Fresh Spring Salad Recipes

Slice boiled new potatoes, then toss with blanched green beans, fresh mozz and pine nuts. Dress in purchased pesto, brightened with red wine vinegar. Brilliant!

Tuck grilled Halloumi cheese among ripe heirloom tomatoes. Scatter with quick-pickled red onion, oregano, pepper and olive oil. Dive in like it's the Aegean.

Bright with a touch of lemon and dill, the blanched carrots and snap peas get "dipped" in the pool of creamy dressing underneath when you spoon up a helping--a playfully pretty twist on two nostalgic carrot classics.

Learn to love your melon by dousing it in lime juice, with zippy chilies, cilantro and crunchy pepitas. Can you eat it with your morning eggs? A bowl of yogurt? Fajitas? A beer? Yep.

This light and bright tuna salad tastes as fresh as a day on the Mediterranean sea. We recommend using high-quality canned or jarred tuna that's packed in olive oil—you'll taste the difference.

Marinate roasted beets with shallots and champagne vinegar, then toss with sauteed chard (or other greens). Serve over ricotta with pistachios.

Cucumber and radish soak up the flavors of soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted garlic and chili paste. Fresh mint joins the party. Happy dances all around.

This lightly sweet potato salad is a great way to use up leftover Easter ham.

A bold dressing of garlic, parsley and fennel seeds lands a perfect punch on sweet snap peas and shaved fennel. Add salty cheese for the knockout.

At Dante in Omaha, chef Nick Strawhecker serves a deceptively simple house salad that's all about letting good-quality greens shine. Finely grated cheese and chopped nuts add salt and crunch. It's perfect for spring and fall, when local lettuce is available.

Uncooked asparagus might sound strange, but this is essentially an elegant take on slaw-slicing a firm vegetable like cabbage or carrot thinly to break down its cell walls and allow a tangy dressing to soak in.

Any crouton is delicious, but a crouton made with buttery brioche? Divine. It's a luxe addition to this simple lemon-dressed salad from Epicure Catering in Michigan. (This recipe makes a generous amount of croutons; store extras in an airtight container for a day or two.)

Fresh ginger and red pepper flakes add welcome zing, but the real surprise here is napa (aka Chinese) cabbage. Cara Mangini, of Little Eater in Columbus, Ohio, likes it for slaws because it's more tender than ordinary cabbage but still holds up better than lettuce. 

You could make a meal of this dish: caramelized zucchini, crunchy almonds, salty cheese and hearty quinoa, all dressed in honey-basil vinaigrette. The recipe comes from Little Eater, in Columbus, Ohio.

Loaded with protein and fresh greens, this is a simple yet flavorful potato salad. Paired with a fruit salad, it's almost hearty enough to eat as a meal.

It's not just a salad-it's a crunchy, juicy, sweet, salty, tart, buttery, nutty potluck dazzler.

This hearty, healthy salad combines juicy fruit, flavorful fresh herbs and warm spices. Even people who are skeptical of the nutritious bulgur wheat will be surprised how much they like it.

This beautiful, French-inspired, veggie-ful potato salad says "au revoir" to mayonnaise and instead features a light garlic vinaigrette. That means the dish can safely sit out for a while (and even tastes better at room temperature).

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.