Here are 20 spectacular summer salads to try out or find inspiration from. I love a good salad and could happily eat one every single day! I love when they make you go “yum” and keep you coming back, fork full after fork full.
All recipes can be found by clicking on the salad’s title.
1 – Kale, Peach and Wild Rice Salad
I love this summery salad for the textures, the pops of peaches in every bite, the salty feta and crunchy pecans and the chewy wild rice. I also love that the kale holds up really well to all of the heartier ingredients, this is perfect for a meatless but filling summer lunch or dinner.
2 – Beet and Mandarin Orange Panzanella Salad
I love beets! Oranges are best friends with them so the mandarin oranges in this salad fit perfectly. They really highlight the beets sweet earthiness while making this salad balanced and delicious! The addition of toasted sourdough and torn fresh mozzarella are the icings on cake that make this salad a complete experience.
3 – Pear Chicken and Bleu Cheese Salad
Looking for a sophisticated salad? Look no further. This salad takes the sweetness from fresh pears, savory notes from chicken and some funk from bleu cheese crumbles. Any bleu cheese lover will enjoy this simple, yet sophisticated salad.
4 – Golden Beet, Lemon and Pistachio Salad
Golden Beets are like little hunks of sunshine in this bright, balanced and scrumptious salad. The arugula gives it’s signature little kick of flavor, the lemon zest and dressing brightens everything while the pistachios give this a beautiful nutty taste and texture.
5 – Tomato and Avocado Salad
Is there anything better than fresh summer tomatoes??!?! No, the answer I’m looking for is no, nothing better. (ps. my husband would argue this, but alas, I’m the one writing this, so I win. Ha!) Add it to some creamy avocado, feta, olive oil, salt, fresh cracked black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and you have a gourmet summer salad that I could eat all summer long.
6 – Chicken, Cranberry and Sunflower Salad
This yummy salad is one of my favorites! It’s like a flavor party in your mouth! Chicken, dried cranberries, sunflowers, mozzerella cheese, poppy seed dressing, optional mushrooms and red onions. Yum! It gets a big “yes please”, from me.
7 – Middle Eastern Cauliflower Salad
If you love tabbouleh salad but want something ultra low carb, this middle eastern cauliflower salad is a good one for you! I use steamed riced cauliflower and I mix it with all of the delicious herbs and flavors of a tabbouleh salad.
8 – Smoked Salmon Nicoise Salad
This smoked salmon nicoise salad is a twist on the traditional nicoise salad and uses smoked salmon and edamame instead of tuna and green beans. It’s hearty and so delicious, which is why it’s on my 20 spectacular summer salads list.
9 – Grilled Plum and Pork Tenderloin Salad
Grilled plums get a jammy taste to them and bring a unique flavor to this salad. The pork tenderloin is tender and delicious. Everything gets topped with a plum vinaigrette.
10 – Delicata Squash Salad
This salad celebrates the flavors of late summer, early fall with delicata squash, apples and lightly candied walnuts with a creamy red wine vinaigrette. Delicata Squash is a tender skinned squash that carries a similar flavor to butternut squash but you can eat the rind.
11 – Grilled Balsamic Chicken Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is like summer in a bowl with fresh basil, tomatoes and mozzarella. When you add grilled chicken and balsamic vinegar glaze it becomes a full meal of summer time goodness!
12 – Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad
This one’s a classic! You can’t go wrong with grilled chicken, corn, bacon, tomatoes, crispy iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and ranch dressing! It’s tried and true and it’s delicious.
*Try and fun spin on this salad by swapping out the chicken for grilled shrimp and adding some avocado!
13 – Wilted Beet Top Salad
This salad is served warm and uses beet tops, which are full of flavor and nutrients. It has walnuts and cranberries and a simple red wine vinaigrette.
14 – Greek Chicken Salad
I love Greek food and a Greek chicken salad checks all of my boxes on flavors. It’s vinegary, has peppers, tomatoes, olives, red onions, cucumbers and it’s just plain tasty in my opinion.
15 – Summer Orzo Pasta Salad
This could be seen as a pasta salad but I reserve the right to call it a salad because it is packed with veggies too. It’s super light, flavorful and definitely fits the description of a spectacular summer salad.
16 – “School Lunch Salad”
In high school we had an awesome salad bar and I would eat it almost daily! I loved the frozen peas, cucumbers, olives and ranch dressing combo and I would always get a roll to dip into the ranch and enjoy with the salad.
17 – Chicken Rainbow Crunch Salad
This salad is all about the texture and flavors! The chewy farro, exploding pomegranate arils, crunchy slivered almonds, juicy strawberries, mushrooms, green onions and poppy seed dressing. I love it!
18 – Black Bean Salad
This salad is meatless, protein and fiber packed and it’s so easy to throw together, not to mention it’s super tasty too!
19 – Thai Chicken Salad
Give me Thai food any day and I will be a happy woman! I tell people it’s my love language. This Thai inspired salad is no exception.
20 – Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Caramelized Steak
I once ate this salad for a week straight when I was pregnant with my first baby, I’m not even joking. It’s fresh, filling and so yummy! If you’ve eaten Vietnamese food before you know it’s all about finding the balance and harmony in the flavors and this salad embodies that fully.
I hope you found some salad inspiration in this 20 spectacular summer salads post! I had fun walking down my salad recipe memory lane and I’m going to be remaking some of these yummy salads again soon! Have a great day and remember to eat the rainbow!
XOXO – Aryn