Introducing Food52’s Tournament of Salads: Lettuce Play

A salad can mean anything. Butter lettuce, farro, favas, a jar of tuna—it’s hard to think of an ingredient that doesn’t “belong” in a salad. It’s as easygoing as a dish can get, especially in spring, prime salad-making season, which makes it the perfect subject of our first Food52 recipe tournament.

We know you love competitions, and this one features some of our favorite salad recipes from our community, cookbook authors, and chefs. Only one will be crowned the champion. Will it be a Caesar? A wedge? Something you’ve never made before? Let’s find out, together.

We’ve arrived at the final salad showdown, The Salad Bowl! You can scroll to the blow-by-blows below, but TL;DR—Sohla’s My Big Fat Halloumi Salad and Ali Slagle’s Not Just Another Chicken Caesar are going head to head this week, May 1-May 8.

To determine the winner, we’ve got official judges,* but we encourage you to play along! (You have to eat, don't you?!)

Show us your versions of these 2 salads on Instagram or TikTok and tag @food52 with the hashtag #f52tournament when you do. Post your results by next Wednesday, May 8, and we'll announce the best salad by May 10.

Have fun and film the recipe video you’ve always dreamed of making, or invite friends over for a salad-off! If you want to be really legit about it, score each salad using our rigorous criteria—rate them 1-10 (10 being the best) in five categories: Originality, Taste, Texture, Ease and Appearance, then email us when your post is live to make sure we see it.

*Special thanks in advance to Linsey Sowa (@linseysowa), our Cookbook Club and Baking Club moderator; Paula Marchese (@paulamarchese_), editor and longtime Food52 community member; Shana Liebman (@adailydip), recipe developer and dip lover; and Zoe Friesen (@dinneratmidnite), food writer and self-proclaimed “Salad Clown,” for committing to be our official judges in this round, and giving these salads a thorough review! You can follow them or the hashtag #f52tournament to see who comes out a-head!

Our first voting round has closed—you helped us winnow the field of 16 salads to 8. The results are below!

With our 8 contenders set, we entered Round 2 of the competition. Here's where our judges landed.

Bracket 1 Winner: Nancy

Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad vs. Jess Damuck’s Source Aware Salad

This was the only bracket where two “professionals” went head to head. Nancy’s Chopped Salad, a perennial Food52 favorite, was the 1st seed, and Jess Damuck’s Source Aware Salad was the 8th. They were well-matched—for many people, including myself, the difference between winning and losing came down to a few tenths of a point.

In the Chopped Salad camp:

• For Jess Montalvo (@717jr, founder of Sugar Stache Confections, it was very close, but the Chopped came out on top with a 9. “​​As a main or a side, this will be a repeat in our rotation—and maybe a highlight at a potluck or barbecue.”

• Amy Unsworth (@amyunsworth20), was not terribly impressed by either salad, but gave the Chopped a 6, beating the Source Aware by double.

• Rachel Rhodes (@procrstibakingpodcast), a co-host for the Procrastibaking podcast, gave the Chopped an 8. “I loved the simple oil and vinegar style dressing and the salad was a breeze to prep.”

• Lupita Balderas (@lupisthecookiecouture and @thecookiecouture on TikTok), who blogs and teaches cookie decorating and macaron classes (in-person and on her YouTube), gave Nancy’s salad a 10. “This is the kind of dish that, bite by bite, you start falling in love with, and you start planning ahead to make this salad once again,” she said.

• Moi (@altnbd) I decided to play along, because I had never made Nancy’s Chopped Salad. It beat the Source Aware by a razor-thin margin: an 8 over a 7.8.

In the Source Aware Camp:

• Letty Helgans (@queenleticia1, a private account) gave the Source Aware Salad a 9 (vs. 8.6 for the Chopped). She made a beautiful video in her newly renovated kitchen, and when I saw that she also had Portmerion dishes, I knew we were kindred spirits. Also, her scoring was impeccable. “The salad dressing was amazing—very fresh and clean tasting.”

Congrats, Nancy! Was there really ever a question you would come out on top?

Bracket 2 Winner: Sohla

Sohla El-Waylly’s Big Fat Halloumi Salad vs. MrsLarkin's Green Goddess Salad

A unanimous showing for Sohla’s salad in this bracket. One could argue that matchup wasn’t ideal, pairing a simple salad with a more complex “meal’ salad, but the numbers don’t lie.

