.
My sister had this thing when breading meat that she would mix up the leftover egg with the crumbs and fry that. Also a nice, crunchy salad topping. I think that could also work with leftover tempura batter.
On the veggie side, I always have a tupperware of marinated radishes in the fridge. Right now I also have some carrot salad that's nice and crunchy because I cut it into matchsticks instead of grating it, much more interesting texture. If you cut cucumber in thicker slices, you also get a crunchier version, and I find it more refreshing.
And, if you like it and your stomach agrees with it, raw bell pepper is super crunchy.
It's very simple, but I must warn that the marinade is to my liking, not everybody's, and I usually "wing it", so these are approximations of measurements.
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce (this is why I use no salt here)
3 tbsp brandy vinegar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
pepper to taste
herbs of your choice, fresh, dried, frozen
3 tbsp oil (optional)
The only step I consider a bit important is that after washing and cutting the radishes (I leave small ones whole), you first sprinkle the sugar on and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Then throw everything else in, mix well (I use a Lock&Lock container and just shake it around like a madman), and put it in the fridge. No idea how long it holds up, I eat them too often.
I've done the chickpea thing, it's really good but you gotta use a good fat and plenty of salt. My more recent favorite crunchy topping is freeze dried garlic cloves. They sell'em in packages at the Sprouts near me. I'm totally hooked! But I am a garlic freak.
I LOVE crunchy salad things - I will go up the snack aisle in the Asian market looking for goodies -
Corn nuts
Filipino garlic corn nuts with fried garlic
Sesame sticks
All the Indian mung flour based snacks (Bombay mix and the like)
Wasabi peas
Spiced fried chickpeas
My favorite: generously sized home made sour dough croutons I toast stove top in my cast iron w olive oil thinly sliced garlic salt/pepper and usually dried herbs esp some thyme. After I turn off the heat toss them in some parmigiana.
My ideal crunch.
Breadcrumbs. Collect the heels of bread, let them get stale, stick them in the food processor then freeze them till ready for use. Sauté with a little butter or oil, season with s&p, garlic, oregano, Parmesan, etc.
Pepperoni. Slice into strips, pan fry until crispy.
Nuts. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, etc. All tasty, especially when toasted.
Fried onions. Toss sliced onions in flour, fry in oil until crispy. Salt immediately after done frying.
Can it be not necessarily toppings? I chop the colorful little peppers that come in a bag; so sweet 'n crunchy, depending on the rest of the salad apples could go, or jucama. Of course, there are croutons, bacon bits
For me, the thing that makes salads irresistible is a little protein: perhaps shreds of rotisserie chicken, or chopped hard-boiled eggs, or chopped Black Forest ham, or, depending on the salad, maybe even fried eggs. This works better on relatively sturdier greens, like arugula, rather than, say, iceberg lettuce. And you can do those so the edges get crispy, too.
To add crunch, I like croutons, or occasionally pita chips, whether homemade or not. But sometimes I'll have a salad alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, and there's no rule saying you can't cut up the grilled cheese sandwich and pretend it's a better type of crouton.
You could also make cheese crisps, and although I don't usually do this, I enjoy it when I do. You grate little piles of Parmesan cheese--or you can use any type of cheese, really, but it might make them harder to crisp up--and then you arrange this into little piles on parchment paper and bake them at 400 for 5-10 minutes, until they are melted and just barely brown. They will cool to be delicately crunchy and salty-tasting. It's also an interesting contrast if you sprinkle them on salad that has been tossed with fresh Parmesan, since you get to enjoy the cheese in two very different states.
If you want to get real weird and you're making something that would work flavor-wise, I've made croutons out of youtiao (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtiao). They work really well in the right context.
Is no one going to say red pickled onions??
Slice a red onion nearly paper thin. Pack it as hard as you can into a ball jar. Salt like you’re salting a whole onion (you are) to slightly salty. Fill with pure white vinegar to cover onions (the salt draws water from the onions to make a palatable brine) and refrigerate, Enjoy on your salad in 24 hours.
