Looking for salad topping ideas? Here are lots of simple, easy salad toppings. Use them to add nutrients and flavor and to make your meals more exciting!
*Originally published April 2012. Updated July 2024*
Hi friends –
Are you looking for some healthy salad topping ideas? Perhaps you’re in a bit of a salad rut? You’ve come to the right place!
When it comes to what to put in a salad, I feel like there are two kinds of people – those who love the greens and those who love the salad toppings. This post was inspired by a salad I ate when I was just out of college. It was nothing fancy – just bed of mixed greens topped with asparagus, corn, hard-boiled egg, bacon, red onions, tomatoes, and feta. I ate it. I went home. And I couldn’t get it out of my head.
After thinking about it, I decided it was because the toppings were out of the ordinary for me. When I first started making salads for myself, I quickly fell into a pattern of just adding carrots, red peppers, red onion, and tomato. In the summer, I would add strawberries and apples and occasionally I would add some roasted sweet potatoes.
I decided that I probably wasn’t the only one to ever fall into a salad rut so I put together this list of topping ideas.
What To Put In A Salad
What it really comes down to then is what to put in salad, right? If you’re looking for a helpful breakdown ofo how to build a healthy salad, you’ll love this post: What To Put In A Salad. It gives you all sorts of ideas for salad bases, healthy proteins, carbs and fats to add to your salad to keep you full and satisfied.
If you’re looking for the ultimate list of salad topping ideas, you’re in the right place here! There are hundreds of healthy salad toppings. You can put almost anything over a bed of leafy greens and call it a salad. And we all know the more traditional salad toppers like veggies, grilled meat and cheese.
But what about things like fruit, beans, seeds and fresh herbs? Have you tried them?
To help break you out of your boring salad rut, I made a list of salad toppings…some traditional…and some you might not have thought of! Maybe it will inspire you to spice up your salad!
Healthy Salad Topping Ideas List
Popular Salad Toppings – Vegetables
If you tend to only use raw vegetables, try changing things up at using roasted, grilled, marinated or pickled vegetables for variety!
- Asparagus
- Roasted Beets
- Canned artichoke hearts
- Cucumbers
- Peppers
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Peas
- Red onion
- Celery
- Raw mushrooms
- Roasted sweet potato
- Radishes
- Olives
- Corn
- Kimchi
- Cabbage
- Brussel’s sprouts- roasted or shredded
- Jicama
Easy Salad Toppings – Fruit
You can add fruit to salad in a variety of ways. Try it thinly sliced, segmented or blended into dressings!
- Pears
- Peaches
- Grapes
- Mandarin oranges
- Apples
- Avocado
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Tomatoes
- Pomegranate arils
Don’t forget about dried fruit like raisins, Craisins, cherries, blueberries, mango, etc
Salad Toppings Seeds & Nuts
A great way to add some healthy fats and protein! Try them raw, roasted, candied, toasted or slivered!
- Pepitas
- Sunflower seeds
- Hemp hearts & chia seeds (try adding them to dressing or just sprinkle some over the top
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Peanuts
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
Protein Salad Toppings
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Poached or soft-boiled eggs – great for a breakfast salad!
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Crab cakes
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Steak
- Ham
- Bacon
- Chicken sausage
Adding leftover proteins to a salad is a great way to repurpose leftovers!
Vegetarian Protein Salad Toppings Ideas
Vegetarian protein sources are a great way to add protein and fiber to your salads.
- Black beans
- Chickpeas
- Great northern beans
- Kidney beans
- Edamame
- Tofu
- Tempeh
Whole Grain Salad Toppings
If you’re tired of lettuce-based salads, try making a grain-based salad with one of these or just add some to your regular salad:
- Couscous
- Farro
- Quinoa
- Wheatberries
- Barley
- Rice
- Wild rice
- Rice noodles
Cheese Salad Toppings Ideas
Cheese is an easy way to add tons of flavor to a salad. Try it crumbled, sliced, cubed or grated. Or try grating into piles on a baking sheet and baking to make some crunchy crisps!
