Salad Bars: A Holiday Party Spread Your Guests Will Rave Over
When it comes to holiday dinner prep (Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, New Year), I’m all for finding creative cheats and hacks to make the process a lot easier. Because who wants to be stuck in the kitchen all day? One of my favorite ways to slash kitchen time is by replacing some time-consuming side dishes with a robust salad bar!
The 5 Components to an Amazing Holiday Salad Bar
When assembling your salad bar, group the following ingredients together. Have your guests start with the leafy greens for their base and work their way down the table, ending with dressings. Just think about a restaurant’s salad bar!
Leafy Greens
Spinach
Kale
Romaine lettuce
Butter lettuce
Collard greens
Or any of your favorite greens
Crunchy Veggies (Cut into bite-size pieces or shredded)
Cucumber
Carrots
Shredded Brussels sprouts
Shredded cabbage
Radishes
Bell pepper
Or any of your favorite raw veggies
Healthy Add-Ins (to boost flavor and texture)
Diced avocado
Cooked, cubed pumpkin
Cubed, baked sweet potato
Cherry tomatoes
Nuts
Seeds
Olives
Dried cherries
Proteins
Turkey
Chicken
Tuna salad
Salmon
Tofu
Hard-boiled eggs
Dressings
Set out 3-4 dressings so your guests have options!
Make Your Salad Bar Look Good
Always remember: We eat with our eyes first. Food almost always tastes better when it looks good … don’t you agree? So, when creating your DIY salad bar, think about the color and sizes of your serve ware. Use varying size bowls to create dimension and always set out serving tongs and spoons.
Diana here: My BFFs of 45 years are coming out to the farm in two weeks so we can celebrate ALL of our Birthdays (April, April, June & July) because we’ve all been really busy this Spring and can FINALLY get together. I plan on doing a Salad Bar for our lunch. I think it will be a lot of fun and I can use a number of things from the garden, too.
https://theflexiblechef.com/salad-bars-holiday-party-spread/