A summer salad is the perfect meal, acceptable to serve to guests for a special evening or even on a laid back night at home. These summer salad recipes are easy to prep, easy on the wallet, and absolutely delicious.
Choose from our favorite Classic Potato Salad, this Green Bean Salad with Pasta, or the fancier Greek salad served wedge-style. You’re bound to find some salads that make your taste buds sing.
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Salads make perfect summer meals. They’re cool, can easily be made ahead, and typically make good use of summer produce. Not only that, making homemade salads over the summer can save you money. Say what?
True story.
I know this, because I love salad. A salad girl I am. A must-have on my menu plan is one big meal-size salad every day.
So, as an established salad connoisseur, I can guarantee that you will save money making salads at home.
Tips for Saving Money
Let me count the ways:
The commercial alternatives are costly.
Restaurant summer salads range from $15 to 25; cheap take-out salads are $10 minimum. However, you can buy salad ingredients for a week for the same price as one restaurant salad.
Dial down the price of the classic caprese salad by making it yourself!
Summer salads generally don’t use a lot of one single ingredient.
As a result, you can use up little bits of veggies, cheese, meats — even bread for croutons! — that might otherwise go to waste. Using what you have will certainly save you money and taste amazing!
Use up last night’s leftover sweet corn on the cob in a tasty grilled corn salad. There are so many great salad toppings to embellish your salad with.
Summer is the time for salad.
During the summer months, fresh produce is abundant and favorably priced, therefore, the ingredients for summer salads are incredibly affordable. There is no better time to enjoy a watermelon salad dotted with freshly ground black pepper and feta cheese crumbles.
Vegetables get marked down.
Since veggies are a quick turn-over item, you will likely find sales when the produce needs to be sold quickly. Look for bargains at farm stands, markets, and the grocery store.
Snatch up berries so that you can enjoy a Strawberry Spinach Salad in the blink of an eye.
Veggies are easy to grow.
Yep, you can grow your own salad ingredients! Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs are all easy to grow yourself. Imagine slicing your own cukes into a crisp and flavorful cucumber salad.
Ingredients to Keep on Hand
A Summer Salad has a lot going for it. For instance, consider these delicious components:
- crisp veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and corn
- hearty proteins, such as chicken, ham, or hard-cooked eggs – Skillet Chicken Tenderloins are perfect for topping salads!
- filling carbs, like pasta, potatoes, and chickpeas
- tasty dressings, such as ranch, Italian dressing, raspberry vinaigrette, or creamy avocado dressing
If you can find your veg fresh from the garden or farm stand, so much the better!
Shortcuts for Summer Salads
Salad ingredients are all things you can prep yourself, but you can also take some shortcuts to speed up your salad-making and still save money.
Consider some of these convenient salad ingredients:
- lettuce prepped in bags or pre-rinsed baby greens
- grape tomatoes, no need to chop!
- shredded carrots and purple cabbage – these add great color, nutrients, and texture
- rotisserie chicken
However, don’t skimp on the dressing. To really enjoy your summer salad recipes, it’s better to make the dressing yourself or invest in a good quality bottled variety.
Kitchen Equipment
Making summer salads will be quick and easy with the right kitchen tools:
Good knives – It’s imperative to have a good set of knives for chopping, dicing, and slicing. You don’t have to buy a full set; you can do quite well with a chef’s knife, a serrated bread knife, and a paring knife.
Big cutting boards – Protect your blades as well as your counter tops by cutting on good counter tops. I have a variety of boards in different colors so I can prevent cross contamination between raw meats and vegetables.
A salad spinner – I prefer to cut my own salad greens, so having a salad spinner really helps. It gets the excess water off the lettuce so they don’t get soggy. This is great, especially if you want to make several days of lunch salads in advance.
Plastic containers with lids – These are awesome for packing salads for lunch. I’ve bought several sets for my husband to take to work or for me to pack my own lunches in advance. They are as durable as glass, but they’re disposable, so you don’t have to worry about them too much.
Recommended Recipes
There is no end to the cheap and easy Summer Salads you can prep at home. from hearty chicken salad as a main dish to filling pasta salad as a side, you’re bound to find some new favorites!
Main Dish Salads
Summer Salads that serve as the full meal are such time savers. Any of these are an excellent main dish idea, with a pitcher of lemonade or iced tea to go with.
Side Salads
Summer salads that can be served on the side of grilled meat are easy and make-ahead. We’ve got your deli basics covered as well as some fun veggie salads, too.
Salad Toppings
Don’t forget homemade toppings for your summer salads. Croutons and dressings come together quickly and easily with just a few pantry staples.
This post was originally published on June 16, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Judith
This Greek-inspired quinoa salad is my go-to all summer long. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/greek-inspired-quinoa-salad Along with this corn & black bean salad: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/corn-and-black-bean-salad
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for sharing them!