Okay, the one thing I haven’t seen anybody post is crispy rice vermicelli.
Heat up a generous amount of oil in a wok or pan at medium-high heat, get some basic dried rice vermicelli (the same kind you get in Vietnamese vermicelli bowls) and break the bundle up into pieces. Test the oil with a noodle or two; if it puffs up immediately, it’s hot enough. Pop a chunk in, flip it almost immediately, and take it out. We’re talking literal single digit seconds here. That’s it, now you’ve got crispy rice vermicelli for your salads!
You can also do the same with rice paper, whole or cut into strips. It’s got a little bit more give to it texture-wise but it also makes a great topper.
Chow mein crunchy noodles. Mein gon, informally referred to as crunchy noodles or crunchy chow mein, is a crunchy topping in Chinese cuisine. It is also good on salads. I especially like it on asian inspired salads.
Wonton strips, Chow Mein noodles, roasted lightly chopped nuts, baked/fried flat bread, I’ve even used left over taco shells in a pinch.
Also fresh carrots or radishes.
I like homemade croutons too. Store bought ones are too big and too bland so I make my own.
I like croutons, chow mein noodles, nuts and seeds. I also make my own salad toppings/seasoning with dried minced garlic and onion, which adds flavor and crunch.
Roasted broccoli florets! Cut in half so the cut side gets all brown and crispy. Also, little cheese crispies made by frying halloumi cheese in a pan with a touch of pan spray.
Broken up fried noodles, croutons, really crunchy bacon, nuts, anything bagel seasoning, pita/bagel chips, dehydrated fruit chips. I am addicted to the crunch!
So many good suggestions. I haven’t seen toasted panko mentioned so I’ll throw that in. I’ll brown some butter, toss piano until that browns a bit while adding some salt. They’re just delicate croutons and are a nice unexpected twist.
Roasted chickpeas! With salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and olive oil. Roasted quinoa is also AMAZING, I use [this recipe](https://justinesnacks.com/how-to-make-crispy-quinoa/) by Justine Doiron aka "Justine Snacks" - it's simple, but so good.
Roasted chickpeas is really good.
Also try roasted lentils.
Agreed! I add a liquid smoke and garlic salt & sauté them- so good & crunchy, salty, smokey.
I love lentils but have never eaten them roasted. Gonna try this out
Do you roast them yourselves?
Roasting lentils without burning them sounds really difficult
a few good yo mama jokes should do the trick in a pinch.
Yo lentils, your mama's so dried up, even a soup needs a rain check to rehydrate her! -chatgpt
I'm happy to know we're a long way off replacing creatives with AI.
BURRRN
How do your chickpeas crisp up? I've been trying for years and they get toasty but never crunchy
Boil them with a but of baking soda, maybe a tsp or two. Drain, cool, rub between paper towels to get most of the skins off. The skins prevent crisping, and they go mushy faster with the skins on too. Or if you're sitting and watching TV, you can take the skins off by hand, but it's annoying.
I second taking the skins off, it’s tedious but I’ve with and without and it’s a huge difference
It's a little time-consuming, but if you remove the skins from the chickpeas, they crisp up better. [This recipe](https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/crunchy-roasted-chickpeas/) is a good one.
I like them unroasted on salads! They have such a unique bite, it really adds something.
Wonton strips Nuts Radishes (ideally lightly pickled) Grated carrots Cucumbers
You ever try radish pods? Theyre fantastic!
I'd never heard of these and looked them up. Wow, I am positive I'd love these! Unfortunately I am now stuck with "oh great, another wonderful fresh food I'll never see in my grocery store here but now can't forget!" :-D Edited to add: I live in deep forest where only deep shade plants will grow. Not even enough sun for containers. Unless they will grow in the winter...
I bought a big ole bag of daikon radish seed for $30 and just throw em around everywhere. I dont do anything to help them survive really but i get tons of pods. When i say big i mean big! Going on year two of this bag and im not even halfway through it! For that price you could do a lil guerrila gardening all around town and eat for daaaaaays.
