Summer salad recipes earn their keep on the day it is too hot to turn the oven on, which around here is most of June through September. Everything on this list is built cold or close to it: pasta salads that sit happily on a picnic table because there is no mayonnaise in them, cucumber and tomato bowls that take ten minutes flat, fruit salads with dressings you shake in a jar, and a few hearty ones with shrimp or grilled chicken that count as dinner. I went looking for the ones worth repeating, not the ones that photograph beautifully and taste like wet lettuce an hour later. Some are five minutes and a cutting board. Some want a night in the fridge to come together properly. All of them travel to a barbecue, a potluck or a work lunch without falling apart on the way.
1. Summer Pasta Salad
Two pastas in one bowl, spinach fettuccine and cheese tortellini, tossed with snow peas, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and black olives in a shaken red wine vinaigrette. The clever part is the timing. The fettuccine goes in first, the tortellini five minutes later, the vegetables for the last two minutes, so a single pot cooks everything and you wash one thing. No egg and no mayonnaise, which is why it can sit out at a barbecue without anyone hovering over it. Best after a night in the fridge.
Get the full tutorial at Stilettos & Diapers.
2. Easy Watermelon Salad
Watermelon, cucumber and sweet onion cut small, tossed with chopped mint and cilantro, then finished with crumbled feta and a lime dressing. Four cups of melon to two cups of cucumber keeps it from going soupy, and the dressing is only lime juice, lime zest, salt, pepper and olive oil whisked together. Dress it lightly and taste before you add more, because an over-dressed watermelon salad turns to juice in about ten minutes. Sweet, salty and cold, which is the whole point in July.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
3. Mexican Street Corn Salad
Everything good about elote, in a bowl you can eat with a fork. Four ears of corn get charred in a hot pan for about fifteen minutes with garlic, then tossed with lime and salt and folded together with black beans, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro and crumbled cotija. The dressing is yogurt, lime, honey, paprika and cumin instead of mayonnaise, so it stays light. Serve it warm the first night and cold out of the fridge the next, and it is good both ways.
Get the full tutorial at Live Eat Learn.
4. Broccoli Craisin Salad
The one everybody’s aunt makes, and for good reason. Chopped broccoli and bagged coleslaw mix carry craisins, golden raisins, crumbled bacon and a cup of salted sunflower seeds, all bound in mayonnaise cut with a third of a cup of sugar and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. It needs two hours in the fridge before it tastes like itself. Hold the sunflower seeds back until you are walking out the door, because they go soft once the dressing gets to them.
Get the full tutorial at My Organized Chaos.
5. Summer Peach Balsamic Caprese Salad
Peaches instead of just tomatoes, which is the swap that makes this worth making in August. Three sliced peaches and two chopped tomatoes go over four cups of spring greens with fresh mozzarella pearls, toasted sliced almonds and a quarter cup of minced basil. The dressing is balsamic whisked with honey and Dijon, then olive oil drizzled in slowly so it emulsifies. Dress it right before it goes to the table, because sliced peaches start weeping the moment vinegar touches them.
Get the full tutorial at Whole and Heavenly Oven.
6. Tuna Spinach Salad
A five ounce can of tuna, a cup of chopped baby spinach, a third of a cup of Greek yogurt, shredded mozzarella and one seeded Roma tomato, stirred together in one bowl with lemon juice, salt and pepper. That is the entire recipe and it takes ten minutes. The yogurt does the job mayonnaise usually does, the mozzarella is the part nobody expects, and it makes two servings. Eat it on toast, in a wrap, or straight out of the bowl standing at the counter.
Get the full tutorial at Family Food on the Table.
7. Easy Italian-Style Pasta Salad
Twelve ounces of rotini with mini pepperoni, chopped salami, mozzarella pearls, cubed cucumber, halved grape tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper strips and black olives, all tossed with Italian dressing. Season the pasta itself with dried Italian herbs, paprika, crushed red pepper and black pepper rather than relying on the bottle to do everything. Spread the cooked pasta on a sheet pan to cool before it meets anything else, or the mozzarella melts into strings. Parmesan and parsley go on last.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
8. Fresh Green Bean Salad
Green beans boiled for three to four minutes and dropped straight into cold water, which is the step that keeps them bright and squeaky instead of army green. They get tossed in a dressing of olive oil, balsamic, Dijon and honey, then topped with toasted walnuts crushed in a bag with the back of a spoon, parsley and finely chopped red onion. Serve it warm or at room temperature. It is a genuine make-ahead, because the beans hold their texture for days.
Get the full tutorial at Bunny's Warm Oven.
