20 Refreshing Summer Salad Recipes

When summer rolls around, making dishes that require turning on the oven or stove for prolonged periods of time is the last thing we want to do. Instead, we tend to reach for light meals that we can throw together quickly — which ultimately means we can spend more time outdoors. Plus, with all the abundant fruits and veggies available during the summer, it's the optimal time to take advantage of fresh produce.

Enter the summer salad. In general, salads can sound boring, unappealing (thanks to their association with vegetables), and like they won't be enough to keep you full. But we beg to differ. The beauty of this meal is that it's incredibly versatile, and you can pump it full of as much protein, grains, or even fruits as you want. So, if you're searching for fresh dishes to make this summer, we've rounded up 20 of our favorite refreshing salad recipes. Some are hearty, while others are more focused on greens, but they're all packed with delicious flavor and will keep your time next to a hot stove to a minimum.

We love a good Caesar salad, but the dish on its own isn't the most exciting out there. This version is beefed up with homemade croutons, chicken roasted with oregano and garlic powder, and fusilli pasta. The homemade dressing containing anchovies, garlic powder, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and parmesan provides a boost of tang and savory goodness. You can eat this salad as a side or a main — and if you're vegetarian or vegan, just skip the anchovies and swap out the chicken with tofu, chickpeas, or your favorite plant-based meat.

Recipe: Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad

Not only are those little ramen packets (that we buy when we're ballin' on a budget) good for making soup, but they're also a delicious way to add crunch to a salad. In a dish inspired by Asian flavors, this recipe incorporates fresh veggies like green and purple cabbage, sliced almonds, and shredded carrots for plenty of crunch. But the sweet, salty, tangy dressing (thanks to the honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar) moistens everything up and provides a punch of flavor.

Recipe: Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad

If you're looking for an impressive (yet still nutritious) dish to whip out at a backyard barbecue or poolside gathering, this is it. Pile the layers into a glass trifle dish, and your guests will ooh and aah before they even have a chance to dig in. You'll want to start with a lettuce layer as the base, then follow with Greek-style ingredients like chickpeas, olives, and cucumbers. A layer of crumbly, salty feta covers the whole thing, topped off with a simple vinaigrette. Of course, you can scale this recipe down if you're just making it for a family dinner (or yourself).

Recipe: Greek-Style Seven Layer Salad

As anyone who's been to an Italian pizzeria (specifically the kind with the red checkered tablecloths) knows, the antipasti salad is the second-best part of your meal there. But these recipes are typically loaded with salty meats like salami or soppressata, which means they're not the most versatile option for accommodating vegetarians or vegans. This recipe incorporates mouthwatering ingredients like pepperoncini, green olives, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, and mozzarella balls to deliver all that briny, savory flavor. Plus, you'll get enough pasta to make this into a hearty meal. You won't even miss the meat.

Recipe: Veggie Antipasti Italian Pasta Salad

No list of summer salads is completely without a classic chicken version, and this one is crisp and creamy. We love chicken salad because all the various flavors and textures effortlessly come together to make a delicious dish. This one includes plenty of creamy mayo and Dijon mustard, balanced out by the crunchy (or crispy, if you will) celery and diced apple. You also get tang from the lemon juice, herby flavor from the dill, and sweetness from the fruit, but this salad is still incredibly simple to whip up. Eat it plain, in a sandwich, on toast, with crackers, or tucked into a wrap.

Recipe: Crisp and Creamy Chicken Salad

Potato salads are staples at summer get-togethers, but this French-style version heads in a fancier direction than most. For one, it looks a little more polished than your average bowl, largely thanks to the lack of mayo or other creamy ingredients. But there's still plenty of great flavor here. Diced, boiled potatoes are mixed with chopped parsley, dill, and scallions, then coated with a champagne vinegar and Dijon mustard-laced dressing that will have you lifting your pinky as you go to take a bite.

Recipe: French Potato Salad

There's no rule that says salads have to focus strictly on veggies; in fact, they may be even more refreshing when they feature fruit front and center. When it comes to hydrating summer fruits that help you beat the heat, what's more satisfying than watermelon? In this salad, the sweet, cooling flavors of watermelon are jazzed up with red onion, mint, basil, baby spinach, and cotija cheese. Plus, you can make use of your grill by cooking your fruit for just a few minutes. Then top the whole thing off with a thick, peppery balsamic reduction.

Recipe: Grilled Watermelon Salad

If you're tired of all the usual macaroni and potato salads you see at summer barbecues, you'll want to check out this recipe. It's incredibly simple, boasts a short ingredient list, and takes almost no time to make — yet it's still creamy, delicious, and packed full of protein while staying away from meat. The starring ingredient is kidney beans, which turn this into a filling dish. You'll also need mayo, white wine vinegar, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic powder, which you'll simply mix together to make this tasty salad.

Recipe: Creamy Kidney Bean Salad

Made with thick tomato slices, slabs of mildly salty mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil, a classic caprese salad is one of the most refreshing you'll find in the summertime. But as we all know, those thick slices can be a little tricky to maneuver, and it's difficult to get every flavor into one bite. A chopped version of a caprese, however, relies on grape tomatoes, smaller mozzarella balls, and a whole cup of basil to make each bite much easier to stab with your fork. Keeping with the theme of simplicity, all you need for the dressing is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Recipe: Chopped Caprese Salad

Bright, fruity salads work best during summer, and this strawberry and arugula iteration is no exception. You may think this dish is heavy on the lettuce at first glance, and it does have a good dose of bitter arugula, but there's plenty of goodies in here too, such as a whole pound of strawberries, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, and pitted dates to add sweetness to the fruit. All that (natural) sugar is balanced out by a sharp, tasty dressing with balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard.

Recipe: Strawberry Arugula Salad