I Eat Salad Almost Every Day, and It’s All Thanks to These Time-Saving Tools

During most of the year, I consider salad to be a side dish. That all changes during the dog days of summer, when eating a warm meal can make me overheat in seconds. During the hottest months of the year, my salads take center stage — in fact, I make one practically every day until September rolls around. With all the washing, chopping, and mixing needed to make a salad (and dressing to go with it), prep can be tedious. But over the years, I’ve amassed a collection of kitchen tools that make homemade salads a breeze.

If you’re looking for ways to save time and money this summer, these are the seven tools you’ll need to make creamy dressings and delicious salads effortlessly. Shop them all at Amazon, starting at just $9.

Best Time-Saving Kitchen Tools for Salad

OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Produce Keeper

This three-piece container is my favorite way to store produce. Not only does it have a built-in colander to promote better airflow, but it also features a carbon filter that reduces ethylene gas and keeps contents fresh for longer. It even comes with a vent to control the container’s humidity level. It measures ‎12 by 6 by 6.6 inches, and thanks to its convenient rectangular shape and 5-quart capacity, it’s the perfect size for storing carrots, cucumbers, and other vegetables that can otherwise be difficult to store. 

Cuisinart Mini Food Processor

I’ll let you in on a secret: The key to making delicious salad is homemade dressing. While I know it sounds like a tedious or laborious task, I whip mine up in seconds thanks to this mini food processor from Cuisinart. All I have to do is add oil, vinegar, mustard, whole garlic cloves, unchopped herbs, and other ingredients, and I have emulsified, creamy dressing at the touch of a button. While I hardly ever pull out my bulky, full-sized food processor, this one, measuring 7 by 9.25 by 5 inches, is small enough to keep out on the countertop for easy access.

OXO Salad Spinner

I bought my OXO salad spinner just last year, and I can’t believe I went so long without it. The bowl has a 6-quart capacity, meaning it can fit a whole head of lettuce (and then some), and it’s incredibly easy to use. All I have to do is add my produce to the colander, rinse, place it inside the bowl, and use the pump to spin it dry. If you plan on making salads as often as I do, you won’t want to compromise on quality — snag yours now for $30. 

Fullstar Vegetable Chopper

I bought this food chopper in March, and my life hasn’t been the same since. I used to spend hours mincing garlic, dicing cucumbers, and preparing other salad components, but this tiny tool saves me so much time. All I have to do is push the vegetable I want to chop through my stainless steel blade of choice, and watch my perfectly diced produce collect in the catch tray. The tool comes with six different blades, so not only can it dice and chop, it can grate, julienne, slice, and shred.

Kitchendao 2-in-1 Salad Dressing Shaker with Juicer

I love using this two-in-one shaker bottle to make citrus-based dressings. The clever tool has a removable hand juicer, so I can squeeze my citrus directly into the mixing cup before adding the rest of my ingredients. I also love that it comes with measuring markers in both ounces and milliliters, so it’s easy to keep an eye on ingredient ratios. Its spout lid is another convenient touch, reducing countertop drips and spills.

Nish Mezzaluna Salad Chopper

I’m convinced that certain salads taste better when chopped finely. Recently, I bought myself one of the handheld salad chopping tools I’d seen at my favorite salad chains, and I can’t stop using it. The chopper has a handle to keep my fingers safe as the two ultra-sharp blades do their work. I love that I can use it to chop directly in my serving bowl, so I don’t have to dirty multiple dishes, and it saves me lots of time on days when I’m rushing to make lunch.

Daily Kisn Mini Silicone Tongs, Set of 3

I like to make sure my dressing is well incorporated into my salads, but when making smaller servings, tossing ingredients with standard salad servers made a huge mess on my countertop. That’s where these tiny silicone tongs come in handy. These 7-inch mini tongs are small enough to mix my ingredients without sending them flying across the kitchen, and I love that the pack comes with three, so I can always be sure I have a clean set on hand,