We Found The Best Salad Kit, And It's Perfect For Pickle Lovers

Whether you're new to salad making or simply don't have the time to prep all the vegetables and make salad dressing from scratch, salad kits are a great resource. They're the perfect meal-sized portion of ingredients pre-chopped and embellished with extra goodies like croutons, seeds, seasonings, and complex salad dressings. If you've ever perused the salad kit selection at your local grocery store's refrigerated produce section, the variety is overwhelming. So, the Tasting Table staff tried and ranked 13 packaged salad kits to help you narrow down the selection to the very best choices and found that pickle lovers will want to grab Taylor Farms' Dill Pickle Chopped Kit.

The Taylor Farms salad kit came in second in our ranking behind Trader Joe's Veggies & Greens Salad Kit, which seems to have been discontinued. Even as a first-place-by-default salad kit, this dill pickle chopped salad kit deserves first place for originality. Not only are there diced pickles in the dill ranch dressing, but dill seasoning also coats the buttery brioche croutons. Plus, this dill-packed, creamy dressing stands up well to an array of hearty salad veggies like red and green cabbage, kale, and shredded cauliflower. Even the radishes are crinkle-cut, reminiscent of pickle slices you might find on a barbecue plate or sandwich.

While the whole point of a salad kit is that it's completely self-sufficient, the dill pickle chopped salad isn't quite main course material. So, you can add protein to make it into a complete meal or use it as a side salad for numerous main course pairings. The taste tester for our salad kit ranking thought the dill pickle salad could use a sprinkling of bacon bits. But you can up the ante even more by adding chicken, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and blue cheese to transform the dill pickle chopped salad into the foundation for a classic cobb salad. You can also toss the salad kit together and add it to a store-bought Mission burrito-size flour tortilla with grilled chicken for a delicious sandwich wrap. You can also stretch this individual portion of salad to feed a crowd by tossing the ingredients together and adding them to this recipe for macaroni salad.

If you're looking for a main course to pair this dill pickle chopped salad with, smoked meats like brisket and barbecued ribs are great options. A tangy dill pickle salad with ranch will help cut through the smoky, savory, and robust flavors of meat. You could also throw this salad together on game day to enjoy with buffalo wings or this recipe for buffalo chicken lasagna.