Salad recipes

This is my copycat of the popular salad sold at McDonald's. It's the only thing I eat off their menu and I was anxious to replicate it at home.

Skip the expensive store-bought overly salty salad dressing mix and make your own using ingredients found in most pantries. Perfect for a low-salt ranch dressing.

Originating from the Castle Restaurant, Olean, NY, this house salad dressing was particularly famous. The restaurant closed in the mid-1980's. The recipe was created by Chef Anthony Quirino Lentola in the 1950's.

A cold seven bean and barley salad tossed with creamy avocado, cucumber, pimentos, and a simple herb vinaigrette. High-protein, plant-based, and served chilled.

Cold macaroni and pea salad with sweet red peppers, dill pickles, and pimentos in a creamy mayo dressing. Classic potluck side dish that's better the next day.

A completely fat-free, sugar-free, low-fat, low calorie French-style salad dressing that's creamy, thick and packed with flavor.

A tangy, extra-creamy coleslaw dressing made with mayo, half-and-half, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice tossed with finely shredded cabbage. Ten minutes, no cooking, feeds a crowd.

Ranch oyster cracker mix with fish crackers, nuts, dill, lemon pepper, and garlic, baked low and slow until crispy. A classic party snack ready in 30 minutes that stores well in an airtight container.

Spice-rubbed grilled salmon with chili, cumin, allspice, and paprika, served over organic field greens tossed in a smoky tomato-balsamic vinaigrette. A restaurant-quality dinner in 45 minutes.

Flank steak and greens braised with a Cajun-leaning spice blend, browned flour roux, and a quart of mixed greens. The Louisiana-style one-pot beef-and-rice dinner with deep, smoky depth.

Spinach, blue cheese, pecan, and cranberry wraps: a tangy cream cheese spread studded with blue cheese, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries, rolled with crisp apple and baby spinach. A no-cook salad in a tortilla.

This is a great dinner side dish to accompany almost any kind of meat, poultry, or fish. Or serve for lunch with a salad.

Cold tuna noodle salad with mayo, hot sauce, garlic powder, oregano, and chopped scallions. A spicy, no-cook lunch for two using pantry staples.