Quick and easy recipes for delicious summer salads
With the heat of summer quickly approaching, sometimes it’s nice to have a few recipes that don’t require you to turn on the oven for long periods of time or utilize the outdoor grill instead. Here are a few simple summer salads recipes that our family enjoys!
Broccoli Salad
This salad comes together quickly and is a delicious side dish at a cook out. You do need fresh broccoli for this recipe; frozen will not work. It is best to make this salad at least four hours before you plan to serve it so the flavors of the dressing have time to develop. One of our favorite summer salads this is great served along side your favorite barbeque or even stands on its own on a hot day!
Ingredients:
7 cups of broccoli florets cut into pieces
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, thickly shredded
6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces
⅓ cup dried cranberries
⅓ cup red onion
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons of honey or sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1. Cook the bacon in a pan. Let cool and then chop into small pieces. While the bacon is cooking, cut broccoli into bite size florets.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, honey(or sugar), salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
3. Add in the broccoli, cheddar cheese, bacon, cranberries, and red onion. Toss to mix everything together.
4. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Serve. If you want to make this further ahead of time, then toss all the ingredients, but the bacon, and refrigerate. Add the bacon right before serving.
Note: If you are not a fan of raw onions, then you can place the chopped onions in a bowl of ice water for about ten minutes. Drain the onions and then add to the salad. Soaking the onions in water helps to reduce the sharpness of raw onions.
Delicious and Easy Chicken Salad
I love repurposing leftovers from one meal into another. In the summer, Once Upon a Chef’s “The Best Grilled Chicken” is one of our go to recipes. The day after, we use the leftover chicken to build a delicious chicken salad. This is more of a method than recipe, and the best part is that you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand. Aren’t summer salads just made for using up all the leftover vegetables in your pantry?
Ingredients:
1 pound grilled chicken (or rotisserie) cut into bite size pieces and warmed
2 heads of romaine lettuce, chopped
⅓ cup shredded carrot
⅓ cup bacon crumbles
2 boiled eggs, diced
½ of a cucumber sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
⅓ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese
Dressing of your choice
Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine the romaine lettuce with the carrots, bacon crumbles, cucumbers, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes. Toss to combine.
2. Place chicken (warmed if you prefer) and eggs on top.
3. Serve and have individuals toss with their favorite dressing.
Sometimes we turn this into a salad bar, where we set out all the topping options and let everyone create their own version. This way everyone ends up with different summer salads that get eaten.
Fruit Salsa with Chips
Here is a fun spin on salsa and chips. I don’t know why, but our family tends to eat more fruit when it is already cut up. This quick and simple fruit salsa doesn’t last long in our home! You can also exchange the fruits in it for whatever you prefer; super watery fruits like watermelon don’t last as long, but if you know you are going to eat this up in one sitting, I say go for it!
Ingredients:
For the chips
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons of melted butter
10 flour tortillas
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Using kitchen scissors or a pizza cutter, cut the tortillas into triangular pieces.
2. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Feel free to add more cinnamon if you prefer. Melt the butter.
3. Place the tortillas on a sheet pan. Drizzle butter over top and mix to evenly distribute. Then add the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat.
4. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Flip chips halfway through cooking.
You can also make these in an air fryer.
For the salsa:
2 cups chopped strawberries
1 cup blueberries
2 medium apples, finely chopped
2 medium peaches or nectarines chopped
1 cup blackberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, and lemon juice.
2. In a large bowl combine the fruit. Toss the orange juice mixture with the fruit. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
3. Serve with cinnamon chips and enjoy!
We hope you enjoy these summer salads all season long with your families! Looking for other recipes: Try these:
