28 Dinner Salads That Actually Satisfy
Salads can do more than fill a bowl. These recipes bring big flavor and satisfying ingredients that make dinner feel complete without feeling heavy.
This mix features salads built with hearty add-ins, fresh textures, and balanced flavors. Each one works as a full meal, making them ideal for both busy nights and relaxed dinners.
Reuben Salad – Great Way to Use up Leftover Corned Beef
This recipe for Reuben Salad is a fun, easy, healthier version of my favorite sandwich!! Reuben Salad is made with corned venison, which is much healthier than beef!
Get the Recipe: Reuben Salad – Great Way to Use up Leftover Corned Beef.
Old Fashioned Ham Salad
This old-fashioned ham salad is an easy use for leftover ham, not to mention it is totally delicious and nostalgic. A Southern classic recipe made quickly in your own kitchen.
Get the Recipe: Old Fashioned Ham Salad.
Broccoli Salad with Raisins, Easy, & Delicious
Broccoli Salad with Raisins is a fresh, easy side dish perfect for your next BBQ or potluck. It takes less than 30 minutes to whip up. This classic potluck favorite is crisp, fruity, creamy, and absolutely delicious!
Get the Recipe: Broccoli Salad with Raisins, Easy, & Delicious.
Grilled Chicken Salad with Eggs and Pecans
This recipe transforms the usual chicken salad into something extraordinary! Our Grilled Chicken Salad is easy and tasty, and a great way to use leftover grilled chicken. It’s perfect for picnics, in sandwiches, or with lettuce and tortilla wraps.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salad with Eggs and Pecans.
Macaroni Salad with Tuna
This Macaroni Tuna Salad is a great recipe for potlucks. It only takes a few minutes to make, and is loaded with fresh herbs like chives, parsley, and dill. Garnish it with hard-boiled eggs, herbs, and edible flowers, like nasturtiums.
Get the Recipe: Macaroni Salad with Tuna.
Southwestern Salad
The Southwestern Salad, featuring garbanzos and a zesty chipotle, lime, and roasted garlic dressing, brings a touch of heat from the chipotle. Toss in plenty of fresh veggies, and you have a colorful, tasty salad perfect for summer!
Get the Recipe: Southwestern Salad.
Hearty Roasted Vegetable Salad
A hearty salad that complements turkey made with a warm homemade dressing. This leafy green salad is full of roasted seasonal veggies and is perfect for your fall and winter lunches and dinners.
Get the Recipe: Hearty Roasted Vegetable Salad.
The Best Cowboy Caviar Recipe (Texas Caviar)
This cowboy caviar recipe is delicious paired with tortilla chips or on top of your favorite salad. Plant-based and protein-packed, it might just become your new go-to vegan snack. Did you know this easy bean salad is also commonly called Texas caviar?
Get the Recipe: The Best Cowboy Caviar Recipe (Texas Caviar).
Vinegret Russian/Ukrainian Beet Potato Salad (Винегрет)
This beet-and-potato salad is a vegetarian dish I grew up with. My mother used to make vinegret salad for holidays, mostly because it can be a chore to make. There are ways to cheat a little and make this salad faster, though. This is my personal take on this Russian salad. I might get some critiques on the authenticity of this beet potato salad, but I will say this is my version, which is very similar to the Vinegret I grew up with. It reflects the Vinegret salads (pronounced, “Vee-ne-gret,” also sometimes spelled in English, Vinaigrette) I sampled while traveling through Russia years ago.
Get the Recipe: Vinegret Russian/Ukrainian Beet Potato Salad (Винегрет).
Chimichurri Steak Salad
Chimichurri Steak Salad, made with crisp salad greens, creamy avocado, and crunchy veggies, combined with succulent, marinated flank steak and a homemade chimichurri dressing, makes this the ultimate salad!
Get the Recipe: Chimichurri Steak Salad.
Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges
Not only can you mill fresh einkorn berries to make einkorn flour and einkorn sourdough bread, but you can also boil them or other wheat berries to create nourishing and hearty grain salads like this Einkorn Salad with Radicchio and Oranges!
Get the Recipe: Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges.
The Best Chicken Harvest Salad Recipe – with Apples
The Best Chicken Harvest Salad Recipe is delicious during the holiday season and year-round. This chicken crunch salad features fresh greens, tender chicken, pears, apples, almonds, cranberries, and feta, with a creamy Mayonnaise-Balsamic Dressing.
Get the Recipe: The Best Chicken Harvest Salad Recipe – with Apples.
How to Make Olive Garden Supreme Pasta Salad (Gluten-Free)
Olive Garden Supreme Pasta Salad is gluten-free and flavorful. It’s perfect for summer gatherings. Skip the pepperoni to make it vegetarian-friendly. This is a great recipe for Olive Garden Italian Dressing and McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning, with simple instructions and the option to make it vegetarian-friendly.
Get the Recipe: How to Make Olive Garden Supreme Pasta Salad (Gluten-Free).