- Goat cheese
- Feta
- Mozzarella
- Parmesan
- Gorgonzola
- Gouda
- Halloumi
Fresh Herb Salad Toppings
Another great way to add flavor. Use them in your dressings, leave them whole, add to a marinade or chop and toss with a mix of ingredients before adding to the salad:
- Basil
- Mint
- Chives
- Dill
- Parsley
- Cilantro
Crunchy Salad Topping Ideas
Every good salad needs a little crunch in my opinion! Try:
- Crumbled tortilla chips or tortilla strips
- Croutons
- Crispy onions
- Wonton strips
- Roasted edamame or fava beans
- Roasted chickpeas
Need a new dressing idea? Try:
- Salsa
- Hummus
- Salsa mixed with plain yogurt
- Guacamole
- Pureed fruit
FAQs for Healthy Salad Topping Ideas
What are the best salad toppings Costco sells?
Costco has tons of great options to put on salads. First of all, if you like to keep your toppings separate from your salad until you’re ready to eat it, they have these great Bentgo glass salad containers. They have tons of dried fruit and nuts and seeds which makes a great addition to salads.
They also have a lot of Taylor Farms chopped salad kits. These can be a great starting point because they’re prepped and ready to go. You can skip the dressing packet and use your favorite and also add meat, eggs, beans etc to boost the amount of protein.
Also check out things like:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Rotisserie chicken
- Cooked grilled chicken strips
- Guacamole cups and hummus (make a great dressing!)
- Kimchi
- Chicken sausage
What are the best salad toppings Walmart sells?
Walmart has a great grocery section and they sell a lot of packaged salad topping options. Note that things like this dried cranberry and pecan salad topper are a great combo, but they often add extra oil, sugar and salt. You can make your own salad topper mixes with a combination of dried fruit, nuts and seeds.
They also have a large selection of things like croutons, bacon bits and dressings. I always encourage people to give homemade a try on occasion. It’s super easy to make your own salad dressing and homemade croutons. But I’m also a realist and use plenty of store-bought options in my own daily life.
Should I buy the salad toppings McCormick sells?
McCormick salad toppins are an ok option, but if the crunch factor is what you’re after, I think you’re better off just adding a handful of your favorite nuts or seeds.
What are the best salad topping combinations?
This definitely depends on your taste preferences but I love a sweet and spicy combination – candied nuts with a spicy dressing or sweet and salty like dried fruit and your favorite cheese.
What to add to salad to make it better?
From a nutritional standpoint, I always recommend adding protein, healthy fats and fiber. Adding some or all of these will help make your salads more filling and satisfying and help you stay full longer.
What are the best summer salad toppings?
Fruit is one of my favorite summer toppings. Berries are a great addition when they’re in season. Sweet corn, radishes or any grilled vegetables are also a fun way to change things up in the summer months.
Need more salad topping ideas? Check out these posts:
- 25 Dinner Salad Ideas
- 7 Easy Salads for Summer
- 19 Salad Recipes for Lunch or Dinner
- Strawberry Chicken Power Salad
- Steak Cobb Salad
And if you typically pack salads for lunch and want some new ideas, here are 50 Packable Lunch Ideas!
What are your favorite salad toppings?? Anything missing from my list?
–Lindsay–
Get my free Table Talk email series where I share bite-sized nutrition information about carbs, protein, and fat, plus bonus information about snacks and sugar!
What a list! I could make a different salad for the rest of my life! I think my first salad would be with some hard-boiled eggs, quinoa, sunflower seeds, tuna, mandarin oranges, pine nuts and homemade croutons. It’s a weird combo but I’m excited to try it!
I recently discovered green peas and baby corn make great salad toppings!
salmon berries nutsnutsnuts 🙂
My favorite topping is hummus…it just coats everything so nicely and makes for a creamy, delicious “dressing.” Avocado does the same thing. 🙂
I’m pretty sure all of my salads are just random concoctions of whatever happened to be on sale that found its way into my fridge. The past few nights I’ve put sweet potato fries on ’em!
I love hummus and avocado as non-traditional type dressings. I also enjoy pumpkin and sunflower seeds in my salad.
I really like edamame in salads. And for dressing, I sometimes use a little lite ranch and a little BBQ sauce … like a BBQ chicken salad, minus the chicken! 😉
I love adding raw asparagus to salads! I’m also a big fan of fruit – blueberries, grapefruit segments, and mangos are all awesome toppers. Great post!
