The Complete Salad Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to 200+ Vibrant Dishes Using Greens, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, and More

by America's Test Kitchen

Discover your inner salad genie and rethink your idea of salad with this creative cookbook. With over 230 recipes, ingredient information, and tips, this is the only cookbook you'll ever need to make innovative, stunning, and satisfying salads.

What does a salad have the potential to be? An exciting and inviting mix of color, crunch, and Peaches over silken burrata; a hint of oil spiced with curry leaves on crunchy carrots flavored with lime and cilantro; Southwest Beef Salad with Cornbread Croutons. Explore the creative possibilities of main-dish and side salads, learn how to build and layer unique flavor combinations and embrace a wide range of ingredients from barley, octopus, and miso to more familiar salad greens, vegetables, and fruits. These ATK dishes will be the star of the table whether eaten by themselves or as part of a larger meal.

Our recipes feature simple but surprising leafy salads like Pea Green Salad with Warm Apricot-Pistachio Vinaigrette and more filling salads incorporating vegetables and proteins, such as Steak and Sweet Potato Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing. There are international offerings like Crispy Thai Eggplant Salad, and riffs on Give Caesar salad a twist by throwing the romaine on the grill for smoky char, or update your pasta salad with One-Pot Pasta Salad with Chicken (and tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, green beans, arugula, feta).

The book is dotted with information about unexpected salad ingredients like za'atar, dates, and persimmons. You'll also acquire ideas and inspiration to assemble your own dishes, with tips on mixing and matching greens with raw or cooked vegetables, nuts, fruits, and cheese. The Salad Bar chapter equips you with an assortment of dressings and toppings. This is the cookbook you pull out when you want inspiration for dinner, a feast for the eyes, and some salad for thought in the kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Food and Drink, Health

424 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2021

About the author

America's Test Kitchen, based in a brand new state-of-the-art 60,000 sq. ft. facility with over 15,000 sq. ft. of test kitchens and studio space, in Boston's Seaport District, is dedicated to finding the very best recipes for home cooks. Over 50 full-time (admittedly obsessive) test cooks spend their days testing recipes 30, 40, up to 100 times, tweaking every variable until they understand how and why recipes work. They also test cookware and supermarket ingredients so viewers can bypass marketing hype and buy the best quality products. As the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines, and publisher of more than one dozen cookbooks each year, America's Test Kitchen has earned the respect of the publishing industry, the culinary world, and millions of home cooks. America's Test Kitchen the television show launched in 2001, and the company added a second television program, Cook's Country, in 2008.

Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks!

Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.

Reviews

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am crazy about salads. This is by far the best salad cookbook I have ever seen. Stylish, flavorsome, and yet never pretentious and hoity toity! Every recipe is preceded by a brilliant paragraph headed why this recipe works. That enables you to take the principles behind the recipe and adjust them easily, or use them in other dishes.

For example, here is why this recipe works for celery root, celery, and apple slaw.

The word "slaw" brings cabbage to mind, but it can be delicious with other vegetables too. Celery root stays just as crisp as cabbage and brings distinctive texture and flavor to a slaw. Both salt and sugar help remove excess moisture from vegetables, with the added benefit of flavoring them, so we tossed shredded celery root with salt and sugar before draining it. Then we complemented its flavor with aboveground celery ribs and apples. A vinaigrette made with cider vinegar (to echo the apples) and Dijon mustard was a fresher, more flavorful alternative to a mayonnaise-based slaw dressing. To save time, we recommend treating the celery root before prepping the other ingredients. Use the large holes of a box grater or the shredding disk of a food processor to shred the celery root.

America's Test Kitchen is the ant's pants! The recipes must be written by e.e. cummings.

[John Nooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m old enough to admit to being a fan of ATK/Cook’s Illustrated from the beginning. While I have not prepared or enjoyed all of their recipes, I have learned so much about food preparation and ingredients. Even if I am not a fan of a particular recipe, I still learn things about food prep, ingredients, and techniques.

I own a dozen or so of the ATK/CI cookbooks and use them on a regular basis. Overall, I find most of the cookbooks to be “keepers”, to be books I return to again and again.

That said, I find the salad cookbook disappointing. Some of the recipes I recognize from their other books. (I mention this because if you own a lot of their books, this book is rather redundant. This is, however, their new trend: make a cook book of one topic culled from recipes over the past decade or two.)

If you are a long time follower of ATK/CI, this doesn’t feel like a book of brand new recipes.

Another fault of this book is recipe time. I get that when you’re cooking beef or chicken for a salad, prep time can be longer, as the protein can take awhile to cook. In this book, recipes often take a long time to prepare: meats need to be marinated, veggies need to be picked, grains need to be cooked and cooled.

I have made a few salads from this book, ones that have come together quickly. They have been good. As with most ATK/CI books, there are many good recipes. I’m b this book, I imagine many of the recipes may be good, however, the effort and timing do not make me want to rush out and try the recipes.

[Helen Connelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great cookbook for someone who loves salads, and is not an accomplished or intuitive cook. All salads are covered in this book and unlike some cookbooks, there is not a general overall bias towards one cuisine, ethnicity, or food group. All salads are well highlighted. I understand if others give this cookbook five stars, but my bar is very high, based on my love of salads and lifetime of cooking. Five stars would be a very unusual review for me for a cookbook. Good job!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recipes for salads of all kinds...so many recipes!!!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really useful and very numerous compilation of recipes for all kinds of salads, using many different types of ingredients. It has inspired me this summer as I have been looking for new combinations. While I am not one to follow a recipe word for word/ingredient for ingredient, it's been fun reading through and my copy is bristling with bookmarks.

