Yahoo Lifestyle The 20 Best Salads You'll Want to Eat Over and Over Again
Salads for everyone!
Victor Protasio
Salads are more than a bowl of flavorless greens, and this roundup of our best salads is proof positive of that. This recipe collection has a little something for everyone, including seasonal offerings like our Grilled Honeynut Squash Salad, and year-round options such as our Crunchy Salad With Chicken and Ginger. Obviously these aren’t the only salads you can make, but they are some of our favorites because they’re relatively easy to throw together, versatile in that they can work for lunch, dinner, or even a side dish, and many can be paired with your favorite protein or main course if you want more. Oh, they’re pretty healthy, too. Keep reading for our best salad recipes!
Related: 25 Healthy Salad Recipes That Will Revolutionize Your Lunch Game
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Greg DuPree
Cauliflower rice and collard greens are the base of this refreshing salad, which calls for an entire can of black-eyed peas. Inside this satiating dish you’ll also find juicy cherry tomatoes and ready-to-eat Canadian bacon, yielding a balanced plate that works well as an appetizer, a side, or a light dinner. Who says salads can’t be versatile?
Grilled Honeynut Squash Salad
Christopher Testani
Sweet, honeynut squash is the star of this salad, and with good reason. Inside, you’ll also find Napa cabbage, radicchio, pepitas, and mint, and don’t even get us started on the punchy miso-and-spicy brown mustard dressing. In addition to topping the salad, the dressing also coats the squash and cabbage before they hit the grill, infusing them with even more flavor. This salad is bound to be a hit in the fall, but feel free to make it so long as you can get your hands on honeynut squash.
Vietnamese-Inspired Peach Salad
Peaches are beloved for their sweetness, but they get the savory treatment in this salad, which is part of why we love it so much. The fuzzy stone fruit is joined by salted peanuts, crisp, tender lettuce, and bright mint, but the flavorful lime dressing is the real star. It’s made with plenty of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, a touch of sugar for balance, and spicy red chile. We’re salivating just thinking about it.
Crunchy Salad With Chicken and Ginger
Fred Hardy
If a salad made with wilted lettuce isn’t your jam, give this one a try instead. This healthy recipe features strips of marinated and seared chicken, shredded cabbage, carrots, and red bell peppers, as well as a topping of sliced almonds and fresh mint leaves. A dressing made with orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, fresh mint, and grated ginger ties the whole thing together.
Cornbread Panzanella
If you’re unfamiliar with panzanella, it’s basically a tomato and bread salad, which is as delicious as it sounds. This version is made with golden cornbread croutons that are tossed with a mix of juicy heirloom and cherry tomatoes, zippy red onion, crisp cucumber, and chunks of creamy avocado. You’ll also find delicious mozzarella balls, as well as thinly sliced basil for freshness. This salad is a summer staple, but works any time of the year so long as you can find juicy tomatoes.
Big Breakfast Salad
Victor Protasio
This hearty dish has all your favorite breakfast components, making it an impressive salad candidate. It features roasted potatoes sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning, crunchy bagel chips, sweet cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, and plenty of jammy eggs. A creamy avocado-basil dressing coats all of the ingredients.
Antipasto Salad
This dish reimagines melon and prosciutto—a classic Italian combo—as an ace salad. In addition to that sweet and savory duo, you’ll find crisp Little Gem lettuce, buttery Castelvetrano olives, creamy burrata, and crunchy pistachios. Since this salad is so packed with flavor, the only dressing you need is a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Spicy Street Corn Salad
Corn is delicious when cooked, but it’s also quite tasty raw. Case in point? This elote-inspired salad. Here, the street snack is transformed into a meal when raw corn is tossed with pinto beans, herbs, jalapeño, and heaps of arugula. We suggest you use fresh summer corn for the best results, but frozen corn works too.
Japanese-Style Shrimp Salad
Ready in just 15 minutes, this salad is about to become a new favorite for lunch or dinner. In this dish, crunchy romaine and cucumbers, juicy shrimp, and avocado chunks get coated in an irresistible creamy soy-mayo dressing you’ll want to slather on everything. To save time, keep some pre-cooked shrimp in the fridge so you can whip this up at a moment’s notice.