9. Cilantro Lime Shrimp Avocado Salad
Chopped romaine under two pounds of boiled or steamed shrimp, big pieces of avocado, sliced grape tomatoes and a little diced red onion, with a lime dressing whisked from olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and Dijon. Ten minutes, no stove if you buy the shrimp already cooked, and it feeds four as an actual dinner. Cut the avocado last and toss gently, once, or you will end up with guacamole at the bottom of the bowl.
Get the full tutorial at Add a Pinch.
10. Roasted Beet Salad With Green Goddess Dressing
Eight beets wrapped individually in foil with a teaspoon of olive oil each and roasted at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes, with carrots joining the oven for the last fifteen to twenty. Let both cool completely, then the beet skins slip off with a knife and no staining drama. Arranged on a platter with watercress and a green goddess dressing poured over, it is the prettiest thing on this list. Roast the beets a day ahead and it becomes a fifteen minute salad.
Get the full tutorial at The Modern Proper.
11. Berry Orange Spinach Salad
Six packed cups of baby spinach with mandarin orange segments, raspberries, blackberries, crumbled feta and walnuts, under a vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic, fresh orange juice and honey. It takes ten minutes and serves two generously. Use the juice from the mandarins you just peeled for the dressing so nothing goes to waste. This is the one to bring when somebody says just bring a salad and you want it to look like you tried.
Get the full tutorial at Yay! For Food.
12. Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad With Mango Avocado Salsa
Chicken thigh fillets marinated in olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, brown sugar and cumin, grilled until the edges char, then sliced over romaine with grilled red pepper. The salsa is diced mango, avocado and green onion loosened with a couple of spoonfuls of the reserved marinade. That is the trick worth stealing: pour a third of the marinade off for the chicken and keep the rest untouched in the fridge to use as dressing. Fifteen minutes of marinating works, two hours is better.
Get the full tutorial at Cafe Delites.
13. Pineapple Cucumber Salad
One pineapple and one English cucumber, both chopped, with the zest and juice of two limes and a third of a cup of roughly chopped cilantro. Salt and pepper optional. That is the whole list and it takes about ten minutes to put together. It sounds too simple to be worth it right up until you taste it next to something spicy off the grill, and then it becomes the thing you make all summer. Serve it cold.
Get the full tutorial at Mom On Timeout.
14. Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad
A cup and a half of chopped tomatoes with a peeled and seeded cucumber, a diced avocado, four ounces of cubed feta, minced red onion and parsley, dressed with two tablespoons of olive oil and one of red wine vinegar. Seeding the cucumber is the difference between a salad and a puddle. Toss gently so the feta and avocado stay in pieces. If it is going in the fridge for later, hold the avocado back and add it right before serving.
Get the full tutorial at Green Valley Kitchen.
15. Chopped Greek Salad
Quartered cucumber slices, a drained can of chickpeas, diced bell pepper, halved cherry tomatoes, minced red onion, kalamata olives, feta and parsley, with a dressing shaken in a jar from olive oil, Dijon, red wine vinegar, lemon, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. The chickpeas are what move it from side dish to lunch. The dressing keeps in the fridge for a week, so make a double batch and you have most of next week’s salads handled already.
Get the full tutorial at Dinner at the Zoo.
16. No Mayo Broccoli Salad With Blueberries and Apple
A pound and a half of broccoli with fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, red onion, sunflower seeds and chopped apple, in a dressing of Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and poppy seeds. No mayonnaise anywhere. Toss the apple with a tablespoon of lemon juice before it goes in the bowl, which keeps it from browning while the rest comes together. Once it is dressed it is best eaten within a day, so this is the one to make the morning of.
Get the full tutorial at Kristine's Kitchen.
17. Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad
Three large cucumbers, six Roma tomatoes and a whole red onion, all chopped, with eight ounces of feta cut into squares rather than crumbled. The dressing is half a cup of olive oil with red wine vinegar, oregano, minced garlic, a little Dijon, salt and pepper, shaken well. It makes ten to twelve servings, which is why it turns up at every family reunion. Cubed feta holds its shape through the tossing where crumbles just disappear into the dressing.
Get the full tutorial at Lemon Tree Dwelling.
18. Broccoli Apple Salad
Four cups of small diced broccoli with two gala apples, a cup of walnuts, matchstick carrots, golden raisins and red onion, in a dressing of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise cut with apple cider vinegar and three tablespoons of honey. Dicing the broccoli small is what makes this one work, because every forkful gets a bit of everything instead of one enormous floret. Chill the dressing while you chop, then toss. It serves eight and holds well.
Get the full tutorial at Cooking Classy.
