A bagged salad is a commercially produced package of salad greens that are pre-washed. Alternatively, you could also wash your own salad greens and put them into a bag yourself to take to a picnic or keep on hand in your refrigerator. However, most people buy a bagged salad for the convenience it offers.
A bagged salad requires no washing or chopping and all the salad greens you need are in the bag. Some people do like to give bagged salad ingredients a wash before using, but you can also buy organic bagged salads. Of course, bagged salads don't usually contain the more perishable vegetables such as tomato or cucumber, but most people are prepared to add other ingredients to the salad greens anyway.
You can make many quick and easy lunches plus no-cook dinners when you start with a bagged salad. Add cooked shrimp and hard boiled eggs for a shrimp salad, or Caesar dressing and croutons for a Caesar salad. You can round out the meal with crusty bread or garlic bread, a beverage and a simple dessert such as ice cream or sherbet.
In addition to the bagged salads with iceberg or romaine lettuce and julienned carrots, you can also buy spinach bagged salads. Spinach offers excellent nutrition and you can lightly steam it if you want to serve it hot. To make a cold classic spinach salad, simply add sliced hardboiled eggs, pieces of cooked bacon, fresh chopped tomato and serve with ranch dressing. Cornbread makes a nice alternative to garlic or crusty bread.
A bagged salad is especially handy for camping as it can remain sealed and fresh in the cooler until you're ready to use it alongside barbecued steak, chicken or practically anything. Many bagged salads feature convenient re-sealable packaging, but some have to be cut open with scissors and re-closed with a twist tie or clip. Most bagged salads come in two sizes, so you can buy enough for a big crowd or just a few people.