The Salad Lab: Whisk, Toss, Enjoy! Recipes for Making Fabulous Salads Every Day (A Cookbook)

“This overwhelmingly beautiful book will have you craving salads every day of the year! If you’re sick of boring salads, revitalize your taste buds with a copy of The Salad Lab today.” —Carleigh Bodrug, New York Times bestselling author of PlantYou

Make creative, unique, and delicious salads with favorite and all-new recipes from TikTok’s beloved salad recipe creator, The Salad Lab.

It all began when Darlene Schrijver was compiling her favorite salad recipes for her daughter who was off to college when a friend asked, “Why don’t you film the directions for making recipes instead and post them on TikTok? She’s always on there anyway.” Darlene started out making videos of classic and retro salads and thought it would be fun to measure the ingredients with test tubes and beakers since her daughter was a science major. She called her TikTok account The Salad Lab to encourage the spirit of experimentation. Soon, The Salad Lab’s following began to grow rapidly when Darlene would attempt to recreate a celebrity’s favorite salad or a recipe inspired by a dish from a restaurant.

From Bella Hadid to Kylie Jenner’s favorite salads to completely unique creations featured for the first time in The Salad Lab, Darlene’s careful instructions and smart salad-making tips are sure to inspire anyone to crave a healthy salad. All beautifully photographed, there are also drink serving recommendations for every dish, plus a section of staple recipes that can be turned to again and again for dressing and basics like Honey-Roasted Sliced Almonds, Cheesy Tortilla Croutons, Cilantro Lime Dressing, and her viral Green Goddess Dressing. Salads have never been more fun to make—or more delicious.

Darlene Schrijver grew up in Los Altos, California. She worked in market research and as a financial analyst before retiring, and later volunteered in classrooms and competed in triathlons, including an Iron Man. She raised her son, Morgan, and daughter, Athena, while managing her daughter’s athletic career as a youth and Jr. Team USA Olympic weightlifting athlete. The Salad Lab was born during the 2020 lockdown when everyone else was baking sourdough bread on TikTok. A friend suggested Darlene to post her recipes on social media, and that is how it all started. In addition to growing a community of salad fans, Darlene found creating salads on social media to be therapeutic as well. She enjoyed doing research for recipes and learning the history of each salad and the sometimes unusual ingredients. Her following soon grew into the millions, and she continues to strive to celebrate all cultures through her recipes. Darlene lives in Sonoma County, California.