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Summer is the perfect time to serve light evening meals to your family. Too hot outside to heat up the kitchen with an oven or stove. Why not make a quick yummy meal with fresh vegetables and a smattering of meat. Here are a few of our favorite Summer Salad Ideas.
Summer Dinner Salads
Here are a few dinner salad ideas to try, with or without meat. Serve one of these when you want something light and cool on a hot summer night.
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Spinach Salad with Vinegar Dressing
Here’s a delicious recipe I received from my Aunt Ruth. I love this vinegar dressing. Try it this weekend!
Chicken Salad is a favorite during our hot summer months. This one is so easy to make. Tender chicken breast, celery, onions, grapes, and cashews. Delicious!
This Spinach Beet Salad is a wonderful addition to your summer meals. Fresh Baby Spinach, Mandarin Oranges, Glazed English Walnuts, Pickled Beets, and Feta Cheese, with a delightful sweet vinaigrette. Serve either as a side salad or as a light dinner salad with flatbread.
This Southwest Bean Salad is packed with flavor and lots of heart-healthy foods sure to satisfy every appetite. I like this salad with its black beans, avocado and tomato. So good!
I love this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad and could eat it for a meal. Tender macaroni, peas, shredded carrots, bacon and a delicious homemade ranch dressing to pull it all together. Yummy!
Sometimes in the summer when it’s hot, you just want something easy to make for dinner, that’s cold. This Antipasto Salad is perfect for just such an occasion. Plus, you can use lots of garden vegetables in it! Add some pepperoni to make it a meal.
This Mediterranean Garden Vegetable Salad is a delicious recipe to make when you want more than a lettuce salad with your dinner, but still desire something light and refreshing. I love that it uses bunches of garden vegetables and that it is so easy to prepare.
Corn and Black Bean Salad is a delicious and easy recipe to make this summer. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or even a family picnic. It’s a cool and refreshing dish to make after a long, hot day.
Homemade salad dressings are so delicious, and less expensive than what you buy in the store (and better for you, too.) Why not try making your own salad dressing? Here are some of our favorites!
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Spring Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
This past month I’ve been enjoying a new Spring Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing. Homemade dressings are so fresh and tasty, I know you’re going to love this one.
I'll always remember making Thousand Island dressing as a girl at a 4-H cooking meeting. Here's a similar recipe for you to enjoy. It's very easy to make and perfect for little hands to prepare.
While we’re at it, we might as well include a few extras. Of course you could use snack crackers such as Ritz or Club Crackers–both go really well with salads. And I love nuts and sunflower kernels on a salad, too. Here are a few other suggestions for your summer salads.
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Crunchy Sourdough Breadsticks (Grissini)
Crunchy Sourdough Breadsticks, also known as Italian Grissini, are wonderful with salads, soups, or even as an appetizer or snack. It’s a great way to use up your sourdough discard, too.
While you're at it, go ahead and make your own croutons, too! So much better than store bought! Crunchy on the outside yet slightly chewy and seasoned perfectly. You cannot buy croutons as tasty as these!
This is a recipe too good to miss out on. It's easy and our daughters love it served with salads, fruit and vanilla yogurt, or simply by the handful. Enjoy!
I hope these salad suggestions give you lots of ideas for summer dinners, when it’s hot outside and you just want something simple to enjoy for supper.
I needed some new salad inspiration! I will be making some of these recipes this coming week! So delicious!
Hi Courtney. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will enjoy some of these salad recipes! It’s a good time for salad.