Quick & Easy Dinner Salad Recipes: 20+ Delicious Ideas

Looking to add some extra greens to your diet? Look no further than our collection of healthy salads, packed with nutrient-rich ingredients and vibrant flavors. This post has THE BEST dinner salad recipes you’ll find on the internet. A bold claim? Well, we think it’s justified.

Whether you prefer a lemon garlic kale salad tossed with tangy vinaigrette or a medley of crunchy veggies drizzled with an herb-filled creamy dressing, we’ve got you covered. We need 5 servings of vegetables per day and most Americans aren’t getting them. These salads are a delicious way to get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals while satisfying your hunger.

This roundup is full of both main dish salads that you can serve alone as a main course and side salads to pair with your favorite entree. Some include marinades that you can make made ahead of time and others are entirely plant based. All of these salad recipes are easy and filling, made to minimize time in the kitchen.

From protein-packed bowls bursting with grilled chicken or tofu to hearty salads featuring grains like quinoa or farro, these recipes are sure to keep you satisfied and content. So grab your fork and get ready to dig into a heavenly compilation of hearty salad goodness!

Elements of a Good Dinner Salad

Salads vary in what they contain from greens to pasta and everything in-between. We’ve all had excellent salads that we can’t wait to have again and then the ho-hum forgettable dinner salad recipes that just seem lacking. Here’s how I make sure all of the salads I make are memorable and the best they can be.

1. Start with a base. It can be salad greens, quinoa or pasta or even roasted veggies. Whatever style you’re going for, you need a solid base to make up the bulk of the salad.
2. Add at least one fat-based ingredient. This could be nuts (toasted is best!), cheese, avocado, pumpkin seeds or even a super creamy dressing. Just something that adds a filling and flavorful food full of healthy fats.
3. Consider your crunch and creaminess. Texture variety is what creates the most satisfying salads. Add crunchy red pepper, cucumber, nuts, creamy avocado and make sure to mix it up.
4. Use a good dressing. An unbalanced dressing that is too acidic or too oily can throw off the whole meal. You don’t need to make a homemade salad dressing but make sure the one you choose tastes great on it’s own before dumping it in.
5. Include one show-stopper. Maybe it’s roasted or pickled beets or buttery crunchy croutons. It might be an epic dressing with a unique flavor or a perfectly ripe mango, but the BEST salad recipes always have one wow-worthy ingredient.
6. Add protein if making it a full meal. This can be meat like rotisserie chicken, shrimp, smoked salmon, or steak OR vegetarian sources like hard boiled eggs (or soft), tofu, lentils or crispy chickpeas. Make sure the protein source you choose pairs well with the rest of the salad.

Our Best Filling Dinner Salad Recipes

These are our favorite dinner salads, filled with protein and flavor. They’re hearty enough to stand on their own with chickpeas, chicken or other protein with healthy yet tasty ingredients that actually feel satisfying enough for a main dish.

Favorite Simple Green Salads

Green salads have their time and place as either main dishes or sides. These green salads are anything but boring with a base of kale, arugula, lettuce or other crisp green veggies, delicious salad dressing and the perfect blend of add-ins.

Quinoa, Pasta Salads and More

Pasta salads just scream summer BBQ but they make a perfectly good light main dish for dinner too. Just make sure they’re filling enough! Here are some of my favorite pasta and quinoa salads along with a few other surprise recipes. These salads require some cooking but are well worth the effort.

If you make any of these salad recipes I’d love to hear about it! Let me know in the comments how they turned out!