I love adding mango to my salad! It tastes great with some tomatoes, sweet pepper, avocado, cilantro, and black beans, salmon or chicken with a lime dressing!
Great post and kind of funny b/c in my post from last night, I mentioned that I typically use the same veggies for my grilled veg salads.
Ooh looks good! I totally stick to my basics, too. I love when restaurants give me new ideas. Your list does look pretty good to me. I always love beets in salads at restaurants, especially when paired with goat cheese!
Love pretty much ALL those toppings. Goat cheese, walnuts, fresh/dried fruit with a light vinaigrette or taco salads are my two all time faves.
These are some great ideas girl! I love roasted veggies on my salad. You barely even need any dressing when you have the olive oil from the veg!
I started putting pickles on my salads about a year ago and my life has never been the same, I can’t have a salad without pickles now!
I love pretty much everything on this list on my salads! One of my favorite toppers right now is shelled edamame. I love the flavor and the protein! Roasted vegetables add serious depth of flavor, and I like to use chia seeds for a little crunch. Fried eggs are also great on salads; I love it when the yolk breaks and makes its own dressing for the greens. 🙂
feta or goat cheese, eggs, and nuts are some of my favorite salad toppings! they’re filling, healthy, and add SO much flavor to any salad. love your ideas! now i am craving a salad for lunch. 🙂
This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy a huge salad, and with variety, different flavor combos and textures!! Yummmmmm!
So true – it’s easy to get into a rut with salads, I bet it would be fun to browse the aisles at WF with the specific goal of finding new things to add to a salad. They always have something new. 🙂 My favorite toppings recently have been pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, avocado, and dates!
I could eat a salad every day and be perfectly happy. I love butternut squash, goat cheese, dried cherries, shallots, and maple dijon vinegar.
Cold, leftover roast veggies.
On Sunday evenings, I usually roast a whole whack of veggies; sweet potato, asparagus, peppers, onions, whole heads of garlic. Whatever needs to be cleaned up! I add olive oil and salt, or a bit of pesto and sun dried tomato.
For the next few days I have marinated roast veggies to top my greens! No need for salad dressing.
Love your list and everybody’s responses. Thanks!
I’m totally with you… I stick with the same toppings and salads that appeal to me most when I’m out are salads that have toppings that I don’t usually use for my own creations!
I LOVE putting fun ingredients in my salads. Lately I’ve been obsessed with fruit in my salad with goat cheese or beans (or both) for protein. Or avocado as the protein source. YUMMMY. Even better as the fruits get more seasonal around here!
Love this post! I need salad inspiration as we all get stuck in “food ruts”. I put asparagus on nearly every salad I make, but I never have thought about sweet potatoes. I will now! 🙂
I love so many random toppings on my salads! The toppings make the salad for sure. 🙂
Mmm, I love pretty much any combination of fruits, nuts, and cheese!
I’m obsessed with salad! It’s so versatile and you have a great list. My favorite it one with goat cheese and fruit! So yummy
I love topping salads with tons of veggies (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, peas, garbanzo beans), but to get more of a meaty meal out of it, I like adding a black bean burger patty or boca patty, cutting it up and adding it on top! My dressing is always something light: mustard and hot sauce, or hot sauce straight up, or cottage cheese, pepper and hot sauce. ..can you tell I like hot sauce? 😉
Toasted pine nuts, black olive and avocado are my favs!
That is one awesome list! I will be printing it and making some salad creations 🙂
I LOVE salad with roasted veggies – asparagus, broccoli, sweet potato, brussels sprouts, etc.
The options are endless!
I need to mix up my salads asap! I have gotten so bored with them because I always put the same things on them haha. I also learned on pinterest that you can make hardboiled eggs in the oven! I’m definitely going to try some of these new toppings :). I also enjoy adding feta cheese to my salads!
These are some great ideas! I’m all about making sure there’s protein and healthy fat to make a salad a legitimate meal.
Edamame and Quinoa are my favorite salad toppings…so many great ideas in this post!
