Matt James & Rachel K’s Perfect Salad Recipe Takes 5 Minutes & $10

Matt James and Rachel Kirkconnell from The Bachelor are back on TikTok to share another crave-worthy recipe to add to your weekly routine. Because everyone is talking about #SaladGate, they shared their favorite salad and dressing recipe that’s easy to make and loaded with lots of satisfying flavor. In the caption of their cooking video, James promises that it’s “the BEST salad you’ll ever have” because it just takes five minutes to throw together and won’t cost you more than $10 to shop for. He also claims, “I have this salad every day, either for lunch or for dinner, so you know it’s delicious. Here’s how to make Matt James and Rachel Kirkconnell’s perfect salad recipe in just five minutes.

Finding your favorite salad recipe is like serendipity. How can something so nutritious be so convenient and delicious at the same time? The key is keeping it simple with the ingredients you love and finding the balance between textures and flavors so that you’re always getting a full bite in every fork-full. Salads can be fun, too, because you can build off of recipes to customize the dish, like swapping out your favorite nuts, for example, or serving it with warm grains for added heartiness. However you like to do your salad during the busy week, check out this recipe from Matt James and Rachel K for a five minute salad you can whip up for lunch or dinner.

How To Make Matt James’ Perfect Salad From TikTok

Here’s what you’ll need for the salad:

• Combination of romaine lettuce and spring mix lettuce
• 1 mini cucumber
• 1 celery stick
• 1 red apple
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup honey roasted cashews
• 1/4 cinnamon pecans
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan
• 1 sliced avocado
• 3 tablespoons roasted sunflower seeds
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1. Chop your greens into smaller bites and add to a large bowl.
2. Using a mandolin or knife, thinly slice the cucumber, celery, and apple and add them into greens mixture.
3. Coarsely chop the blueberries, cashews, pecans, and add to salad bowl.
4. Top with shaved parmesan, sliced avocado, sunflower seeds, bread crumbs, and tomatoes.

What you’ll need for the vinaigrette:

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients until emulsified into a smooth vinaigrette.
2. Pour over salad mixture and enjoy.

Matt James’ perfect salad is an easy combo of ingredients that’ll fuel your busy day or fill you up after a long day of work. It has an even balance of hearty proteins, fresh fruits and veggies, and satisfying fats that’ll keep you satisfied until dinner time. The most time-consuming aspect of this recipe is the prep work, so you can always pre-slice your ingredients to throw a big bowl together quickly during the week.

The couple’s salad also utilizes seasonal flavors like apples and honey, which you can customize with more of your favorite fall staples. For instance, you can switch out the honey in the vinaigrette for maple syrup if that’s what your sweet tooth’s craving, or you can even throw in roasted squash, dried cranberries, or warm grains like quinoa. Kirkconnell’s salad dressing is a pretty basic vinaigrette, so definitely bookmark it for a go-to dressing that works well over almost every bed of greens.