Come summertime, potato and pasta salads get all the glory, but simple green salads are just as worthy of your warm weather tables. Trust us—from BBQS to picnics, potlucks to weeknight family dinners, these are ALWAYS a hit. Check out our 27 gorgeous green summer salads to see why.
Though we think these salads are pretty simple to throw together, that definitely doesn’t mean they’re boring. The key to salad perfection is the combination of flavors and textures, and we think these have enough variety to satisfy even ardent green veg-haters. Take our BBQ chicken salad—it’s got juicy grilled chicken and South-of-the-border-inspired toppings like black beans and corn, all tied together with ranch dressing (and even more BBQ sauce). 🤯 See? Salads can get a bad rap for being lame, but not here! Check out our taco salad, our Greek salmon salad, our garlic herb wedge salad, or our strawberry chicken Cobb salad for even more exciting ideas, then feel free to get creative and mix and match your toppings and ingredients.
Not feeling AT ALL creative? We get it. It can be hard to come up with the perfect combo of ingredients, even for us! For those days when we could use a little extra inspiration, we turn to our favorite restaurants: Check out our copycat Panera Bread green goddess salad, our copycat Cheesecake Factory Mexican tortilla salad, and our copycat Panera Bread strawberry poppyseed salad. The best part about making them at home? You can customize them as much as your heart desires.
Want even more summertime inspiration? Check out all our gazpacho recipes (you can still soup & salad, even during the summer), our top summer co*cktails, and our best no-bake desserts too.
1
Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad With Peaches
Peppery arugula is the perfect vessel for this savory-sweet combo, and you just can't beat ripe, juicy peaches come summertime. We love this with funky blue cheese crumbles, but you can use feta too if you prefer.
Get the Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad With Peaches recipe.
2
Summer Panzanella
Panzanella is one of those recipes that truly tastes like summer. It's one that you want to make in peak season—when the tomatoes are extra juicy, the squash slightly sweet, and the basil extra cheap. To give this classic dish more flavor and make it even more summery, we grill the bread, zucchini, and onion until charred, then toss those with the remaining ingredients.
Get the Summer Panzanella recipe.
3
Taco Salad
When it comes to healthy salads, none are more hearty than a taco salad. Load it up with veggies, cheese, and ground beef for the perfect satisfying summer meal. We love this classic version, but if you want to get fancy, feel free to swap in and out your fave toppings.
Get the Taco Salad recipe.
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4
Strawberry Spinach Salad
With sweet strawberries, herby chicken, tangy feta, and crunchy pecans, this summer salad will make even so-called spinach haters fall in love after just one bite. This light and fresh salad lets sweet flavors shine, but is complemented by the sharp textures and flavors of our other ingredients. Leave out the chicken for a summer side dish, or add it in for a hearty main!
Get the Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe.
5
Grilled Steak Salad
This salad is simple enough for a weeknight but worthy of planning a get-together around, thanks to its star ingredient—ribeye steak. You’ll grill it (and red onions), then combine it with cherry tomatoes, blue cheese, basil, and a drizzle of tangy balsamic dressing, turning it into the kind of impressive-but-secretly-easy dish you’ll be making all the time.
Get the Grilled Steak Salad recipe.
6
BBQ Chicken Salad
Some salads are sides, but not this one: Juicy grilled BBQ chicken sits alongside festive South-of-the-border-inspired toppings like black beans, corn, cheese, and tortilla strips. Put that on top of some crunchy romaine and drizzle it with BBQ sauce and ranch dressing, and you’ve got yourself a hearty meal you’ll look forward to eating again and again.
Get the BBQ Chicken Salad recipe.
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7
Antipasto Chickpea Salad
This versatile chickpea salad is a great side dish (hello, potlucks!) but can easily be a full meal on its own. Adding a spoonful of Dijon mustard to your red wine vinaigrette makes it creamier in both taste and body—consider it your secret weapon in making a classic dressing just that much better.
Get the Antipasto Chickpea Salad recipe.
