A fresh, colorful Southern Garden Salad is the perfect everyday side dish. Loaded with fresh tomatoes, garden cucumbers, red onion, radishes and sunflower seeds, it’s right for every night of the week. Homemade croutons and a simple, tangy Lemon Parmesan vinaigrette only make it better!
Why You’ll Love This Salad Recipe
- Everybody needs an easy go-to side dish recipe that goes with absolutely everything and is 100% delish! House salad anyone?
- If you’re looking for a signature salad to rock at all the cookouts this season, this is it!
- The homemade croutons and lemon parm vinaigrette make this southern garden salad much more than your average bowl of leafy greens, but both are SO easy and definitely worth it to make.
- The ingredients are seasonal and easily accessible from your own garden or farmer’s market.
- This salad is a dream to throw together while your favorite casserole bakes or your main dish sizzles on the grill.
- Add sliced steak or chicken to easily turn this side salad into a full meal.
What Is In A Garden Salad?
A garden salad is always a summer favorite around here. It’s any leafy green salad made with chopped vegetables easily grown in a backyard garden or picked up at your local farmer’s market. Toss it with a simple salad dressing, and you’re good to go. It’s all about seasonal eating at its best!
There aren’t any “rules” for making a garden salad, meaning there is no “original” or “classic” version to refer to. You can really make it your own by using fresh garden vegetables indicative of your area and focusing on what your family likes.
The ingredients that seem to show up most often are tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. I’m using butter lettuce in this recipe because I really like it’s tender, velvety leaves. But iceberg and romaine with their crunchy freshness are frequent go-tos!
Recipe Ingredients & Overview
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- butter lettuce
- red & yellow tomatoes
- red onion
- cucumber
- radishes
- sunflower seeds
- ciabatta bread (for croutons)
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- wedge of parmesan cheese
- minced garlic
- Italian seasoning
- red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper
Recipe Additions & Substitutions: Instead of butter lettuce, use iceberg or romaine or a mix of any of those 3 lettuces to add more crisp lettuce crunch.
Want more garden vegetables? Add shredded carrots or diced bell peppers (red, green or yellow) to this salad.
For a little protein, add chopped bacon or a couple of chopped boiled eggs. This makes a great lunch salad!
Sourdough and French baguettes also make croutons. The key is to use a bread with a thick, crusty outside and soft inside.
How To Make A Fresh Garden Salad
Homemade Croutons
- Arrange cubed bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil, and place in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes to dry out and brown. Toss half way through the cooking time. Remove from oven and set aside.
Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette
- Add olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt to a food processor and blend until the ingredients are emulsified. (You can also shake in a jar or whisk in small bowl.)
Garden Salad
- Toss lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, radishes and sunflower seeds together. Pour dressing over salad. Toss again. Top with croutons and serve.
Success Tips
- In order for your bread cubes to dry out properly when making croutons, make sure they are in a single layer on the baking sheet with room in between the cubes so the heat can circulate and moisture can escape.
- It really is important to finely grate your own Parmesan for the best salad dressing. The powdered stuff won’t really combine with the other ingredients and will separate later.
- Let your guests dress their own salad for a longer lasting salad.
What To Eat With A Southern Garden Salad
This easy salad recipe is the perfect side dish for just about anything! Try it with:
- Tender Roasted Buttermilk Chicken
- Cherry Cola BBQ Pulled Pork
- Easy White Ravioli Casserole
- Meat & Potatoes Ranch Au Gratin
- Louisiana Dirty Rice
Take It To A Cookout Or Potluck
This salad is amazing with burgers and all your grilling favorites. To make sure it stays crisp and fresh, toss and dress your salad when you arrive. Add croutons right before serving. Check out Favorite Summer Cookout Salads for more!
Here are a few of my MUST-HAVES for making, taking and keeping your salad fresh when serving it out of doors!
More Fresh Salad Recipes To Love
- Green Salad with Creamy Mayo Vinaigrette
- Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Blueberry Spinach Salad
- 7 Layer Pea Salad
- Hot Bacon Dressing & Spinach Salad
Ingredients
Homemade Croutons
- 6 ounce loaf of ciabatta bread cubed
- ¼ cup olive oil
Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Garden Salad
- 1 head butter lettuce chopped
- 1 cup cucumber thinly sliced & halved
- ½ cup red cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup yellow cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup radishes thinly sliced
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
Instructions
Homemade Croutons
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Arrange cubed bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil, and place in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes to dry out and brown. Toss half way through the cooking time. Remove from oven and set aside.
Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette
- Add olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt to a food processor and blend until the ingredients are emulsified. (You can also shake in a jar or whisk in small bowl.)
Garden Salad
- Toss lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, radishes and sunflower seeds together. Pour dressing over salad. Toss again. Top with croutons and serve.
Video
Notes
- In order for your bread cubes to dry out properly when making croutons, make sure they are in a single layer on the baking sheet with room in between the cubes so the heat can circulate and moisture can escape.
- It really is important to finely grate your own Parmesan for the best salad dressing. The powdered stuff won’t really combine with the other ingredients and will separate later.
- Let your guests dress their own salad for a longer lasting salad.
Nutrition
This salad sounds so good and looks gorgeous! Your photos are always awesome!
Hi, Mary! Thank you so very much!! That really makes my day! I hope this little recipe comes in handy for you all summer!