If you like fennel - I'm a big fan - this is a great, light and different salad. I sometimes add a few toasted pistachios or other nuts on top when serving.

Fennel and celery salad - serves 6

• 3 medium fennel bulbs, very thinly sliced
• 6 celery ribs, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
• a small handful of fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tsps fresh lemon or zest, or to taste
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Using a very sharp knife; carefully slice your fennel bulb, celery, onion, very thinly, then chop up your dill.

Combine all of your prepped veggies into a large glass bowl.

Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Add lemon zest & lemon juice, garlic powder, olive oil, then toss well to coat everything.

Taste test and adjust as desired.

Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes before serving for best flavor.

This salad stays good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I just chop up whatever veggies I have on hand and toss with a quick oregano, red wine v, and dijon dressing

Cukes and tomato

Fennel and orange slices and olives (toss the fennel in olive oil and lemon the night before)

Mint, cukes, peppers, tomato with lemon juice

Blanch asparagus and snow peas

Jicama and lime juice

Shredded celery root and dijon dressing

Bush's Black Bean and Mango salad. I love the stuff. Very forgiving if you need/want to tweak the recipe.... e.g., I use pickled jalapenos. I always serve it with tortilla chips.

Black Bean and Mango salad

I don't know if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, but if you do, check out their prepared salads for some interesting ingredient combination ideas. You don't have to actually buy the salads, just take a picture of the description on the top to spark your creativity.

I just came back from a lunch with friends, where I had a salad with red leaf letture, grilled, marinated apple, warm goat cheese and toasted pecans. It tasted shockingly good.

I always crave this salad.

Tuna Macaroni Salad

8oz spiral macaroni, cooked and drained

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped onion

16 oz frozen California mix

12 oz can water packed tuna, drained

Mix above and chill for 4 hours if you can wait. Keeps well for several days.

I do add salt and pepper

Eta, I chop the vegetables into smaller pieces.

I just had a wonderful salad of mixed greens, dried cherries, walnuts and parmesan. I got this one from a restaurant for dinner last night and had the leftovers for lunch. They normally add goat cheese but I have them swap for shaved parm .. if I made it at home I would likely add cucumber and onion.

I am also a fan of many of the salads listed above-- i dont follow recipes but tomato/cucumber/onion and tuna macaroni salads are on my rotations. I also like tuna without macaroni but with apple, celery, onion and sunflower seeds ... or just the normal way ;)

My lunches are usually slipped into a tight window-- so some days it is just oatmeal with berries or an orange with a piece of pb toast ... or an apple dipped into pb.

As for prepared salads-- i dont shy away from them. Some days they make the difference of whether I eat or not.

What is California mix?

It is a Bird’s Eye frozen brocoli, califlower, carrot mix.

I just ordered the California mix along with several items from other recipes like goat cheese, I am looking forward to trying some of them out, thank you to everyone who provided recipes.

I usually make a chickpea salad
. It’s cool and refreshing. My own recipe 😁
One can of chickpeas, cherry tomatoes sliced, celery, red onion, any olives you have on hand, drizzle a red wine vinaigrette over it and mix. Yum!

We just went out to lunch and I had a greek salad wrap with grilled chicken. It was so good. Nothing exotic, just typical greek salad plus chicken in a wrap — but it was yummy.

I like quinoa salads, too. I had a friend who made a really good orzo salad with feta — I can’t remember what else was in it but I have made my own variations over the years.

Sometimes especially in summer I might just make a smoothie, plus a handful of almonds.

My go to:

Iceberg or Romaine lettuce shredded

2Tbl Hulled Sunflower seeds

2 TBL grated Parmesan or Feta cheese

1/2 a Roma tomato

1/2 an avocado diced

topped with croutons & Pecan pieces

Cesar Salad dressing

Two of my favorite summer lunches. It appears I need to go to Morocco, I like the food.😆

Moroccan chickpea quinoa power salad

^Link to the recipe at Little Spice Jar

Another favorite - Moroccan Chick Pea Salad

• 1/2 c EVOO
• 1/3 c white wine vinegar
• 4 tsps Moroccan spice blend*
• 1 15-Oz can chick peas, drained
• 1.5 cups coarsely chopped seeded tomatoes
• 1.5 cups coarsely chopped seeded peeled cucumbers
• 1 cup coarsely crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

Steps

1. Whisk together EVOO, white wine vinegar, & spice blend in a medium bowl. Place drained chick peas in a large bowl & mix in enough vinaigrette to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, red onion, and parsley to chick peas. Mix in enough vinaigrette to coat.

Notes

• *moroccan spice: mix 1 TB ground cumin with 1/4 TSP each of ground coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.

Great topic.

For lunch I often make a chicken salad - cut up cold leftover chicken, cut up apple and a little bit of mayo.

Garbanzos, cukes, grape tomato and feta.

Tuna with mayo and little Tajin sprinkled on top.

This isn't a salad but I think a 1/2 cheese quesadilla (light on the cheese, small tortilla) with salsa and an avocado is light and easy to throw together.

I've been enjoying Greek salads lately.

• Greek salad dressing (such as Love and Lemons Greek Salad Dressing)
• Romaine lettuce
• Cucumber
• Grape / Cherry Tomatoes
• Feta
• Pepperocini

I Love this Summer Salad

Summer Tortellini Pasta Salad

This delicious 6-ingredient summer tortellini salad recipe is super easy and always a crowd favorite! A great option for potlucks, backyard BBQs, or as a light summer meal.

