The Best Tossed Green Salad for a Crowd
Sometimes you need just a delicious, basic tossed green salad for a crowd! This salad is perfect for a dinner party, summer gathering, or potluck, and it’s super easy to make ahead. The simple homemade dressing adds so much fresh flavor and makes it truly special, yet hassle free!
Five Star Review…
“I made this salad for a party of 50. Wow, what a hit. Someone has already asked me to bring this salad to their dinner party. Thanks!”
– BETTIE
What makes this green salad special?
You know that one salad you can count on for any party, dinner, or potluck? This is it—fresh, crisp veggies tossed in a simple homemade dressing that everyone will want seconds of…and it’s super easy to make!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this amazing tossed green salad for a crowd:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Lettuce: Romaine is great but I also love this salad with iceberg lettuce OR a combination of both.
Green olives: You can also use small black olives.
Croutons: Homemade croutons or store-bought are just fine!
HOW TO MAKE A TOSSED GREEN SALAD FOR A CROWD: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
CASEY’S TIPS
- Dressing options: It’s nice to give your guests a few dressing options. This recipe is for an Italian-style dressing, but you can whip up this amazing ranch dressing in less than five minutes!
- Store bought dressing: If you are completely strapped for time, use a great bottled Italian dressing. We love Ken’s Steakhouse Light Northern Italian Dressing.
- Main course: Turn this salad into a healthy main dish by adding in your favorite proteins like chicken breast, white beans or shrimp.
- Red onion: If you want your red onion to be a little less strong in taste, soak the slices in ice water for about 10-15 minutes while you are getting the other ingredients together. The taste will be a lot more mild.
Casey’s Top Tip: Slice all of your veggies in about the same size — and not too small! Since you are making this salad for a crowd, you want to give guests the option to pick things out (there’s always that person, right?!).
SALAD PREP & STORAGE
Make Ahead: If you are making this salad more than a day ahead, prep all your ingredients and dressing, but store them separately. This is important so the salad stays crisp. When you are ready to serve, toss everything together.
I like prepping my lettuce (washing and completely drying) and storing it in a large container in the fridge.
Storing Leftovers: Leftover salad that has been dressed with the salad dressing does not keep well in the fridge. It will store OK, for 12-24 hours, tops. If you have a little leftover salad, you can just cover it with plastic wrap or put it in an air tight container and have it for lunch the next day! The croutons will get a bit soggy, though 🙂
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Additions: There are so many fun ingredients you can mix and match! Some ideas are:
- Veggies: Bell peppers, carrots, radishes and beets make great additions to mix in.
- Crunch: Sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds.
- Protein: Grilled chicken is so delish on this salad if you want to make it more of a meal and less of a side salad.
Substitutions: Here are some great swaps.
- Oil: Vegetable oil or canola oil will also work in place of the extra virgin olive oil.
- Red Onion: I love the flavor and crunch of the red onion, but you can swap it out with thinly sliced yellow onion, white onion or leave it out all together.
- Cheese: I love the shaved Parmesan with the Italian-style dressing, but you can also use mozzarella cheese. I tend to stay away from feta cheese and goat cheese when making this salad for a crowd, since some people tend to have strong aversions to these particular cheeses.
How to Serve
- Pizza night: Serve alongside pepperoni, veggie, or Margherita pizza for a classic house salad pairing.
- Pastas and casseroles: This salad is a perfect side dish for pasta and casserole dishes like my Instant Pot Chicken Penne, Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta or even this Chicken Broccoli Lasagna!
- Mini cups or jars: Portion salad small clear cups or mason jars for easy handheld servings at showers, BBQs, or graduation parties. Serve the dressing on the side.
- Serve with a toppings bar: Let guests add extra olives, croutons, shaved Parmesan, bacon bits, feta cheese, nuts, seeds, or sliced pepperoncini for personalization.
IF YOU NEED MORE POTLUCK AND PARTY SALADS…
If you need a perfect salad that is even more simple, try my Simple Arugula Salad or this Arugula and Spinach Salad! Both you can make in less than 5 minutes!!! Need a more hearty crowd-pleasing salad? You have to try this broccoli crunch salad and this classic pasta salad recipe!
Did you try this recipe?
Let us know your thoughts on this salad for a crowd by leaving a star rating below or sharing it on Instagram!
