Great Summer Salad Recipe Ideas

These Best Summer Salad Recipe Ideas are perfect for the season of enjoying the beautiful outdoors. These are outside of the usual potato salad box and are unique and tasty. These summer Salad Recipes make for a fun change-up at dinner or your next gathering.

Vegetable Summer Salads

Hello Friends! As we prepare for another weekend of picnics, beach days and barbecues, today I thought I would share some summer salad recipes. Summer is a great time to enjoy a light salad as an easy dinner idea, or as a side dish for barbecues and outdoor parties. 

There are always folks who can’t eat potato salad due to dietary restrictions or who don’t like it as a matter of personal preference. If you’re looking for delicious alternatives to potato salad or a way to change up the potluck salad, I thought I would share some wonderful ideas to try when you need to take something to a summer barbecue or gathering.

A great way to eat some healthy greens is to throw together a raw broccoli salad. Try to use organic broccoli, wash it well and dice the florets for the salad. You can also shred the stalk - lots of good nutrients there! You can add almost any crunchy veggie to this salad according to your taste. 

Mayonnaise-like dressings and vinaigrette dressings both work well with broccoli salads. This Broccoli and Pepper salad with Bacon is a nice one to try. This Broccoli Pasta salad skips the bacon but has some other vegetables in it.

Summer Bean Salads

Three-bean salads have long been a staple at picnics and potlucks and for good reason - they are delicious. The fun thing about bean salads is that you can create combinations based on your favorite preferences

Don’t like cannellini beans? Just substitute another bean. The classic three-bean salad calls for canned cannellini, kidney and garbanzo beans.  Three-bean salads are usually served chilled, so plan ahead if you’re taking this to an event. We came up with an updated three-bean salad last summer, for inspiration.

Another nice bean salad is this simple Chickpea Salad recipe. Made with canned chickpeas and fresh vegetables.

This Creamy Cucumber Salad is another great summer salad that is super inexpensive to make. Seriously, it only costs a couple of dollars to make and if you can get the produce on sale, it comes out to just pennies per serving. 

For a fun twist, try this Asian cucumber salad with a tangy dressing.

 

Summer Fruit Salads

This Mango Arugula Salad is made with Arugula, Parmesan cheese, fresh mango, cranberries, and almonds. It is a nice unexpected change from the usual potluck salads and it's delightfully bright, colorful, and delicious.

This Strawberry Spinach salad also has raspberries and nuts in it. It is quick to put together and if you love spinach, you will love this salad. It is also very colorful.

For another beautifully colorful salad, this Quick and Easy Mediterranean salad is a winner.  This salad makes me think of the white sandy beaches of the Mediterranean.

For a delicious cold-based pasta salad, chop and dice your favorite salad veggies and dress with a tangy vinaigrette. Or change things up with this Vegetable Spaghetti Salad recipe, loaded with tomatoes, bell pepper, Parmesan cheese, and spaghetti noodles. 

Summer Salad Pasta recipes are perfect because these salads are just as versatile as potato salads in that you can add almost anything to them and they will taste amazing. They also have the added bonus of working well with meats such as diced chicken or seafood such as shrimp being added to them. One of our most popular recipes is this Best Ever Creamy Macaroni Salad recipe. 

Try this option for a fall salad: cut sweet potatoes into chunks and then steam them until fork-tender. Add a small chopped red onion, chopped celery, dried cranberries, Dijon-style mustard, apple cider vinegar and mashed avocado (optional). This is a great alternative to potato salad, and it doesn’t contain mayo.

Be sure to include some fruits in your summer menu planning. We have some delicious and easy banana recipes for summer. 

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Let these ideas inspire you to try something new and interesting as an alternative to potato salad. You may find a new favorite for your salad rotation!

 

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What has been your favorite salad this summer?