When it comes to summer, the word “salad” isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. It does include leafy greens, but it also includes potato salads, pasta salads, bean salads, and corn salads. We have a lot of choices for all of them, from the usual to the more unusual.
There’s something for everyone, from quick and classy like a corn salad to something completely different like a cobb egg salad.
Best Summer Salad Recipes
Listed below are some of our favorite recipes. We hope you enjoy them. Read on for more information about summer salad recipes.
Bacon Jalapeño Corn Salad
We can’t get enough corn on the cob in the summer when all the best vegetables are in season. This easy corn salad is a great side dish for a potluck or barbecue, and we plan to eat it all summer long. You can change this corn salad in many ways to make it just the way you like it. The biggest change you can make is whether or not to make it spicy.
People think that jalapenos are very hot, but if you take out the seeds and the white, pithy ribs, almost all of the heat is gone. So you can make a spicy or mild salad just by changing this one thing. Another great way to change this corn salad is to add diced sweet peppers. You can use either red or yellow bell peppers.
Summer Panzanella
Panzanella is a summer dish that does taste like summer. You should make it when the tomatoes are extra juicy, the squash is just a bit sweet, and the basil is very cheap. We grill the bread, zucchini, and onion until they are charred, then toss them with the rest of the ingredients to add more flavor.
Shrimp Mango Salad
This quick and easy salad contains fresh ingredients and a nice crunch. It’s just what we want when we want something filling that won’t make us feel heavy. With a bright, savory dressing that reminds us of June’s Miso Ginger Dressing, this might become our new favorite way to eat our vegetables.
This salad with shrimp and mango is now one of my all-time favorites. It’s very easy to make, and I guarantee you won’t be able to stop eating it. Plus, it’s spicy and filling and full of fresh summer ingredients, making it a great side dish for warm weather.
Southern-Style Potato Salad
This Southern-style potato salad is made with soft Yukon gold potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, sweet pickles, and red onion. It goes well with barbecues, family gatherings, weeknight dinners, and more.
What makes this version different from traditional potato salad and Southern? The sweet and sour dressing was made with mayonnaise and — wait for it — pickle juice and yellow mustard. The bread and butter pickles are the right amounts of sweet, but you could also use kosher dill instead. If your friends or family don’t like pickles, skip the chopped ones, but don’t leave out the juice.
Easy Greek Salad
This traditional Greek salad is called horiatiki. It is made with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, thinly sliced red onion, and feta. Red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil are all mixed to make the easy dressing. It’s the best, plain and simple, even more so considering that this Mediterranean side dish takes only 15 minutes to make.
Tomato Salad
This tomato salad is versatile enough to serve either as a side dish or as an entire dinner on its own. You will find pleasure in it on every front: A gingery balsamic vinaigrette is swirled with the salad’s verdant greens, juicy tomatoes, blue cheese, candied hazelnuts, and croutons made in a stovetop toaster oven.
Chickpea Salad
This chickpea salad is not only a delicious option for a side dish (hello, potlucks!), but it also works quite well as the main course on its own. Consider the addition of a dollop of Dijon mustard to your red wine vinaigrette to be your secret weapon in elevating a traditional dressing to an even higher level of deliciousness. Adding mustard imparts a creamier texture and flavor to the vinaigrette.
Cobb Egg Salad
Egg salad is delicious as is. But when you add bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and tomatoes, you have a lunch that will make you think about it for days. The red wine vinegar and yogurt dressing is great and goes well with a regular Cobb salad. Our advice? You can put this on toasted sourdough or make a sandwich with it. It’s good on its own, but it’s much better with bread.
Watermelon Feta Salad
One of the most refreshing combinations ever is watermelon and cucumbers. Add some mint, red onion, and feta, and toss it all with a simple vinaigrette made from olive oil and red wine vinegar. You now have a delicious summer salad. With the right balance of sweet and salty, it’s the perfect summer side dish for grilled chicken, steak, or even beef, chicken, or veggie burger!
Loaded Cauliflower Salad
This recipe is so easy that cutting up the cauliflower is the hardest part. To do this, remove the leaves at the bottom and cut around the stem to remove as much of the core as possible. Then, break the head into smaller pieces with your hands, chop the florets, and pull off the large, fibrous stems.
It’s also a recipe you can change depending on your feelings. Add some heat with sliced pickled or fresh jalapeos. To make it vegetarian, leave out the bacon. Or add some ground spices for more flavor.
Noodle Salad
This noodle salad is for all you people who like pasta salad. It’s a colorful feast for the eyes and a taste of love at first sight. The noodles are covered in a spicy-sweet dressing made with mayonnaise that can be used on anything. The fresh ginger, garlic, and Sriracha heat is toned down by the mayo and a bit of sugar. The rice vinegar and lime zest balance out the creaminess of the mayo. Yum! With so many ways to change it up, it’s sure to become a favorite summer dish you’ll want to make again and again.