• Zoe Rose Friesen (@dinneratmidnite), a food blogger, comedy writer, and very good follow, made the most riveting salad videos of the tournament in this round, giving the Big Fat Halloumi a 8.4/10 because “This salad is a party on a plate and makes me feel alive. Cue Salad Dance!” I implore you to watch her videos to find out how both salads scored in the Vibes category.

• Michelle Pang (@michpanguin) gave it a 7.75. “Every bite was a little different and it was bright (thanks to the fresh citrus), sweet (courtesy of torn dried dates), and smoky/spicy (lightly dressed with a simple honey dressing that features sumac and Aleppo Pepper).”

• Carrie Odgers Lax (@carrieolax) gave Sohla’s salad a 9.5 “I was a little skeptical about the combination initially, but the flavors melded perfectly and the different textures (sweet, chewy dates, salty, crunchy chickpeas, crisp & melty halloumi, tender roasted eggplant, juicy tangerine) made it a really satisfying meal.”

• Lindsey Bickers Bock (@tarheelinsey wasn’t bowled over by either option but gave the salad a 7. “I’m still waiting for the wagon I’m going to jump on to carry me through this tourney.”

Congrats, Sohla!

Bracket 3 Winner: Ali Slagle

Ali Slagle’s Not Just Another Chicken Caesar vs. Dymnyno’s Lacinato Kale & Mint Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing

We had the lightest showing of judges in this bracket, and the decision was split until the 11th hour, a nail-biter that had me terrified that I would need to hold a last-minute salad off. Alas, a tie-breaking verdict came through.

In the Lacinato Kale & Mint Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing camp:

• Amy Unsworth (@amywithane) gave the Kale salad a 9.75. “Overall, they're both great—marinating the chicken in caesar dressing is a great idea and we loved it, but the mint in the kale salad really brought everything together.”

In the Caesar camp:

• Cortney Hurley (@cortneyhurley), gave the Caesar an 8. “Cooking the chicken in the dressing left it tender and succulent, the quick crouton method left them crunchy with a good chew and really I'm ready to make another batch of chicken to finish off all this romaine.”

• Amy Tylock (@stimpy44) gave it a 9, and plans to add this to her regular rotation. (Hers is a private account, but we followed her to verify her score!) “The dressing was a little thick which kept it from getting a perfect score, but the seasoning was spot on.”

Congrats, Ali!

Bracket 4 Winner: Emily

Emily Nunn’s White Bean, Tuna, Artichoke & Olive Salad with Anchovy Dressing vs. A Cozy Kitchen’s Pea, Asparagus & Avocado Salad With Burrata

And finally in our last bracket, our judges were mostly aligned with moving Emily Nunn’s salad to Round 4, but this was a bittersweet bracket for me. The tournament was designed to pit “amateur” recipe developers against pros, and none of our community recipes advanced. For our next Tournament of Summer Sides (see below on how to enter), I think we’ll have a different outcome.

In the Pea, Asparagus & Avocado Salad With Burrata camp:

• Marion Sultan (@tatitestkitchen), co-founder of Dhaba Recipes, a recipe organizing and sharing platform, chose A Cozy Kitchen’s Pea, Asparagus & Avocado Salad With Burrata, calling it a “very refreshing salad with a super creamy dressing made with yogurt and avocado. A good find.” See her videos of both salads here and here.

In the White Bean, Tuna, Artichoke, & Olive Salad with Anchovy Dressing (aka Seat-of-the-Pants Salad) camp:

• Ivy Greene (@ivysgreene) chose Emily salad. “We loved the taste and texture of this salad which I made entirely with items from my pantry. A 9 out of 10 and would definitely make again,” she wrote. She did add arugula to the mix, but this recipe invites you to riff.

• Leslie Goldenberg (@sticksnscones) also chose Emily’s salad, giving it a perfect 10. “Both salads boasted fresh spring flavors, but the crowd favorite was Emily Nunn’s.”

• Alison Krupnick, @akrupnick, a writer who pens the “Slice of Midlife” Substack, also scored in Emily’s favor with a 6.5, but commended both recipe developers: “It takes some thought to come up with a balanced salad recipe that hits all the notes. Congratulations to these competitors.”

Congrats Emily and all of our contenders!