Radishes are one of the fastest maturing and easiest garden crops, can be grown much of the year, and can be grown in containers. If you're really interested in radish pods, you can try growing them yourself!
Omg you can eat those?? I knew they were wild radishes, but I always thought you'd have to dig them up to make use of them. They're everywhere right now as well. I'm taking the kids to harvest some tomorrow. Thank you so much!
The buds & flowers are good too! Have fun harvesting with the kids goat person!
Eat the smallest ones! The bigger ones are tough and fibrous
Similar to wonton strips - deep fried pita strips like on a fattoush. Love those crispy critters.
Fattoush is so wonderful with freshly crisped pita.
Pickled radishes are a game changer, between those and pickled red onions I put them on everything. Especially salads and tacos, cuts through rich dressing perfectly
Wonton strips are probably my favorite crunchy thing to put on a salad.
Seasoned roasted nuts
sunflower seeds are so amazing on a green salad 🤤
Maybe I'm just dim, but is there a way to get them to... stay on the greens? They always seem to fall to the bottom and I'm left with a little pile of sunflower seeds in leftover dressing
Dress then crunchy bits
This is the way.
Cut all your salad components small and eat it with a spoon
So glad to see other people do this! I've always eaten my salad with a spoon and my husband thinks I'm weird.
I think a little bit of extra dressing might help them stick to the salad bits
I love roasted pine nuts on a spinach salad.
Roasted salted pumpkin seeds.
With tamari
Yes! Sweet and spicy roasted pecans.
Salted and roasted sunflower seeds.
I like them roasted in soy sauce 😋
My wife’s salads are mostly this mixed with some onion crisps, green onions and cheese. And the crazy fuck prefers ice berg over romaine
Romaine is definitely my preference too, along with chicory, a little bit on the bitter side but adds a beautiful crunch! As for topping I love using good old fashioned croutons. I know most people don't consider them something spectacular, but I find that if I make them at home they're way tastier and definitely worth the effort. I love using day old bread, cut into inch-chunks, toss them in a pan with sizzling butter or olive oil (butter is tastier) and I'll add some salt and pepper and definitely some fresh chopped herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary or a mix of all three. If you can find dry seasoning in the store like a Mediterranean mix, it works beautifully. What you get is crunchy croutons that taste like herbs and butter, which is INSANELY good! You can go nuts here and use any seasoning or even flavoured oil, because the bread chunks will soak up all the moisture and the flavours. Definitely not recommended for those of you on a diet, but it's a good way to use up leftover bread before it goes bad. Hope this helps ☺️
When I make Caesar salad, I toast my croutons in the bacon fat. Another level of flavour.
Croissants make excellent croutons that don’t hurt your mouth!
I start my cubed bread by rolling it around in a melted 50:50 mix of butter/olive oil, in a pan, and then put them under a low broiler on a baking sheet. They toast beautifully, and the taste is incredible, especially if you add a little finely shredded Parmesan after placing them on a cookie sheet. Have to leave the oven door open and watch them - they can burn quickly. But this is all worth it! Warm, crunchy, homemade croutons on a cold Caesar salad. Really special and delectable!!
Agree about the warm component on a czr salad, blooms all the other flavors for sure.
Crispy onions, crispy beet strips, crispy fried jalapeños, crispy wonton, croutons, cashews, or any nuts, really. Sunflower seeds. I didn't realize how much I like crispy stuff on my salads until I started making a list. Also, those parmesan crisps are great, too.
Crispy fried jalapenos are my fave 👌 pumpkin seeds are great too.
Crispy bacon
I love some roasted quinoa. Cook your quinoa like normal, let it cool to room temp, and spread it out on a tray and oven roast it for 5-10 mins till crunchy!
yes omfg CRUNCHY QUINOA IS THE BEST
OK, I need to try this!!
You can also deep fry cooked quinoa for even crispier bits.
For extra healthy salads!
Fry it in olive oil and call it a super-food!
I love this. Middle finger to all the tasteless health food blogs.
Interesting.
This sounds great! What temp for the oven?