In locating this book on Goodreads, I found that there is also a spiral-bound edition. That would have been my preference since it is easier to just have the page open on the counter or table without putting the book on my cookbook stand (a handy little item I've had for years), but since I purchased my copy on a whim at a non-profit bookstore event, that wasn't available. I'd give that edition five stars for the added convenience.

As to the non-profit bookstore: it is run by teens and young adults who are in a program to learn life and business skills at More than Words, a Boston-based organization that I know through my part-time job. They are taught skills like customer service, inventory management, order fulfillment, and many other things you need to know in running or working for a small business. They learn about responsibility, team work, and time management, among other important skills. Books can be purchased online here: https://shop.mtwyouth.org

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book!

America's Test Kitchen does it again with this hardcover book of salads. With beautiful, colorful pictures and a variety of recipes this is a great cook book! The recipes are broken down by type and include easy instructions and tips. I like being able to see what the finished salad should look like. I also didn't expect so many recipes. Some are standard veggies-and-greens salads and others are more unique or complex.

Overall an interesting find!

[Denise McQuillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most of the cookbooks put out by America's Test Kitchen, there are many awesome recipes in here that go beyond the stereotypical "salad." If you haven't used these books before, know that these are "step-by-step" so can seem a bit tedious as first.

However, I made the grilled Caesar Salad this past weekend, and it was fabulous! I will never use store bought Caesar dressing again, and a quick char on the romaine brought out serious flavor to something that can be fairly flavorless. I can't wait to make some of the 20+ others that I marked!

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

test Kitchen almost always does a great job in presenting a topic and this book is not an exception. There are probably not a load of salad books out there but this one is worthy, worthy, worthy. I always enjoy the beginning blurb - "why this salad works". The intro orientation to salad composition is remarkable. If you love salads and want to up your game this is a fantastic resource. Recommended.

[Lori Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the Kindle version of this book, which I think is the way to go with recipe books these days. My goal last summer was to add to the variety and appeal of my salads repertoire. This book fit the bill. I find that recipes that have been vetted in a test kitchen such as ATK are usually A cut above the rest, and that's been my experience with this book. It will stay on my bookshelf as a go-to reference.

[Andrea Bayhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for ways to make fresh and healthy in an incredible variety of delicious ways without a ton of snooty, expensive, hard-to-find ingredients, this is going to be your jam. There is also a section on homemade dressings (so easy!) and advice on how to build your own tasty salad using what you already have. And the photos are gorgeous and inviting. This is exactly what I want in a cookbook. Now I'm hungry.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many salads, so little time! This is my second ATK cookbook and like Cooking for Two, it did not disappoint. As my husband and I look at ways to decrease meat consumption for both ethical and health reasons, I have been looking to incorporate more salads into my meal planning. This will be the perfect way to do so. Ingredients range from simple/plain to pretty exotic, so I’m thrilled to be able to expand our palates as well. This cookbook is worth every penny!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm having to return this cook book back to the public library, but there were a few recipes I had to copy and put into my own binder of recipes: Nam Tok (Thai beef salad), German potato salad, arugula salad with fennel and shaved parmesan, Gado Gado (Indonesian) and a Mediterranean Turmeric Rice and Chicken Salad with herbs.

[Erianne]

I always appreciate ATK cookbooks because they allow me to step outside of my comfort zone while also educating me in the process. I only very recently started liking salads and this cookbook is great for sparking new inspiration and trying new things! The grilled vegetable orzo salad is top of the list.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book had some good recipes, it fell flat for me. As someone who loves eating giant salads, none of the salads gave me that vibe. I would’ve had to add or change ingredients to get the result I wanted. These make great side salads but most lacked protein.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salads galore everything from your basic spinach salads to pasta and potato salads. Excited to try the Gajarachi Koshimbir, Roasted Grape and Cauliflower salad, and the Crispy Eggplant Salad recipes.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book and extremely helpful.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many varied, delicious and intricate ways to enhance lettuce.

An amazing new world of the salad is opening up for me.

[Pattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've bought 3 copies of this book so far. It's just too wonderful not to share! Buy this book!!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious, healthy, easy to make salads. The photos make me want to try every recipe.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wide range of every kind of salad and detailed instructions on making every individual part. Can’t wait to try some.

[Joanne Pinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of luscious salad inspiration!

[Pattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trying to mix more veggies into your life? This book is for you!

[Kristi Clemow]

Some really awesome looking salads - haven't tried any yet so not rating the book

[Caylee Grey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I adore ATK and I love salads, but this book just didn't hit the spot for me.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of repeats

More so than other titles so a bit disappointed when there could be that many more aweso.e ATK recipes to be had

[corrynreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book but wish there were more unique recipes or ideas/things that are non traditional salads

[Denise Prewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love salads! I could eat them every day. This was an easy perusal of options that varied from lettuce to pasta to grains. Some I will never try, others will become life favorites. Fun read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never thought much of a cookbook for salads but this has been really helpful to get new ideas!

[Jurene]

Delicious recipes with a lot of variation. 10/10 reccomend!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of really good-looking recipes but can we not with all the onions in everything?

Shoutout to r/onionhate