Related: 20 Easy, Cheap Dinner Ideas That Are Seriously Impressive
Summer Squash With Scallions, Chile, and Parsley
If you've never eaten a raw summer squash salad, you're in for a treat. This one packs a double whammy: It tastes delicious and there's no need to cook. Tossing the summer squash and zucchini with salt helps them soften and absorb every bit of flavor. Top with a chopped almond dressing for a light and flavorful finish to this healthy, satisfying dish.
Lemony Chopped Salad With Pita
No matter what you’re craving, this salad will (likely) hit the spot. It’s packed with crispy roasted chickpeas, toasted pita bread croutons, crunchy cucumbers, spicy radishes, and tart cherry tomatoes. You’ll also find salty goat cheese and a sprinkling of fresh mint, and everything is slathered in a simple vinaigrette. This recipe is vegetarian, but we promise you won’t miss the meat!
Grilled Halloumi Salad
Yes, grilled cheese can star in a salad, and this recipe is proof. Here, firm halloumi is charred to perfection and joined by briny kalamata olives, spicy garlic and onion, crunchy cucumbers, and plenty of lettuce. The result is a decidedly decadent dish that can be made at any time. What we love about this salad is that it’s filled with flavor and packs in a ton of good-for-you ingredients, too.
Old-School Taco Salad
Fred Hardy
Think of this dish as Taco Tuesday in salad form. By that we mean you’ll find ground beef flavored with taco seasoning, store-bought pico de gallo, and a homemade zesty lime dressing. The key here, though, is the toppings. We like crushed tortilla chips, creamy avocado pieces, and zingy radish slices. If you have shredded cheese and jalapeño slices, go ahead and add ‘em for even more flavor.
Orzo Tomato Salad
While you can make this orzo-based salad at any point, we suggest whipping it up during the summer months so you can use in-season tomatoes. The bright red orbs carry enough natural flavor to practically be a dish on their own, but you can’t go wrong when pairing them with orzo, red wine vinegar, toasted pine nuts, and more.
Farro and Squash Salad
Victor Protasio
This easy and elegant grain and grilled squash salad is another seasonal stunner. It makes great use of summer's bounty—yellow squash, zucchini, and fresh basil—and looks impressive on a dinner table. You’ll also find nutty farro, of course, as well as Parmesan cheese and Marcona almonds all coated in a white balsamic-based dressing. The result is a balanced dish that’s worth making more than once.
Baby Kale Chicken Caesar Salad
Caesar salad is a classic and a crowd-pleaser, so we’d be remiss not to include it in this roundup. This version uses baby kale and adds Brussels sprouts, which makes it healthier than the standard Caesar. This veggie-packed salad is hearty enough on its own for dinner, but you can also serve it as a side salad without the chicken, if you wish.
Green Salad With Cornichon Vinaigrette
Simple yet delicious, this salad hits no matter what time of year it is or what you’re eating with it. Snappy chopped cornichons mingle with tender lettuce, but there’s more! A bit of the pickling liquid from the cornichons gets whisked into a shallot-studded dressing that’s loaded with flavor. To transform this into a full meal, serve it with your favorite protein, or even alongside a nice, juicy hamburger.
Nectarine-and-Burrata Salad
This elevated take on a classic Caprese salad swaps out tomatoes and mozzarella for nectarines and burrata, respectively. An easily pickled onion, fresh mint leaves, and salty Marcona almonds complete this colorful spread. Save this one for the warmer months so you can stock up on as much fresh stone fruit as your heart desires.
Related: Types of Cheese You Should Know About and What to Pair Them With
Warm Chicken Shawarma Salad
In this 30-minute salad that you can prepare during all 12 months of the year, chicken is flavored with a shawarma-inspired spice blend made with coriander, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, and allspice. The lean, flavorful meat is then paired with peppery arugula, a shower of herbs, creamy yogurt dressing, and warm pita. What’s not to love?
Fajita Steak Salad
Flank steak is at its best when it’s well-flavored, and this recipe proves that. Here the meat is coated in fajita seasoning—a combination of chili powder and other spices like paprika, cumin, and garlic powder, among other things—before it’s even cooked. Once the steak is done, it’s served with grilled bell peppers and onions, as well as romaine and a tangy lime and sour cream dressing.
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