Weeknight Salad Ideas You Can Build in Five Minutes

A salad stops being a chore the moment the dressing is already good. These weeknight salad ideas take about five minutes each, use things you probably already have, and all of them lean on one bottle doing the heavy lifting.

That bottle is usually our Sesame Soy Vinaigrette. Chef Cindy made it in 2002 and has not changed the recipe since, which tells you most of what you need to know.

1. The Tomato Plate

Thick-sliced tomatoes, flaky salt, and a heavy pour of Sesame Soy Vinaigrette. That is the whole recipe. The dressing is thick and honey-rich enough that it sits on the slices instead of pooling on the plate.

2. Rotisserie Chicken and Greens

Pull a store-bought rotisserie chicken apart over a bowl of greens, add cucumber, dress with Sesame Soy. Dinner in four minutes with one thing to wash.

3. Grilled Vegetables, Dressed Hot

Whatever is in the drawer, cut, roasted or grilled, then tossed with Herb Vinaigrette while still hot. The heat opens up the dill, oregano, garlic and lemon. Eat it warm, or cold the next day.

4. Tomato and Bocconcini

Tomatoes, torn bocconcini, basil, and our Balsamic Vinaigrette, made with aged balsamic from Modena. It is smooth and candied with notes of cherry and prune, so it does a job plain vinegar cannot.

5. The Fridge-Clearing Grain Bowl

Leftover rice or quinoa, whatever vegetables are left, a fried egg on top, Sesame Soy over everything. This is the one that saves Thursday.

What Makes These Weeknight Salad Ideas Actually Work?

One good bottle, used generously. Most weeknight salads fail because the dressing is an afterthought, so the salad tastes lik

e homework. Our vinaigrettes come in 500 ml bottles, are handcrafted in small batches in Toronto, and are thick enough to coat properly instead of sliding to the bottom of the bowl.

Can You Use the Same Dressing as a Marinade?

Yes, and you should. Sesame Soy works as a fish marinade. Herb Vinaigrette is excellent on chicken. Marinate in the morning, cook at night, and the weeknight problem mostly solves itself.

Which One Should You Buy First?

Start with the Sesame Soy Vinaigrette if you want the one that built the brand. If you cannot choose, the Salad Lover’s Trio lets you pick any three dressings for $45.

Shop the Sesame Soy Vinaigrette and find out why one recipe has gone twenty years without a single change.