22 Contemporary & Straightforward Salad Recipes

Whether or not you serve them as a aspect or as a light-weight most important dish, these straightforward salad recipes are assured winners! They’re healthful, scrumptious, and pair with a variety of flavors and cuisines.

Once you make your personal salad, the world is your oyster and the choices are infinite! 

Whereas I like the comfort of bagged salad mixes and store-bought dressings, with regards to taste, freshness, and selection, they only don’t examine to DIYing it.

(Plus, whenever you make your personal salad, it’s an excellent alternative to make use of up what’s in your crisper drawer and pantry. Win!)

Greatest Salad Recipes for Each Event

Pair these scrumptious salad recipes with one in every of my pasta recipes, carry them to work for lunch, or toss one collectively for a straightforward summer season dinner concept.

On this assortment, you’ll discover all the things from conventional inexperienced salads to some favourite classics like potato salad and pasta salad recipes, too! There’s a salad for each event and craving.

Spring Salad Recipes

Handheld Endive Salad

Spring is the tail-end of endive season, and this elegant salad is the proper option to put this crispy relative of radicchio to make use of! Endive leaves are a crunchy vessel for a easy salad, giving this recipe an air of sophistication—you’ll positively really feel such as you’re having fun with dinner at a high-end restaurant whenever you make this dish.

Easy Spring Salad

A very good spring salad embodies the freshness of the season with a mix of crisp greens, colourful add-ins, and a light-weight French dressing. This spring salad recipe has all of those components and extra!

Contemporary berries add sweetness, blue cheese provides a salty distinction, and candied walnuts add a pleasant crunch (and extra sweetness!) to each chew. The champagne French dressing is the proper completion.

Strawberry Salad

We simply can’t get sufficient of strawberries within the spring, particularly after they’re added to salads. Whereas many strawberry salads are paired with a wealthy, creamy, overly candy poppy seed dressings, we hold issues gentle right here by utilizing a poppy seed French dressing.

The acid within the dressing brings out the most effective of the spring berries, permitting their taste to essentially pop.

Arugula Salad with Lemon French dressing

Child arugula leaves are peppery and just a bit bit bitter, which suggests they’re flavorful sufficient to be the star of this salad. Lemon is a basic pairing with arugula so we use it because the acid in our easy French dressing, then add freshly floor black pepper to amp up the pepper taste on this dish.

Thick shavings of Parmesan are pungent and salty, and their texture affords a pleasant distinction to the crisp greens.

Summer season Salad Recipes

Pink White and Blue Salad

This crimson, white, and blue salad is a colourful aspect dish good for summertime gatherings, picnics, and barbecues!

Toss all of it collectively for on a regular basis attraction, or organize the elements into an American flag for Memorial Day and 4th of July events. 

Peach Salad with Honey Dijon French dressing

Is there something higher than juicy, ripe summer season peaches? Your first thought could be to make use of them in one thing candy (or simply eat them as-is!), however they’re additionally a wonderful addition to salad!

This recipe combines the sweetness of contemporary peaches with the tanginess of a zippy honey Dijon dressing. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to grilled hen or fish, making it an excellent dish for a summer season barbecue, however I additionally adore it for an easy lunch.

Insalata Mista

Insalata Mista is a basic Italian dish that interprets to “combined salad” in English. Whereas there are a number of variations of this dish, my recipe is ideal for summer season, with peppery arugula leaves paired with juicy grape tomatoes.

I add pine nuts for crunch, shaved Parmesan cheese for some saltiness, and it’s all tied along with a candy and tangy selfmade balsamic French dressing. 

Mexican Road Corn Salad

All of us love Mexican avenue corn, however let’s be trustworthy: it’s form of messy. This Mexican avenue corn salad has all of the deliciousness with out the mess, which suggests it’s good for a celebration.

Whereas you need to use frozen corn to make it year-round, it’s an actual deal with when you may make it with native candy corn in the summertime. You’ll love the daring, contrasting flavors, with sweetness from the corn, saltiness from the cheese, and creaminess of the dressing. 

Fall Salad Recipes

Apple Salad

Crispy apples add some crunch to this fall-inspired salad! I like pairing it with pork as an alternative of the usual applesauce, and it’s the form of salad that’s straightforward to toss collectively whereas your most important dish cooks.

Along with the greens and contemporary apple slices, we add blue cheese for some pungent, salty taste, thinly sliced crimson onions, and a tangy sherry French dressing to distinction with the candy apple.

Roasted Beet Salad

Beets are a kind of love-‘em-or-hate-‘em sorts of veggies, however I completely love their candy, earthy taste after they’re roasted within the oven. This salad couldn’t be extra good for fall—the golden beets remind me of the colour of leaves after they simply begin turning!

There are many contrasting textures right here, from crisp jicama to tender beets, chewy dried figs, crunchy walnuts, and wealthy, creamy goat cheese.

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage is harvested on the finish of fall, however this crispy-crunchy salad is one you’ll wish to make all yr lengthy! As a substitute of pairing shredded cabbage with a creamy dressing, this recipe makes use of a peppy sweet-and-tangy French dressing, which will get a lift in taste from the addition of minced garlic.

Serve this cabbage salad as a aspect dish, or use it as a topping for tacos, burgers, scorching canine, and extra.

Pear Salad

This pear salad is an ideal mix of crisp greens, juicy pears, candied walnuts, and tangy white wine French dressing. Gorgonzola provides a punchy chew to steadiness the sweetness of the pears and nuts, so don’t skip it! 

