The Pioneer Woman's Eat Your Greens Salad Recipe Is Hella Healthy Salads Lunch Side Dishes

Needing a new salad recipe for a family get-together, I was excited to see this "Eat Your Greens Salad" on a new episode of The Pioneer Woman. Talk about a healthy salad! It's made with fresh spinach, kale and romaine lettuce (the spinach is in the salad dressing), hummus, pesto, fresh basil, green peas, avocado. cucumber and green onions. Ree adds a finely diced green bell pepper, too, but I chose to omit that. The dressing tastes fresh and is loaded with flavor. The Pecorino Romano cheese adds some saltiness and even more flavor. I will be making this salad again.

This is Ree's favorite salad to serve at a barbecue. "You don’t have to stick to these exact ingredients – anything that is green can go in," she writes on the Food Network website. "Switch things up with asparagus, Granny Smith apples or anything else you fancy – as long as it’s green!"

I made the dressing the night before and stored it in the refrigerator. About an hour before serving, I let it come to room temperature to loosen up. You can use store-bought pesto of homemade pesto. Enjoy!

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/4 cup hummus
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pesto (I used my homemade pesto recipe)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

Salad

• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 mini cucumbers, chopped
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, finely diced (I omitted this)

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. If making ahead of time, pour the dressing into an airtight container and refrigerate.
3. To make the salad, combine all the ingredients in a large salad bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat.
4. Top with additional Pecorino Romano. Serve immediately.

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