All through the autumn and winter, I crave nothing greater than warming soups, grounding stews, and indulgent mains to fill me up. However when spring comes round, I be part of the plenty storing our stockpots and spending much less time within the kitchen. With issues heating up, considered one of my favourite methods to make sure I get a scrumptious, nutrient-dense meal on the desk is by leveling up my salads. And salad recipes for dinner are the simplest one-and-done meals that profit from all of the tasty, seasonal produce that’s up for grabs.
The satisfying salad recipes beneath mix crisp leafy greens with loads of protein, grains, and wholesome fat for a well-rounded spring meal. May there be a greater warm-weather predominant? If you go for salad recipes for dinner, you’re streamlining the dietary high quality of your meal and weaving in taste with colourful veggies, flavorful dressings, and loads of protein, nuts, and seeds for added texture and crunch.
That’s my quick and candy case for prioritizing salad recipes for dinner. Want somewhat extra convincing? Scroll the 15 recipes beneath—they’re all of the proof you want that your subsequent meal might use a standout salad.
Featured picture by Michelle Nash.
Table of Contents
15 Salad Recipes for Dinner That Received’t Depart You Hungry
Mediterranean Grain Bowl
Why We Love It: Camille’s latest salad masterpiece of the moment. I love a grain bowl when I’m craving something light but energizing. Fluffy golden quinoa is the perfect nutty base for all the fresh Mediterranean flavors. I’m talking black olives, mint, parsley, basil, and feta. Enough said.
Hero Ingredient: Don’t knock adding something sweet to your salad. Crunchy red or black grapes curb the olives’ briny bite and play up their fruity flavor to perfection.
Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Shallot Vinaigrette
Why We Love It: This chopped salad is all about color and crunch. Chickpeas are my favorite legume, lending body and creaminess to this otherwise crisp salad. Aesthetically pleasing, satiating, and refreshing? Say less.
Hero Ingredient: Let me pen a love letter to this honey-shallot vinaigrette. She’s sweet, she’s perfectly pungent (garlic!), and she incorporates gut-boosting ACV seamlessly.
Feta Salad With White Beans and Lemon Relish
Why We Love It: Panzanella is just one of Italy’s many brilliant contributions to the world of salads. (Caprese, antipasto, fennel and citrus salads… ) It’s a genius way to both use up stale leftover bread and, well… eat bread and call it a salad. This recipe includes a laundry list of textural faves—from crunchy cucumbers to creamy white beans to salty feta. In this salad, every ingredient counts.
Hero Ingredient: More about that bread. I like to toss all of my ingredients together and let them sit for at least 30 minutes. That way, the bread can soak up every bit of your lemon relish.
Spring Rice Salad
Why We Love It: I knew this salad was a winner even before taking a peek at the recipe. The layers of green from cucumbers, peas, avocado, and herbs galore are a vibrant delight for the eyes. Toss all of that together with perfectly-cooked basmati rice and you have the ideal spring/summer meal. I also love that a fried egg or two on top makes it all the more filling.
Hero Ingredient: Please, please, please start stocking your fridge with pickled shallots at all times. They’re an easy, instant flavor boost.
Cumin Chickpea Salad with Mint Chutney
Why We Love It: This salad is a vehicle for the fresh, flavorful, and herb-filled mint chutney. It brings a nice cooling element to this made-for-summer salad. Serve it with a side of naan for a dinner that keeps for a few nights in a row. (That’s right, you’ll want this on repeat.)
Hero Ingredient: Toasting freshly ground spices is an elite move—and one that shouldn’t be skipped.
Masala Corn Salad (Bhutta)
Why We Love It: The shift to warmer weather is my calling card to start eating corn on repeat. My favorite way to do it (besides on the cob, slathered in butter)? This salad. While my top corn choice is a classic, this salad elevates the veg to perfection. Garam masala, jalapeño, and chaat masala are just a few of the flavor boosters that give corn the star treatment in this salad.
Hero Ingredient: Queso fresco may be optional, but you can bet I’m always opting for a creamier salad—and cheese is always my go-to solution.