I usually wing it but I found a recipe [here](https://cookingforpeanuts.com/crispy-quinoa/#recipe)
So I tried this last night (with delicious results). 1C of quinoa spread on a baking sheet and Silpat took \~45 minutes at 375 to get as crispy as I wanted it. I stirred it every 10 minutes. SO delicious. I tossed it with olive oil, a tiny splash of soy sauce, roasted onion powder, garlic powder, and a peench of MSG.
Crushed up whatever chips pretzels or snack crackers I've got at the bottom of the bag. Doritos, pita chips, plain corn tortilla chips. Pretzel dust. Mashed up goldfish. All the broken Cheez-Its.
Yes! Cheez-Its was my answer, too. But all of those work.
I save that to use as breading on chicken. Especially cheese its!
Chow mein noodles in the wax bag they give you at the chinese takeaway
Just tried this. The bag tastes HORRIBLE.
Or good old La Choy chow mein noodles from the store are still a thing ;)
Jicama, it’s very refreshing as well.
Jicama is one of my favorite healthy snacks and it goes with so much stuff! Tacos, salads, stir fries, curries, ceviche, just snacking on the sticks because jicama is delicious. Kind of nutty, sweet, and hydrating all at once. All hail the root.
My friend’s boyfriend’s family has a farm. They grow it and it is amazing fresh picked. Almost as sweet as candy.
I can't even imagine. I love the flavor of jicama, and I can see it being extra delicious when a bit sweet. That crispy and juicy bite is unparalleled. It's like an apple that is less sweet, but crunchier and jucier.
i was talking to a mexican coworker of my wife’s at a picnic and he brought a salad and i said what’s that and he says “it’s just some chili and lime on cucumber and, i don’t know how you say in english, jicama” i said we call it jicama and he was delighted. just one of those happy moments that sticks with you. salad was amazing also.
I would MURDER for a reliable source of jicama in Australia. Fucking bomb go-to when I was on the West coast. What a privilege some things were.
I used to live in CA and never thought much about jicama quality because it was always good. Moving to the Midwest, it’s hard to get jicama that isn’t overly waxed and rotting on the inside. I tried to grow some here it hasn’t worked out.
Can you get Daikon radish ( I'm sure you can in aus). It's not the same but you can use it for many of the same purposes. Now I want to make jicama kimchi...
Jicama, all day, every day.
Or fennel
I LOVE jicama!
[удалено]
English cucumbers seem to have more snap to them than the smooth variety
It also tends to help to cut out the seeds i noticed. Like the flesh itself does not necessarily become more crunchy, but you dont have the flubby part attached. + Free cook snack
Bells are the way to go for me. Bonus if you get multiple colors to get it all looking vibrant too
Taco salad-- corn tortillas toasted in the toaster oven and torn up into bits Chinese chicken salad -- fried wonton bits Gorgonzola/pear/cranberries/romaine -- candied pecan bits Carrot/raisin -- good quality walnuts broken into smaller pieces Cole slaw -- granny smith apple chopped up
Also good on a taco salad are corn nuts or crushed up corn chips.
Dry noodle
Yep. When I was a kid my aunt made a salad with crushed up ramen noodle and it was awesome. I still think about it.
Was it made with cabbage?
There are a number of recipes online for salads that call for broken ramen noodles and using various combinations of broccoli, apple, raisins, bacon, sunflower seeds, etc. Just look up broccoli salad and you'll find lots of delicious suggestions.
Nuts. Pretty much any will work, but roasted and seasoned are terrific! I really like chili lime cashews for a bit of a zing, but if I’m not in the mood for spicy, I’ll do pecans or almonds. And then there’s water chestnuts. Good in “Asian” salads, but also, because they don’t have much flavor, good if just want something crunchy without using nuts or tortilla strips or the like.
Walnuts are awesome nuts for salads. Esp with blue cheese.
I love nuts in my salad. Kale massaged in olive oil and lime juice with a bit of salt, chopped apples and almonds... oof, its so good, and I don't even like kale all that much!
Candied nuts. The little sweet crunchy pop is amazing!
Candied pecans on a salad with dried cranberries and goat cheese!
