Call it a salad, call it a bowl, call it an entire main course on lettuce but here we are and we are just very heart eyes about it.
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Omg this is just…. EVERYTHING. Thank you so much for bringing us this absolute superstar of a salad. That ranch with the sweetcorn and peppers… Incredible!!
Lizzie
Light tender flaky salmon, silky and savory peppers and garlic confit, big buttery chunks of avocado and roasty corn, salty bacon, and rivers of homemade smoky ranch. Have we said too much? Are you already making it?
Oliver’s is a local spot here in POY’s neck of the woods and this little gem is a go-to order on their menu. And because one can’t just go to Oliver’s every single day, but one has giant salad needs that simply must be met, one must recreate it at home for maximum delicious salad consumption.
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Ingredients For This Salad
Have you ever had pepper confit? There are many delicious elements to this salad, but this pile of goodness is a real stunner. You just sort of slow simmer the sweet pepper rings and eventually the thin slices of garlic in olive oil until they are soft and buttery and caramelized. Then you store that mixture in your fridge and pile it on just about everything, namely, this salad.
But let’s make the other elements too, shall we?
For the smoked ranch:
- mayo
- full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
- milk or buttermilk
- white vinegar or lemon juice
- freeze-dried dill and chives
- smoked paprika
- onion powder & garlic powder
- salt & pepp
For the pepper confit:
- olive oil
- mini sweet peppers
- garlic
- red wine vinegar
- salt
For our favorite salad build:
- spinach or salad greens
- salmon (choose your adventure with how to cook salmon!)
- avocado
- bacon
- fire-roasted corn
- sunflower seeds
You can pick and choose a bit from that last list to really make it your own, but we suggest everything because we always do. Go big or go big!
Let’s Make The Oliver’s Salad
Here’s how to get your giant salad game on, let’s do this:
- Smoked Ranch: Shake everything in a jar and adjust to your tastes. Make it your own!
- Pepper Confit: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and sauté for awhile until brown and very soft. Near the end, add in the garlic to get it nice and golden and soft.
- Bacon & Salmon: Both are headed into a 400 degree oven, bacon first and then pop the salmon in there for the last 8-10ish minutes.
- Salad: Assemble everything in over-the-top piles and then drizzle with the smoked ranch.
We really cannot stress this enough so, just as a reminder, go big or go big.
What Makes This Salad So Good
This salad is such a star because it just screams “Hello! Hi! I have everything you love!” Like truly, how do you resist? So satisfying. So much flavor.
It’s also one of those great recipes where you can prepare all of the elements ahead of time and then just have them at the ready to make this salad again and again. We always prefer to cook the salmon right before serving but the rest — the ranch, the bacon, the confit — will just be calling to you from your fridge shelves!
It’s also flexible and you can really change it up and make it your own, depending on how you’re feeling. It would also be delicious with grilled chicken or maybe even shrimp (oooooh ok yes, must try). You could leave a protein out altogether and just double, triple, quadruple up on that pepper confit and those buttery avocado chunks and you probably won’t be mad!
However you decide to doll it up for the day, just please be over-the-top with it. It’s the legacy this salad deserves.
You know, go big or go big.
The Oliver’s Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! Fresh dill and/or chives will work great here.
Yes! All salad elements can be made ahead and stored separately in the fridge. We prefer to cook the salmon just before serving.
For the fire-roasted corn, we just use frozen fire-roasted corn (thawed / warmed)! Easy and always ready to go.
Yep! This air fryer chicken or these crispy chicken cutlets would be excellent. Or some grilled and sliced steak!
The Oliver’s Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 salads 1x
Description
We’re bringing you the most beautiful salad inspired by the restaurant Oliver’s in Minnesota. Tender salmon, savory peppers and garlic confit, buttery chunks of avocado, fire-roasted corn, bacon bits, and a river of homemade smoky ranch dressing.
Ingredients
The Smoked Ranch
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice (more to taste)
- 2 teaspoons freeze-dried dill
- 2 teaspoons freeze-dried chives (or 2 tablespoons fresh chives)
- 1–2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
The Pepper Confit
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound mini sweet peppers, sliced into rings
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced into thin pieces
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
The You-Picks
- 5 ounces spring mix (about 1-2 cups per serving)
- 24 ounces salmon or chicken (about 3-4 ounces per serving)
- 3 avocados (about half of one avocado per serving)
- 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups fire-roasted corn
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Smoked Ranch: Shake all ingredients in a jar until smooth. Taste and adjust. Make it yours!
- Pepper Confit: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and sauté until brown and very soft, stirring only occasionally so you get some nice browning on them. I usually cook them for 20-30 minutes. During the last 10-15 minutes, add in the garlic with the peppers to get it nice and golden and soft (just make sure you don’t burn it). During the last 5 minutes, add the vinegar to add some zip and pull up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Bacon: Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Drain and cool on a paper-towel lined plate. Crumble for the salad.
- Salmon: Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your piece of salmon and desired doneness).
