Summer Green Salad Recipes

Your new go-to summer garden green goddess salad. Fresh butter lettuce, snap peas, radishes, cucumbers, scallions, cherries, and torn croutons. All combined with a vibrant green goddess dressing. It’s refreshing and simple. Just the perfect salad to add on to any summer menu.

I love throwing together a “table salad” as a quick side dish during the summer months. Just like this butter lettuce salad, my idea of a table salad is one that is meant to be shared, one with lots of seasonal produce and a really good dressing, and one that typically has some crispy homemade croutons on top.

Summer

I recently went to my local farmer’s market and threw just about everything fresh & beautiful into this summer garden green goddess salad. It’s crunchy, extremely refreshing, and drizzled with a tangy green goddess dressing.

Summer Garden Green Goddess Salad

– You’ll want to cut off the ends and pull off the strings on either side of the snap pea. They add a nice crisp bite to the salad.

– They add beautiful color and texture. You can cut these in half if you prefer a thick radish texture, but I find them easiest to enjoy when shaved thinly.

– Most of the ingredients in this salad are pretty neutral in flavor, so I like adding in some scallions for an onion bite.

Summer Vegetable And Burrata Salad Recipe

– A fun ingredient to bring a little bit of sweetness. They’re definitely optional, but make for a really pretty contrast to all the green.

– You’ll take some sourdough bread (or any fresh, crusty bread) and just use your hands to tear it into smaller pieces. Heat up some olive oil in a skillet and cook the croutons onto golden & crisp. Make sure to season with salt immediately when the bread is still hot.

– A summer essential. I love making big batches of this all summer long. Obviously perfect for salads but also great drizzled over chicken or fish, tossed with grains like farro, or even used as a dip. I use spinach, greek yogurt, and olive oil as the base…with lots of basil, dill, garlic and lemon for flavor.

Summer Garden Salad Recipe

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Hi! I could not be more excited that you’ve found the space where I get to share all of my food creations and love for cooking with you! Simply put, I love nothing more than lighting a few candles, putting on some music, standing in the kitchen and letting my mind dream up what I’m going to cook.This green salad recipe is simple, but it's still packed with delicious textures and flavors. It's a perfect side dish - you can serve it with almost anything!

We all need a good green salad recipe in our back pocket…which is why I can’t believe that in almost 10(!) years of blogging, I haven’t shared a simple green salad until today. That’s not to say that there’s a shortage of salad recipes on the site (broccoli salad, pasta salad, or avocado salad, anyone?). But it has been missing a quick, refreshing salad that you can toss together at the last minute and serve with almost anything.

The Best Summer Fruit Salad Recipe (quick And Easy To Make)

Well, let me introduce you to my favorite green salad recipe. It’s simple, but it doesn’t skimp at all on texture or flavor. I toss in avocado for creamy richness, Parmesan cheese for nutty, salty flavor, and tamari roasted almonds for crunch. To bring it all together, I drizzle on my go-to lemon vinaigrette. It makes this salad zingy, bright, and oh-so-versatile. It pairs just as nicely with pasta as it does with a veggie burger, and it tastes great with classic brunch fare too. If you need a last-minute side dish to round out your Easter menu this weekend, this green salad would be perfect.

Great green salad recipes start with great greens. Though I love a good kale salad or mixed greens salad as much as the next person, when I’m making a simple, refreshing side salad, I like to use lettuce as the base.

Green

Look for lettuces that have soft leaves and crisp stems with no discoloration. I especially like the flavor and texture of Butter lettuces like Boston and Bibb, but tender leaf or romaine lettuce would work well here too. Use whatever looks best. The more varieties, the merrier!

Crunchy Summer Garden Salad

When you’re ready to make the salad, pull the lettuce leaves apart, and wash and dry them well. To avoid bruising or tearing the leaves, I recommend using a salad spinner for this step (I have this one). With it, you’ll be able to get the leaves almost perfectly dry in no time!

If you don’t have a salad spinner, spread the washed lettuce on a kitchen towel to dry while you prepare the other salad components.

After I prep my greens, I finish this recipe with thinly sliced cucumbers, avocado, shaved Parmesan, and savory roasted nuts. My basic lemon vinaigrette ties it all together.

Fresh Summer Salad

It’s a fantastic combination – the cucumbers are crisp and refreshing, the avocado is rich and creamy, the Parmesan is salty, and the toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds add a delicious crunch. That being said, this recipe is flexible. Feel free to experiment with different toppings or another salad dressing. Here are a few ways I like to change it up:

Because you’re working with tender lettuces and avocado, which has a tendency to brown, this salad is best if you assemble it right before you eat. If you want to get ahead, you can wash and dry the lettuce a day in advance and store it, well-wrapped, in the fridge. You can also roast the nuts ahead of time and store them, loosely covered, at room temperature. The dressing is make ahead-friendly, too! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Simple

Serve this green salad as a side dish with almost any meal – a weeknight dinner, a special occasion dinner, a festive brunch, or a summer cookout. It pairs well with just about anything. I love to make it for dinner when I’m serving pasta, pizza, or cookout fare like veggie burgers, black beans burgers, or BBQ jackfruit sandwiches.

Easy Greek Tossed Green Salad

Round out the meal with something sweet, like Chocolate Chip Muffins, Blueberry Scones, Cinnamon Rolls, or a stack of pancakes or French toast. For more brunch recipes, check out this post! (Oh, and don’t forget the mimosas to drink…)

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.Use fresh veggies to create a new Summer salad every meal! I love a simplified salad with fresh greens, pops of colorful and crunchy veggies, cheese, a handful of seeds or nuts, and then dressed in a light vinaigrette dressing.

Add crunch (seeds/nuts), something rich or salty (bacon/cheese), fresh and juicy (tomatoes/cucumbers), bold (onions/herbs/olives). Mix it up with each meal (and find our best salad dressing recipes here).

Our 15+ Best New Salad Recipes For Summer

GREENS: Leafy, curly, and colorful salad varieties like arugula, baby spinach, kale, endive, and romaine can be mixed and matched for flavor and visual appeal.

VEGETABLES: Cucumbers, radishes, onions, and tomatoes give this salad color, crunch, and texture. Add other veggies like corn, green beans, beets, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower florets.

Quick

DRESSING: Vinaigrettes always start with a base of acid (like vinegar or lemon juice) and oil. Lemon juice and Dijon mustard give this one a tangy flavor. Switch it up by adding other seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, or even this easy DIY Italian blend.

Tiger Fruit Salad Recipe

PRO TIP #1: For the best flavor, toast seeds (or nuts) in a dry sauté pan until fragrant. This burns off extra oil, intensifies their flavor, and makes them extra crunchy!

Fresh greens will renew the salad! Keep the dressing separate in a salad dressing cruet or a mason jar for up to a week.

Seeds have the best flavor when toasted. To toast, place in a dry frying pan over medium heat and cook until lightly browned and fragrant.

Best Green Salad Recipes

Store Summer Salad in the fridge in a covered container for up to 2 days, tossing before serving. Dressing can be stored for up to 7 days in a mason jar or cruet in the fridge for up to 4 days.