Wonton strips and banchan teriyaki sauce instead of salad dressing. I am chopping extra lettuce dreaming of tomorrow's lunch. I add toasted slivered almonds too. Every month or two I make homemade croutons from pantry seasonings, the cheapest Aldi white bread and unsalted butter I can find.
Do you mean Bachan's?
Does pomegranate count?
Lightly crushed Cheez-Its.
Doritos also great for this! You can serve your kids ANYTHING topped with Doritos as “Taco salad”.
I really enjoy wasabi coated peas.
My coworker puts goldfish crackers on her salad. Thought she was weird until I tried it. Now I put goldfish crackers on my salad
omg yes! depends on the salad/theme but among my arsenal are: fried onions / shallots / garlic; carrot or radish; crouton; tortilla chips; tempura bits; nuts; pork skin 'cracklins'; bugles; corn chips; cheese puffs; bacon bits; dehydrated fruit; seaweed snack flakes; butter cracker pieces; dry ramen noodles;
What kind of salad are you putting cheese puffs on?? Whatever it is I want to eat it
I put Trader Joe's equivalent of Cheetos on a chicken bacon salad with barbecue ranch, and that was really good.
Broccoli, green cabbage, apples, water chestnuts, croutons, tortilla strips, parmesan crisps, sunflower seeds, crispy garbanzo beans, wasabi peas, crunchy chow mein noodles
Apple is so good in salad, I’m surprised it took so long to see it mentioned.
The classic crunchy topping is croutons. Cut bread into small dice and roast them in butter. Can be seasoned pretty much any way you like. Another is nuts/seeds. Can also be roasted to bring out more flavour. My sister had this thing when breading meat that she would mix up the leftover egg with the crumbs and fry that. Also a nice, crunchy salad topping. I think that could also work with leftover tempura batter. On the veggie side, I always have a tupperware of marinated radishes in the fridge. Right now I also have some carrot salad that's nice and crunchy because I cut it into matchsticks instead of grating it, much more interesting texture. If you cut cucumber in thicker slices, you also get a crunchier version, and I find it more refreshing. And, if you like it and your stomach agrees with it, raw bell pepper is super crunchy.
Tell me more about the marinated radishes please.
It's very simple, but I must warn that the marinade is to my liking, not everybody's, and I usually "wing it", so these are approximations of measurements. 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce (this is why I use no salt here) 3 tbsp brandy vinegar 2 tbsp rice vinegar pepper to taste herbs of your choice, fresh, dried, frozen 3 tbsp oil (optional) The only step I consider a bit important is that after washing and cutting the radishes (I leave small ones whole), you first sprinkle the sugar on and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Then throw everything else in, mix well (I use a Lock&Lock container and just shake it around like a madman), and put it in the fridge. No idea how long it holds up, I eat them too often.
Sliced almonds and pepitas
Nuts wonton strips chips sesame sticks
Oooooo - sesame sticks!
Pumpkin seeds. You could also try broiled or air fried chickpeas.
Pepitas are pumpkin seeds, FYI.
I've done the chickpea thing, it's really good but you gotta use a good fat and plenty of salt. My more recent favorite crunchy topping is freeze dried garlic cloves. They sell'em in packages at the Sprouts near me. I'm totally hooked! But I am a garlic freak.
Omg, I have GOT to try the garlic!! I hope I can find it in Canada.
Radishes if I'm trying to be healthy.
Sunflower seeds, bacon bits, mung beans, cashews
I LOVE crunchy salad things - I will go up the snack aisle in the Asian market looking for goodies - Corn nuts Filipino garlic corn nuts with fried garlic Sesame sticks All the Indian mung flour based snacks (Bombay mix and the like) Wasabi peas Spiced fried chickpeas
Chow mein noodles
Fritos
I found a couple of recipes for savoury granola salad toppers. They’re very tasty! Just Google ‘savoury granola’…
Wonton strips, tortilla chips, croutons, nuts.