19. Spinach Pasta Salad
Eight ounces of bowtie pasta, four cups of baby spinach, two cups of halved grape tomatoes, thin red onion and three cloves of garlic, dressed with six tablespoons of olive oil and a quarter cup of red wine vinegar. The method is the good part. Sliced onion and garlic sit in the oil and vinegar while the pasta boils, and the hot drained pasta goes straight into that bowl, which takes the raw bite off the onion. Spinach and tomatoes go in last.
Get the full tutorial at Barefeet in the Kitchen.
20. Lemon Dill Potato Salad
Red potatoes cut into quarter inch slices, boiled fifteen to twenty minutes until fork tender, then dressed warm with olive oil, the juice of a lemon, Dijon, red wine vinegar, garlic, parsley, thyme and a lot of fresh dill. No mayonnaise, so it is the potato salad that can sit outside at a cookout. Dressing them while they are still warm is the whole trick, because warm potatoes soak up vinaigrette and cold ones just wear it. Keeps five days.
Get the full tutorial at Apples for CJ.
21. Japanese Cucumber Salad
Sunomono, and it is six ingredients. Slice one English cucumber paper thin, rub the slices with half a tablespoon of salt, drain them in a colander for five minutes, rinse and squeeze them dry. Then dress with rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sesame seeds. Salting and squeezing is the entire technique, and skipping it is why homemade cucumber salad usually ends up watery. Ten minutes, two servings, and it disappears faster than that.
Get the full tutorial at Cooking The Globe.
22. Crunchy Cabbage Salad
Two cups each of shredded green and red cabbage with small broccoli florets, diced cherry tomatoes and cubed cucumber, dressed with oil and a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, salt and pepper. Run the cabbage through a mandoline and the shreds come out fine enough to actually carry the dressing, which a knife will not quite manage. Ten minutes, four servings, and it stays crunchy in the fridge longer than any leafy salad has a right to.
Get the full tutorial at Valentina's Corner.
23. Salad Shirazi
Three Persian cucumbers, three tomatoes and half a red onion, all chopped very small, with lemon juice or verjuice, dried mint, salt and pepper. The size of the dice is the recipe: everything goes small enough that one spoonful carries all three. Dried mint rather than fresh, which is not a shortcut but how it is actually made. Chill it thirty minutes to an hour before serving so the juices pull together. It belongs next to anything grilled.
Get the full tutorial at Unicorns in the Kitchen.
24. Strawberry Bacon Salad
Eight cups of chopped romaine with a pound of sliced strawberries, five or six slices of crisp chopped bacon, blue cheese crumbles and toasted pecans, under a vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic, honey and Dijon. Strawberries and blue cheese sound like an argument and taste like a good idea. Make the vinaigrette ahead, because it keeps two weeks in the fridge and shakes back together. Toast the pecans, which takes four minutes and doubles what they bring to the bowl.
Get the full tutorial at Sally's Baking Addiction.
25. Stone Fruit Salad
Four cups of mixed greens layered with thin slices of nectarine and plum, pecans and blue cheese, dressed with a jar of olive oil, balsamic, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper shaken hard. Half a nectarine and half a plum is all it takes, so this is the salad for the week the fruit bowl is winning. Slice the fruit thin so it drapes over the greens rather than rolling off. Ten minutes and it looks like a restaurant plate.
Get the full tutorial at Lemon Tree Dwelling.
26. Creamy Dilled Cucumber Salad
Two large sliced cucumbers and a quarter cup of sliced red onion in a mixture of Greek yogurt, the juice and zest of a lemon, chopped dill, grated garlic, salt and pepper. Ten minutes, four servings, and you can swap sour cream or mayonnaise for the yogurt depending on what is in the door of the fridge. Thirty minutes chilling lets the flavors settle. A teaspoon of honey rounds it off if your cucumbers are on the bitter side.
Get the full tutorial at Closet Cooking.
27. Southwestern Chopped Salad With Cilantro Dressing
One large head of romaine with a can of black beans, an orange bell pepper, a pint of grape tomatoes, two cups of cooked sweet corn and five green onions, under a creamy cilantro lime dressing. Seven ingredients, twenty five minutes, four good sized bowls. The dressing can be made a couple of days ahead and stored, which turns this into a ten minute job on the night you need it. Use the full batch if you like a heavily dressed salad.
Get the full tutorial at The Garden Grazer.
28. Dilled Cucumber and Radish Salad
One English cucumber sliced with the skin on, two cups of sliced radishes and a cup of thin red onion, salted and left fifteen minutes, then drained before the dressing goes on. That draining step is why this one stays crisp instead of turning into brine. The dressing is rice wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, garlic and fresh dill. It needs an hour in the fridge to come together, and it makes six servings of the prettiest pink and green bowl on the list.
Get the full tutorial at Renee's Kitchen Adventures.