Fall Harvest Salad Recipe
Packed with autumnal ingredients like sweet potato, apple, cranberry, and pecans, this harvest salad recipe is perfect for fall! It’s a wonderful stand-alone lunch, a main course if you add protein, or a festive side dish for special meals like Thanksgiving.
Get the Recipe: Fall Harvest Salad Recipe.
Big, Colorful Spinach and Arugula Salad
There’s nothing like a Big, Colorful Spinach and Arugula Salad to make you feel good! We’re told to eat the rainbow, and you will be with this Salad. The addition of Roasted Beets and Quail Eggs rounds it out. Don’t forget the dressing, I made a Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette to serve with it.
Get the Recipe: Big, Colorful Spinach and Arugula Salad.
Breakfast Salad
This easy-to-make Breakfast Salad is loaded with flavor thanks to the Everything Bagel Dressing. It’s a great way to start the day filled with protein, nutrients, and a couple of servings of veggies. It’s naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, and you’ll find my tips below for how to meal prep some of this recipe for easier mornings.
Get the Recipe: Breakfast Salad.
Cheeseburger Salad
This Cheeseburger Salad recipe takes everything you love about a big juicy burger and turns it into an easy-to-make, convenient, and healthy salad dish. This great recipe is basically a deconstructed burger in salad form, complete with your favorite burger toppings such as fresh Roma tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and dill pickles. This simple recipe is great for meal prep for your week of lunches or for busy weeknights.
Get the Recipe: Cheeseburger Salad.
Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Salad Recipe
Packed with Moroccan spices, crunchy pistachios, sweetened with dates, drizzled with olive oil, and studded with nutty chickpeas, this Moroccan Chickpea Salad is a hearty, delicious salad. A simple yet amazing recipe that can be made ahead of time for meal prep and is perfect for a light lunch or dinner!
Get the Recipe: Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Salad Recipe.
Crab Louie Salad
The king of all salad recipes, this Crab Louie Salad is packed with crisp lettuce, asparagus, cucumber, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and crab meat and dressed in a flavorful homemade Thousand Island dressing. It’s a delicious year-round main course salad – especially when Dungeness crab is in season.
Get the Recipe: Crab Louie Salad.
Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad
Roasted cauliflower quinoa salad is a sweet and mildly spicy salad that combines roasted cauliflower, quinoa, orange and sultanas for a satisfying main meal or side salad.
Get the Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad.
Chopped Thai Salad With Spicy Ginger Peanut Sauce
This Chopped Thai Salad is choc-full of raw, crunchy vegetables and saturated with homemade peanut dressing you’ll want to drink right from the jar. It’s a versatile raw vegan salad that’s ready in minutes and makes for a quick, easy lunch, light dinner, or healthy side.
Get the Recipe: Chopped Thai Salad With Spicy Ginger Peanut Sauce.
Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
This Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad is quick and easy to make – perfect for a weeknight dinner. If you are looking for a new recipe to change up your meals or a simple meal prep idea, then this is one you want to try! Full of fresh flavors and salad greens, this salad is healthy and can be made gluten-free. Overall, this Chinese chicken salad’s crunchy texture and delicious peanut dressing will leave your taste buds wanting more.
Get the Recipe: Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing.
Italian White Bean Salad
This Italian white bean salad is such a great dish and will be your go-to summer side. It’s the kind of recipe you can meal prep on Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week for lunch or dinner. Cannellini beans pair up with cherry tomatoes, olives, onion, and capers, along with a homemade garlic dressing. It is bursting with Italian flavors and the ideal salad to bring to barbecues, parties, and picnics in warm weather. Serve this alongside chicken, salmon, or your favorite protein, or simply with some crusty bread.
Get the Recipe: Italian White Bean Salad.
Spinach Salad
Spinach Salad with apples, pears, cranberries, and candied almonds is easy and delicious, and will add a beautiful touch to your dinner table. I love tossing together some of my favorite ingredients to create something simple for the whole family. Salads are so versatile! They can be the meal’s star or, in our case, a delicious side to one of your favorite dishes.
Get the Recipe: Spinach Salad.
Delicata Squash Salad
This vegan delicata squash salad is a fall harvest salad made with fresh kale, roasted squash and sweet potatoes, apples, and an easy tahini dressing.
Get the Recipe: Delicata Squash Salad.
BLT Chicken Avocado Salad
Seasoned baked chicken and fresh avocados on a fresh and tasty BLT salad with a creamy burger-inspired dressing. This is no ordinary salad! This BLT chicken avocado salad is hearty and healthy, and so easy to make.
Get the Recipe: BLT Chicken Avocado Salad.
Shrimp Mango Salad
This Shrimp Mango Salad will become your favorite summer salad! Ripe, juicy mango pieces tossed with cooked shrimp and avocado. Don’t forget the delicious, creamy, sweet chili dressing. You’ll come back to this recipe again and again! Perfect as a side salad, lunch, or dinner.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Mango Salad.
Bacon Egg Potato Salad
This potato salad with bacon and eggs is incredibly easy. It’s one of my most requested salads for potlucks. Several “secret” ingredients, including fresh herbs, make this recipe a must.
Get the Recipe: Bacon Egg Potato Salad.