Thank you! ~ Casey
The Best Tossed Green Salad for a Crowd
Ingredients
Italian-Style Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt, or more to taste
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Salad Ingredients
- 8 cups iceberg or romaine lettuce, chopped into 1/2" slices or "ribbons"
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup cucumber, sliced European seedless cucumbers are great
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced (See Note 1) a small yellow onion also works
- 1/2 cup green olives more if you like!
- 1-2 cups croutons
- Parmesan shavings, to taste
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients; set aside. You can also put all of the dressing ingredients in a medium sized jar and shake until everything is combined. Season with more salt, if needed and set aside.
- Wash your lettuce: You can use a salad spinner and pat dry with paper towels. Then add the lettuce to a large salad bowl.
- Add: Top the lettuce with all other ingredients (at this point, you can cover the salad with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 4 hours).
- Finish and serve: When you are ready to serve, add the dressing, a little at a time, and toss the salad with tongs. I usually reserve a little extra dressing to serve on the side.
Notes
CASEY’S TIPS
-
- Dressing options: It’s nice to give your guests a few dressing options. This recipe is for an Italian-style dressing, but you can whip up this amazing ranch dressing in less than five minutes!
-
- Store bought dressing: If you are completely strapped for time, use a great bottled Italian dressing. We love Ken’s Steakhouse Light Northern Italian Dressing.
-
- Red onion: If you want your red onion to be a little less strong in taste, soak the slices in ice water for about 10-15 minutes while you are getting the other ingredients together. The taste will be a lot more mild.
- Slicing the veggies: Slice all of your veggies in about the same size — and not too small! Since you are making this salad for a crowd, you want to give guests the option to pick things out (there’s always that person, right?!).
I took this to a church gathering, and it was very well received. I waited to try it until everyone had been through the line, and all that was left was about a spoonful. But it was delicious! I added sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, and those combined with the wonderful fresh veggies was so tasty. For me, the shaved Parmigiana Reggiano really was the perfect accent. Thank you!
Oooh I love your additions, Jennifer! Glad it was a hit! XO ~ Casey
It was great. Nothing left after feeding 9 people. They are all asking for recipe. I did add a few more ingredients to make it look colorful, like capsicum, boiled , pan fried pumpkin, pan fried cauliflower. quartered beetroot and used Thai style salad dressing. It was really yummy.
This is my go-to salad to bring to parties! I always like to make extra dressing to have it on hand, too! Hope you love it! XO ~ Casey
I made this salad for a party of 50. Wow, what a hit. Someone has already asked me to bring this salad to their dinner party. Thanks
🥗👏 Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe for a tossed green salad that’s perfect for a crowd. Can’t wait to try it out at my next gathering! 🙌
Yum! Can’t wait to try this recipe at my next gathering. Have you ever considered adding some fresh fruit to the mix? It adds a nice pop of flavor and color.
🥗 This looks amazing! Perfect for a summer gathering with friends and family 🌞👨👩👧👦 Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙌
Thank you for sharing this great recipe for a tossed green salad! I can’t wait to try it out for my next gathering. It’s always a challenge to find healthy and tasty options that can feed a crowd, and this salad looks like the perfect solution. I appreciate the detailed instructions and the variety of greens and toppings included in the recipe. I think it will be a hit with my friends and family. Thanks again for sharing your expertise in the kitchen!
It’s always so hard to make salad for a crowd because everyone likes something different, but this salad is perfect and so easy to make!
Refreshing and delicious salad recipe to try. Thanks for sharing.
This looks and sounds fabulous! Love this recipe. It’s a perfect dish for my family.
Love a nice and simple tossed salad like this! And what’s great is you can easily turn it into a meal by adding a grilled protein. So good!
All the fresh ingredients are refreshing!
5 stars! I made this for a house warming potluck a couple of months ago! It was a crowd pleaser for sure. I decided to not do the olives and cheese. I got multiple compliments on the dressing. Here I am again to make it for Thanksgiving!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I love the dressing, too! XO ~ Casey
I am a novice cook and entertainer. This recipe really helped me on this first brunch. Thanks.
In my opinion, no salad is complete without some olives! I love how simple this is to pull together and the dressing is tasty and easy!
This is a great recipe – it’s simple but still delicious. My guests raved about the dressing!
I love serving salads like this with dinner or at parties. They’re so light and flavorful. I love your dressing.
What a healthy green salad. Looks simple and delicious.