12 Favorite Salads for Hot Summer Days – Fresh, Flavorful, Fabulous

12 Favorite Salads that Make the Most of Summer Produce

Between backyard gardens and local farmers’ markets, what an abundance of summer produce we have. And with the warm and sometimes hot summer days, perhaps you’ve also been enjoying much of that produce in fresh salads at least once if not twice a day. After six years of sharing recipes with you on Everyday Healthy! Everyday Delicious!, you can find a wide variety of salad recipes here. I’ve made it easier for you to choose with this alphabetical list of 12 favorite salads for hot summer days. These are the summer (and sometimes spring and fall) salads you’ll want to make over and over again. With no-fail recipes, these salads always work and always please.

Each of these 12 favorite salads makes the most of summer produce. From pale green to rich burgundy lettuces, sweet sugar snap peas, tender beets and leafy greens, crunchy cucumbers, boldly flavored garlic scapes, fresh basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, chives and lavender, as well as deep red rhubarb and luscious dark, sweet cherries and berries.

Arugula, Fennel, Apple Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Crisp, peppery greens balanced with sweet apples, fennel, toasted almonds and tossed in a tangy vinaigrette dressing. I’ve especially included this salad in this list because of the Apple Cider Vinaigrette. It’s become my go-to salad dressing for any time of the year.

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, Mint

This salad hits all the right notes with its gorgeous color, healthy ingredients and delicious contrast of bright flavors and crisp and creamy textures.

Curried Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries & Toasted Almonds

High in both flavor and nutrition, Curried Quinoa Salad is great for traveling, picnics, weekday lunch and even breakfast. Truly one of my all-time favorite salads.

French Green Lentil Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Lots of Fresh Herbs, Kalamatas & Feta

A clean and bright salad with the garden’s bounty of fresh parsley, mint, oregano, scallions and earthy, quick-cooking French green du Puy Lentils. Everything’s tossed together with a tangy Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette.

Fresh Tomato Salad

This essential summer salad requires only a gentle tossing of firm, ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs with your best olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper.

A Superb Greek Salad

Make this superb Greek Salad with summer’s freshest produce, for a fresh, vibrant, easy side salad or entrée. A summer classic combining the perfect balance of sweet, salty, sour and pungent flavors. Kali órexi!

Parsley Farro Salad with Red Pepper, Cashews & Feta

A variation on Tabouli with its abundance of parsley, scallions and fresh lemon juice. Though with sweet red pepper, marinated feta cheese, toasted cashews, more herbs and spices, Parsley Farro Salad has a flavor profile all its own. Adapted from and inspired by an Ottolenghi recipe.

Red White and Blue Potato Salad
with Mustard Vinaigrette and Fresh Herbs

Love this French potato salad prepared with a vinaigrette dressing instead of mayonnaise. Your choice to make it colorful with red, white and blue potatoes, or all one color. It’s especially tasty served while still warm or at room temperature.

Tabouli Salad with Quinoa, Avocado and Feta 

This is the salad that inspired my growing “a Tabouli garden.” Every year I grow scallions, tomatoes, lots of parsley and mint and sometimes cucumbers, too. It’s so wonderful to pick most everything fresh from the Tabouli garden. Nutrient dense quinoa makes a most delicious Tabouli Salad.

Thai Rice Noodle Salad

Thai Rice Noodle Salad combines everything we love about Thai food. It combines light, clean and complex flavors with an abundance of colorful vegetables and fresh herbs. Inspired by and adapted from a recipe from Linda Huang of The Hummingbird’s Kitchen.

Tuscan White Bean Salad

Fifteen minutes to prepare this very easy and boldly flavored Tuscan White Bean Salad. If you love the foods and bright flavors of the Mediterranean, then you probably already have all of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge. When possible, let the salad sit an hour or more before eating. The beans become seasoned through and through, making their flavor pop even more.

Watermelon Salad w/ Arugula, Feta & Greek Olives

One bite may be sweet with watermelon. The next may be salty with feta and a bit of Kalamata olive. Another bite surprises with the mild heat of a Serrano pepper. Then you notice arugula’s crisp and peppery assertiveness. The drizzle of fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil brings the flavors together for a most refreshing, colorful and inviting summer salad.