My favorite summer salads your family will love
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Pasta salads might be what you think of when your mind searches for summer side dishes, but some of my favorites are based on vegetables, making them more nutritious, colorful, and totally appropriate for the summer garden bounty.
These might remind you of your own family favorites. Give them a try, add your own twist, and enjoy!
Easy summer salads
New recipes are fun, and I’ll always try something new, but these summer salads are family favorites that will never get old at our house.
These summer salads have different bases: spinach, broccoli, pasta (orzo), and potato. They’re a nice and more nutritious change from the usual summer salads.
You’ll find Spinach salad with poppy dressing, Kim’s broccoli salad, Aimee’s orzo salad, and Mom’s potato salad below.
I’ve added some options for variations you can try. Customize the recipes according to your family’s taste so they can become your new favorites, too.
You’ll notice that I often add milk to my creamy dressings. I love mayonnaise (my mother said it was my first word—how telling), but it’s loaded with fat and calories, and no one ever complains about the consistency of the dressing on my salads, so that’s what I’ll keep doing.
Please know that I am guess-timating the number of servings in these recipes. They probably will feed 8 or more people, but 4 of us have been known to clean the bowl!
These salads are nutritious
Fresh is best when it comes to salads, and these have plenty. There’s protein from eggs, cheese, and nuts; good fats from olives; vitamins from strawberries, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes.
Colorful, delicious, and easy to make, I hope these salads find their way onto the list of your family’s favorites.
Nutrition in spinach and almonds
Dark green, leafy spinach is packed with vitamin C, iron, vitamin B6, and even calcium and is super low in calories.
Its nutritional benefits include immune enhancement, carrying oxygen in the blood, maintaining muscle and nerve function, and bone health.
Almonds might be calorie-dense, but they are also nutrient-dense, so a small amount is loaded with nutrition.
Almonds are rich in fiber, vitamin E, protein, manganese, and magnesium.
Antioxidants are very popular health supplements now because they help to clean up destructive free radicals that promote aging, stress the body, and trigger diseases. But vitamin E in almonds is a powerful antioxidant.
Fiber helps with digestion and in lowering cholesterol naturally. Manganese and magnesium are essential minerals, meaning that you must have them for vital functions that enzymes perform and for bone health.
Nutrition in potatoes and eggs
Eggs have been portrayed as the perfect food. Of course, that’s debatable, but they are very nutritious, containing protein, healthy fats, vitamins A, D, E, and choline and folate.
Folate and choline are essential for nerve and brain function, so they are needed for things like memory, muscle control, and nervous system function.
Choline is also needed for liver health, and choline deficiency can lead to muscle and liver damage, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Both of these must be obtained through dietary sources
And the good news is that potatoes also are a good source of choline.
Nutrition in broccoli and cheese
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are very low in calories and high in fiber. Broccoli has vitamins C and K (needed for effective blood clotting), as well as calcium and magnesium.
Cheese can be quite high in fat, but it’s loaded with protein and packed with flavor. Luckily, feta has fewer calories than harder cheeses like Parmesan and cheddar.
Nutrition in olives and tomatoes
Besides vitamin C, lycopene in tomatoes is an antioxidant with proven anti-cancer activity.
You’ll find more antioxidants (vitamin E and others) and fiber in black olives. With a somewhat “duller” flavor than green olives, most people, including kids, love them.
Can these salads be made ahead?
The orzo salad and the potato salad keep for several days in the refrigerator very well. The flavor of potato salad can develop even further when stored.
While the salads will not go bad, I don’t recommend storing the spinach and broccoli salads overnight because they get soggy. However, both are completely edible after storing in the refrigerator overnight, and I quite often enjoy them for lunch the next day.
Nutritious and delicious simple summer salads
Spinach salad with poppy seed dressing
This spinach salad has an unforgettably delicious dressing and salad ingredients limited only by your imagination.
This simple, fresh salad goes well with grilled meat or fish.
Because this salad is so luscious, especially the dressing, I eat it the next day, but it gets soggy when stored. So, I recommend only dressing the amount of salad you think will be eaten.
That way, the salad leftovers will be just as fresh and delicious, and you can dress them when you’re ready to finish eating the salad.
But don’t be surprised if you have to dress it all!
Spinach salad with poppy seed dressing
Ingredients
- 1 lb Baby spinach
- 3/4 C Sliced almonds
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 1/2 C Fresh strawberries
Dressing
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 2 tsp Poppy seeds
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Grated onion
- 1/8 tsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp White vinegar
- 2 tbsp Cider vinegar
- 1/4 C Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Wash and dry strawberries and spinach.
- Slice strawberries.
- Toast almonds in melted butter until lightly brown. Cool.
- Mix spinach, strawberries, and almonds in large bowl.
- In a covered jar, combine sesame and poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, vinegars, and oil and shake well.
- Add dressing to salad and mix.
