This crunchy romaine salad recipe is the ultimate salad—full of color, texture, and flavor. It combines crisp romaine, crunchy cucumbers and cabbage, creamy avocado, juicy tangerines, shredded chicken, and maple walnuts, all tied together with a zingy soy ginger dressing.
Growing up in California in a family of gardeners and home cooks, I made many salads. In fact, my first kitchen job was making salads at a gourmet cafe in my hometown of Manhattan Beach. Though I’ve long been a professional recipe developer, I’ve never really claimed my salad skills. But I’m low-key the salad queen among my friends and family. And I’d like to declare this crunchy romaine salad as the latest entry for that title!
Why You’ll Love This Crunchy Romaine Salad
This salad is unique because it’s reflects a place. You know how you have a bite of Caprese Salad and think about Italy? Well, a bite of this crunchy romaine salad is a taste of San Luis Obispo County.
I’ve long thought I could live in Central California because it has stunning nature, great people, creative small businesses, and lots of farms and wineries. Now that I live in Mammoth Lakes, I have Talley Farms send me a weekly farm box of produce that is chock full of produce from San Luis Obispo County.
Through my travels to the region and my farm box, I have learned much about the region’s farmers and producers. Like that the climate is cool but sunny. Nicknamed “refrigerated sunshine” it is magical for produce because it allows for a lot of flavor development. I’m fond of the region’s strawberries, lettuce, and avocados, though I have yet to find a vegetable from San Luis Obispo that I didn’t like.
So, when I was invited to visit San Luis Obispo with my friends at California Grown, I hopped in my car! The trip took place in April, a stunning time between the wildflowers and spring greenery. Over a few days, we crossed rolling green hills and visited an olive orchard, an urban farm, a winery, and I even hit up a few farm stands. The result? I was inspired to make one of my salads. This time 100% inspired by the produce from San Luis Obispo County.
California produces one-third of the nation’s vegetables and San Luis Obispo does its part to contribute. It’s one of California’s most diverse counties in terms of agriculture, growing everything from olives and wine grapes to walnuts, head lettuce, citrus, broccoli, avocados, and strawberries. All the ingredients in this salad are inspired by places I’ve visited on this trip and past trips. I’m talking Talley Farms lettuce, Morro Bay avocados, Pasolivo olive oil, Manzanita Manor walnuts, and even Cal Poly tangerines!
Crunchy Romaine Salad Recipe Ingredients
When it comes to healthy salads, this Crunchy Romaine Salad recipe is a winner. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Romaine Lettuce: A head of romaine lettuce provides the crisp, refreshing base that gives the salad its signature crunch. You could also use Little Gems lettuce or a mix of arugula, romaine, and butter lettuce.
- Red cabbage: This adds crunch, color, and a slightly peppery flavor.
- Avocados: Creamy and rich avocados balance the tangy dressing. The classic avocado here in California is the Haas, but Pinkerton or Fuerte varieties would work well too.
- Cucumbers: Bringing freshness and a satisfying snap, I cut the cucumbers into matchsticks, but you could also thinly slice them.
- Green onions: Offering a mild bite to enhance the dressing’s savory notes. Soak them in ice water for 5 minutes before to make them milder.
- Tangerines: Juicy and sweet, tangerines brighten up the salad. Though, to be honest various citrus would work such as tangelos, Cara Cara oranges, or mandarin oranges.
- Maple Walnuts: The walnuts are toasted and then coated with maple syrup, ginger, sesame seeds, and salt for a sweet-savory crunch.
- Shredded Rotisserie Chicken: The addition of chicken turns the salad into a complete meal. However, if you want to make the salad vegetarian, you can skip it.
- Soy Ginger Dressing: The bold, zippy dressing that pulls it all together is made with soy sauce, fresh ginger, sesame seeds, mustard, lemon juice (you could use apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar), and olive oil.
How to Make this Recipe
Making this Crunchy Romaine Salad is easy and quick. While it’s few steps, I noticed during recipe testing that some key moves made a big difference. Here are things to keep in mind while making this romaine lettuce salad:
- The Soy Ginger Dressing Is A Must: This salad dressing is a twist on the classic soy ginger dressing. It’s loaded with California flavor thanks to the addition of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. If you made this lemon oil, use some of it here for a burst of citrus flavor.
- Don’t Skip the Maple Walnuts: These nuts are super simple to make. They are toasted in a large skillet, coated in maple syrup, and that’s it.
- Get Extra Crunchy Vegetables: For maximum crunch, soak the vegetables in ice water for a few minutes before using them. Then, if you have time, place all the vegetables in a large salad bowl, top with a damp paper towel, and store refrigerated until ready to serve!
- Cut Everything to the Same Size: A delicious salad isn’t just about flavor but also texture. Cut the cucumbers and green onions into matchsticks roughly the same size as the tangerine pieces and the walnuts so you get a taste of it all in each bite.
