25+ Dinner Salad Recipes

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These easy and satisfying Dinner Salad Recipes are more than just a basic side! Explore my filling and fresh salads that are packed with protein, veggies, and even fruit to make salad your main meal. And you’ll find they are all gluten free or can easily be made that way for a flexible option to satisfy the entire family regardless of dietary needs or preferences!

A two-by-three collage of grilled steak and asparagus salad, shrimp and fruit salad, spinach salad, banh mi salad, taco salad, and grilled chicken berry salad with a white box in the middle with text overlay that says "Dinner Salad Recipes".

Why You’ll Love These Dinner Salad Recipes

Why bother with turning in the stove when you can have a protein and vegetable-packed salad for dinner? I love salads because they are endlessly customizable from the many different ingredients you can toss in, to the dressing choices to drizzle over the top.

In this post, I’ve rounded up my favorite dinner salad recipes, from my summery take on a classic Cobb salad that’s packed with sliced strawberries, to a salad full of juicy shrimp, to a hearty chicken and quinoa salad, and more. These all make great options for nights when you’re more in the mood to assemble rather than cook, plus, they’re great ways to use up any extra proteins you have in the fridge like leftover rotisserie chicken or hard-boiled eggs. Change the flavor of your salad by adding fruit or whipping up different dressings to suit your mood.

Overhead of Grilled Chicken Salad with berries and goat cheese

Tips For Making The Best Salads

A few tips outlined below can be used to make dinner salads – and any salad! A key point is to use fresh ingredients and if they’re in season, they’ll taste even better. Play around with different salad dressings and additions to elevate your dinner salad beyond the ordinary, and add a loaf of fresh gluten free bread on the side for the perfect accompaniment.

  • Use fresh ingredients. This may seem obvious, but your salad is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. Choose fresh, crisp lettuce without any browning, ripe tomatoes, and soft-enough avocadoes, you get the idea.
  • Prep in advance. To save time, you can prepare some of the components of your salad in advance, or make sure to set aside chicken from the next time you make a roast chicken so you can tuck it into salads later in the week. Store each in a separate container for up to 3 days in the fridge.
  • Use a big bowl! Choose a bowl larger than you think you’ll need so that the ingredients have plenty of room to be tossed and assembled.
  • Think beyond lettuce. Lettuce of all types is fantastic in salads, and so are other greens like baby spinach, radicchio, shredded cabbage, and baby chard.
  • Use a mix of raw and cooked components. An interesting salad is one that contains variety – add roasted vegetables like beets, hard boiled eggs, shredded, cooked chicken, salmon, freshly-shucked corn kernels, berries, and more to your bowl along with fresh vegetables.
  • Dress at the end. Save the dressing and add it just before serving the salad to prevent the salad from becoming soggy.
  • Add extras. I love to add texture and flavor to my salads with a handful of add-ins! These can include toasted chopped nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pecans, seeds like sesame or pumpkin seeds, soft or hard cheeses, and more.
Closeup of Cobb-Style Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Can You Prep Salad In Advance?

Many salads can be prepared in advance, but the best practice is to dress the salad just before you plan to serve it. You can also prep components of the salad – such as making the hard-boiled eggs, meat, or grains in advance – and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad. Vegetables can be peeled and chopped ahead of time and stored in airtight containers in the fridge.

Some tips to keep in mind: you can prepare a salad and store it, without dressing, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Leave out any ingredients like tomatoes or cucumber that are on the juicier side – they can make the salad soggy – until you’re ready to eat. And of course, wait until you’re ready to serve the salad to add the dressing.

25 Salads You Must Try For Dinner

A table shot with a bowl of strawberry spinach salad and fork to its left and a napkin to the right.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Add a side of grilled cheese or enjoy this summery strawberry and spinach salad as a light yet filling meal!
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A Cobb salad is served in a bowl, showing slices of avocado, chicken, tomatoes, and lettuce.

Ultimate Chicken Cobb Salad

This is the best Cobb salad! It's full of tender rotisserie chicken, sharp cheddar cheese, avocado, juicy tomatoes, and more, and dressed with a homemade maple dijon dressing.
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A bowl of Greek salad.

Greek Salad

This traditional salad is full of cherry tomatoes, juicy cucumber slices, tangy feta cheese, and more all tossed in a lemony dressing. If you want some greens, spoon it over a bed of lettuce, or add your favorite protein.
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Two side salads with poached pears and blue cheese

Poached Pear Salad

This light and lovely salad with blue cheese, glazed walnuts, blue cheese, and a creamy sherry dressing is easy, fresh, and delicious, and you can enjoy it as-is or add your favorite protein.
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barbecue chicken sausage salad

BBQ Chicken Sausage Salad

There’s not much better than firing up the grill and inviting friends over for a party, especially when you can combine fresh ingredients with amazing grilled toppings and let everyone customize a satisfying dinner salad.
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striped napkin on a white picnic table with a blue bowl of mexican macaroni salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Black beans, corn, red peppers, and more plus a creamy southwestern-inspired dressing makes this salad into a complete meal! Use gluten free noodles to keep it a gluten free dish.
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big white bowl of romaine topped with sliced grilled steak, grilled corn and asparagus, and halved tomatoes next to a stack of small white plates

Grilled Steak Salad with Corn and Asparagus

Make your salad on the grill and stack juicy slices of steak, grilled corn, and asparagus on top of greens and ripe tomatoes. This salad is definitely dinner-worthy!
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Shrimp Cobb Salad with hard boiled eggs, bacon, limes, tomatoes, avocado, cotija cheese, grilled corn, and cilantro lime dressing in a white serving bowl

Grilled Shrimp Cobb Salad

Change up your usual Cobb salad routine by adding shrimp and cotija cheese plus a spicy lime-based dressing for extra flavor.
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A wedge salad made with Romaine salad topped with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and crispy prosciutto.