Cottage cheese and pineapple on top of my salad with a little bit of red wine vinegar!
I also like to add a veggie burger or fresh salsa with jalapenos on top sometimes. 🙂
Great list! I always have to change up the flavours and topping of my salad or else I’ll get bored. I love salads though because they are so versatile, you can have sweet/savoury, anything really. Have a great Tuesday!
Nice looking salad! I love mandarin oranges, strawberries, pineapple and whole grain pasta on my salad 🙂
Salad is awesome. I like spinach as the base with apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, tomato, and salmon or eggs for protein. I had one for lunch today!
great ideas! i’ve been in a salad-hate season of late, but i think i’ve just been bored. i just posted a recipe for cilantro chutney here http://thepajamachef.com/2012/04/11/best-burrito-bowls-ever/ that is fabulous on burrito bowls, and i bet it would be excellent as a nontraditional dressing too!
WHAT AN AMAZING POST! Salads are limitless 😀 So many creations to make 😀 I am sharing one tomorrow for WIAW 😉
I love how you started off this post 😀 We can ALWAYS talk salad talk 😉
My favourite topping is avocado HANDS DOWN
I find the best salads are made up of the most random toppings sometimes. I find I eat more of the salad when they’re topped with some sort of fruit, nut and crumbled cheese though! Love these topping ideas. 🙂
I love salads – so versatile. I turn a lot of my lunch/dinners into some type of salad. Best way to get your half plate of veggies. Lately I started getting into a scoop of cottage cheese and I like it with radish, cucumber and either edamame or salmon. I also really like hemp seeds or sunflower seeds on top of my salads. And making dressings out of hummus or salsa.
I love loading up my salads too. Today I had spinach/cucumber/carrots with sliced hard boiled egg and some spiced walnuts that I just made (http://lightlycrunchy.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/salad-days-cajun-spiced-walnuts/). Then I used just a simple balsamic dressing I made at home, packed it all up and brought it to work.
My favorite salad ever is marinated kale (overnight w evoo, splash of basalmic vinegar, pinch of kosher salt massaged together), then finely chopped raw fennel, chopped half an apple, broccoli, shredded carrots, salty sunflower seeds, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and blueberries with a hybrid half greek yogurt half salsa or avocado/salsa mixed dressing- and fresh cilantro. I make a huge batch, keep dressing seperate and its good for three days!
I love the combination of dried fruits and stinky cheeses on my salad. Another current favorite is a spoonful of my spicy nut and seed mix for just a little bit of crunch and flavor without using dressing.
i LOVE this post. i always get in salad ruts so then i never eat them. that salad u made looks awesome! i need to branch out toppings-wise…great post!
yes! branch out! it’s exciting 🙂
Great ideas! 🙂 Corn on salads is so, so good in the summer! I made the best salad yesterday for work with roasted asparagus, roasted cold sweet potatoes, roasted mushrooms, chicken, spinach, and a little bit of jalapeno hummus! Mmm.
A salad that I seriously need to recreate is from Cafe Valencia in Norwalk, CT. I go there on EVERY business trip bc I love their “Bonita Salad” SO much! It’s got avocado, mango, and roasted red pepper on spinach with balsamic. Heavenly!
that sounds amazing!
Palm hearts, small fresh mozzarella balls and fresh basil are some of my favorite things to have on my salads.
I also make a great crab, grapefruit, avocado, lettuce stack with a grapefruit vinaigrette. Amazing!
I love chopped up pepperoni in my green salad. Adds so much flavor!
I seem to be very adventurous with my salads! My latest turns the whole thing pink, beets or their sprouts, with some cranberries. I never realized just how sweet beets can be!
My all time favorite salad topping is PASTA! Also there is a pizza place near me that does a southwest salad with cilantro mixed in, and it’s so simple but adds SO much flavor.
They’re expensive but I love adding shelled roasted pistachios, they’re delicious when I want to splurge!REPLY
What a wonderful list of options. I needed some fresh ideas and put together a salad with roasted corn, tri-color tortilla strips, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) with chili lime dressing. Thank you for the inspiration!
that sounds delish!
No one has mentioned one of my favorite things… capers! If you haven’t tried them, you’re in for a treat.