- Toss the Chicken With the Dressing: Before plating the salad, combine the shredded chicken with a bit of the dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine. Then, the chicken adds flavor without drowning the salad in dressing.
Support San Luis Obispo Agriculture IRL
Through my travels with California Grown and researching agritourism activities for our travel clients, I’ve been lucky to visit many interesting places. A few of those spots in San Luis Obispo County inspired ingredients in this salad, including:
- City Farm SLO – This urban farm in the middle of San Luis Obispo is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide the local community with farm education and therapeutic horticulture.
- PasoOlivo – PasoOlivo makes award-winning olive oil on 140 acres in the heart of Paso Robles wine country. Visit their Ranch Tasting room and you may meet their level 2 olive oil sommelier!
- Avocado Shack Morro Bay – If you’re heading to Morro Bay (which you should!), this is a must-stop for getting your hands on loads of Central Coast produce, including their avocados.
- Cal Poly Farm – Support this student-grown farm produce by attending one of their u-picks — their tango tangerines are used in this recipe.
- Manzanita Manor Organics – I first tried these organic, dry-farmed walnuts at In Bloom in Paso Robles, and I seek them out each time I’m in the area. Their creamy, crunchy walnuts bring a lot of flavor to anything you pair them with.
- Farmstead Ed – Lynette and the team of Farmstead Ed have done incredible work helping to promote local farms. If you’re in the area, you’ll want to peruse their SLO Farm Trail map for an idea of farms to visit!
More Salad Recipes Using California Grown Produce
Even if you aren’t in San Luis Obispo, you can get some in-season California produce where you live. Here are five salad recipes that are delicious when made with California-grown products, from pomegranates to olives to wild rice:
- Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad – The ultimate potluck recipe, this brown rice salad is easy to change up with the seasons and to your taste. However, I love it with cucumbers, pomegranates, and pistachios.
- California Greek Olive Salad —The classic Greek salad gets a California twist thanks to avocado, fresh herbs, and a unique dressing made with smashed California Ripe Olives.
- Escarole Salad With Charred Citrus And Toasted Almonds – This salad is incredible, thanks to its rosemary-honey dressing. Mix up the nuts, greens, and citrus with whatever looks good.
- Baby Greens With Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Pistachios – Wild rice, crunchy nuts, creamy mozzarella, and bright tomatoes bring a lot of flavor in this uber-easy salad recipe.
- Pomegranate Persimmon Wild Rice Salad – This is on the Thanksgiving table every year since that is when persimmons and pomegranates are at their peak!
More San Luis Obispo Food And Wine Articles
Get to know more of San Luis Obispo’s food scene with these articles:
- Paso Robles Wine Country – California wine lovers will tell you that the Rhone-style wines from Paso Robles are world-class! The Paso Robles wine country accounts for more than 87% of San Luis Obispo’s wine production, with over 200 wineries in the area.
- Things To Do In Paso Robles For Food Lovers – Besides the wines, there is much to taste. I’m sharing farm stands, farm tours, farmers markets, and u-picks you can visit while you travel in Paso Robles.
- Local Farmers Markets In California – Locals will tell you at least one farmers market in San Luis Obispo is open daily. So, it’s no surprise that area farmers’ markets are on our list of must-visit farmers’ markets in California.
California-Inspired Recipes
Want to get a taste of the Golden State at home? Cook up these recipes inspired by the Golden State:
California Wine Country Travel Guide
If you’re inspired to explore more about this iconic region, our California Wine Country Travel Guide offers everything you need to plan your visit. Discover the best wineries, restaurants, and experiences that showcase the beauty and bounty of California wine country.
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Crunchy Romaine Salad Recipe With Maple Soy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce hearts or little gems, leaves halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 medium red cabbage sliced crosswise paper thin
- 2 medium firm-ripe avocado pitted and thinly sliced
- 3 medium Persian cucumbers ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch matchsticks
- 6 small green onions (aka scallions) ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces then halved lengthwise
- 4 small tangerine peeled and segmented
- 1 pound shredded cooked chicken (about 4 cups)
- 1 recipe Maple Walnuts
- toasted sesame seeds for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper for garnish
- Maldon sea salt or other flaky sea salt for garnish
- 1 recipe Soy Ginger Dressing
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing and mix to combine. Combine romaine lettuce, red cabbage, avocados, cucumbers, green onions, tangerines, and chicken in a serving bowl.
- Top with at least 1 cup of the walnuts, garnish with sesame seeds, flaky salt, and black pepper, and drizzle on more dressing as desired.
PERSONAL NOTES
Nutrition
Photo Credit: Photo of lettuce head, farm field, olive orchard, and wine grape crushing by Paprika Studios for California Grown. All other photos by Team Salt & Wind Travel
Sponsored Content: My trip to San Luis Obispo and this post was sponsored by California Grown. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting these sponsors who allow us to keep Salt & Wind Travel up and running.