Prep Time: 12 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Total Time:20 minutes mins

Ingredients

1 20oz package, cheese tortellini

1 pound asparagus, snapped and cut into 1" pieces

1-2 C fresh spinach, stems removed and leaves ribboned

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 3.8oz can, sliced black olives, drained

8 oz Italian dressing

Instructions

Cook your cheese tortellini according to the package directions. Rinse the pasta with cold water and place it in a large bowl. If you're still chopping the other ingredients, place the bowl of pasta in the fridge to stay cool.

While the pasta is cooking, chop tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, and black olives (if you didn’t purchase pre-sliced olives). Set aside.

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Place chopped asparagus into the boiling water until fork tender (1-2 minutes; 1min for thinner asparagus and 2min for thicker asparagus). Immediately rinse with cool water, and place asparagus with cold water and ice back into the saucepan to halt the cooking.

Place all of the ingredients into the large bowl with the pasta, stir to evenly coat the pasta and veggies.

If not enjoying right away, place the pasta salad into the fridge until ready to serve.

Store leftover pasta salad in the fridge. Enjoy within 2-3 days.

Notes

*Make Ahead: Tortellini salad can be prepped the day before you plan to serve.

*Storage: cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Recipe variations and substitutions:

Add a protein. Try salami, pepperoni, or pieces of grilled or shredded chicken.

Add more cheese. Cut up pieces of fresh mozzarella, pre-made fresh mozzarella ‘pearls’, or shredded parmesan are great additions.

Add in or try different vegetables: bell peppers, pepperoncini peppers, red onion, and cucumbers are all popular additions to tortellini pasta salad with Italian dressing. Customize your salad to your liking!

Add fresh herbs: fresh basil or parsley would be excellent in this summer pasta salad.

Make your own dressing: if you’d prefer homemade dressing, make your own!

At one point I seem to recall the NYT had an article that was sort of a how-to-mix-and-match on making salads. Green, proteins, dressings, toppings, add in veggies etc.

I cannot find it but here is a link to a useful article https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?unlocked_article_code=1.R08.oxO0.Flxgt2f8UC7A&smid=url-share

101 Simple Salads for the Season

It supposedly is shared so you don't need to be a subscriber. Not sure how that works as I've not shared a sharing link before.

Think hamburger: Lettuce (your favorite) tossed with tomatoes, onion, bacon cooked crumbled, sesame seeds toasted. Dress with 2 Tablespoons mayo, One Tablespoon ketchup, 2t mustard, a pickle and splash of pickle juice swirled in a mini chopper. Serve with Potato stix as croutons.

I love a good greek salad and it’s easy to wing it, but this is truly one of the best I’ve ever had. Some sort of protein could be added but I like it as is

Mtn, the linked works for me. Lots of good ideas there. Thanks for sharing!

I am bookmarking this thread for me.

Check this little caprese salad. Looks so cute, can even be done in advance for a ladies lunch.

https://theherbeevore.com/mini-caprese-skewers-recipe-no-cook-vegetarian-appetizer/

This is the article i was originally thinking of, but I don't see where to share it. It is a veritable encyclopedia of salad!

https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/salad

Definitely a saveworthy post, thank you.

I don't know if I'd call it light, but a spinach salad with hard-boiled egg, bacon, and avocado is one of my faves. I like a blue cheese dressing with it, but it would be great with something lighter as well.

I've posted my Southwest Corn and Bean salad before. It's pantry-friendly, with a base of two cans of black beans and a can of corn. Diced onion, roma tomato, and avocado round out the base (the color combo of black, yellow, red, white, and green, make it a very pretty and festive salad). I dress it with lime juice seasoned with salt and a generous amount of garlic and cumin and maybe a bit of chili powder if you are so inclined. With the avocado providing fat to the salad, I don't find that it needs a dressing with oil.

I never, ever get tired of Thai or Vietnamese spring roll-ups made with rice paper. The combinations are endless; I love the crisp crunch and fresh flavor and will add one of my favorite protein sources into the mix.

That sounds delicious!! And as chance would have it, I have leftover rotisserie chicken and everything else! Thank you!

I like to add toasted cashews or almonds to a salad made of chicken and mixed greens. Also, fresh manderin or halved green grapes.

Caprese salad is easy and never lets me down. Especially since soon we will have a lot of tomatoes coming in.

I usually use chicken thighs because I find white meat too dry. I bake them with bbq sauce, curry seasoning, or lemon pepper. This is my go-to lunch just over greens, cherry tomatoes, mini cukes, some type of cheese (blue, feta, goat), and basalmic dressing. I sometimes add black beans for extra fiber and protein. This base works well with other proteins like salmon or steak.

Outside, can you post a link to that particular Greek salad? That is one of my favorite meals! (The recipe is tough to read as is.)

I thought I had posted this, but maybe no.

Tuna Salad with White Beans from The Tucci Table by way of Leite’s Culinaria

https://leitesculinaria.com/234738/recipes-tuna-salad-white-beans.html

33 grams of protein per serving!

I am so not a fan of beans, but prepared like this, they are declicious!

I love tuna and white beans together -- havent done this in awhile so thanks for the reminder, Bbstx!

I havent tried this one yet -- but i cant see how it can do wrong! My local wegmans has a great grilled with basting oil shrimp already cooked and I will spice up a bit this first time just because I have limited time. I think the dressing sounds divine ..

Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad - Skinnytaste (link)

ETA I WILL make the shrimp as in the recipe in the future-- just not this week.