Summer Salad Roundup: Our Favorite Apps, Meals, and Sides with Seasonal Produce

Summer has the best produce. Don’t get us wrong; we love our winter squashes, Sumo oranges, and brussels sprouts as much as the next person. But fresh, juicy tomatoes, corn on the cob, peaches, and berries at peak season really can’t be beat. All of that ripe, gorgeous produce really has us thinking about summer salads.

Gone are the days of the obligatory sad pile of greens with dressing from a bottle that you’re really only eating because you’re told it’s healthy. Salads are vibrant and fun, and most importantly, delicious. They make great appetizers and side dishes, and can even be a meal in themselves. Here are a few salads that we’re really excited about this season.

Mojito Melon Salad with Fresh Mint Recipe

Once you put your mind to it, there’s nothing your food can’t do. Regular old ordinary potatoes become french fries. With lots of fortitude, cauliflower has become pizza. And, yes, in this recipe, salad has actually become a cocktail. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew are topped with rum, honey, lime juice, and lime zest. Add some mint, serve in cocktail glasses, and you’ve got yourself a party.

Refreshing Summer Cucumber Salad Recipe

Once you’ve made this salad, you’ll want to make it all the time. It’s quick, it’s refreshing, it doesn’t have a ton of ingredients, and it goes with literally everything. What more can you ask for?

Asparagus, Golden Beet, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad Recipe

Nothing says “summer is here” quite like asparagus. Golden beets and walnuts add texture and sweetness, while goat cheese provides a rich flavor. We love this as a side dish with basically anything, but it goes especially well with poached salmon. Just be sure to make extra—this thing goes fast at a barbecue!

Soba Noodle Salad with Edamame, Veggies, and Peanuts Recipe

We’re big fans of soba over here: Cold soba, hot soba—we don’t discriminate. And we’re definitely very into this soba noodle salad with a peanut sauce that tastes like you spent a lot more time on it than you did. Serve it as a side dish or eat it as a meal. To make it heartier, add shredded rotisserie chicken.

Lemony Quinoa Tabouli with Chickpeas and Feta Recipe

This salad is delicious, healthy, and perfect for vegetarians, although meat eaters have been known to devour it, too. The chickpeas, feta, and quinoa make it filling, and the tomatoes, cucumbers, and lemon keep it fresh and bright. It keeps well in the fridge, so we highly recommend making batches at the beginning of the week and bringing it to work, to the park, to friends’ houses...anywhere.

Crunchy Vegetable Salad Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves

Are lettuce wraps considered salads? They taste like salads, and they have lots of salad ingredients, but they don’t always act like salads. (These are the things we sit around pondering.) In this case, we’re going with it. But it doesn’t really matter whether you call this a salad or not. What matters is that it’s incredibly satisfying.