When summer’s bounty is ripe and ready for eating, you don’t need to do much to make a great meal! A crisp salad is the perfect way to showcase the peak flavors of produce, so we rounded up a few faves that are filling enough to enjoy as a meal, yet simple enough to serve as a side.
Strawberry Mango Salad
Shake things up this summer by combining the greens of a traditional salad with the season’s most refreshing fruit! This strawberry mango salad from Fit Mitten Kitchen is the perfect blend of earthy flavors and sweet, summery goodness, featuring a range of textures, from creamy to crunchy. The lime poppy seed dressing drizzled on top adds some zest.
Grilled Steak Salad with Spicy Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing
This hearty grilled dinner salad is our favorite way to use up an abundance of in-season produce, no matter the time of year. Grill up some seasoned strip steaks, add in heaps of late summer veggies, dress it all in a zippy avocado-buttermilk dressing, and you’ve got the formula for our latest super salad.
Easy Greek Salad
This simple seven-ingredient salad from Love & Lemons is ultra refreshing with in-season juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and crunchy cucumbers. The easy homemade Greek dressing makes all the difference!
Strawberry and Tomato Summer Panzanella
Panzanella is a rustic Tuscan bread salad, and this version from MyFitnessPal is perfect for this season’s produce! Super-ripe tomatoes and strawberries make this version juicy and bursting with flavor, while the feta and basil keep it fresh and punchy.
Watermelon Feta Salad
Sweet, juicy watermelon takes a savory turn in this colorful salad packed with peppery arugula, tangy feta, and a heap of fresh mint. We love it on its own for breakfast (yes, breakfast salad is totally a thing, especially when it involves loads of fresh fruit) or with thin slices of flank steak for lunch or dinner.
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
Summer-sweetened corn meets garden-grown tomatoes, fresh avocado, and a tangy lime vinaigrette in this super-simple salad. Add seasoned grilled chicken thighs for a filling, protein-packed lunch or dinner you’ll want to eat alfresco all summer long.
Tomato Peach Caprese
This seasonal stunner takes not one, but two of summer’s greatest fruits—tomatoes and peaches—and combines them into a refreshing take on the classic caprese salad. Dressed in a simple white balsamic vinaigrette, it’s sure to become a staple summer salad in your household, just as it has in ours.
Kale and Cabbage Pad Thai Salad
Garden overgrown with kale? Ditch the smoothie for a day and chop up this lightened-up version of a Thai take-out classic. The peanut dressing alone is reason enough to make it again and again.
Summer Italian Spaghetti Salad
Like a cross between an oil-and-vinegar-dressed pasta salad and a classic Italian chopped salad, this easy spaghetti salad combines crunchy, fresh-from-the-garden veggies with tangy olives and cubed salami. Make it up to a day ahead of time and have lunch or dinner ready to go whenever you are.
1010ParkPlace says
These look so delicious, Tanji. Thank you! I will try a couple of these… when I can find time to stop writing my memoir. I’m so tired of Whole Foods deli. I want something that comes out of my kitchen. xoxox, Brenda