A simple but delicious salad with romaine lettuce, crumbled feta cheese and toasted almonds, all tossed in a garlicy sweet and sour vinaigrette.
Today I wanted to share this simple salad, that is a copycat of a salad a local restaurant features. While it doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, it is surprisingly satisfying and one of the most made salads in my kitchen!
I think what makes this salad special is the lovely combination of flavours – from the crisp greens to the toasted almonds, then the salty feta, all tossed in a simple sweet, sour and garlic vinaigrette. It has shades of Caesar salad, so it pairs beautifully with so many meals. I love this simple salad and hope you will, as well!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Romaine lettuce – You’ll need two heads of romaine lettuce for this salad.
Feta cheese – You can use feta crumbles or crumble the feta cheese yourself.
Sliced almonds – also known as flaked almonds. They can be skin-on or skin-off. Use what you have on hand.
For the vinaigrette, you will need …
Rice vinegar – Unseasoned rice vinegar is specified (the one with the green cap :), but seasoned rice vinegar will work with some small adjustments, as noted in the Recipe Card below.
Brown sugar – Light brown sugar is all you need here, though dark brown will work in a pinch.
Fresh garlic – There really isn’t a good substitute for the fresh garlic in this dressing, but a pinch of garlic powder might work if that’s all that’s available.
Oil – I like this salad with a neutral-flavoured oil, such as canola oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil. Olive oil will work, though it will introduce a flavour to the dressing.
How to make feta almond romaine salad: step-by-step
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Scroll down to the Recipe Card below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Finely slice the romaine lettuce, then place into a shallow bowl.
Step 2: Toast the almonds in the oven, in a skillet on the stovetop or on a plate in the microwave. Scatter the almonds over the romaine lettuce in the bowl, then add the crumbled feta cheese.
Step 3: Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine well.
Step 4: Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine to serve.
Recipe tips!
- You’ll want your fresh garlic to be very finely minced, so use the fine side of your box grater or a whatever tool you night use to zest a lemon (stick-type microplane grater/zester).
- Speaking of the garlic, you can play around with the amount of garlic you add, to your taste.
- You probably don’t need to salt the salad at all, as the feta is salty and there is some salt in the vinaigrette.
- While the vinaigrette quantities are specific, you can consider the amount of lettuce, feta and almonds you use in your salad quite flexible. It’s just a matter of taste, so feel free to adjust.
How to cut the romaine lettuce
While you can simply tear romaine lettuce into pieces, I like to finely cut it for this salad. I find it easier to eat with the almonds and feta.
To cut the romaine lettuce, lay onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make a slice in the romaine lettuce lengthwise, from about 2 inches from the stem end, straight through to the other end. Turn the head of romaine lettuce 90 degrees and make a second slice as you did with the first slice. Now, start thinly slicing crosswise from the top of the head to about 2 inches from the stem end.
How to toast sliced almonds
In the oven: Scatter evenly on a baking sheet and toast in a 350F oven for 3-4 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until lightly golden.
In a skillet: Heat a dry, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring, until lightly golden. Remove the almonds from the baking sheet so they don’t continue to cook on the hot baking sheet.
In the microwave: Scatter almonds in an even, single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Cook for 30 seconds, stir, then cook in 15-second increments, stirring well between increments, until the almonds start to colour. Careful! The plate may be hot, so use an oven mitt. Remove almonds from the plate when they reach the desired colour, so they don’t continue to brown on the hot plate.
Top tip
Be prepared to enjoy this salad anytime, but toasting extra almonds and making a double-batch of the vinaigrette. Refrigerate the nuts and vinaigrette, then you are ready to simply toss and enjoy anytime!
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Get the Recipe: Feta and Almond Romaine Salad
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup canola oil, or sunflower, vegetable oil, or other neutral-tasting oil
- 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, or seasoned rice vinegar and reduce the brown sugar by half
- 4 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely grated, loosely packed
- salt and freshly ground pepper
For the salad:
- 3 – 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted *see Notes below for how to toast almonds
Instructions
- Cut the romaine lettuce. (See Note 1 below for how to cut romaine lettuce.) Then place it into a shallow salad bowl.)
- Toast the almonds: Toast the 1/4 cup sliced almonds (toasted *see Notes below for how to toast almonds) until lightly golden, in either the oven, on the stovetop in a skillet or in the microwave. (See Note 2 below for how to toast almonds.)
