Best Green Salads

These best green salads are for any occasion. They can be filled with a variety of proteins and topped with any flavor dressing you can imagine!

More Collections: Grilled Dinner Ideas, Pasta Salad Recipes, Salad Dressing Recipes

Summer Salads

When summer is upon us and the weather heats up, we love to have some cool and refreshing dinners on hand that won’t heat the kitchen. Salads make the perfect side dish or can be used as the main dish or your meal and usually only take minutes to make.

We have Salads at least one time per week! They are filled with healthy fiber, calcium, and vitamins like potassium and vitamin c. With so many tasty options and flavor profiles, you will never run out of delicious options.

Before I share all of my favorite green salad recipes with you, here are some tips for constructing the best salads!

Salad Tips

To whip up the best green salad recipes follow these simple tips!

Serving suggestions.

• Side salad: Plan for 1.5-2 oz lettuce per person
• Main dish: Plan 2.5-3 oz lettuce per person
• Salad dressing: 2 tablespoons equals one serving

Colorful. The leafy greens make a beautiful backdrop to colorful produce. You can pretty much use any kind of produce that you wish, but some common fruits and vegetables used in green salads include:

• Veggies: carrots, cucumber, radish, celery, green or red onion, bell pepper, grape tomatoes, or watercress.
• Fruits: strawberry, mango, avocado, Mandarin oranges, pears, apples, green olives, or cherries.

Bite-sized. Aside from a wedge salad, you should never have to use a knife to cut your salad while eating it. Cut lettuce and other mix-ins into bite-size pieces.

Best Salad Ingredients

Greens. Lettuce leaves are the main ingredients for easy green salad recipes. Salads are typically made with 1-2 types of lettuce and often feature other greens.

• Common types include Iceberg lettuce, Romaine lettuce, green leaf, red leaf, bibb (Boston/Butter lettuce), Arugula, Frisee/Curly Endive, and fresh Spinach.

Cheese. Cheese is definitely a must for most of my salads. It can be used to add a lot of flavors or just a hint. It can be crumbled, cubed, or shredded.

• Popular salad cheeses include feta, goat cheese, blue cheese, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, swiss cheese, and mozzarella cheese. 

Crunch. One of my favorite elements of a salad is the ingredients that add a bit of a crunch. Often the crunch comes from crispy produce like carrots, cucumbers, and apples.

• Use croutons (homemade croutons), tortilla strips, nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or pepitas. 

Protein. Many salads already include protein in the ingredients list. If it doesn’t, or you wish to make substitutions it’s super easy.

• Some delicious proteins include shrimp, bacon bits, black, kidney, or white beans, boiled eggs, chicken (buffalo, grilled, or breaded), chickpeas, steak strips, tuna, salmon, and nuts.

Best Dressings

Some salads taste best when tossed in the dressing, other salads can be served with a light drizzle or dressing on the side. If you wish to toss the salad with the dressing, then wait to do so until right before serving so that none of the ingredients get soggy.

Salads are typically topped with a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar, or a vinaigrette like Strawberry Vinaigrette or Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, or a creamy dressing like Caesar Salad dressing or Ranch Dressing. Here is a link for more homemade dressing recipes.

Making ahead of Time

Not only are salads delicious and healthy, they often find their way onto my menu because they can be prepared ahead of time giving me a little extra time to prepare other dishes before my meal.

I’ll prepare and cut the different ingredients 1-2 days before and keep them stored in separate containers in the fridge. Then, I’ll toss the salad together anywhere from 1-4 hours before serving.

However, I don’t add any dressing until right before serving. 

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green salad recipes

These fresh and fabulous salad recipes are flavorful and perfect for summer! When you don’t want to heat the kitchen, or are craving something cool, whip up any of these tasty bowl-fulls!!

Pizza Salad

Delish pizza salad is hearty & refreshing. All of the flavors of pizza on a bed of greens, topped with a homemade herb dressing!

