Eat like some of golf’s top players with this simple, fresh, flavorful salad that pairs well with nearly any meal. Enjoy the simple but satisfying fillings and perfectly balanced vinaigrette in just minutes!
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Green Jacket Salad
If you’re looking for a salad fit for a champion, you’ve found it with this Green Jacket Salad. It takes its name from the famed Green Jacket Restaurant in Augusta, Georgia, near the town’s iconic Augusta National Golf Club and golf course where each year’s Masters winner earns the prize of the coveted green jacket.
Though the restaurant has now shut its doors, that doesn’t mean those craving its namesake salad are out of luck. It’s simple to whip up a vibrant, fresh-tasting plate of greens right in your own kitchen for a flavor hole-in-one.
What makes this salad dressing so unique?
While the salad itself relies on simple but fresh ingredients, the tangy vinaigrette dressing is what makes this dish truly shine. It’s all thanks to a mixture of distinctive herbs, potent spices, and a perfectly balanced oil-and-vinegar base.
However, the real secret ingredient may be Accent seasoning, which provides the explosive flavor of MSG mixed with other enhancements.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Salads are typically an accompaniment to a meal rather than the centerpiece, which means home cooks are likely busy with other dishes. Fortunately, this salad is incredibly fast and simple, including making the dressing from scratch.
Plus, it requires only two fresh ingredients, while the rest are long-lasting, affordable, and easy to stock up on. In addition, it’s easy to scale for larger batches or small personal servings.
It makes a wonderful light salad with crisp greens, tomatoes, pita chips for croutons, and freshly made dressing. Perfect for a quick lunch or a side on the dinner table.
Ingredients
For the versatile, tasty dressing, you’ll need the following:
- Vegetable oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Seasoned salt
- Accent seasoning
- Oregano
- Green onions
- Parsley
In addition, the famous green jacket salad mix consists of:
- Romain or Iceberg Lettuce
- Tomatoes – a Roma tomato is best. Red cherry tomatoes are also a good option.
- Plain pita bread
How to make Green Jacket Salad
The big flavors of Green Jacket Salad come together in just minutes.
- Combine vegetable oil, vinegar, seasoned salt, and Accent with a whisk in a bowl.
- Add the chopped green onions and parsley and stir again.
- Chop the tomato, then squeeze to remove pulp and liquid. Stir the pulp and liquid into the dressing mixture.
- Shred the lettuce and place salad greens in a salad bowl. Top with the tomatoes.
- Meanwhile, tear the pita into small bite-size pieces and toast them in the oven to create croutons.
- Drizzle the tomatoes and lettuce with dressing, then garnish with croutons and serve immediately.
Instead of whisking, you can shake the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
You can sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of the salad if desired.
What to serve with Green Jacket Salad
The simple, fresh, versatile flavors of Green Jacket Salad pair well with a diverse mix of dishes. A classic pairing is alongside grilled meat like steaks, pork or lamb chops, or chicken.
However, it also serves as a delicious side or appetizer for seafood, pasta dishes, or meatless options like stuffed mushrooms or quiches.
White or rose wines pair well with the freshness of the greens and mouthwatering dressing, while sparkling water or iced tea serve as suitable non-alcoholic options.
How to store
If you’ve got leftover dressing or made a larger batch ahead of time, it’s easy to store Green Jacket Salad Dressing. Simply place it in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. Freezing isn’t recommended and isn’t even a time-saver, considering how quick and easy making a fresh batch can be.
How long does Green Jacket Salad Dressing last?
Another advantage of Green Jacket dressing is that it has a relatively long life. When stored correctly, it can last a week to two weeks. It can be helpful to label your dressing with the date it was made if you don’t plan to use it within a day or two.
As with all dressings, it’s worth checking the smell and appearance of the dressing to make sure it’s unspoiled before using.
Favorite salad dressings
- Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Dressing
- Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Cafe Rio Dressing
- Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing
- Japanese Ginger Dressing
- Outback Caesar Dressing
- Panera Fuji Apple Salad Dressing
Popular restaurant salad recipes
- Brown Derby Cobb Salad
- Chick Fil A Cobb Salad
- Panera Cobb Salad
- Panera Greek Salad
- Wendy’s Taco Salad
Check out more of my easy salad recipes and the best copycat restaurant recipes on CopyKat!
Green Jacket Salad and Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 2 teaspoons Accent
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley
- 1 tomato chopped
- plain pita bread
- 1/2 head lettuce
Instructions
Salad Dressing
- In a bowl combine the vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, seasoned salt, Accent, and oregano. Mix the dressing together well. Mix in green onions and parsley to the salad dressing.
- After you chop the tomatoes "squish" them in your hands so as to get the juice of the tomato out into the mixture, then put pulp and juice into the bowl.
- Shred the lettuce and place into a serving bowl. Add chopped tomatoes on top of the lettuce.
- To make croutons, separate pita bread, tear into small pieces and brown slightly in the oven until bread is crisp. Do this just before serving so that they will be warm when serving.
- Drizzle salad dressing on top of the lettuce and tomatoes. Top with croutons and serve immediately.
Sandi Meesseman
For all of you folks who worked at Eejay’s in Aiken, SC – does anyone have the recipe for their pecan-crusted chicken with warm raspberry sauce?
jan71067
used to love going to the Green Jacket when I was a child with my parents…getting to dress up, the dark room, the salad bar!! we would alternate every weekend with it and the Town Tavern. Miss both of them!!
Getalife
And it’s still terrible just like your town. Evolve people…
Belinda Glisson
Kat3458 is absolutely right, my dad was Ben Reese, aka Mr Ben of the Green Jacket and he came up with the recipe. Regular oil not olive and hold the cucumbers if you want it authentic.