8
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad
This grilled chicken salad—filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado—is the healthy summer dinner we tend to make again and again. If you're vegetarian, try subbing in hard-boiled eggs for the chicken!
Get the Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad recipe.
9
Copycat Panera Bread Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
As much fruit salad as it was green salad, Panera's beloved salad featured a juicy orange and onion poppyseed dressing and pops of fresh fruit, like strawberries, blueberries, Mandarin oranges, and pineapple. We’re hoping it’ll one day return to the Panera menu so we can order it alongside other faves, but in the meantime, it’s super-easy to make at home so you can enjoy it whenever you want.
Get the Copycat Panera Bread Strawberry Poppyseed Salad recipe.
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10
Big Mac Salad
Got a craving for a Big Mac, but avoiding the drive-thru? This salad is for you—it's got everything you love, minus the bun!
Get the Big Mac Salad recipe.
11
Tomato Salad
This tomato salad can be served as a side or as a meal all on its own. It will delight you on all fronts: It's got leafy greens, juicy tomatoes, blue cheese, candied hazelnuts, and stove-top croutons, tossed in gingery balsamic vinaigrette.
Get the Tomato Salad recipe.
12
Roasted Chickpea & Avocado Salad
The tahini-ranch here is a lightened-up dressing that is better than any bottle you could buy. It, plus crunchy chickpeas, creamy avocado, and feta, make this a perfect salad for a summer lunch or a picnic.
Get the .
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13
Sheet-Pan Panzanella
Rather than toast the bread cubes on their own for this summery salad, you'll roast them alongside all the veg. The tomatoes burst as they roast, mixing their juices with the bread and fresh arugula. The combination of roasted tomatoes, toasted bread coated with Parmesan, fragrant garlic, and mozzarella ends up tasting like pizza. Yum!
Get the Sheet-Pan Panzanella recipe.
14
Shrimp Mango Salad
This quick and easy shrimp salad is pleasantly crunchy and loaded with fresh ingredients—just what we crave when we want something satisfying that won’t weigh us down. With a bright, savory dressing inspired by our miso ginger dressing, this might be our new favorite way to get in our serving of veggies.
Get the Shrimp Mango Salad recipe.
15
Copycat Panera Bread Green Goddess Salad
Panera’s Cobb salad is like no other, thanks to their creamy and bright green goddess dressing. The rest of the salad has all of your classic Cobb toppings, like hard-boiled eggs and crispy bacon, but feel free to switch things up if you like.
Get the Copycat Panera Bread Green Goddess Cobb Salad With Chicken recipe.
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16
Vegan Taco Salad
Our favorite taco salad gets a vegan makeover. Filled with grains and two different types of beans, it's a filling salad worthy of your dinner table. Top it will all of your favorites like cherry tomatoes and tortilla chips for a little crunch.
Get the Vegan Taco Salad recipe.
17
Buffalo Chicken Salad
This Buffalo chicken salad is the best way to eat your Buffalo chicken wings, covered in a homemade ranch dressing, with all of our favorite sides. Bonus, no saucy orange fingers!
Get the Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe.
18
Greek Salmon Salad
This gorgeous salad is hearty enough to be dinner, but light enough to not weigh you down. While the salmon is cooking, you can get all of your veggie chopping done, meaning it's an easy meal with big reward!
Get the Greek Salmon Salad recipe.
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19
Anything Goes Grain Salad
We love a giant grain salad that is full of so many beautiful things, and this one is TOPS. This farro and white bean salad has raw and roasted veggies, all tossed in a bright lemony dressing and finished with some goat cheese to add a creamy tanginess. It's as flavorful as it is beautiful and we can't get enough of it.
Get the Anything Goes Grain Salad recipe.
20
Garlic Herb Wedge Salad
We attribute this salad's greatness to three things: 1) a homemade garlicky blue cheese dressing that will knock your socks off, 2) fresh herbs both in the dressing and as garnish, and 3) thick. cut. bacon.
Get the Garlic Herb Wedge Salad recipe.
Camille Lowder
Digital Food Producer
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
