10 Easy Tricks To Make Your Bagged Salad Taste So Much Better

From Woman's Day

Bagged salad is a super easy thing to grab off the shelf at the supermarket if you're looking to incorporate more greens into your diet. But when you get back home and you don't have much more than a bag of leaves it can feel a little uninspired. To learn how to make your bagged salad taste better, Woman's Day spoke to to Kate Merker, the Chief Food Director at a number of Hearst magazines, who shared some ideas that will take your bagged salad to the next level. Of course, Merker recommends throwing in whatever veggies you have to your salad to make it more delicious and nutritious, but if you want something that feels like you've achieved Sweetgreen-level salads from your bagged salad starter, here's what she recommends.

If you want a crunch and some sweetness: sunflower seeds and dried cranberries

If you want something heartier: Crispy onions, blue cheese, and tomatoes

If you want something Mediterranean- inspired: Pita chips, artichoke hearts, and olives

If you want some Tex-Mex: Tortilla chips, cilantro, and avocado

If you're looking for adventurous flavors: Golden raisins, feta, and dill

If you want simple, but exciting: Toasted sliced almonds and sliced scallion

If you want something classic: Apples, walnuts, and parmesan

If you want to kick it up a notch: White beans, salami, and roasted red peppers

If you want a trip to Flavortown: Pepitas, chickpeas, and red onions

If you want to spice up your life: Mixed herbs — chives, basil, and dill

With each of these fun ways to take your bagged salad to the next level, Kate tried to stay simple and make sure prep was minimal. After all, if you're getting a bagged salad you probably don't want to be putting in too much extra leg work. And there's no shame in that! You don't have to work too hard to have a super tasty salad at your fingertips. You can avoid all the chopping and slicing and still end up with a salad that's nutritious and tasty enough to want to make again.

And if you're worried about the greens going bad when you can't use the whole bag of salad, no need to fear. This genius trick on Marie Saba's Instagram, could make save the day.

It's So. Freaking. Simple. Just add a paper towel, and all that pesky moisture that destroys your fresh lettuce is absorbed—voila!—you can enjoy your bagged greens for much longer.

Between keeping your bagged salad greens fresh for longer with this crafty trick, and all of these tasty and easy combinations of ingredients to amp things up, boring bagged salads will be a thing of the past, and you'll be the new sheriff of Saladtown.

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