12 Summertime Salads
24-Hour Tex-Mex Salad [1]
Layered salads, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, are making a comeback. Assemble this easy potluck salad in either individual jars or a clear salad bowl, dressing and all, then refrigerate.
Coleslaw with Creamy Salsa Dressing [5]
Add corn, tomatoes, sweet pepper and salsa to shredded cabbage for a Mexican-inspired coleslaw variation.
Greek Orzo Salad [9]
Olives and feta give salty punch to this pasta salad from Surdyk's Liquor and Cheese Shop in Minneapolis.
Greek Orzo Salad [10]
Midwest-Style Cobb Salad [13]
Credit for the original Cobb salad goes to Bob Cobb at his Brown Derby Restaurant in Los Angeles back in the 1920s. We gave it a Heartland twist, with steak instead of chicken. Maytag blue cheese stands in for Roquefort. Use cantaloupe for the avocado, if you like.
Eat-Your-Greens Pizza [17]
We threw pizza convention out the kitchen window in this utterly delicious (and beautiful) recipe. Frozen puff pastry pinch-hits for traditional pizza dough, yielding a flaky, crisp crust. A salad's worth of vegetables covers the top, along with just a bit of smoky ham and nutty Gruyere cheese. And say good-bye to marinara sauce. Instead, a drizzle of flavorful creamy garlic salad dressing moistens the pizza and adds big flavor.
Garden Slaw with Spicy Asian Dressing [21]
Crisp and crunchy, this side-dish salad can be paired with burgers or spooned inside a wrap sandwich. Turn the slaw into a main dish by tossing in shredded chicken or chopped cooked ham.
Tuna/Pasta Bliss [25]
Fun three-color pasta, cubed cheese, albacore tuna, roasted sweet red peppers and more blend for a pasta salad with a summer freshness from the basil and Romaine. We sprinkled the salad with cashews for crunch.
Tuna/Pasta Bliss [26]
White-on-White Pears with Gorgonzola [29]
You can't go wrong mixing tangy cheese with juicy, fresh pears. Add sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and a splash of olive oil with red wine vinegar, and it's divine. ToSa Euro Cafe in Indianapolis shared this recipe.
Pommery Chicken Salad [33]
This version of chicken salad made with two styles of mustard (Pommery and Dijon) gets its crunch from celery and pine nuts. We like the main-dish salad on croissants or slices of sourdough.
BLT Salad [37]
We took a summertime staple (a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich) and made it a main-dish salad. Creamy mustard dressing is the perfect topping.
BLT Salad [38]
Honey of a Fruit Salad [41]
We added a whole new flavor to fruit salad by sneaking some chili powder into the honey-papaya dressing. If you're not quite ready for that kind of adventure, omit the chili powder from the honey/lime/papaya dressing.
Herb-Lovers' Salad [45]
Herb specialist Rosemary Divock of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, tosses edible flowers and greens with a homemade vinaigrette, then adds snipped fresh tarragon, marjoram and chives. "The nice thing about making your own dressing is having some fresh-from-your-garden flavor," she says.
Herb-Lovers' Salad [46]