In the pantheon of salads, Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad remains one of the very greats, but its place in the Tournament of Salads has come to an end. It was a close contest, but Sohla El-Waylyy’s My Big Fat Halloumi Salad won our judges’ hearts and plates, 4 to 1. Meanwhile, Emily Nunn’s pantry-tastic Seat-of-the-Pants Salad was no match for the crowd-pleasing power of Ali Slagle’s Not Just Another Chicken Caesar.

There you have it: My Big Fat Halloumi and Not Just Another Chicken Caesar are headed to the Salad Bowl! Here’s what our judges had to say about each.

Bracket 1 Winner: Sohla

Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad vs. Sohla El-Waylly's Big Fat Halloumi Salad

Team Chopped: 1

For Shyla Stratham (@shylastrath), a Food52 cookbook club member, the salads were neck and neck. Nancy’s Chopped won by a sliver (8 vs. 7.8) that came down to taste (“delicious!”) and presentation (“Lots of nice color for eye appeal!”).

Team My Big Fat Halloumi: 4

• To help decide this round, Beverly Scofield (@bevscofield) invited three fellow testers who were universally smitten with the Big Fat Halloumi’s surprising mix of flavors. ““Umami punch,” “a 10 on crunch!,” and “my husband had 3 helpings!” were among the compliments they showered on Sohla’s salad.

• Lynn Born (@lynnsarnowborn) also invited a trio of testers to see who would “come out a-head.” She declared the Halloumi the winner, primarily on taste: “Both scored high marks, but Sohla sweeps it. Some bites of her salad were very peppery, but if you got the perfect bite of fruit, greens, cheese and dates…YUM!”

• Neige Var (@bica_the_portuguesewaterdog) gave the BFH a perfect 10. “This salad says: A lot of thought went into this. It makes for a beautiful bowl, full of interesting ingredients. It has all the makings of a winning dish.” She did, however, swap in sweet potatoes for the eggplant. Is this a step too far? We let it slide.

• Christine Valada (@valada_photo), a former Washington Post photographer, also gave the Big Fat Halloumi a 10/10 for its year-round appeal. “A delicious arrangement of peppery arugula, bitter radicchio, sweet dates, tangerine, and roasted eggplants, chickpeas, halloumi and almonds create a salad that will be delightful in summer and winter.”

Congrats, Sohla!

Bracket 2 Winner: Ali

Ali Slagle’s Not Just Another Chicken Caesar vs. Emily Nunn's White Bean, Tuna, Artichoke & Olive Salad with Anchovy Dressing

Team Seat-of-the-Pants: 1

The Seat-of-the-Pants Salad from Emily Nunn, head of the Department of Salad Substack, ended its run in Round 3. Judge Caroline Bratney (@omnomwithrob), together with her husband and namesake of her account, Rob, gave it a higher mark than the Caesar thanks to its ease. “When I think about a salad I’d make again for our everyday work and family life, I prefer one that uses fewer dishes, requires less labor, and provides greater nutrient density. So for me it’s so-long to girl dinner, and the Tuna, Artichoke, Olive, and White Bean Salad is the winner!”

Team Caesar: 3

• For longtime community member AntoniaJames (@helenleahconroy), Ali’s Caesar was the resounding winner, both for the garlicky mayo the chicken marinated in, and its stovetop croutons. “That marinade makes phenomenal shrimp, too,” she wrote, “This recipe is a keeper!”

• Katrina Laxa (@thetastiestbook), a food blogger and recipe developer, had 8 testers along for this round, and again the Caesar edged out the white bean salad. “This chicken Caesar is, frankly, just another chicken Caesar,” she said, but there’s nothing wrong with that. “Ali’s salad is easy & crowd-pleaser & has great crunch—it’s a great go-to salad for any occasion and day of the week.”

• Finally, Carol Scapaticci (@carolmaryelizzz), who has a private account we verified, also swung in the Caesar’s favor. “The chicken and, especially, the croutons won it for me. Next time, I’d eat just those elements as a sandwich.”

Congrats, Ali!

The Salad Bowl is now on! Everyone is invited to make these last two finalists and help us declare one the champion. The author of the winning salad recipe will receive a golden fork, and our official judges will get a special thank-you gift.

May the most amazing salad win!

Our next tournament subject is summer side dishes. Do you have a recipe we should consider? Submit it by May 15. If it’s an existing recipe, just click the edit button below the photo of your recipe and tag your recipe Tournament of Summer Sides in the “Special Considerations” field. For new recipes, follow the same tagging instructions when you add it to the site here. Questions? Get in touch.

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Want to place bets now on which salad will win? Share your pick below!