Jennifer Garner & Jennifer Aniston Summer Salad Showdown

There's nothing better than a fresh summer salad, preferably with veggies just picked from the garden or from the farmers market. But even if you're using store-bought salad ingredients, it's still gonna be delicious. With summer salad season upon us, we decided it was high time to find a go-to combo to take us through the season.

Two of our favorite salad celebs are the Jens: Garner and Aniston. Last summer was all about the Jennifer Aniston salad (and which recipe was really her favorite) and Jennifer Garner's "big fat salad," which she says she has every day, recently dropped. But which one reigns supreme? Lettuce show you how to make both so you can decide for yourself which Jen wins the gold (er, green) medal.

Related: 30 Best Summer Salad Recipes

Round One: Jennifer Garner's Salad Recipe

Jennifer Garner's go-to salad is tasty and filling: tender baby greens mixed with raw green beans, broccoli, roasted sweet potato, walnuts, cheese and a variety of hearty veggies including cauliflower, edamame and zucchini.

• 4oz Little Leaf Farms Baby Spring Mix

• 1 cup green beans, chopped

• 1 cup broccoli, chopped

• 1 cup hearty veggies of your choice (cauliflower, edamame, zucchini, etc.)

• 1 sweet potato, diced and cooked in an air fryer or roasted in the oven

• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or other nut)

• ½ cup cubed cheese (we used Asiago)

• Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

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What does Jennifer Garner's salad taste like?

Jennifer Garner’s salad is pretty filling due to the addition of broccoli, walnuts, sweet potato and cauliflower (I picked cauliflower as my hearty veggie). I added Asiago cheese to this one, which added a nice creamy richness.

The recipe called for the baby lettuce blend which is so pretty with its shades of purple and light green. It’s a beautiful jewel-toned salad, but I feel this one is probably better for the later summer months because it’s a little bit more filling and uses late-season ingredients like green beans and sweet potato.

I wasn't used to raw green beans in a salad, but I have to say I really loved the combination of them alongside the creamy roasted sweet potato and crunchy bits of cauliflower. Garner’s salad kept me full for hours. One note: if you don’t love raw cruciferous vegetables or green beans (or maybe your stomach doesn’t like them), you can blanch them.

The next time I make this one, I’m going to toast the nuts since toasted nuts are always superior to raw. I dressed this one with oil and red wine vinegar, flaky salt and fresh cracked pepper, but I think Italian dressing or something with French herbs in it would be great on this salad.

Related: Jennifer Garner Shares Honest Take on Being a Celebrity Parent

Round Two: Jennifer Aniston's Recipe

Jennifer Aniston's salad is a quintessential summer salad. The alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds and avocado give this one total SoCal vibes. Some diced avocado, Kalamata olives, sautéed mushrooms and chopped hard-boiled eggs make it more substantial.

• 4oz Little Leaf Farms Sweet Baby Butter Leaf

• ½ cup sliced mushrooms, sautéed until tender

• ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes

• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts

• 1 avocado, diced

• ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives

• ½ cup cheese (Jennifer uses Parmesan, pecorino or feta—or sometimes all three!)

• ½ cup sliced almonds

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

• 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

• Drizzle oil and vinegar, lemon vinaigrette or ranch

What does Jennifer Aniston's salad taste like?

Jennifer Aniston’s salad has more ingredients and more prep work, but it’s 100% worth it. The tender baby lettuce and the creamy avocado stand are delicious with the Parmesan, olives and mushrooms. The sunflower seeds provided a much-needed crunch and the hard-boiled egg addition is giving Cobb salad vibes.

I dressed this one with a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar but I think the suggested ranch would also be delicious, as would a simple lemon vinaigrette.

Any cheese is, of course, amazing in a salad but the next time I make this I’m going to grab my favorite cheese from Trader Joe’s which is the shaved Parmesan, Romano and Asiago blend.

Alfalfa sprouts are easy to find at the store but most people overlook them (perhaps because they don’t know what to do with them). They’re delicious mixed into Aniston’s salad and add a fun texture to the bowl of greens. I will definitely be putting the rest of my sprouts to good use on my avocado toast later this week. The flavor of the sprouts is strong (although delicious), so if you're not into their nutty, grassy flavor you can skip them.

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Related: Jennifer Aniston Disguises Herself to Shop Her New Haircare Line

The Verdict

For me, Jennifer Aniston's salad was the clear winner. It's the perfect summer salad and I really liked the variety of colors and textures—and how easy it was to pull together. Even though there were slightly more ingredients in this one, the combination was top-notch and I could eat this every day during the summer. It's that perfect.

Next: ‘I’ve Been Eating Wendy’s Strawberry Summer Salad on Repeat, So I Created an Easy Copycat Version at Home'