It is starting to get warmer out and inching towards summer. What does that mean? It means it is salad season. I don’t know if you are like me, but I dislike having to turn on the stove when it gets hot out. It makes the house hotter than it already is. So if I am not going to turn on the stove, what am I making for lunch and dinner? I am making salads, and I am sharing summer salad recipes.
You can make so many delicious salads with all kinds of ingredients. I am a fan of a hearty salad that will fill you up. Adding protein is one way to make a salad more robust. Chicken, tuna, salmon, lentils, and quinoa are good proteins. There are so many different variations of salads that you will never get sick of eating them. Summer salads have all the flavors we crave in the warmer months with bright, fresh flavors. Parsley, basil, lettuce, and off-the-vine tomatoes are some of the fresh items full of flavor you can find at your local farmer’s markets.
Some of my favorite summer salads are a Greek salad with chicken (Trader Joe’s has some delicious already-cooked chicken), Different varieties of pasta salads, especially a pesto salad with tuna, pinenuts, and mushrooms, and a Mediterranean quinoa salad with tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley, and cauliflower. It is delicious with oil and Zatar (a middle eastern seasoning blend). These are some of my favorite salads. I am sharing these and more below. I can’t wait to hear how you like them.
Xo- Nikki
Summer Salad Recipes
Greek Salad (Foodnetwork)
Ingredients
- 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 red bell pepper, large-diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, large-diced
- 1-pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 pound feta cheese, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
- 1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 11/4 cup good red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
Directions
- Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, and red onion in a large bowl.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta and olives and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 package of rotini pasta
1 jar of pesto (whatever is your favorite)
1 cup of pinenuts
1 small or 1/2 head large cauliflower
1 package of mushrooms
Directions
- Boil the pasta as directed on the box.
- While the pasta is boiling, cut up the cauliflower and mushrooms into medium size pieces.
- When the pasta is done, use a strainer to drain the water and then run cold water over the pasta, so it stops the cooking process.
- Combine the pasta, pesto, mushrooms, pinenuts, and cauliflower in a big bowl. Sture, serve and enjoy.
Mediterranean Salad with Zaatar
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked quinoa
- ½ cup garbanzo beans
- 1 cucumber, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1/2 red onion cut into bite-size pieces
- ⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp Za’atar spice
- 1-2 sprigs of parsley, chopped fine
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Cook quinoa as indicated on the package
- Cut up the onion, tomato, cucumber, and parsley
- add all the cut veggies, garbanzo beans and quinoa to a bowl
- add the Zaatar, lemon juice, and salt to taste and mix.
Salmon Salad (Allrecipes)
Ingredients
- 2 (7-ounce) cans of salmon, drained
- 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons capers
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 leaves lettuce
Directions
- Crumble salmon into a 1-quart bowl, removing any bones or skin.
- Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, celery, capers, and ground black pepper in a small bowl. Add mayonnaise mixture to salmon and stir until well combined.
- Serve salmon mixture on a bed of lettuce leaves.
Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingridiance
- 1 package of ramen noodles
- 1 package of rainbow slaw
Dressing
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
- Mix up the dressing
- Put the rainbow slaw in a big bowl
- Breakup the ramen and add it to the bowl
- Add the dressing and mix