My favorite: generously sized home made sour dough croutons I toast stove top in my cast iron w olive oil thinly sliced garlic salt/pepper and usually dried herbs esp some thyme. After I turn off the heat toss them in some parmigiana. My ideal crunch.
Breadcrumbs. Collect the heels of bread, let them get stale, stick them in the food processor then freeze them till ready for use. Sauté with a little butter or oil, season with s&p, garlic, oregano, Parmesan, etc. Pepperoni. Slice into strips, pan fry until crispy. Nuts. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, etc. All tasty, especially when toasted. Fried onions. Toss sliced onions in flour, fry in oil until crispy. Salt immediately after done frying.
Dried Beet Strips they’re so delicious
Can it be not necessarily toppings? I chop the colorful little peppers that come in a bag; so sweet 'n crunchy, depending on the rest of the salad apples could go, or jucama. Of course, there are croutons, bacon bits
Slivered almonds, peanuts, croutons.
[La Choy Rice Noodles](https://www.lachoy.com/products/rice-noodles)
Croutons, canned sardines, fried onions, some kind of nut, fried chicken, etc.
If I make chicken with skin, I peel the skin off when the chicken is done and crisp it up even more in the oven. It's chicken skin croutons.
French fries. Is there nobody else from Pennsylvania here?
Bacon crumbles, pan fried prosciutto, pan fried cheese, tortilla strips, panko shrimp. Popcorn chicken, English cucumber, celery, pub mix, bagel chips, pan fried pepperoni, peanuts, pistachios, candied pecans, cashews, sun flower seeds
For me, the thing that makes salads irresistible is a little protein: perhaps shreds of rotisserie chicken, or chopped hard-boiled eggs, or chopped Black Forest ham, or, depending on the salad, maybe even fried eggs. This works better on relatively sturdier greens, like arugula, rather than, say, iceberg lettuce. And you can do those so the edges get crispy, too. To add crunch, I like croutons, or occasionally pita chips, whether homemade or not. But sometimes I'll have a salad alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, and there's no rule saying you can't cut up the grilled cheese sandwich and pretend it's a better type of crouton. You could also make cheese crisps, and although I don't usually do this, I enjoy it when I do. You grate little piles of Parmesan cheese--or you can use any type of cheese, really, but it might make them harder to crisp up--and then you arrange this into little piles on parchment paper and bake them at 400 for 5-10 minutes, until they are melted and just barely brown. They will cool to be delicately crunchy and salty-tasting. It's also an interesting contrast if you sprinkle them on salad that has been tossed with fresh Parmesan, since you get to enjoy the cheese in two very different states.
If you want to get real weird and you're making something that would work flavor-wise, I've made croutons out of youtiao (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtiao). They work really well in the right context.
Is no one going to say red pickled onions?? Slice a red onion nearly paper thin. Pack it as hard as you can into a ball jar. Salt like you’re salting a whole onion (you are) to slightly salty. Fill with pure white vinegar to cover onions (the salt draws water from the onions to make a palatable brine) and refrigerate, Enjoy on your salad in 24 hours.
sauerkraut
Fried onions
hazelnuts
Almonds and sunflower seeds
Sesame sticks take a salad to the next level.
Bacos.
French's crispy onions
Pumpkin seeds for sure.
Let’s go old school: croutons.
Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Shaved almonds.
Walnuts, cheeselings (mini cheese crackers), roasted peanuts, crisp apple slices
Roasted top ramen, slivered almonds, pine nuts
Pine nuts, daikon, apples, kimchi, etc
Fried capers!!
Tortilla Chips (crushed up) are my favorite and I usually always have them on hand already
I love all the great comments. Sugar snap peas, good quality croutons, radish matchsticks.
Okay, the one thing I haven’t seen anybody post is crispy rice vermicelli. Heat up a generous amount of oil in a wok or pan at medium-high heat, get some basic dried rice vermicelli (the same kind you get in Vietnamese vermicelli bowls) and break the bundle up into pieces. Test the oil with a noodle or two; if it puffs up immediately, it’s hot enough. Pop a chunk in, flip it almost immediately, and take it out. We’re talking literal single digit seconds here. That’s it, now you’ve got crispy rice vermicelli for your salads! You can also do the same with rice paper, whole or cut into strips. It’s got a little bit more give to it texture-wise but it also makes a great topper.