Belinda Glisson
Except my dad used lowery’s instead of accent when he made it.
Tanya
You are right, my dad was over the green jacket and I worked there for years and I was confused when I saw cucumbers and olive oil,lol I make this every week and pop ask me how to make it but I won’t tell!
Tanya
I just told my mom about this and she knows your dad, my dad was Cary Neely
Kat3458
As a employee at this restaurant back in my younger days, I WAS one of the “infamous GJ salad preparers”, so I DO KNOW the recipe.. First of all I not only prepared the salad as it was ordered for ‘freshness’, but I can ascertain that IT WAS ACCENT used in the salad.. We were told that this was a ‘secret recipe’ and for yearsssssssssss, I held my tongue until now. We DID NOT use olive oil, we used REGULAR OIL and you got the wine vinegar correct. But for one (1) salad, you use a industrial size spoon, waaay larger than a table spoon. I would say one of those large spoons you use to mix large pots of soups or a large serving spoon. You use one large spoon of regular oil and half of that spoon with the vinegar. Poor both in large bowl, add one (1) slice of a sliced tomatoe , cut tomatoe up, then squoosh with back of fork. Mix that up, then you add a teaspoon of seasoning salt (measured) and 1/2 teaspoon of Accent, stir.. Then you add a heaping teaspoon of oregano and mix all those ingredients well. Thennnnnnnn, you add your fresh cut up lettuce, and to measure the lettuce, you just place the lettuce in the bowl your are going to eat the salad from and make sure it’s a small heaping, then to that, you add 2 tablespoons of green onions and fresh parsley, washed, chopped and drained. And the baked pita chips are thrown in last, toss generously and serve, thennnnnnnn you sprinkle the top of salad with GRATED PARMESAN cheese :-).. Y’all forgot the cheese and you do not add cucumber.. NEVER DID WE ADD CUCUMBER to the ORIGINAL RECIPE!! Nor did we EVER use olive oil, but for those who care to use a substitute, by all means go for it, but this IS the ORIGINAL recipe that was served up at the INFAMOUS GREEN JACKET RESTAURANT that once stood directly across the street from the Augusta National Golf Club. I don’t know why they closed this restaurant down, but I do know the corporate office was out of Florida.. We also had a ‘smaller version’ of the restaurant in Daniel Village. And EJ’s that was mentioned in one of the above comments, was owned by the same folks. Do not know if that place is still open, and I have still yet to try out Rae’s Coastal Cafe, but now I find it a ‘MUST’, JUST to see how their version of the salad tastes.. Bon’a petite’!!!
Belinda Glisson
You are absolutely right. My dad was Mr Ben, did you work with him?
Kathleen Pratt Cox
What year (s) did he work there, Belinda Glisson? I was one of the First Salad bar attendee hired when they first opened and I was 15 at the time and my mother was one of the Hostesses.. Btw, I am kat3458.. Can’t remember how I signed in under that name 3 yrs ago.. Lol
Barflypress
From an original “Green Jacket Girl” for 14 years the GJ salad does not have cucumbers, you do not dhill the dressing, the lettuce is the LAST ingredient to put into the salad, and the dressin g has NEVER been chilled. Otherwise..you’re pretty close give or take a tbsp or two
Chuck Baker
Hint: For best results, mix everything but the lettuce and pita chips in the serving bowl. Then add the lettuce and “fold” the dressing up into it. This keeps the lettuce healthy. Pouring the mixture on the lettuce makes it more limp.
Valerie
Don’t leave out the toasted Pita croutons, they make the salad. I live in Augusta and also miss the Green Jacket. Another Augusta area restaurant that has an excellent version of this is EJ’s in Aiken, SC.
BethB
This is a fabulous salad – one that MUST be tried! I live in North Augusta and trust me, the Green Jacket Salad is one that you’ll want everytime you think salad! By the way – I really miss the Green Jacket Restaurant – it was fabulous. If anyone comes to Augusta for the tournament they can get this salad at Rae’s Coastal Cafe in Augusta (our favorite restaurant since the Green Jacket closed).
NancyC
Beth, I live in Augusta and I really miss the Green Jacket Restaurant. I’m looking forward to getting that salad at Rae’s when we have our office Christmas dinner there in December. Sad we lost the restaurant but now even the building is gone!
Tmiller
This calls for “accent” What is that please?
Stephanie
It is a brand for MSG. MSG is monosodiumglutamate, it is a flavor enhancer you can purchase at your grocery store.
Gwynneth
It’s wrong. Accent is a type of seasoning salt, but it’s not the type used in the salad. I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but it’s an entirely different seasoning salt blend used in the salad. Here’s a hint- think of who owns the restaurant… & what other restaurants they own.
Barflypress
Dear Gwyneth…SWORN TO SECRECY is why no one has duplicated this salad. however, i make it 3to 4 times a week. yum yum myself, am sworn to secrecy you have no idea what closing the GJ did to a very close crew ran by mr Don Criswell. OOut turnover was nill to none. myself, 14 years.
A very sad end to a wonderful thing
Jana
Shoney’s Seasoning Salt! 🙂
Shelby
Kat said she worked there and accent was used. You say you worked there and it wasn’t used. I do not remember Parmesan cheese being used. But I’ve made it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, accent, oregano, seasoning salt. I took the tomatoes and smashed them to get juice and mixed it with oil and red wine vinegar with the seasonings. This is oretty darn good too. Once the I toasted the pita bread I served these warm with the rest ingredients. I thought onion was sliced in it. It’s been so long since I’ve made it.