Recipes Main Dishes Salads 21 Salads That Eat Like a Meal By Carl Hanson Carl Hanson Carl Hanson is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes who has been writing about food and wine for nearly 20 years. He enjoys creating content that informs, entertains, and assists busy home cooks get nourishing meals on the table for their families. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on June 10, 2024 Close Photo: Baking Nana These healthy salads are light but satisfying dinners. They're top-rated recipes, featuring fresh veggies combined with a protein source and lively seasoning combos, like Mexican or Caribbean spices. We've got steak and potato salad, chicken and shrimp salads, noodle salads, taco salad, and much more. 01 of 21 Grilled Chicken Salad with Seasonal Fruit Maisan Djuhadi "Both beautiful in presentation and taste, this salad uses fresh berries in summer (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries), and orange segments in winter. Any time of year this composed salad will bring rave reviews." — Karena View Recipe 02 of 21 Warm Steak and Potato Salad FrackFamily5 CA to CT Grilled steak and boiled potatoes top mixed baby salad greens and cherry tomatoes. A homemade vinaigrette ties it all together. View Recipe 03 of 21 Chicken Broccoli Salad Lori This broccoli salad with a tangy mayo dressing is easy to make and a great way to use up leftover grilled chicken. "This was the perfect warm-weather meal," says pixiestix. View Recipe 04 of 21 Avocado-Shrimp Salad Cynthia Ross This simple salad features shrimp, avocado, tomato, and sweet onions with fresh-squeezed lime juice. "Nice on a hot day," says RCRENFRO. View Recipe 05 of 21 Chicken Fiesta Salad Katrina Schultz Salad greens, onions, and tomatoes are topped with seasoned black beans, corn, and grilled chicken. "Great for a quick and easy meal! I grilled my chicken, versus pan frying, and used a homemade fajita seasoning," says Jillian. View Recipe 06 of 21 Chicken, Avocado and Mango Salad ReneePaj "This is a colorful and very tasty mix of chicken, mangos, and avocados in a spicy lime dressing," says GREENLIME. View Recipe 07 of 21 Soba Noodle Salad with Chicken and Sesame Buckwheat Queen "This tasty salad with Japanese buckwheat noodles is both quick and healthy; great for lunch or dinner. Most larger supermarkets have buckwheat soba noodles in the Asian food section," says donrmath. View Recipe 08 of 21 Grandma's Easy Turkey Taco Salad Sugarplum You'll toss seasoned ground turkey with black beans, lettuce, tomato, tortilla chips, and dressing. "This is an easy recipe that my Grandmother always made. It is simple and delicious. A sprinkle of cheddar cheese is a great topping," says Jennifer. View Recipe 09 of 21 Asian Chicken Noodle Salad Photo by Allrecipes. "This easy to prepare noodle salad has plenty of seeds, nuts, greens, chicken, and vegetables," says Xing Jin. View Recipe 10 of 21 Caribbean Chicken Salad *Sherri* Strips of grilled teriyaki chicken breasts are served with salad greens, a spicy tomato-jalapeno salsa, chunks of pineapple, and a quick honey-mustard vinaigrette. "This made a surprisingly delicious and satisfying dinner," says Christine W. View Recipe 11 of 21 Strawberry-Mango Grilled Chicken Salad France C "All the flavors of summer are packed into this arugula and strawberry salad," says France C. "Perfect for a light dinner on those days you don't want to heat up the house using the oven. Use any mild-flavored oil for the dressing and your favorite seasoning on the chicken. Feel free to divide the ingredients between four large bowls instead of arranging on a platter." View Recipe 12 of 21 Spicy Southwest Chopped Salad with Salsa Verde Spicy Southwest Chopped Salad with Salsa Verde. linda2d "This is by far the best summer salad I have ever made! You can adjust the amount of spice, depending on your preference by adding more or less jalapeno and Cajun seasoning," says Jenny in WA. "The salsa verde makes a big enough batch that you can have more for dipping chips later. It is a great low-fat, all-in-one meal. This dish can also be topped with crushed tortilla chips if desired." View Recipe 13 of 21 Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad CookinBug Quinoa combines with a simple dressing of lime juice, olive oil, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and garbanzo beans. You'll finish the salad with chopped cilantro, cubed avocados, and crumbled cotija cheese. "I've made this twice and can eat the whole bowl all by myself. It's really fresh tasting even though it uses two canned items," says Chris P. View Recipe 14 of 21 Roasted Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad Allrecipes Magazine "Having recently adopted a vegetarian diet, this recipe has perfect ingredients and it is a keeper. It is delicious and easy to prepare," says Closet Chef. View Recipe 15 of 21 Zucchini Artichoke Summer Salad naples34102 "Unfortunately, I think the name of this recipe is a little misleading and doesn't do the dish justice," says naples34102. "I made a main dish of it. I also chose to serve it hot rather than chilled. I sauteed the chicken and zucchini separately, adding fresh minced garlic salt and pepper." View Recipe 16 of 21 Thai Beef Salad Thai Beef Salad. mommyluvs2cook Marinated beef is seared and served atop a crisp lettuce and cucumber salad bursting with fresh Thai flavors. "I couldn't believe how good this recipe turned out to be!" says HelenHW. "So easy, too. I made it two days in a row." View Recipe 17 of 21 Salad Nicoise LynnInHK "This French-inspired salad makes a delightful summer dish. You can dress it up with other garden vegetables like corn, blanched broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus," recipe submitter Bob Cody says. View Recipe 18 of 21 Grilled Chicken, Peach, and Arugula Salad France C "Delicious. Honestly one of the best I've had in quite a while. The flavors go so well together — the peppery arugula the sweet and tangy peaches and the grilled chicken," says France C. "Yum." View Recipe 19 of 21 Roasted Vegetable Bowl with White Beans and Garlic-Balsamic Dressing Allrecipes Magazine "Easy, delicious, and healthy!" raves AEM Boston. " I like walnuts more than pine nuts; they tasted great, as well. This recipe makes a very large bowl. And such an easy cleanup!" View Recipe 20 of 21 Summer Grilled Shrimp Salad Kim's Cooking Now "This one is one of my favorite main-dish salads, featuring sweet and smoky grilled shrimp and a cilantro vinaigrette," says Kim's Cooking Now. "I love to make main-dish salads in the summertime and serve them with some crusty bread and a nice glass of wine! View Recipe 21 of 21 Cucumber Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing Baking Nana "Perfect for a hot summer day: Cool cucumbers with chilled chicken are topped with a spicy peanut sauce," says recipe creator Baking Nana. "Adjust the spice level by adjusting the sambal." More Main Dish Salads View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit