Food Salad Recipes Fresh and Colorful Summer Salads By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 26, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Carson Downing These bright, healthy salads—with veggies, fruits, hearty grains and more—are gorgeous enough to star at your dinner table or a picnic spread. 01 of 28 Summer Chicken Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette Carson Downing Heap a platter with butter lettuce, poached chicken, green beans, avocado, berries, chives and basil. (The cooked components are easily made ahead.) Admire your creation, then douse it in berry-pink vinaigrette. Throw a Strawberry Party with These Fresh, Fruit-Forward Recipes View Recipe 02 of 28 Spinach-Farro Salad with Cherries Carson Downing Serve this easy, healthy salad for lunch or a light supper. The tangy goat cheese makes a nice counterpoint to the sweet cherries. Hearty, Healthy Salad Recipes View Recipe 03 of 28 Succotash Salad with Smoked Trout Brie Passano In this delicious center-plate salad, salty smoked trout plays off the sweetness of fresh corn and a maple-laced dressing. View Recipe 04 of 28 Peach Panzanella Make this gorgeous twist on the classic Italian salad with only the ripest summer peaches and tomatoes, so the bread soaks up all the sweet juices. View Recipe 05 of 28 Mexican Street Corn Macaroni Salad In Mexico, grilled corn comes coated in mayonnaise, lime, cheese and cilantro. We just added pasta, plus lots of green onion for bite. It's a macaroni salad that's anything but basic. Scrumptious Pasta Salad Recipes View Recipe 06 of 28 Greek to Me Tomato Salad Blaine Moats Tuck grilled Halloumi cheese among ripe heirloom tomatoes. Scatter with quick-pickled red onion, oregano, pepper and olive oil. Dive in like it's the Aegean. Fresh Tomato Recipes You'll Love View Recipe 07 of 28 Grilled Watermelon and Arugula Salad Brie Passano Two things make this grilled watermelon amazing. High heat draws out moisture and intensifies watermelon's sweetness, and the rub creates additional caramelization for even deeper flavor notes. View Recipe 08 of 28 Two-Bean Salad with Tarragon Brie Passano Don't stop at beans. You'll want to use the lemony vinaigrette from this recipe all summer long on lettuce salads, asparagus or boiled baby potatoes. Garden-Fresh Vegetable Recipes View Recipe 09 of 28 Penne with Lentils and Feta Brie Passano Hearty and wholesome, this pasta salad is loaded with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lentils, salty cheese and parsley, all cloaked in a light and bright red wine vinaigrette. View Recipe 10 of 28 Beet and Orange Salad With Walnuts Brie Passano Honey and orange juice boost the natural sweetness of beets. We couldn't resist adding goat cheese, but the salad's equally good without. View Recipe 11 of 28 Coconut Shrimp and Watermelon Salad Jay Wilde This fresh and flavorful salad is a perfect dinner for a hot night, especially with a glass of crisp white wine. Be sure to use unsweetened coconut for the best flavor. View Recipe 12 of 28 Basil Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese Brie Passano This salad is a sleeper hit. You may not have thought to put these ingredients together before now, but here's your new favorite lunch (or breakfast) meal. View Recipe 13 of 28 Unforbidden Fruit Salad Blaine Moats Learn to love your melon by dousing it in lime juice, with zippy chilies, cilantro and crunchy pepitas. Can you eat it with your morning eggs? A bowl of yogurt? Fajitas? A beer? Yep. View Recipe 14 of 28 Green Bean Tabbouleh Blaine Moats This is a perfect summer salad to take to a picnic or potluck since it is best at room temperature. View Recipe 15 of 28 Farro and Olive Salad Farro and Olive Salad. Blaine Moats This salad is a great barbecue side, or hearty enough for a stand-alone meal. At Kansas' Elderslie Farm, chef Katharine Elder likes to keep a big batch on hand to eat for lunch. View Recipe 16 of 28 Thai Beef and Noodle Salad Lean flank steak, whole wheat pasta and crisp vegetables make this Asian-inspired salad a healthy choice. Ditching that time-consuming (and all-too-easy-to-forget) step of marinating the meat makes it genius. View Recipe 17 of 28 Bacon, Blue Cheese and Nectarine Salad Nectarines appear twice in this irresistible rainbow of a salad: sliced on top for pretty summer punch and pureed in the dressing for fruity tang and silky smoothness. (Note: The dressing can be made ahead and chilled for up to 3 hours; if possible, return the dressing to room temperature before serving.) View Recipe 18 of 28 Arugula Salad with Brioche Croutons Any crouton is delicious, but a crouton made with buttery brioche? Divine. It's a luxe addition to this simple lemon-dressed salad from Epicure Catering in Michigan. (This recipe makes a generous amount of croutons; store extras in an airtight container for a day or two.) View Recipe 19 of 28 Greek Salad with Halloumi Blaine Moats Halloumi is a salty Greek cheese that you can grill with delicious results--like a fried mozzarella stick that showed up at a barbecue. Find it at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and some supermarkets. Try halloumi in our Pesto Veggie Gyros, too. View Recipe 20 of 28 Quinoa Salad with Roasted Zucchini, Almonds and Feta You could make a meal of this dish: caramelized zucchini, crunchy almonds, salty cheese and hearty quinoa, all dressed in honey-basil vinaigrette. The recipe comes from Columbus, Ohio, chef Cara Mangini. Easy Zucchini Recipes View Recipe 21 of 28 BLT Salad We took a summertime staple (a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich) and made it a main-dish salad. Creamy mustard dressing is the perfect topping. How to Cook Bacon Like a Pro View Recipe 22 of 28 Rice and Red Bean Salad Chili powder and cumin flavor this hearty, nutritious Tex-Mex dish from The Spice House in Milwaukee. View Recipe 23 of 28 Boston Lettuce Stacks with Grilled Peaches, Feta and Pecans This easy summer salad pairs the textures and flavors of buttery, slightly sweet and crisp Boston lettuce with grilled warm peaches and crunchy nuts. Our Best Sweet-and-Juicy Peach Recipes View Recipe 24 of 28 Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad Discover the savory potential of watermelon in this five-ingredient salad. View Recipe 25 of 28 Orange Tabbouleh This hearty, healthy salad combines juicy fruit, flavorful fresh herbs and warm spices. Even people who are skeptical of the nutritious bulgur wheat will be surprised how much they like it. View Recipe 26 of 28 Creamy Spinach-Basil Pasta Salad Fresh basil in the dressing lends a hint of pesto-inspired sophistication to this mayo-rich pasta salad. View Recipe 27 of 28 Bavarian-Style Potato Salad Serve this tangy vinegar-based potato salad with bratwurst and sauerkraut for a meal worthy of a German beer garden. Potato Salad Recipes Your Guests Will Love View Recipe 28 of 28 Broccoli Grape Salad Salty bacon flavors juicy grapes and crunchy broccoli. The classic potluck star comes from a South Dakota bed and breakfast. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! 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