67 Summer Salad Recipes That Showcase the Season's Best Produce
Epi's best summer salad recipes all spring from one fundamental seasonal truth: This time of year, the produce is so good that you don't really need to do much with it. You won't find much roasting or frying or braising here. Rather, the perfect summer salad is all about stepping aside and letting the tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, radishes, and tender and crunchy greens do their thing, with just a light vinaigrette, or a dash of fish sauce or hot sauce or soy sauce, or maybe just a drizzle of oil and some salt and spice. It's about clever combinations that bring out the best in each ingredient—the nutty cheese that plays off the tomato's sweetness, for instance, or the crunchiest fennel paired with the juiciest peach. Our 67 favorite summer salad recipes will help you keep things nice and simple—but flavorful as can be.
Photo by Peden + Munk, Prop Styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky, Food Styling by Sue Li3/67Grilled Corn Salad with Hot Honey-Lime Dressing
Toss a few extra cobs on the grill at your next cookout and stash them to make this smoky corn salad later in the week. (This recipe comes from Georgia barbecue master Bryan Furman—and it goes especially well with his juicy grilled lemon-pepper chicken.)
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani4/67Tomatoes and Haricots Verts With Anchovies
Think of the anchovies in this dish as an essential seasoning that's not to be skipped. If you've never had great ones before, it's worth seeking out high-quality brands. We love the oil-packed anchovies from Ortiz, Agostino Recca, and Merro, as well as the ones we wrote about here.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou5/67Honeydew Salad With Ginger Dressing and Peanuts
An exuberant mash-up of flavors, temperatures, and textures, this bright-green summer salad tastes best with the melon ice-cold; take it out of the fridge and add it just before serving. This is a good partner for a big platter of barbecued ribs.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson6/673-Ingredient Grilled Watermelon, Feta, and Tomato Salad
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell8/67Summer Corn, Tomato, and Salmon Salad With Za’atar Dressing
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/67Green Bean and Tuna Salad With Basil Dressing
The ideal summer salad recipe involves minimal cooking, lots of fresh greens, and enough protein to feel filling. This one, then, checks all the boxes, with quickly blanched green beans, canned white beans, parsley leaves, and Little Gem lettuce tossed in a punchy basil dressing with oil-packed tuna and capers.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani10/67Tomato Salad with Pine Nuts and Pomegranate Molasses
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell12/67Massaged Kale With Tomatoes, Creamed Mozzarella, and Wild Rice
The "creamed mozzarella” in this recipe is a brilliant trick, and super easy: Just toss fresh mozz with sour cream, lemon juice, and salt, and what results is something resembling burrata. Use it as a topper for any summer salad, including this one.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell13/67Green Bean Niçoise Salad
It's hard not to love a hearty, savory, picnic-friendly Niçoise salad, and this vegetarian version hits all the notes—then adds a little something extra in the form of fried capers. Most of the elements can be prepped up to two days ahead.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Aneta Florczyk, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou14/67New-and-Improved Greek Salad
Photo by Beatriz Da Costa15/67Grilled Watermelon Salad With Lime Mango Dressing and Cornbread Croutons
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Simon Andrews18/67Late Summer Tomatoes With Fresh Herbs
The riper and sweeter the tomato, the less you need to do to prepare it—and this summer salad recipe was designed for tomatoes at their absolute peak. All they need is a light vinaigrette and some fresh herbs.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Aneta Florczyk, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou19/67Tomato Salad with Warm Basil Dressing
Make the savory, herb-infused oil for this simple, elegant tomato salad—and then find yourself wondering what else you could drizzle it over. (Our recommendations? Grilled vegetables and/or tofu, salmon, roast chicken.)
Photo by Christopher Testani20/67Beets With Dill, Lime, and Yogurt
In this colorful dish, sweet beets are zipped up with lime, yogurt, and garlic. Use any kind you can find—red and candy cane beets are sweeter than yellow—or use a combination for a particularly dramatic presentation. (And don't toss those beet greens!)
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kendra Smoot21/67Big Beans and Tomato Vinaigrette
The dried butter beans called for here are hearty and creamy (and can be soaked overnight for quicker cooking) and the tomato vinaigrette is so flavorful that you could do a lot else with it: Spoon it over fresh cheese or toss it with pasta, for instance.