Farro and White Bean Salad
We love a big grain salad with lots of pretty things in it. This farro and white bean salad have roasted vegetables like bell pepper and radicchio, as well as crunchy vegetables like radicchio and bell pepper. It’s all mixed in a bright, lemony dressing, and then goat cheese is added for a creamy, tangy taste. We can’t get enough of it because it tastes as good as it looks.
It also works well when things are changed or added. Try substituting cabbage for radicchio or spinach for arugula. If you want more vegetables, roast cauliflower with the carrots or add some shredded chicken. Brown rice or quinoa can be used instead of farro.
What are the Three Types of Salad Dressing?
A salad dressing is a sauce that you put on a salad. Dressings can be used on almost every kind of leafy salad. They can also be used to make bean salads, noodle or pasta salads, antipasti, and potato salads.
In the West, there are three main types of salad dressing.
Vinaigrette is usually a mixture or emulsion of salad oil and vinegar. Herbs, spices, salt, pepper, sugar, and other ingredients are often added to give flavor.
Creamy dressings are often made with mayonnaise and may have yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, or milk.
Cooked dressings, which are thicker and more creamy, are usually made by adding egg yolks and heating them gently.
Healthy Salad Toppings
Salads can be a big part of a healthy diet because you can put so many different things in them. Almost any food can be put on a salad, but some toppings are healthier than others.
Raw, Chopped Vegetables
Greens like lettuce, spinach, kale, mixed greens, or arugula are usually the first thing in a salad. You can also add a few other raw vegetables, though. Chopped carrots, onions, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, and broccoli are all popular raw vegetable toppings. These vegetables are full of fiber.
Seeds and Nuts
Nuts and seeds, like pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts, and chia seeds, are very healthy toppings for salads.
Dried Fruit
Salads and dried fruit taste great together. Dried cranberries, apricots, mango, or raisins can be sprinkled on a salad for a sweet taste and extra nutrients. For example, 1 ounce (28 grams) of dried apricots has 2 grams of fiber and 20% of the DV for vitamin A.
Whole-Wheat
Brown rice, quinoa, farro, and barley are all cooked whole grains often used as salad toppings. These grains give your salad texture and taste.
Fresh Fruit
Even though most people think of salads as a mix of vegetables, fresh fruit can be a tasty topping for a salad with health benefits. Berries, apples, oranges, and cherries are all good fresh fruits to put in your salad. You can also make your salad dressings with fruit that has been blended or juice that has been freshly squeezed.
How can you Make your Salad Flavorful?
Cook your vegetables ahead of time. Before putting them in your salad, grill your vegetables. You can pickle them, roast them, or put them in a sauce. Most salads have raw vegetables, but adding some cooked vegetables can make your salad taste better.
You can make your salad taste better by adding vegetables and fruits you wouldn’t normally think to add. Add fried okra, avocado, beets, asparagus, roasted sweet potatoes, artichoke, pears, pomegranate arils, cabbage or kohlrabi, and garlic scapes, mizuna (Japanese mustard), edamame, yucca, zucchini blossoms, nasturtium flowers, or rhubarb.
Herbs add flavor to your salad. Basil, fennel, rosemary, thyme, mint, dill, and lemongrass are all great herbs to put in a salad. You can roughly chop these and sprinkle them on top of a salad or mix them with your greens.
The Healthiest Salad Ingredients for Losing Weight
To meet your nutritional goals, like losing weight, you must make a filling salad that tastes good. You will want to ensure that your salad has enough protein, fiber, healthy carbs, and fat to make you feel full.
Protein foods help your body build muscle or keep the muscle you have in good shape. Even when you’re not working out, muscle tissue helps you burn more calories throughout the day. If you do strength training, eating more protein will help your muscles grow faster, making you stronger. Protein is also important for immune health and is needed to build and repair cells.
- Fiber-rich foods make you feel full longer after a meal, so you eat less throughout the day. Fiber-rich foods make you feel full, so you don’t want to eat as much. And when you eat foods with insoluble fiber, your body digests less of the food’s calories.
- Carbohydrates like whole grains, edamame, sweet potato, squash, and roasted pumpkin give you energy and make your meal more filling and tasty. Also, they have more fiber.
- Healthy fat helps you feel full. Healthy fat is a macronutrient that is important and has many uses. It helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins and is important for your hair, skin, and nail health. It also helps keep your metabolism and reproductive system in check. Most of the time, you should choose healthy fats.
- Adding protein, fiber-rich healthy carbs, and healthy fats to a salad can help you feel full and satisfied for longer, which may help you lose weight.
But there’s more. If you fill your salad bowl with vegetables, healthy fats, and protein, you’ll get a lot of vitamins and minerals, which is the best way to eat. Since many of the ingredients in salads have a lot of volume for a small number of calories, you will probably eat less while still feeling full. Adding more salads to your diet may help you lose weight if that is what you want.
Conclusion
To make your summer refreshing, try one of these salads from our list and enjoy it with your family for a healthy meal. The following are some of our top choices. These recipes can be made with few ingredients, less time, and less effort. It’s so simple and fast that even your kids can do it!