Even higher, pear salad is flexible; serve it as a aspect dish with pork or hen or as a light-weight most important course.

Traditional Salad Recipes

Seven Layer Salad

Seven layer salad is a basic American recipe liked for its contrasting flavors and textures, together with its stunning presentation. Because the title implies, this salad has seven distinct layers of elements, every bringing a unique style and texture to the desk.

This dish is usually served at potlucks, picnics, and different informal gatherings, and it’s positive to be a crowd-pleaser at any occasion. Simply ensure you serve it in a glass bowl so everybody can see the layered impact!

Italian Salad

On the lookout for the proper aspect dish to serve with pasta or pizza? Look no additional than an Italian salad! Greatest identified for its zesty crimson wine French dressing, my Italian salad recipe consists of artichokes, pimentos, and crimson onions tossed with romaine lettuce and completed with grated Parmesan.

That is additionally a flexible salad, although, so you may add no matter veggies you occur to have readily available. Cucumbers and tomatoes are additionally nice right here!

Creamy Potato Salad

A staple of deli counters all over the place, this creamy potato salad is a basic aspect for pairing with sandwiches, scorching canine, and burgers. (Are you able to also have a cookout or potluck and not using a massive bowl of potato salad?!)

Customise this old style recipe to your private preferences and tastes; it’s an ideal dish for cooks who like to experiment with totally different flavors. 

Traditional Greek Salad

Greek salad usually comprises tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and bell peppers, which suggests it’s massive on freshness and crispy textures. The veggies are tossed in a easy French dressing, then feta and olives end it off for plenty of salty, briny taste.

This salad is usually a aspect dish, however you may as well get pleasure from it as a light-weight most important dish, particularly in the course of the summer season when all of its elements are in season. 

Pasta Salad Recipes

Spaghetti Salad

Spaghetti salad is a scrumptious dish that has gained recognition in recent times as a enjoyable spin on the standard pasta salad. As a substitute of macaroni, shells, or bow ties, use lengthy spaghetti noodles to make this zippy, veggie-packed salad.

The olives and salami give it the flavour of a basic antipasto platter, whereas an assortment of greens carry plenty of freshness and texture.

Tortellini Pasta Salad

Are you able to make a whole dinner out of pasta salad? You possibly can when it’s made with tortellini! Not solely is cheese tortellini scrumptious, it’s additionally further satisfying.

I additionally love how the form of tortellini holds onto the crimson wine French dressing and oregano, guaranteeing that each single chew is totally bursting with taste.

Italian Pasta Salad

Some pasta salads are heavy, with creamy dressings and even sugar added to the combination. This Italian pasta salad is the precise reverse, with a light-weight crimson wine French dressing and simply sufficient grated Parmesan so as to add taste with out weighing issues down.

The important thing to an ideal Italian Pasta Salad is utilizing high-quality elements like completely cooked al dente pasta that retains its form and texture, and incorporating quite a lot of colours, flavors, and textures together with your add-ins.

I take advantage of artichoke hearts, crimson onion, and pimentos, however be at liberty to make it your personal!

Veggie Pasta Salad

We love this veggie pasta salad as a aspect with grilled hen or a selfmade panini. The lemon juice within the French dressing provides it an surprising twist, as does the addition of crimson pepper flakes—simply sufficient warmth to make issues fascinating!

Because the title suggests, there are many contemporary greens within the combine right here, however fairly than maintaining them uncooked, they’re given a fast sauté, making them completely tender and concentrating their taste.

Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Additionally identified by their Italian title, farfalle, bow tie pasta is a wonderful base for pasta salad due to its form and dimension.

I like this dish with contemporary basil leaves and cherry tomatoes, which pair fantastically with a flavorful French dressing and salty feta, however you may make it caprese-style by swapping in a balsamic French dressing and contemporary mozzarella.

22 Straightforward Salad Recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook dinner Time 0 minutes minutes

Complete Time 10 minutes minutes

Whether or not you serve them as a aspect or as a light-weight most important dish, these straightforward salad recipes are assured winners! They’re healthful, scrumptious, and pair with a variety of flavors and cuisines.

Cook dinner ModeStop your display screen from going darkish

Directions

• Prep – Collect elements and chop in line with instructions.

• Combine – Gently combine all salad elements instantly earlier than serving.

• Serve – Garnish as directed and revel in!

Suggestions

• Salads are fabulous for making forward of time, however all the time retailer the salad and the dressing in separate containers within the fridge, then mix them simply earlier than serving.
• You may make (virtually) any salad a meal by including a easy protein like hen, shrimp or salmon.
• Be happy to make any of those salad recipes your personal. Swap in your favourite dressing, use the elements you’ve readily available, and put your personal spin on them!

Vitamin Data

Energy: 329kcal (16%), Carbohydrates: 38g (13%), Protein: 12g (24%), Fats: 15g (23%), Saturated Fats: 3g (15%), Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g, Monounsaturated Fats: 2g, Trans Fats: 0.03g, Ldl cholesterol: 29mg (10%), Sodium: 717mg (30%), Potassium: 33mg (1%), Fiber: 3g (12%), Sugar: 6g (7%), Vitamin A: 14IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 112mg (11%), Iron: 2mg (11%)

Estimated vitamin info is supplied as a courtesy and isn’t assured.