Southwest Salad

Our favorite southwest salad recipe filled with chicken, peppers, beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado and topped with a homemade cilantro ranch dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Spicy buffalo chicken salad is filled with buffalo seasoned chicken, crumbled blue cheese, and ranch. It’s your favorite wings in salad form!

Tuna Salad

Chopped tuna salad is the perfect summer side dish. Filled with fresh crisp veggies the color of the rainbow, protein packed tuna, and tossed in a light and refreshing lemon vinaigrette.

Antipasto Salad

Antipasto salad is the perfect summer salad! It’s filled with tomatoes, cheeses, cured meats, veggies and more and can be topped with your favorite dressing.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ultimate Caesar Salad with grilled chicken, croutons, tomatoes, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes.

Quick Caprese Salad

Simple and quick caprese salad is easy and delicious with pops of mozzarella, tomatoes, avocados and drizzled with a balsamic glaze!

Cobb Salad

This simple cobb salad is so full of tasty ingredients it’s a meal all on it’s own. It is quick to make and utterly delicious.

Strawberry Harvest Salad

Strawberry harvest salad tastes just like the salad at Zupa’s! It’s topped with a homemade strawberry vinaigrette dressing.

Steak And Tortellini Salad

Delish steak and tortellini salad is hearty and refreshing. Tortellini, sirloin & romaine in a creamy pesto dressing is a must-have!

Chicken Taco Salad

Crunchy and fresh chicken taco salad is a weeknight dinner dream! Easy, flavorful, and a recipe that everyone will enjoy.

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

A delicious salad with tomatoes, chicken, craisins, sunflower seeds and a delicious homemade lemon poppy seed dressing. The dressing only requires 4 ingredients and takes minutes to make!

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Honey mustard chicken salad is one of the heartiest, most delicious salad recipes you’ll try! With greens, fruits, nuts, and a tangy dressing, it’s a real winner.

Waldorf Salad

Waldorf salad is filled with texture and flavor. Tossed in a homemade poppyseed dressing, it’s perfect for any lunch, dinner or appetizer.

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad

Loaded with sweet, tropical flavors, this delicious Luau Salad is BETTER than it’s Cheesecake Factory double!

Asian Citrus Chicken Salad

Bright & flavorful Asian citrus chicken salad topped with crunchy wontons and a fruity vinaigrette is a family favorite!!

Wedge Salad

This fresh wedge salad is a classic. It’s crisp and refreshing, smothered in creamy dressing and topped with crumbles of cheese and bacon.

Arugula Salad

Fresh arugula salad is loaded with healthy greens, juicy tomatoes, and parmesan shavings with pine nuts and creamy avocado on top!

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

This delicious Copycat Oriental Chicken Salad from Applebees is made with breaded chicken, cabbage, romaine, sliced almonds, and more tossed in a flavorful asian dressing!

Kale Salad

Sweet kale salad is topped with chunks of apple, candied pecans, dried cranberries, and bacon, served with a homemade sweet dijon vinaigrette!

Ramen Noodle Salad

With toasted almonds, sesame seeds, and ramen noodles, this green salad has the perfect crunch to it. Top it all off with a simple homemade dressing, and this ramen noodle salad will win everyone over!

Easy Tortellini Salad

Super YUMMY and easy tortellini salad filled with tortellini, salad, ranch, tomatoes and bacon bits – perfect for summer time!

Southwest Caprese Salad

Southwest caprese salad substitutes queso fresco and a bright cilantro jalapeño vinaigrette to add some flair. It is fresh, vibrant, and full of flavor!

7 Layer Salad

7 layers of goodness in this delicious layered salad. This recipe isn’t only delicious, but is easy to customize and is great to make ahead of time too!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This strawberry spinach salad is fresh, naturally sweet, colorful and absolutely delicious. Serve it as a quick lunch, a dinner side, or a potluck item!

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Tasty Green Salad Recipes

We hope you enjoy trying some of the tasty green Salad recipes listed above. You’re sure to find some refreshing and delicious new favorites on this list!

More Collections: Spring Salad Recipes, Summer Salads , Easy Salad Recipes