- Mix the vinaigrette: Combine the 1/4 cup canola oil (or sunflower, vegetable oil, or other neutral-tasting oil), 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar (or seasoned rice vinegar and reduce the brown sugar by half), 4 teaspoons light brown sugar (packed), 1 teaspoon fresh garlic (finely grated, loosely packed) and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small jar (or bowl). Shake or whisk well to combine. Set aside.
- Prepare the salad: Scatter crumbled feta cheese and toasted almonds over the sliced romaine lettuce. Drizzle with enough of the vinaigrette to moisten to the desired level. Toss to combine to serve.
Notes
To cut the romaine lettuce, lay onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make a slice in the romaine lettuce lengthwise, from about 2 inches from the stem end, straight through to the other end. Turn the head of romaine lettuce 90 degrees and make a second slice as you did with the first slice. Now, start thinly slicing crosswise from the top of the head to about 2 inches from the stem end. Note 2: How to toast almonds:
In the oven: Scatter evenly on a baking sheet and toast in a 350F oven for 3-4 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until lightly golden. In a skillet: Heat a dry, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring, until lightly golden. Remove almonds from the baking sheet so they don’t continue to cook on the hot baking sheet. In the microwave: Scatter almonds in an even, single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Cook for 30 seconds, stir, then cook in 15-second increments, stirring well between increments, until the almonds start to colour. Careful! The plate may be hot, so use an oven mitt. Remove almonds from the plate when they reach the desired colour, so they don’t continue to brown on the hot plate. Tips! If you want to prep parts of the salad ahead, toast the almonds ahead and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Prepare the vinaigrette and refrigerate. Slice the romaine just before serving, then top with almonds and feta. Dress with vinaigrette just before serving. Make extra dressing and toasted almonds and refrigerate, so you’re ready to enjoy this delicious salad anytime! Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card for more tips, substitution suggestions and step-by-step photos that you might find helpful.
More salad recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Made this salad on a Friday night. Easy to put together and a lot of flavor! I used avocado oil. Loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Carol! Thanks so much :)
Do the oil have to be rice? Have Never used it.
Hi Elva, the oil isn’t rice, but the vinegar is rice vinegar (or aka rice wine vinegar). For the oil, you can use any kind of oil you like or have on hand.
Just wanted to say once again what an excellent recipe this is – it has become a go-to salad for me. In regular rotation at my house.
So glad to hear, Carolyn :) It’s in regular rotation here, too. So simple, but always hits the spot for me, too!
Made this for supper tonight – it is very very good. With the garlic and cheese it’s a nice substitute/change from Caesar salad.
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, it definitely has shades of Caesar salad, for sure. Thanks :)
OMGoodness Jennifer!!
What a delightful combination for a salad.
This one breaks from the norm for me.
Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Dalila! Thanks so much :)
This is definitely my kind of salad as I always have feta on hand to top my greens! The vinaigrette sounds like the perfect pairing too. Perfect side salad Jennifer!
Thanks Leanne and yes, it’s perfect next to anything off the grill, I’ve found :)
Feta is so good, especially on salads! This looks like a delicious one, Jennifer! We’ve been eating so many salads lately and this one needs to happen soon :)
Thanks Dawn!
I’m always looking for new salad ideas Jennifer and I love this one! Love the combination of ingredients. On my list!
Thanks Mary Ann :)
Amazing looking salad! I love the combo of flavors you have going on :)
Thanks so much, Sarah :)
I have a (weird?) love affair with feta and always have some in my refrigerator! Needless to say, this salad is calling my name! I’m always on the hunt for new salads to add to the rotation, and I absolutely can’t wait to try this one!!
Thanks Cheyanne and I do, too! I’m never without it in my fridge :)
I love the simplicity of this recipe and the vinaigrette sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to try this salad. It’s what I’ve been craving. Pinned!
Thanks Tricia :)
I am beyond intrigued by the flavor medley here! Even though I consider myself a huge feta fan I have never before combined them with the deliciousness of toasted almond slivers. Great idea. Looking forward to enjoying this beautiful salad.
Thanks Milena and yes, it’s a bit of an unusual combination, but it works wonderfully together :)