Wow! After yesterdays cookie craziness, I think it’s time we all eat a few salads. Did you miss our chewy chocolate chip cookie post? If you did check it out here!
When I think of summer a few things immediately come to my mind – freshly cut grass, the beach, ice cream, Hawaiian Tropic and SALADS. I don’t know if it’s because I have to be in a bathing suit, but I always crave green, crispy, cold salads. Summer comes early in Las Vegas, so we decided we should kick off summer early by throwing a salad bar party. The great thing about having a “bar” party is that your friends can customize their salads to their liking. And you don’t have to limit yourself to one big cobb or strawberry salad. You can have like 9 mini salads instead. We did this salad bar party during a play date and while it was chaotic with our littles running around, it was great. I provided all the makings for the salads and friends brought drinks, appetizers, bread and dessert. Like with our grilled cheese party here, butcher paper was used on top of the table. I love doing this because not only is it cute, but it makes clean up simple and quick!
You know what else this salad bar post is foreshadowing? A summer salad series! Over the next few weeks we are going to share yummy salad ideas, but also include homemade dressings that compliment each one perfectly.
Ideas for your salad bar party:
Lettuce:
- Romaine
- Spring Mix
- and/or Spinach
Veggies:
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Mushrooms
- Bell peppers
- Green onions
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes (yes, I know this is actually a fruit).
Fruits:
- Apples
- Pears
- Strawberries
- Avocado
Cheese:
- Mozzarella
- Goat cheese
- Feta
More Toppings:
- Hard-boiled egg
- Dried cranberries
- Sunflower seeds
- Homemade croutons. Try the Pinning Mamas!
- Candied walnuts or toasted almonds
- Corn
- Beans – black, kidney, or chick peas
Protein:
- Chicken
- Bacon
- Tuna
Dressings:
- A balsamic based dressing
- Ranch
- A nice homemade dressing
One thing I wish I would have done was written up some creative mix-ins to help with salad inspiration. For instance, you could have a Mexican salad with romaine, black beans, corn, chicken and ranch dressing. Or a strawberry salad with spring mix, strawberries, dried cranberries, feta cheese and chicken. There are so many combos!
You can’t really see the place cards we used in the photos, but below are some freebies for you to print out. Of course you don’t NEED place cards for your party, but it kind of brings the cute factor up a notch. I’ve included the ones we used as well as some blanks. I also have 2 5×7 blank cards so that you can write your salad inspirations down. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite salad?
Download the first set of place cards here
Download the second set of place cards here
Download the blank place cards hereDownload blank 5×7 cards hereKeep your eye out for our upcoming salad posts filled with delicious dressing recipes!
Don’t forget that sharing is caring – pin, pin, pin!
Julie Wattenberg says
Thank you so much for this post. I am doing a salad bar party this weekend that I signed up to do and didn’t know how to go about it. Now I have a clear path!