Charlie Bird Farro Salad
Why We Love It: This salad comes courtesy of Jessie De Lowe who served it up at her Santa Barbara dinner party last spring. I love the farro’s nutty bite mixed with the spicy arugula, sweet cherry tomatoes, and crisp radish. Sprinkle on a handful of fresh herbs (parsley, basil, and mint work well here), and add crusty bread with salty butter on the side. It’s the perfect light summer meal.
Hero Ingredient: Farro is the most underrated grain. Not only is it a delicious base for any salad, but it’s also full of fiber, protein, and other key nutrients (hello magnesium and zinc!).
Malibu Farm Rainbow Vegan Chop Salad
Why We Love It: Rainbow is right. We love a good chopped salad around here, and this recipe does the name justice. Generous slices of avocado combine with cubes of roasted butternut squash and get mixed with marinated roasted beets for a fresh salad that doesn’t lack flavor—or variety, for that matter.
Hero Ingredient: Watermelon radishes are the prettiest veggie we all need to be using more of.
Clarksville Kale Crunch Salad from Swedish Hill
Why We Love It: This is not your run-of-the-mill kale salad. Austin-favorite Swedish Hill shared the secrets and techniques behind this best-ever kale salad (yep, I stated it). A seed combine comprised of flax seed, pumpkin seed, and every part bagel seasoning weaves crunch and taste all through. Drizzle on as a lot dressing as you please for added creaminess and a kick of warmth due to the cayenne.
Hero Ingredient: I’ll by no means flip down a dressing that makes use of tahini as its base. Good.
Buffalo Cauliflower Chopped Salad
Why We Love It: I love when my favorite flavors get the lightened-up treatment as a salad. While I’ll always say yes to a buffalo chicken wrap, there’s something about enjoying the spicy-sweet flavor combo aside plenty of fresh veggies that just makes me feel better about… everything.
Hero Ingredient: Buffalo cauliflower? Chef’s kiss.
Hummus, Greens, & Avo Bowl
Why We Love It: This has been one of my favorite Camille Styles recipes forever. I make it at least five times a month—it’s an essential in my weekly routine. Whereas most folks will use hummus as a dip, this recipe instructs you to smear a generous spoonful of the spread in each dish before adding your other salad ingredients. Genius. The bowl is inspired by our all-time favorite coffee shop, Two Hands (and it’s not simply due to the engaging Aussie baristas… though which may play a task in our evaluate.)
Hero Ingredient: I received’t say the greens are only a car for getting as a lot of the hummus as I can… however I additionally received’t verify that they’re not.
Thai Rooster Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Why We Love It: This Thai rooster salad is pure tropical, beachy vibes. Not solely is it mild and wholesome, nevertheless it’s additionally a fast, protein-packed meal due to the usage of rotisserie rooster. And all that coloration from the mango, carrots, avocado, and cabbage? Convey on the dopamine.
Hero Ingredient: Preserve sprinkling on the roasted peanuts—the extra crunch, the higher.
Chipotle Lentil Taco Salad
Why We Love It: This salad’s identify comes from the chipotle powder that flavors the lentils to perfection. However truthfully, I learn it as a selfmade substitute for the famed model’s burrito bowls. If it’s quick meals and recent taste you crave, this salad has Chipotle beat. Mix smoky, spicy lentils with mild pico de gallo and a spicy lime chipotle dressing and you’ve got a dinner you’ll go to mattress dreaming about.
Hero Ingredient: I’ll be including these lentils to every part.
BLT Salad with 8-Minute Eggs & Avocado
Why We Love It: My favourite sandwich in salad type? Signal me up. This recipe makes probably the most of all of the basic parts: crunchy croutons, avocado, crispy bacon, tomatoes, and recent bibb lettuce. Sprinkle on the ocean salt with a heavy hand—it brings out the flavour in every part.
Hero Ingredient: The honey-dijon French dressing is the one technique to make this salad all the higher.
Sunshine Detox Salad
Why We Love It: Whether or not you’re resetting after an indulgent weekend or not, any salad with “sunshine” within the identify is all the time the reply. Personally, I like utilizing cabbage in my salads. It’s an excellent method so as to add heft and crunch whereas nonetheless retaining issues mild. Add a rainbow of veg and herbs plus a French dressing you’ll need to double up on and you’ve got a crave-worthy dinner resolution.
Hero Ingredient: Clearly, I’m all concerning the crunch—and sunflower seeds are considered one of my favourite methods to make it occur.