Photo & Food Styling by Joseph De Leo22/67Black-Eyed Pea Salad With Hot Sauce Vinaigrette
Chef Carla Hall, who included this in Carla Hall's Soul Food, calls it a sitting salad: one that can sit on a picnic table for a while without wilting. You might call it a perfect summer lunch.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani23/67Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salata
Photo by Laura Murray, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich25/67Crunchy Pickle Salad
The heart of this tangy summer salad is store-bought pickles: Look for ones that are bright with acid and low on sugar, like half-sours or full-sours. If using sweeter pickles, just add a bit more vinegar and salt.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich26/67Any Way Niçoise
To make this endlessly riffable salad, pair whatever produce you’ve got with 7-minute eggs, a mustardy dressing you can make ahead, and almost any protein: leftover salmon, rotisserie chicken, or beans, to name a few.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani27/67Peaches and Shaved Fennel Salad with Red Pepper
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott29/67Chicory Salad with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette
Here's Epi's guide to chicories, the bitter, colorful greens that stand up so well to the sweet-sharp vinaigrette in this recipe. This category (and its botanical relative, endives) includes radicchio, treviso, escarole, and the like.
Photo by Alex Lau30/67Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Charred Scallion Dressing
Flavorful and filling, this bright summer salad is a meal unto itself. Charred scallions add smoky depth to the creamy, double-acid (lemon and rice vinegar) dressing, which you'll toss with a hearty mix of store-bought chicken, Bibb lettuce, avocados, radishes, and crunchy croutons.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou32/67Cucumber and Melon Salad with Chile and Honey
A mandoline slicer (here are a couple that Epi likes) beats any knife at quickly turning fruit and vegetables into long and beautiful ribbons—meaning that it's the ideal tool for making this cooling summer salad.
Photo by Alex Lau36/67Celery Slaw with Seeds and Dates
The slaw to make when you're tired of the usual, this summer salad recipe has celery as its star—that unsung hero of the vegetable drawer, whose cool crispness here is offset by the presence of sweet, chewy Medjool dates.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani38/67Grain Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich39/67Shaved Fennel Salad
Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Food Styling by Sue Li41/67Radicchio and Plum Salad
You can use almost any type of plum in this salad recipe, even hybrid ones like Pluots and Peacotums. If it looks like a plum, it probably acts like a plum, too.
Photo by Alex Lau42/67Pan-Seared Eggplant with Buttermilk Dressing
With slightly caramelized eggplant, buttery avocado, and a tangy buttermilk dressing, this summer salad can be lunch all by itself. It'd also be delicious alongside some grilled chicken or fish.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott43/67Shaved Radish Salad With Walnuts And Mint
Radishes are one of summer's easiest vegetables to grow, and they're one of the easiest to love as well—who can disagree with their peppery coolness? In this extremely easy salad, that quality works beautifully with buttery walnuts and a lemon vinaigrette.
Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich45/67Little Gem Wedge Salad with Tahini Ranch
Is it really a wedge salad if it isn't smothered in blue cheese and bacon? You could debate the finer points, or you could just grab a fork and dig into this healthyish wonder, whose creaminess comes from tahini and crunchiness from toasted seeds and flaky salt.
Photo by Alex Lau47/67Shredded Chicken Salad With Creamy Miso Dressing
There aren't a whole lot of ways you could improve on Caesar salad, but consider these two: Make things easy with a store-bought rotisserie chicken, and punch up the flavor of that creamy dressing with miso, ginger, and soy sauce.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani48/67Arugula With Italian Plums and Parmesan
Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich49/67Smashed Cucumber Salad With Za'atar and Feta
Photo by Peden + Munk51/67Chopped Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette, Feta, and Dill
In this recipe from Samin Nosrat, you can use whatever veg you prefer, or what you've got on hand: The key to a good chopped salad, she explains, is to cut everything to roughly the same size.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Heather Greene, Food Styling by Alison Attenborough54/67Peaches and Tomatoes With Burrata and Hot Sauce
Two of the best summer fruits combine in this one spectacular summer salad recipe, where creamy burrata helps soak up some of the sweet and spicy juices. There's no better side for a pile of grilled wings.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich64/67Little Wedge Salad With Sour Cream Dressing
We pared the classic wedge salad down to its best elements and got rid of everything extraneous: This super-fresh version features a lemony, garlicky sour cream dressing and chunks of buttery avocado—as well as the usual iceberg lettuce.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Laura Rege65/67Crispy Scallop Salad
Dredged in cornmeal spiked with Old Bay seasoning before being shallow-fried, scallops get extra crispy on the outside—and, as a bonus, they're gluten-free. This dish is fancy enough for a special occasion, but easy enough for a lazy summer dinner.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Heather Greene, Food Styling by Alison Attenborough66/67Plum Salad with Black Pepper and Parmesan
