Favorite 5-Minute Lunch Salad

A fresh, filling and flavorful salad that you can toss together in a matter of minutes for an amazing lunch any day of the week with these great salad staples always on hand. Our Favorite 5-Minute Lunch Salad! 

Healthy, Filling and Fabulous

Make lunch an event with my Favorite 5-Minute Lunch Salad! I eat this amazing salad pretty much every day for lunch and it just never gets old. I crave it all morning and count down the hours until I can quickly make and enjoy it for lunch.

At the beginning of each week, I make sure to have all of the ingredients I need to make this salad so it’s a no-brainer when it comes to a tasty, healthy, filling and fabulous lunch.

So Many Flavors and Textures

Of course, several of these ingredients like the vinaigrette, dried cranberries, nuts and cheese can last you more than a week. I pan sear chicken tenderloins that I can use for this salad as well for topping baked potatoes or mac and cheese. I also make my favorite champagne vinaigrette to use for this salad and other simple salads we enjoy with dinners throughout the week.

All of the textures and flavors complement each other so well. You don’t hear too many people say they’re addicted to a salad, but I am definitely addicted to this one. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Love it so much!

Ingredients and Supplies

(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)

Ingredients:

• Chopped salad mixes (combination of kale, Brussels spouts, broccoli, etc.): most grocery stores offer a great variety of these now. Hearty greens like these hold up well to vinaigrette without wilting too quickly. You can swap for a spinach or arugula mix if desired.
• Large pear: adds sweetness and juiciness, balancing the sharpness of onion and vinaigrette. The soft texture contrasts with the crunchy nuts and greens too. Apple, grapes or even mandarin orange slices work well.
• Red onion: provides a sharp, pungent bite that cuts through the richness of cheese and nuts. It also enhances flavor complexity. You could substitute green onion, shallot or pickled onions for milder flavor.
• Cherry tomatoes: gives freshness, acidity, and color, brightening the flavor profile of the salad. You could substitute with any tomato, roasted red peppers or cucumber for freshness.
• Champagne Vinaigrette: ties all the ingredients together with light acidity and a touch of sweetness. Champagne vinegar is mild, so it enhances without overwhelming. You could prep my homemade version or you can buy a store-bought dressing, like Girard’s Light Champagne Vinaigrette, which is also very good and can be found at most grocery stores.
• Boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (cooked): follow my quick and easy guide to pan searing the perfect chicken tenderloins every time. Or you can use rotisserie chicken, leftover grilled meat, chickpeas, or hard-boiled eggs in place of the chicken tenderloins.
• Dried cranberries: provide chewy texture and tart-sweet bursts, complementing the fresh pear and nuts. Dried cherries are a great substitute.
• Honey sesame cashews (from Trader Joe’s): deliver crunch, nuttiness, and sweetness. The sesame on these cashews adds a subtle earthy note. Any nut or seed mix could be used in this salad.
• Candied walnuts: bring crunch, nuttiness, and sweetness as well. They also deliver depth and richness. Any candied nut or seed could be used instead.
• Crumbled gorgonzola: brings creaminess, tang, and umami. Its sharp, salty flavor contrasts beautifully with the fruit and nuts. You could use blue cheese, feta or goat cheese as a substitute.

Supplies:

• Medium mixing bowl

Keep it Fresh

Let me walk you through all the yumminess I toss into it:

Chopped salad greens are key. I think a variety of chopped greens, especially the crunchy ones like kale, brussels sprouts and broccoli combined with veggies like cabbage and carrots make for such a great base to build an awesome salad on.

I’m hooked on the chopped salad kits that are sold in bags in the produce section of most grocery stores. They’re such a convenient way to get a good variety of chopped greens and veggies without having to spend a lot of time washing and chopping and dicing. I find them on sale at the store quite often so I’ll stock up on as many as I think I can eat before they reach their “best by” date.

Because I prefer all of my other tasty additions and vinaigrette much better, I usually just use the salad portion of the kit.

I can usually get two salads out of one bag and below are three of my favorite varieties that I find at Target or Tom Thumb. I also love the Cruciferous Crunch Mix from Trader Joe’s.

The Dressing!

My absolute favorite vinaigrette right now is this Champagne Pear Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola from Trader Joe’s. You can find it in the refrigerated produce section by the salad mixes. For a pre-made vinaigrette, it’s so impressive. It tastes homemade and has just the right flavor to add to the salad without overbearing it. It’s a lighter vinaigrette that’s lower in calories, fat and sugar compared to a lot of other pre-made vinaigrettes out there!

If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, Girard’s has a light champagne vinaigrette that’s tasty too. OR you could make your own! 🙂

Make the Chicken Ahead

Okay, so you know which greens to get and which vinaigrette to dress the salad with, so now you need your protein. I prefer chicken, but you could, of course, prep any protein to put in the salad throughout the week. Beef, shrimp, salmon or just avocado would be great substitutes for the chicken.

I just pick up a 1 pound package of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins at the beginning of the week and pan-sear them all to store in the refrigerator so I can easily chop up two of the tenderloins each time I want to make this salad.

Here are my tips for pan-searing the chicken tenderloins to perfection:

• Generously salt and pepper tops of the tenderloins before transferring them, seasoned side down, to a medium-heated skillet that’s been drizzled with a little olive oil.
• Season the other sides of the tenderloins with salt and pepper while the first sides sear.
• Sear for about 3 minutes or until nicely browned before flipping and searing for another 3 minutes on the other side.
• Cover the pan with a lid and let continue to cook for another 2 minutes to add steam/moisture and insure they’re cooked all the way through without drying out.

Greens, check! Vinaigrette, check! Chicken, check!

Now gather all the other goodness that goes into the salad and get yourself a medium-sized mixing bowl. I love mixing and eating my salad out of the same bowl (less dishes = happy me!).

If you’re preparing the salad to take with you to work or you’re on the ball and prepping several salads in advance for the week, you could layer everything in a container with a lid like this…

From Fruits to Nuts

Since the vinaigrette has pear flavor to it, chopped fresh pear compliments it so well, but I’ll also use chopped apple just as often.

I use gorgonzola cheese most often because there are little bits of gorgonzola in the vinaigrette, but I also find blue cheese and feta cheese to be just as tasty.

For the nuts, I’m obsessed with Trader Joe’s sesame honey cashews and lightly candied walnuts. The slight sweetness and awesome crunch of both of these nuts compliment the salad so well. I’ll crush the nuts a bit before mixing them in to give the salad a little more nut coverage. I’ll sometimes use pistachios in place of or in addition to these nuts if I’m in the mood.

And then there’s chopped red onion, sliced cherry tomatoes and dried cranberries (I’ll sometimes use dried cherries).

Like I said, I’ll keep everything stocked and handy so I can just grab and toss it all together in the mixing bowl. It seriously takes me just 5 minutes to prep and it’s so darn delicious!

How to Make My Favorite 5-Minute Salad

• Place chopped greens, pear, red onion and tomatoes in a medium mixing bowl.
• Toss in vinaigrette.

• Add remaining ingredients.

• Toss again until everything is evenly coated and combined. Enjoy!

If you make my Favorite Lunch Salad, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

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