Well, it's snowing in New York again (welcome to March!), but guess what? Summer's coming. And that beach body isn't going to just magically appear, you know? Time to board the salad train.

But be careful. A good, well-seasoned salad is great thing, but it can also get boring, especially if you get in a rut with the dressing. That's why the other day, when I was hanging around the Epicurious Test Kitchen, I took special notice of something Associate Food Editor Anna Stockwell was doing: She made a salad dressing with almond butter. Almond butter! Have you ever? Me neither.

And that got me thinking. There are a whole host of kinda random, entirely delicious ways to make salad actually interesting (and therefore us svelte and gorgeous.) Here are a few more surprising salad upgrades:

Sourdough bread

Why bread? Because it thickens the dressing. Why sourdough? Because it adds tang.

chia seeds

Like the breadcrumbs above, the chia seeds act as a thickener, making the dressing a bigger part of the salad show.

red wine

Not red wine vinegar—just red wine, period. In this recipe, that wine is zinfandel. A nice way to relive the '90s. And no, this salad won't make you tipsy unless you drink all the dressing.


There's very little that tamarind's puckery flavor can't wake up, even sleepy greens like romaine.


ICYMI: That $8 bottle of green juice you didn't finish for lunch today can be tonight's Green Goddess dressing.