Italian Wedge Salad

Here's a delicious twist on the usual iceberg wedge. Top Romaine hearts with crispy prosciutto, mozzarella, parmesan, and a light and easy Creamy Balsamic Dressing for a tasty twist on the classic with favorite flavors from Italy. 
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An overhead view of a ground beef taco bowl with a fork on the meat partially under the cilantro.

Ground Beef Taco Salad

Give Taco Tuesday a lighter twist by piling the taco meat on a bed of lettuce. Then just add all of your favorite taco toppings for a crowd-pleasing dinner.
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Overhead horizontal image of grilled chicken salad with strawberries and mango

Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad

Topped with goat cheese, pine nuts, and a creamy citrus dressing, it is a delightfully fresh mix of sweet and tangy with healthy and satisfying. It's wonderful with grilled chicken, but you can skip it or swap it for whatever you have on hand.
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Chicken Caesar Salad in a white salad bowl with a fork

Chicken Caesar Salad

One of everyone’s favorite dinner salads with romaine lettuce tossed in a creamy light Caesar dressing made with Greek yogurt and plenty of grilled chicken. Use gluten free croutons or try polenta croutons!
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Lobster Cobb Salad

Lobster Cobb Salad

It’s the perfect summer dinner recipe with its combination of seafood, vegetables, and let’s not forget the cheese, avocado, and, of course, bacon. Truly just as good as any restaurant, but a more budget-friendly way to splurge.
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Lettuce topped with the following ingredients from left to right: crumbled bacon, chopped walnuts, apple slices, chopped cooked turkey, roasted sweet potato cubes, shredded cheddar cheese, and dried cranberries.

Leftover Turkey Salad

Another take on a Cobb salad, this salad adds chicken or turkey, sweet potatoes, and more to reflect the flavors of fall.
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a serving bowl of zoodles with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil on a wooden table

Caprese Zoodles Salad

The traditional pairing of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella gets even more summery vibes when you add zucchini noodles. Enjoy this as a light vegetarian lunch or toss in some grilled chicken or shrimp.
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Grilled Chicken Berry Salad with Blueberry Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette with a fork resting in front of the bowl.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

This hearty gluten free salad takes marinated chicken, fresh berries, goat cheese, pecans, and greens and dresses them in a homemade vinaigrette for a filling dinner.
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A bowl of quinoa with roasted butternut squash cubes and pomegranate seeds on top of a red plaid cloth napkin.

Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

Add your favorite protein to round out this quinoa salad into a meal. Sweet cubes of roasted butternut squash are mixed with quinoa and colorful pomegranate seeds, then dressed in a tangy balsamic dressing.
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bowl of mixed greens topped with grilled shrimp, watermelon, mango, pineapple, crumbled goat cheese, pine nuts, and strawberry vinaigrette

Fruity Summer Shrimp Salad

With mango, watermelon, and a fresh poppyseed dressing, this bright salad is light but satisfying. Enjoy this when summer fruit is at its sweetest.
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Completed banh mi salad in a bowl next to six lime wedges and a pair of chopsticks

Banh Mi Salad

The pork meatballs in this Banh Mi Salad are the perfect mix of tender-crunchy! Add a bit of pickled jalapeño and pickled radish for flavor, plus fresh veggies and greens.
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Avocado Ranch Steak Salad with Mango on white rectangular plates

Grilled Steak Mango Salad with Avocado Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Use your favorite protein – I love grilled steak! – for this hearty salad that adds juicy mango for a hint of sweetness. The dreamy avocado buttermilk dressing is one you'll make again!
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A birds-eye view of the chicken peach salad on a plate with a glass of water and plate of pita next to it.

Chicken and Peach Salad with Blue Cheese

A satisfying and fresh chicken salad featuring the best late summer produce. You'll love the juicy peaches and tomatoes that add a sweet and savory balance to the tangy blue cheese.
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An iceberg wedge on a plate topped with strawberries, cucumbers, bacon, and blue cheese dressing.

Strawberry Wedge Salad

Add a burst of summer flavor to your plate with a classic iceberg wedge but with sweet, juicy strawberries for a delicious twist. It's crisp, fresh, and loaded with bacon and blue cheese dressing, and perfect for a light lunch or to top with your favorite grilled meats.
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A stack of yellow, red, and green bowls full of chicken quinoa salad topped with chopped cilantro.

Mango Avocado Quinoa Chicken Salad

Make this one on a hot summer evening! It's cool, refreshing, and enough for dinner with slices of fresh gluten free bread!
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Farmhouse Chopped Salad

The ultimate dinner salad, you'll toss tender-crisp asparagus with sautéed chicken, chickpeas, and sharp cheddar cheese, along with peas, greens, beans, and more. So hearty and filling!
winter salad in a large wooden bowl with orange slices, pomegranate arils, and more toppings

Winter Salad with Cranberry Balsamic Dressing

Salads don't have to be just for a summer dinner. This hearty and colorful salad puts winter fruit in the spotlight, taking advantage of the freshest flavors of the colder months.
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More Dinner Salads

2 Comments
  1. Fantastic round up. Thanks for including mine. For some strange reason, I cannot pin. It says there is no pinnable image. I’ll try again later.

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