The High-Protein Salad I Make on Repeat

My teenage daughter and I are salad people. Not just light starter salads but salads that eat like a meal, with complex textures and flavors and a good dose of satisfying protein. The best salads can stand on their own for lunch or dinner but are easy to make, with extra points if the dressing is made in the same bowl as the salad itself.

That's a lot to ask of a relatively simple dish made mostly of lettuce. But this Chopped Power Salad with Chicken hits all the marks. Fresh greens, cucumbers and sunflower seeds for crunch, juicy tomatoes, feta cheese for tang, plus onion and pepperoncini for zing. Shredded chicken adds protein to this winning salad, and a bowlful offers a whopping 49 grams of protein (most of what you'll need in a day!) as well as some fiber, potassium and vitamin A. As a bonus, this veggie-packed salad contains antioxidant-rich produce like spinach and tomatoes, both of which have anti-inflammatory benefits.

As a food historian, it reminds me of salmagundi—a composed salad that can be traced definitively to 16th-century England and was also popular in Colonial America. Salmagundi was an elaborate salad, arranged artfully and served as a main course. In high-end homes during the 17th and 18th centuries, salmagundi was often made from leftovers from the elaborate dinners of the day before. Like the Chopped Power Salad with Chicken, a good salmagundi features greens, fresh vegetables, roasted meat and something pickled. As salmagundi evolved, more things made it into the mix: fruit, hard-boiled eggs, nuts and even edible flowers.

Without a specific recipe, salmagundi allowed cooks to make the most of what they had on hand or left over. Salmagundi dressing was similar to my favorite salad dressing, too: oil, vinegar or citrus juice and spices. In a time when food production required a lot of labor, nothing was wasted, and salmagundi allowed cooks to artfully stretch meals into something fresh and tasty the second time around.

Chopped Power Salad with Chicken boasts similar credentials. It's made up of items I usually have in my fridge, allowing me to throw it together quickly. It's also adaptable enough to allow me to swap out ingredients with whatever else I have on hand. I might throw in kale if I don't have spinach, and I often add radishes because I love their spicy bite. Roasted chickpeas are an amazing addition for crunch, but pepitas work well too, while adding some magnesium and iron to the mix. Walnuts are another healthy stand-in, delivering omega-3 fatty acids for heart health. Since I always have pickled red onions in my fridge, I find that really punches the salad up, too, whether used as a substitute for the chopped onion or alongside it.

To make it interesting, I'll make it with seared salmon or tuna instead of chicken if I happen to have them around. If you avoid eating meat, hard-boiled eggs or tofu are an easy protein swap for the chicken. I've even been known to use queso fresco in place of feta cheese—it's less salty and perfect for anyone watching their sodium intake.

That's not to say the salad isn't perfect as it was created, because it is. It's the dressing that really makes the otherwise-simple ingredients in the salad's original form spectacular —specifically the grated garlic. Grating fresh garlic right into the bowl may seem like it would be too intense, but tempered with lemon juice and olive oil it adds depth of flavor that is next-level. The oregano is a match made in heaven, giving the other ingredients a Mediterranean vibe that's both light and refreshing but also able to stand up to whatever substitutions you might dream up.

Given that the original salad doesn't call for anything beyond what I usually have on hand, if I have time, I prep the ingredients and refrigerate them in separate glass containers so anyone in the family can throw together this nutritious meal any time they like. The best part is they can add more of one ingredient and less of another depending on their taste and it will still be flavorful and texturally interesting.

Even when time is elusive and I don't get to pre-prep, this salad is easy enough to just throw together. So, for my family, this has been the perfect "starter salad" in a different sense of the word: because it's so easy to make without rooting around for special ingredients, it's been perfect for introducing my family to learning how to make salads that eat like a meal—even my salad-averse husband has become inspired. Chopped Power Salad with Chicken has allowed my family to experiment with healthy ingredients and flavors with the comfort of knowing this base recipe is a solid foundation for further creativity.