10 Ways to Turn a Salad Kit into a Satisfying Meal for 2

On their own, salad kits don’t go very far. Most claim to have three to four servings per bag, but let’s be real — you can easily devour the whole thing on your own in one sitting. To stretch them a little further (say, like, dinner for two!), all you need is a little inspiration and creativity, and you’ll see that a basic salad kit is your starting point for a one-bowl meal to feed two hungry people. Here are 10 ideas to get you started.

This is my favorite way to turn a Southwestern salad kit into dinner (although you can’t go wrong with other varieties). Divide the dressed greens between bowls; top it with a scoop of your favorite chili, a handful of nachos, and a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt; and set it on the table for dinner.

Here’s one more reason to add baked sweet potatoes to your meal prep routine. Bulk up any salad kit with a can of protein-rich chickpeas, toss it all together with the dressing, and use it as the filling for a stuffed sweet potato.

Turn your salad kit into the toppings for a loaded noodle bowl. Any kind will do, but an Asian-style salad kit or a slaw kit are favorites here. The beauty of rice noodles is that you can get away with soaking them in boiling water rather than cooking them on the stovetop. While they soak, you’ll have just enough time to sear the tofu.

Instead of spaghetti, use a salad kit to give your meatball dinner a wholesome spin. Heat up the meatballs you have stashed in the freezer or pick up a few from the prepared foods section at your grocery store.

Forget going to Chipotle yet again. Fill your bowl with rice, black beans, and salsa, plus a Southwestern salad kit, and you’ve got a cheap and easy spin on a burrito bowl.

I’m convinced that nothing makes a simple salad kit feel fancier than a few slices of rich and fatty smoked salmon. Toss in a hard-boiled egg (or a jammy six-minute egg if you’re game for it) plus half an avocado for each bowl, and you’ve got an easy and super satisfying dinner for two.

Get started: How To Hard Boil Eggs Perfectly Every Time

When I really don’t want to cook, beans and greens with an egg is my default healthy-ish dinner. No need to cook the greens here — simply divide the salad kit between two bowls as the base of your meal, then sear and crisp a can of chickpeas in a skillet and pour them on top. The warmth from the beans will wilt some of the greens while you fry up a couple of eggs.

The beauty of stashing a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer is that you can be sure you’ll have dinner in a matter of minutes. Not only will it make your bowl more filling, especially when paired with half an avocado, but it also makes any basic salad kit feel kinda fancy.

Mixed with a bag of your favorite tortellini, a basic salad kit instantly becomes a meal-worthy pasta salad. This is an especially great way to turn any Caesar salad kit into dinner.

Be sure to grab a rotisserie chicken when you pick up the salad kit. And you know that quinoa you meal prepped? That’s the base of this one-bowl meal. Shred the chicken while you give the quinoa a quick reheat, then layer it with the dressed greens in your favorite large bowl.

Get started: How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa