Lettuce Salad with Italian Dressing

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This fresh, easy, no-frills lettuce salad is one of our favorite salad recipes. And don’t mistake easy for bland because the tasty Italian dressing turns the crisp lettuce and the juicy tomatoes into a yummy salad full of flavor.

It’s also versatile, economical and makes a lovely light meal or side dish that goes with just about everything.

Top view of a white bowl full of lettuce salad and cherry tomatoes.

I initially posted this lettuce salad recipe in June 2020. The original recipe included hard-boiled eggs and a light lemon dressing, but I’ve decided to tweak the recipe leaving the eggs out and using a more flavorsome dressing.

The result is a wonderfully light, fresh and flavorful salad, naturally gluten free.

Best of all, this tossed salad is a breeze to put together and delicious served with this crusty or this quick. Make sure you make a big batch so that everyone can return for seconds.

List of the ingredients

Gem lettuce (or any lettuce varieties)
Cherry tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
White or red vinegar (cider vinegar or lemon juice work too)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Garlic
Honey or maple syrup (as a vegan option)
Chili flakes (optional)
Salt & pepper

Top view of the ingredients to make this lettuce salad recipe.

How to make a delicious lettuce salad

(Note: this is a quick description, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)

Make the dressing: whisk all the dressing ingredients into a jug or place them into a glass jar with a lid and shake vigorously. You want the dressing well combined and emulsified when you add it to your salad.

Top view of a glass jug full of lemon dressing with chili flakes.

Wash and cut lettuce leaves and tomatoes.

Place lettuce and tomatoes into a salad bowl.

Pour over the dressing, toss until well combined and serve.

Top view of a salad spinner full of fresh lettuce leaves.

Recipe notes

Salad dressing ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil: I recommend using good-quality extra virgin olive oil, it adds another layer of flavor that will shine through. Plus, it features a long list of health benefits and it doesn’t go through an insane amount of processing.

White or red vinegar: freshly squeezed lemon juice or cider vinegar work too.

Garlic: I prefer to use pressed fresh garlic in this dressing, but you can also sub in 1/8 tsp of garlic powder if you prefer.

Honey: it doesn’t make the dressing sweet, but it mellows the acidity of the vinegar. You can use the same amount of sugar or maple syrup instead.

Parmesan cheese: it adds flavor, saltiness, and texture. Buy feel free to skip it if you want to keep it vegan or just don’t have Parmesan on hand.

Italian herb seasoning: it’s so easy and convenient, you need only 1 tsp of dried Italian herbs to add depth of flavor to the dressing (see notes in the recipe card).

Salt and black pepper: and finally, fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper!

Lettuce Salad Variations

The sky’s the limit when it comes to customizing this versatile recipe, especially if you feel like making a meal out of this salad by adding more ingredients and nutrients.

Diced avocado (my favorite!), cucumber, finely sliced red onions or green onion, black olives or celery or some croutons make all delightful add-ons!

It also tastes delicious with extra protein such as grilled chicken, shrimp, hard-boiled eggs, crumbled feta or cubed mozzarella cheese.

Close-up of a white bowl full of lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes.

More quick salads?

I hope you like this lettuce salad as much as we do, and let me know if you make it! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!