Baby Leaf Summer Salad

Summer is such a great time for eating fresh fruits and vegetables, especially this super green Baby Leaf Summer Salad.

I had recently discovered baby kale, with its softer leaf and easy to chew stems – just a nicer eating experience than regular kale, in my opinion. Then I noticed the baby spinach in the produce department at my favorite store. Maybe I can blame it all on summer, but I’ve been really wanting to just eat GREEN foods lately, the denser the better. I’m also on an English cucumber kick this year, so this new salad naturally happened.

This refreshing salad is made with baby kale, baby spinach, raw zucchini, English cucumber and a few black olives. Just toss it with your favorite dressing or one of these vinaigrettes. If you don’t have any croutons on hand to top it with, try making some with this basic homemade crouton recipe.

It’s green, it’s dark, it’s chewy – the cucumbers are crisp and flavorful and the zucchini is meaty. The olives add a little saltiness. Just delicious!

I left most of the spinach and kale leaves whole in my salad. But, I found if they are all left whole, your salad is just a flat bed of leaves on the bottom of the bowl. So, I ended up tearing about a third of the leaves, just for some lift and space in the salad. If you prefer, all of the leaves can be torn or cut into thin slices. I think the whole leaves are very pretty, though. Even though the stems are softer than with regular kale and spinach, I did remove some of the stems.

Print Recipe

Baby Leaf Summer Salad

Baby kale, baby spinach, English cucumber, raw zucchini and black olives make a delightfully green summer salad!

Course

Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine

American

Keyword

baby kale, baby spinach, black olives, cucumber, english cucumber, zucchini

Prep Time

5 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup baby kale loosely packed (some leaves torn or chopped)
• 1 cup baby spinach loosely packed (some leaves torn or chopped)
• 1/2 medium zucchini washed, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/2-inch slices, each slice halved
• 1/2 to 1/3 English cucumber very thinly sliced
• 20 to 24 black olives left whole
• croutons for topping

Course Salad, Side Dish Cuisine American Keyword baby kale, baby spinach, black olives, cucumber, english cucumber, zucchini Prep Time 5 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 1 cup baby kale loosely packed (some leaves torn or chopped) 1 cup baby spinach loosely packed (some leaves torn or chopped) 1/2 medium zucchini washed, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/2-inch slices, each slice halved 1/2 to 1/3 English cucumber very thinly sliced 20 to 24 black olives left whole croutons for topping

Instructions

1. Rinse and dry the baby kale and baby spinach leaves, removing some of the stems.

   
2. Add the kale and spinach to a salad serving bowl. Add in the sliced zucchini and sliced English cucumber.
3. Toss to combine. Add in the black olives.
4. Serve with your favorite salad dressing or vinaigrette and top with croutons.

Recipe Notes

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