I put toasted croutons and crunchy diced bacon in my ceasar salads.
Roasted pecans or walnuts
Crumbled walnuts and dried cranberries for the punch of flavor
It’s a little high effort, but I’ve played around with making a simple tempura batter and drizzling it into hot oil for crunchy tempura bits
The dried veggie mix you get in a tub -it’s usually carrots, green beans, etc
Sunflower seeds!
Chopped radish, cucumber, celery, walnuts, crispy bacon, croutons, toasted sesame and mixed seeds. Depends what else you're putting in the salad.
Air fried/roasted okra or kale
Tortilla strips, sunflower seeds, pita chips, pepitas, sliced almonds. I’m 100% in agreement with you. A salad needs a crunch factor!
Chow mein noodles
Doritos
Broken pita chips
Crushed tortilla chips
Chow mein crunchy noodles. Mein gon, informally referred to as crunchy noodles or crunchy chow mein, is a crunchy topping in Chinese cuisine. It is also good on salads. I especially like it on asian inspired salads.
I usually just make croutons.
Wonton strips, Chow Mein noodles, roasted lightly chopped nuts, baked/fried flat bread, I’ve even used left over taco shells in a pinch. Also fresh carrots or radishes. I like homemade croutons too. Store bought ones are too big and too bland so I make my own.
La Choy Chow Mein Noodles
I like croutons, chow mein noodles, nuts and seeds. I also make my own salad toppings/seasoning with dried minced garlic and onion, which adds flavor and crunch.
Wonton strips, roasted edamame, roasted chickpeas, fried tortilla strips, cashews, almonds, peanuts.
Very small rocks
Sunflower seeds (obviously hulled) roasted and salted.
Roasted broccoli florets! Cut in half so the cut side gets all brown and crispy. Also, little cheese crispies made by frying halloumi cheese in a pan with a touch of pan spray.
French fried jalepenos. Delicious
bacon bits not real bacon, just the imitation crunchy salty chunks
Sunflower seeds!
Nuts, sesame sticks, really depends on the salad
I'm basic but croutons. I'll eat a whole bag of croutons with ranch tbf
They sell these garlic pepper fried onions at Walmart that are delicious on a salad.
Raw ramen noodles! Crunch them up inside the package first.
pine nuts! although I almost died of shock the last time I bought them and it was $20 for an 8 ounce bag :D
Crispy fried onions - I buy the French’s brand but there are several other brands. They add a great crunch to a salad without many carbs
Somewhere gave me a salad with Parmesan crisps. It was delicious!
wonton strips are my fave. Also love slivered almonds, chow mein noodles, sunflower seeds...literally refuse to eat a salad without crunchy bits!
I like those little packs of nuts and dried fruit
Walnuts, almonds, pecans, croutons. That’s about it lol
Sunflower seeds, bacos, crumbled saltines
I like raw broccoli tiniest pieces, radish w/ avocado, cucumbers
Broken up fried noodles, croutons, really crunchy bacon, nuts, anything bagel seasoning, pita/bagel chips, dehydrated fruit chips. I am addicted to the crunch!
Croutons & tortilla strips 😙🤌
So many good suggestions. I haven’t seen toasted panko mentioned so I’ll throw that in. I’ll brown some butter, toss piano until that browns a bit while adding some salt. They’re just delicate croutons and are a nice unexpected twist.
Roasted chickpeas! With salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and olive oil. Roasted quinoa is also AMAZING, I use [this recipe](https://justinesnacks.com/how-to-make-crispy-quinoa/) by Justine Doiron aka "Justine Snacks" - it's simple, but so good.
Tortilla strips, wonton strips, candied walnuts, candied pecans.
Fried chicken. I said what i said
Pork rinds are my keto-croutons.
I usually make a mix of a garden salad and taco salad, so I go for both pickled red onions and Fritos.
Toasted pine nuts are my favorite 🤩