45 Sensational Salad Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 01, 2012

Celebrate the season with chicken salad recipes, potato salad recipes, salad dressing recipes, pasta salad recipes, grilled steak salad recipes and more.

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Steakhouse Salad with Ribeye and Blue Cheese

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Simple and perfect are the only way to describe this fabulous salad from chef Michael Ollier of Certified Angus Beef in Wooster, Ohio. The steak, blue cheese and garden-fresh veggies meld beautifully with the honey-sweetened balsamic dressing.

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Dilly Chickpea and Radish Salad

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Think of this as a welcome update on three-bean salad, with radishes and celery adding color and crunch to wholesome garbanzo beans. It travels beautifully and is great for potlucks and picnics.

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Superfoods Salad

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Load up on antioxidants with this colorful, berry-delicious salad!

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Panzanella (Bread Salad) with Summer Vegetables

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A backyard garden's worth of colorful summer veggies fill this beautiful potluck salad. The toasted bread chunks absorb the dressing and juices from the tomatoes; you won't believe how delicious they taste! 

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Sriracha-Lime Ranch Dressing

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How can just three ingredients taste so good? This crazy-simple pantry fix-up begs to be drizzled over a chicken wrap or salad, or tossed with shredded cabbage for an easy slaw.

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Basic Chicken Salad

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We call this chicken salad "basic," but thanks to lemon juice and fresh green onion and parsley, it's anything but boring. 

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Kale Salad

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Trendy kale is a nutritional powerhouse and much heartier than regular lettuce. This salad has lots of colorful veggies and a zesty Asian dressing. Pair it with a whole wheat roll for a satisfying light supper.

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Spring Revival Couscous Salad with Filet Mignon

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Lean and tender steaks crown a bright, lemony salad made with asparagus, peas and couscous. The recipe comes from chef Michael Ollier, of Certified Angus Beef in Wooster, Ohio. He calls for generous 8-ounce steaks; for budget or dietary reasons, you may want to use a more modest 4-ounce steak. Just reduce the grilling time accordingly.

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Strawberry and Arugula Salad with Manchego Fricos

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Italian for "little trifles," fricos are lacy wafers of crispy fried cheese. They're made by cooking small piles of finely shredded cheese in a skillet until the cheese starts to bubble and brown around the edges. Sometimes a bit of flour or herbs is mixed in. They are absolutely delicious on salads or soups. Here they're made with Manchego, Spanish sheep's-milk-cheese. Parmesan or cheddar work as well.

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Grandma's Potato Salad

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This sweet, radish-studded potato salad recipe was handed down from a Cosmos, Minnesota, grandmother to her twin granddaughters.

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Nutty Apple-Cherry Slaw

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Nuts and fruit add crunch and color to cabbage tossed in a homemade vinaigrette. This beautiful twist on traditional coleslaw is best served right away for maximum crispness, but it will hold for up to 24 hours.

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Tomato Salad with Edamame Succotash

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Protein-rich edamame makes this salad a nutritious meal, especially when paired with whole-grain bread.

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Sunny Broccoli Salad

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A Cleveland reader makes this potluck salad the day ahead and refrigerates the dressing and vegetables separately. When it's time to serve it, she tosses everything together. Bacon, sunflower kernels and raisins make a crunchy and flavorful side dish.

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Baby Spinach Salad with Cumin Couscous and Bulgur

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Grain salads can sometimes be a bit heavy, but this one is surprisingly light-tasting, thanks to a tangy yogurt-mint dressing, crisp apple chunks and fresh spinach.

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Lemon-Avocado Chicken Salad

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Avocado adds luscious richness to this bright, citrusy chicken salad. Be sure to toss the ingredients gently so the avocado doesn't blend in completely.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hickory-Smoked Chicken

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Top spinach, strawberries, blueberries, cheese, mushrooms and smoked chicken with Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette for a main-dish salad that's full of seasonal flavors.

