7 Summer Salads To Have During Parties
Summer is the best time of the year to have parties, so what kind of summer salads are you serving this year? I have never liked eating salads with just lettuce, but these summer salads are worth trying.
Salads don’t just include lettuce and other vegetables you don’t really want to eat during a hot summer day. These salads include fruit, almonds, and even fish. These salads are if you want to eat something healthy but not the same thing every single day. I hope you enjoy these summer salad recipes!
1. Cucumber-Salmon Panzanella
Summer salads can be fun to make, and they can be fun to eat. This salad includes my favorite seafood and my favorite vegetable. Enjoy this cucumber and salmon salad!
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of country bread, torn
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 4 Persian cucumbers
- 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
- 1/4 of a red onion
- 1 small fennel bulb, sliced
- 1 cup of arugula
- Roasted salmon
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss together bread, olive oil, and salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast until golden brown, 8-10 minutes, and let cool.
3. Lightly press cucumbers until they split, and then cut them crisscross.
4. Whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil, and caraway seeds in a bowl. Add red onion, a fennel bulb, arugula, and cucumbers. Stir to combine and then top with bread and flaked roasted salmon.
2. Sun-Dried Tomato and Almond Couscous Salad
Tomatoes make summer salads so much better. Almonds are also a nice addition to summer salads. This salad is delicious and it’s healthy, too!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of regular couscous
- 1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, coarsely chopped
- 3 small Persian cucumbers
- 1 package of baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 toasted almonds
- Feta cheese
For lemon vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of white sugar
- 1 teaspoon of dried basil
Steps:
1. Prepare the couscous according to the package. Fluff with a fork and then place in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes, coin and halve the Persian cucumbers and remove the stem and coarsely chop the spinach. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium flame, and stir constantly until lightly toasted.
3. Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a mason jar and shake everything to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
4. Add the cold couscous to a bowl, add in the tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, and roasted almonds. Gently toss everything to combine. Then add the vinaigrette and toss to coat everything. Enjoy!
3. Chopped Salad
This is just a normal salad. You can make it more of a summer salad if you add other fruits and vegetables. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 Romaine hearts, chopped
- 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 small fennel bulb, chopped, and 1/4 cup of fronds
- 1/4 small red onion, chopped
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed
- 1 cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, torn
Steps:
1. Whisk together oil, vinegar, and mustard in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add romaine, cucumbers, fennels and fronds, onion, chickpeas, parsley, and basil.
2. Toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
4. Zucchini and Fresh Corn Salad
Zucchini and summer squash combined make summer salads really good. This is one of my favorite salads to eat in the summer!
Ingredients:
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 small yellow squash
- 1 ear of corn, shucked, cleaned, and kernels cut off the cob
- 1 ounce of goat cheese
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh basil leaves
- Toasted pine nuts
Lemon basil vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 clove of minced fresh garlic
- Salt and black pepper
Steps:
1. Peel the zucchini and squash, lengthwise, and disregard the middle part. Place the strips into a large bowl or plate, alternating so you can see yellow and green.
2. Add the corn kernels and about 2 tablespoons of vinaigrette. Toss to thoroughly mix everything. Add salt, black pepper, and chili flakes to taste. Add the goat cheese and garnish with basil.
3. Lemon Basil Vinaigrette: Add all the ingredients for the vinaigrette to a small mason jar, close the lid, and then shake it well to mix. Season with more salt and pepper, if you want.
4. Sprinkle the vinaigrette over the salad and serve. Enjoy!
5. Grilled Mango Salad with Mango Cilantro Dressing
Mangoes are a very summery fruit. They are really sweet, too, which makes them the perfect fruit to have with a salad and chicken.
Ingredients:
- 5 cups of lettuce, roughly chopped
- 2 cucumbers, sliced
- 1 bell pepper, sliced thinly
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced or cubed
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup of mango cilantro salad dressing
For Chicken:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
- 1/2 cup of mango cilantro salad dressing
For Mango Cilantro Salad Dressing:
- 1 cup of ripe mangos
- 1/2 cups of cilantro/coriander leaves
- 1 Thai red chili
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
Steps:
1. Salad Dressing: Add mangoes, cilantro, red chili, garlic, red wine vinegar, and salt to a food processor. Start blending until the ingredients start breaking down. Then add the olive oil. The dressing will become creamy.
2. Chicken: Marinate the chicken in half a cup of mango dressing. Set aside for 15 minutes. Add olive oil to a grill pan and cook the chicken for 15 minutes, flipping it over halfway through. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before you slice it.
3. Salad: Add lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, avocado, cilantro, and grilled chicken to a large bowl. Pour the dressing on top and toss to mix. Serve immediately and enjoy!
6. Berry Watermelon and Fruit Salad
Who doesn’t love watermelon? It’s my absolute favorite fruit during the summer. It makes summer salads so much better than they were without watermelon.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of watermelon, cubed
- 1 pint of strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 1 pint of raspberries
- 1 pint of cherries, pitted and halved
- 1/2 pint of blackberries
- A squeeze of fresh lime juice
Steps:
1. Cut all of the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl, and toss the fruit together.
2. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice for taste. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
7. Classic Macaroni Salad
This is not a traditional salad. The other salads I’ve talked about are relatively healthy. This isn’t. It just tastes really good. I hope you enjoy this!
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of dry elbow macaroni
- 2 steamed or hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup of diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup of matchstick carrots, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup of diced celery
- 1/4 cup of diced red onion
- 1-2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- Salt and black pepper
Steps:
1. Cook macaroni in salted water according to package. Drain and rinse with cool water until completely cool.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, mustard, honey, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add macaroni to the bowl with eggs, bell peppers, carrots, celery, and onion. Pour dressing over the top, add parsley and toss to evenly coat. Serve or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Enjoy!
