12 Salad Recipes to Try for Your Next Lunch or Dinner

A salad consists of bite-sized ingredients, usually vegetables and greens, and meat, pasta, and fish, typically combined with a dressing to tie the flavors together. You can serve salad as a starter course, side dish, or entrée, especially when combined with protein. In places like France, restaurants sometimes serve green salads as the final palate-cleansing course before dessert.

A salad can be as easy as tossing a few leftover veggies into a bowl with some ranch dressing, but there are a few tips to consider to make yours stand out:

1. 1. Prioritize fresh ingredients: Most traditional salad recipes call for tossing several raw ingredients together, which means that the freshness of each ingredient is key. Where possible, aim to use the freshest ingredients possible—like crisp greens and vegetables, ripe fruit, and preservative-free salad dressings.
2. 2. Include contrasting flavors or textures: Salads rely on varied flavors and textures to make each bite flavorful and interesting. Pair crisp apples with soft feta or goat cheese, salty cashews with sweet cranberries, or crunchy pecans with velvety sweet potatoes.
3. 3. Vary your base: Chopped romaine lettuce or a spring mix are common salad bases, but there are dozens of other options. Vary your greens with spinach, arugula, chard, or any combination of greens, and rough-chop them for a chopped salad or leave them whole for a larger meal. Many salads don’t require greens at all. Instead, they feature a grain base (like farro), fruit base (for a fruit salad or tomato salad), vegetable base (like broccoli salad or cucumber salad), starch base (for potato or pasta salad), or protein base (like a bean salad, chickpea salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad).
4. 4. Finish with a dressing: Salad dressing is a vital ingredient to almost every salad—it helps unify all the flavors in the bowl and adds essential fats to the dish. Whether a simple olive oil drizzle, citrus or balsamic vinaigrette, or a sweet poppy seed dressing, make sure you finish off your salad with a delicate layer of thin or creamy dressing.

From a classic Caesar salad to a Japanese potato salad, here are some recipes to explore the wide range of salad options:

1. 1. Artichoke salad recipe: Artichoke salad is a type of Greek salad featuring marinated artichoke hearts and primarily Mediterranean ingredients, such as olive oil, cheese, and herbs. Toss marinated artichoke hearts (and sometimes pasta) with olive oil and vinegar dressing to make artichoke salad.
2. 2. Arugula avocado salad recipe: With peppery arugula and creamy avocados, this arugula avocado salad recipe is a fresh, simple combination of Italian and Mexican cuisines. This salad is also protein-friendly; The richness of the avocado pairs well with lean entrées like grilled chicken, fish, or vegetarian entrées. For an easy vegan, gluten-free lunch or weeknight dinner, add cooked quinoa, lentils, or chickpeas to your arugula salad. For a non-vegan alternative, try crumbled feta cheese, shaved Parmesan cheese, or goat cheese.
3. 3. Butter lettuce salad recipe: Butter lettuce is a loose, round-shaped head of tender, sweet leaves with a mild flavor. It’s a popular base for simple salads since it adds visual interest and interesting flavor all on its own, without the need for accessorizing with many other ingredients. This butter lettuce salad recipe includes radishes and fresh herbs topped with a simple Dijon-lime dressing.
4. 4. Caesar salad: Caesar salad consists of chopped romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese, and dressing. Though the ingredients can vary, Caesar salad dressing generally consists of egg yolk, anchovy paste, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. The combo of refreshing, crisp lettuce and creamy, umami-rich dressing has made Caesar salad a tangy comfort food staple.
5. 5. Caprese salad recipe: Known as insalata Caprese in Italy, this Italian salad features basil leaves, mozzarella, and summer tomatoes. Each of the salad’s three main components represents a color from the Italian flag: bright green layers of fresh basil leaves, snowy white mozzarella cheese, and bright red slices of summer tomatoes, all sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. The Caprese salad is a popular appetizer or side dish in the summertime when fresh tomatoes are abundant.
6. 6. Classic potato salad: A favorite salad at picnics, BBQ cookouts, and potlucks, potato salad is a classic American side dish. Potato salad combines cooked potatoes with mayonnaise, mustard, fresh herbs, and crunchy elements like pickles or crisp radishes, resulting in a harmonious balance between savory and sweet.
7. 7. Cobb salad recipe: Cobb salad is a composed salad with sliced, chopped, or grated ingredients arranged in stripes over a bed of mixed greens. Traditionally, the lettuces are romaine, iceberg, endive, and watercress, which all get topped with lines of crispy bacon, crumbled Roquefort or blue cheese, shredded cheddar, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chopped chicken or turkey, and cherry tomatoes. A classic red-wine vinaigrette with a sprinkle of chives typically ties the Cobb salad together.
8. 8. Easy kale salad recipe: Kale is a leafy green closely related to cabbage. Curly kale is a widely available variety in supermarkets and farmers markets. The leafy green has a unique appearance with wavy, curled leaves and a bitter, peppery flavor when eaten raw. This easy salad combines kale with Brussels sprouts, spinach, and pumpkin seeds topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.
9. 9. Esquites (Mexican corn salad) recipe: Esquites are a popular Mexican street food featuring corn salad topped with fresh lime juice, mayonnaise, butter, cheese, chili powder, or hot sauce, and sometimes cilantro. In Mexico and parts of the US, street vendors often sell these salads in cups (also known as elote en vaso, or “corn in a cup”) with elotes, or grilled corn on the cob. At home, Mexican corn salad makes a refreshing side dish for tacos, black bean dishes, quesadillas, or tamales.
10. 10. Greek salad recipe: A traditional Greek salad, known as a horiatiki in Greece, doesn’t feature lettuce like many American variations. The best Greek salads showcase Mediterranean flavors: It’s a combination of sweet heat of fresh red onion, cooling cucumber, and juicy tomatoes with the briny one-two punch of feta cheese and kalamata olives tossed in a bright vinaigrette made with lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Serve Greek salad alongside warm slices of pita or as a complement to a larger mezze spread.
11. 11. Japanese potato salad recipe: Japanese potato salad combines crisp veggies and Western deli staples, like hard-boiled eggs and sandwich meat, with classic Asian flavors. Japanese potato salad gets its acidity from rice vinegar and hot mustard, plus a boost of creaminess from rich Japanese mayo and cooked, partially mashed potato.
12. 12. Watermelon feta salad recipe: Summer salads incorporate the bright, fresh flavors of warm-weather fruit and veggies. Watermelon feta salad combines the sweetness of fresh-picked watermelon with the saltiness of fresh feta cheese.

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