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Thai Beef and Noodle Salad

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Lean flank steak, whole wheat pasta and crisp vegetables make this Asian-inspired salad a healthy choice. Ditching that time-consuming (and all-too-easy-to-forget) step of marinating the meat makes it genius.

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Broccoli Grape Salad

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Juicy grapes and crunchy broccoli blend sweet flavors with savory, salty bacon. The side-dish salad recipe comes from the Triangle Ranch B&B in South Dakota.

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Boston Lettuce Stacks with Grilled Peaches, Feta and Pecans

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This easy summer salad pairs the textures and flavors of buttery, slightly sweet and crisp Boston lettuce with grilled warm peaches and crunchy nuts.

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Crunchy Asian Noodle Slaw

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Sesame seeds, ramen noodles, soy sauce, ginger and fresh broccoli give Asian flair to cole slaw.

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Fresh Taco Salad

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Cilantro Ranch Dressing tops a flavorful blend of jicama, multigrain tortilla chips, avocado, black beans, queso fresco and greens. 

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Greek Orzo Salad

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Olives and feta give salty punch to this pasta salad from Surdyk's Liquor and Cheese Shop in Minneapolis. 

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Chef's Garden Salad

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Prepare this layered salad a day ahead so the flavors can blend. For a group, make the salad in a 3-quart clear bowl rather than individual glasses.

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Berry-Balsamic Vinaigrette

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The sweet tang of this rosy dressing pairs nicely with nuts, cheese, avocado or grilled chicken breast in a mixed green salad. A full 2 cups of strawberries boost the dressing's vitamin C and fiber; the olive oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat that fights inflammation and protects against heart disease.

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Italian Rice Salad

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Italian Rice Salad includes fragrant, nutty-tasting brown basmati rice, bell peppers in a variety of colors, red onions and plenty of garlic. "It's kind of soft, kind of crunchy, a little sweet and a little tangy," says Ohio cooking school expert Bev Schaffer, who gave us the recipe. "A co-worker took it to a family reunion several years ago, and he can't go to a reunion without it now."

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Cucumber-Honeydew Salad with Feta

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This healthy no-cook potluck salad is full of fruit and vegetable goodness. Feta adds a tang to the sweetness of honeydew melon. With only 20 minutes of prep time before an overnight chill, this recipe is great for parties.

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Classic Potato Salad

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This creamy potato salad is full of tender new potatoes, sweet pickles, crisp celery, and chopped hard-cooked eggs.

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Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Walnut Pesto

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This lower-calorie pasta salad features roasted vegetables, whole wheat penne pasta and homemade pesto. To turn it into a main dish, stir in a can of rinsed and drained white beans or add chunks of grilled chicken.

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Grilled Green Tomatoes with Garden Herb Salad

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This recipe is perfect just before the beginning of tomato season and just as it ends. Grilling the tomatoes gives them a smokiness that complements their natural tanginess. 

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Asian-Style Vinaigrette

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Toss this light soy-ginger dressing with a bag of slaw mix and roasted peanuts for a nutritious side dish on stir-fry night. The recipe uses canola oil and sesame oil, which are both good choices as part of a balanced diet.

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Deviled Egg Macaroni Pasta Salad

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Combine two potluck staples to create this yummy potluck salad. Expect classic deviled egg flavor with a little zing from the Dijon-style mustard and salty pickled onions.

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Asian-Style Chicken Salad

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Curly noodles, almonds, sesame seeds and rice vinegar blend in this crunchy, tangy salad from a West Des Moines, Iowa, reader.

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Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

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Discover the savory potential of watermelon in this five-ingredient salad.

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Chicken Taco Salad

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Pick up a rotisserie chicken and a few veggies on the way home from work, and in 20 minutes, you can serve this colorful, crowd-pleasing salad for dinner.

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BLT Salad

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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.

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Grapefruit and Kiwifruit Salad

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Homemade Grapefruit Vinaigrette tops a juicy salad of grapefruit sections, kiwifruit, sliced fennel and crumbled bacon.

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