High Calorie Salads for Weight Gain

Salads are often known as a low-calorie meal for weight loss. But did you know you can use high calorie salads for weight gain too?

High calorie salads can be jam packed with nutrition and help you to gain healthy weight. Or to stop unintended weight loss.

Why High Calorie Salads?

Depending on why you found your way to this article, you may be wondering why high calorie salads? While low calorie foods and weight loss are very trendy online, there are so many people who also need help gaining weight.

High calorie salads can help those who struggle with weight loss or being underweight to get the calories they need to gain weight.

High Calorie and Weight Gain

Calories play an important role in gaining weight. 

In order to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than your body uses up in a day. Our bodies use calories to function (ie. breath, digest food, etc) and when we exercise (ie. walking or going to the gym).

If you want to successfully gain weight, you will need more calories.

What Makes a Food High Calorie?

So what then makes a food high calorie? A high calorie food has more calories per volume than similar lower calorie foods. 

For example, let’s say you eat the same volume of apples and walnuts. The apples are a lower calorie food while the walnuts are a higher calorie food. 

In other words, for the same amount of food, the walnuts have way more calories.

High calorie foods often contain more dietary fat. Fat has more calories per volume than protein or carbohydrates. So high fat foods tend to be high calorie foods.

Keep in mind that fats can be very healthy. In fact there are different types of fat. Saturated fats tend to be less healthy. But fats like monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats are very heart healthy.

A high calorie salad will tend to have more high fat foods to boost that calorie count.

High Calorie Salads 101

So what exactly makes a salad a high calorie salad? In a nutshell, it’s a salad that has added calories to boost the total calorie content. And in turn, help you to gain weight!

Salad Composition

A salad typically starts with a bed of greens. This could be a variety of lettuces, turnip greens, arugula, spinach, kale, chard, etc.

Then the salad is topped with a variety of bite sized foods. This could include meat, eggs, cheese, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and croutons.

And finally a salad is topped with a salad dressing.

The base of the salad (the greens!) is going to be low calorie. But it’s the foods we add on it that are going to make your salad a high calorie salad.

High Calorie Foods in Salads

Since salads contain a variety of low calorie and high calorie foods, let’s look at some common high and low calorie options often found on salads.

Some common in high calorie foods in salads include:

• Oil based salad dressings
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Dried fruit
• Hard boiled eggs
• Beef

Some common low calorie foods in salads include:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Vegetables
• Berries
• Vinegar

High Calorie Salad Recipe Ideas

Salads often don’t require measured recipes, just toss however much you want on a plate (or in a bowl!) and enjoy! Here are some high calorie recipe ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

In our next section we’ll walk through how to build a custom high calorie salad. 

Apples and Steak Salad

• Greens of your choice
• Dried apples
• Dried cranberries
• Candied pecans
• Crumbed blue cheese
• Sliced steak
• Olive oil
• Vinegar

Caesar Salad

• Lettuce
• Fried chicken strips
• Cheese
• Croutons
• Caesar salad dressing

All the Things Salad

• Greens of your choice
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sunflower seeds
• Dried cranberries
• Hard boiled eggs
• Avocado
• Cubed ham
• Oil based salad dressing

Building a High Calorie Salad

Now let’s dive into how to build a high calorie salad that will help you gain weight. 

The bones of your high calorie salad will include:

• Greens
• Protein
• High-Calorie Add-ins
• Dressing

First Step: Bed of Greens

Now remember, the greens on any salad are low calorie. Very low calorie.

We’re going to be adding calories on top of your bed of greens, so start with your favorite greens. Dark leafy greens tend to be a more nutrient dense choice.

Types of Greens for Salad:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kale
• Arugula 
• Dandelion greens
• Chard
• Iceberg lettuce
• Etc.

Second Step: Pick a Protein

Your next step is to add a good protein source (or two) to your salad. 

Types of Protein for Salad:

• Steak
• Salmon
• Hard boiled eggs
• Cheddar cheese
• Ham
• Chicken
• Tofu
• Beans
• Lentils
• Etc.

Third Step: High Calorie Add-ins

There are so many high calorie foods you can add to your salads. These are just some ideas.

Types of High Calorie Foods for Salad:

• Avocado
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Peanuts
• Hazelnuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Raisins
• Dried cranberries
• Dates
• Etc.

Step 4: Drizzle Your Dressing

Salad dressings high in heart healthy fats are high in calories. You can choose a store-bought dressing or use oil and vinegar.

High Calorie Salad Dressings

• Oil based salad dressing
• Olive oil and vinegar
• Avocado oil and vinegar
• Caesar dressing
• Thousand Island
• Blue Cheese
• Italian Dressing
• French Dressing
• Honey Mustard
• Ranch

Read the nutrition facts label on your salad dressings to find the ones highest in calories at the store. Avoid words like “low fat” and “low calorie”. Look for oil and cream ingredients.

I like making my own salad dressings using jam, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. I mix it in a blender or shaker. It’s easy and delicious.

Special Dietary Restrictions

If you are following a specific eating plan or have special dietary restrictions, be sure to work with your healthcare team or dietitian. They can help you figure out which food choices will best meet your needs.

If you follow a vegan eating pattern, salads are a great way to gain weight. Simply omit any of the meat or dairy based options listed in the examples.

A salad topped with avocado, nuts, seeds, beans, and olive oil is an excellent vegan high calorie option! Learn more at 15 Best High Calorie Vegan Foods.

Conclusion: High Calorie Salads

The sky is the limit to building high calorie salads for weight gain. Hopefully this article gave you some good ideas on how you could use high calorie foods in a salad to make a healthy, high calorie food. 

You can learn more about high calorie foods in our High Calorie Foods archive. And you can find some delicious high calorie recipes at our sister website High Calorie Recipes.

Best of luck on your weight gain journey!