Notes
- This is a modification of Jamie’s Cranberry Spinach Salad. Substitute the strawberries for 1 1/2 C of another fresh fruit, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit or a fall or very color-appropriate Christmas salad—thanks, Jamie!
- I cut the amount of sugar in this recipe dramatically. Adjust to your own taste.
- Watch the almonds closely when toasting. They burn fast!
- Try other nuts like walnuts, pecans, or pistachios. I wouldn’t toast these, though.
- Use a parmesan grater or zester to grate the onion. Quick and easy!
- Switch out the vegetable oil for light olive oil for a heart-healthier option.
Kim’s broccoli salad
Many variations of this recipe can be found online. In our family, this one is attributed to my sister-in-law, Kim.
There’s something magically addictive about this combination of ingredients and the sweet-sour dressing. It’s always a huge hit at potlucks, too.
Broccoli is fresh and available all seasons of the year, so this salad has graced holiday tables, as well as summer cook-outs. I eat this salad the second day, but it does tend to get a little soggy.
Kim’s broccoli salad
Ingredients
- 3 large heads Broccoli
- 1/4 C Chopped red onion
- 3 C Shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 pieces Cooked bacon
Dressing
- 1 1/2 C Mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- Milk
Instructions
- Cut broccoli into small florets. I microwave for about2 minutes to soften them somewhat.
- Fry bacon, cool, and crumble.
- Add broccoli, bacon, onion, and cheese to bowl.
- Mix all dressing ingredients and add a small amount of milk to thin. Whisk together.
- Pour dressing over salad and mix.
Notes
- To save calories, stretch the mayonnaise by adding milk.
- This salad lends itself to many wonderful variations. Try adding sunflower seeds for my crunch and raisins for sweetness, flavor, and vitamins.
- This is one of my favorite leftover salads. Leftovers are somewhat less crunchy, but more flavorful.
Mom’s potato salad
This recipe is my mom’s. She made the dressing the same every time but always asked me to taste it to be sure it was just right before adding it to the salad.
I’ve added my time-saving steps to her recipes.
This salad tastes even better the next day after all the flavors have married. It’s an obvious favorite with hot dogs and hamburgers.
Try it as an accompaniment to sausage and peppers. Its cool, creamy flavor can be refreshing against bold spices and hot dishes.
Mom’s potato salad
Ingredients
- 10 large White or yellow potatoes
- 10 large Eggs
- 1 large Onion (Vidalia or red)
Dressing
- 2 C Mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Dill pickle juice or cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Spicy brown mustard
- Milk
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes thoroughly and cut into cubes. There's no need to peel them.
- Add the eggs into a large kettle and add enough water to cover the eggs and potatoes that will be added later.
- Bring the eggs to a boil.
- Add the cubed potatoes to the boiling water and boil 8-10 minutes until fork-tender.
- Drain and chill the potatoes. You can chill them by plunging them into ice cold water.
- Peel and chop the eggs.
- Add the eggs and onions to the potatoes.
- Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk together.Add milk to thin the dressing and save calories.
- Add the dressing to the potatoes, egg, and onion mixture and mix gently.
Notes
- Cooking the eggs and potatoes together saves a pan and time.
- Add chopped bacon or chopped dill for extra flavor and sprinkle the top with paprika or chopped chives.
- If you choose not to dress the salad until later, cover the cooked potatoes by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the potatoes and pressing down to cover them. Boiled potatoes can turn blackish when exposed to air.
Aimee’s orzo salad
Orzo looks like rice, but it’s pasta shaped like tiny flat ovals with pointed ends.
I love it because it cooks up so nicely every time and lends a “gentler” pasta texture to a salad. Of course, it can be used in hot dishes, too.
This orzo salad is loaded with fresh summer vegetables and easily finished with bottle Italian dressing.
Add chopped leftover or rotisserie chicken or grilled shrimp and make this salad a meal.
Aimee’s orzo salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb Orzo, cooked, drained, and cooled
- 2 cups Tomatoes. I prefer cherry or grape tomatoes because they’re very sweet but not too juicy
- 1/2 medium Red onion, diced
- 1/2 can Black olives, sliced
- 2/3 English cucumber, sliced, then quartered
- 4 ounces Feta or Cotija cheese, crumbled
- Fresh Basil
- Bottled or homemade Italian dressing.
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except for dressing.
- Roll some basil leaves, slice them into slivers, and add to salad.
- Add a drizzle of dressing. Mix gently.
- Salt to taste.
Notes
- Add a chopped jalapeno with or without seeds to add some heat.
- Crumbled Cotija cheese is delicious in this salad. It’s a salty cow’s milk cheese that reminds me of feta.
- I love Ken’s Garlic Basil Simply Vinaigrette for this salad.
- Great as a side for a Mexican dish or any grilled meat or seafood.
New recipes are fun, and I’ll always try something new, but these summer salads are family favorites that will never get old at our house.
What’s your favorite? Leave a comment (or link) below, and it might be added to this list of favorites!
Be sure to try these other family-favorite recipes and these grilled baby back ribs!