- Salad: Assemble everything over greens and drizzle with the smoked ranch. SO GOOD.
Notes
Nutrition information for this recipe includes 4 servings of the salmon, spinach, and other you-pick items.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Toss
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: salmon salad, oliver’s salad, easy salad recipe
More Salad Recipes We Absolutely Love
- Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad (easy to meal prep for lunches)
- Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad (let’s get those salad wheels spinning)
- Spicy Peanut Soba Noodle Salad (featuring a delicious homemade peanut dressing)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of Best Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes. Check it out!
Hi. I can’t wait to make this tonight, but I don’t see cheddar cheese in this recipe. The restaurant version has cheese. Just wondering.
We visit Oliver’s in Shoreview all the time and I often order the Oliver’s salad. We decided to give your recipe for it a try tonight for dinner and I just have to say: it’s so very close to the real thing! TBH I skipped the red wine vinegar in the peppers and the chives in the dressing (I thought we had them in our pantry but, apparently we didn’t, whoops!) and also left the sunflower seeds off the top (personal preference). But regardless, it was delicious! I’m looking forward to having the leftovers tomorrrow for lunch.
So fun that you are a neighbor! Thanks for making the recipe!
This salad is AMAZING, especially the dressing! I’ve had this with salmon burgers and air-fryer chicken, both of which went great with everything. As a single lady, I loved that once the dressing and pepper confit were prepped, I could eat this salad all week with only assembly required! I skipped the bacon and it was still so tasty because of the smoked ranch. Definitely my new favorite entree salad!
This was soooooooo good! The dressing is absolutely perfect with salmon. I will definitely be making this one again!
I tried the Oliver’s Salad recipe, and it was a huge hit at dinner! The combination of flavors is fantastic, and I loved how refreshing it was. I’ll definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing this gem!
We made this tonight. It was soooooo good!!! We did the peppers, corn, chicken and bacon on the Blackstone. Fantastic, and easy cleanup!!!
This salad looks absolutely delicious! I love how colorful and fresh it is. Can’t wait to try it out this weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! My all time favorite salad. Have made this twice now and the dressing is the secret! I halve the recipe and it’s still plenty of dressing for us. My husband doesn’t really like salmon but he likes this !
Holy smokes this salad is good! I like all the flavors and optional additions. The dressing is a wonderful take on a classic ranch! Thank you.
Dairy Free recommendations?
Hi Julie! You could use dairy free plain yogurt and unsweetened dairy free milk in the dressing.
One serving of this significantly more calories and fat than a Big Mac 😭
I tried the Oliver’s Salad recipe last night, and it was a total hit! The combination of flavors is just perfect, and I love how fresh and vibrant it looks. Definitely adding this to my regular meal rotation. Thanks for sharing!
In Canada, we don’t have fire-roasted corn, would you add any seasoning to the corn otherwise?
Thanks!
I don’t think it’s necessary!
Holy Yum!!! Your ability to mix and match flavours is out of this world – I meal prepped this for my work lunches this week and can’t wait to each lunch each day!
I used your Air Fryer Chicken recipe as the protein in this! Holy delish!
This salad was delicious! Even our younger adults loved it! It’s a lot of prep but well worth it! I added a bit of mustard and cider vinegar to the dressing.
This has become my favorite dinner salad! Even non-salad-loving family members are excited to eat it. Instead of the suggested chicken/salmon, I’ve been doubling the spice mix and adding half to a can of garbanzo beans, then roasting at 425 until crispy.
I just came here to say I have been making this incredibly delicious salad which I found here many, many months ago and it IS EVERYTHING!!!
Ticks all the boxes flavor-wise and whenever I need something for pickier eaters, I just set up all the toppings salad bar style and people can build their salads however they like. I usually follow the recipe exactly as written and intended but sometimes if I’m out of a spice or two, it’s substitution friendly.
I am a Super Fan of this salad. So thank you.
This salad recipe looks delicious and easy to make! I can’t wait to try it out at home. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This salad is SOOOOO good. I loved everything about it.
I was skeptical of these flavors and ingredients together but it was so good! For the ranch I did 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of milk, the vinegar, paprika and then just a ranch packet. So delicious! And I just cooked the salmon in the cast iron skillet I cooked the bacon in. One less pan dirty and delicious!
I was skeptical of this combination of ingredients but it was so good! For the ranch I did 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup milk, the vinegar, paprika and a ranch packet and it was delicious and a little healthier. And I cooked the salmon in the bacon fat 🙂
Amazing. My husband said “one of the best salads he’s ever had.” Was great to prep everything but the salmon ahead. We pan seared the salmon because I like that more. Highly recommend.
Amazing salad! It is in our favourites and my husband asks for it weekly. Last time I made I didn’t have bacon. Sautéed prosciutto and it was even better!!
Prepping this all now for dinner tonight, no olive oil for baking salmon just S&P? Cant wait to try it!
I made this for supper tonight and it was A-MA-ZING!! I wouldn’t change a thing and I want to eat it every day for the rest of my life!