9 Fresh Salads To Make This Summer

A delicious collection of our favorite fresh salads for summer!

Salad are back in our meal plan rotation for summer! I love a ginormous, bountiful salad packed with colorful nutrient-dense produce!

Here are a few of our favorite refreshing salad recipes that we love to make again and again. Also, make sure to scroll to the end for a round-up of my favorite kitchen tools for quickly whipping up fresh salads!

1. Grilled Peach & Burrata Salad

Summer peach season makes this salad the perfect recipe to add to your meal plan! The flavors are all so fresh and delicious. And it only takes about 20 minutes to whip it together! You have to try it!

2. The Ultimate Summer Salad

A salad we’ve been making since 2011!!!!

What makes this salad so scrumptious is the combination of yummy ingredients, paired with a made-from-scratch berry dressing. Fresh, easy, and colorful, this fabulous salad is sure to be a hit at your next summer outing!

3. Pulled Pork Salad

This delicious pulled pork salad is the most perfect way to enjoy leftover pork. It’s hearty, filling, and packed with a combination of sweet corn, crunchy lettuce, smokey pork, and topped with a tangy dressing. It’s kind of like a deconstructed pulled pork sandwich but is low-carb, gluten-free and packed with healthy produce. And it only takes a few minutes to assemble!

4. The Best Chicken Cobb Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

Another one of our family favorite salads — chicken cobb salad with air-fried chicken! You can technically grill the chicken if you prefer, but the air fryer gives the chicken the perfect crispiness! And our entire family loves this salad — kids included (Caroline picks all of the onion & tomatoes out of hers and Thomas picks all of the onions & avocados out of his).

This is also a perfect salad for bringing to your next gathering. It’s refreshing and SO pretty once it’s all assembled! And it’s easy to make ahead of time and stores well.

5. Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This delicious salad with sweet poppy seed dressing may be our kids favorite salad I make!

6. Easy Black Bean Taco Salad (Dairy-Free & Vegan)

This one couldn’t be easier to throw together and it’s dairy-free and vegan! I have a pretty small percentage of vegan readers but it seems I have a lot of dairy-free readers! I hope you all love this salad as much as we do. This is one of the handfuls of salad recipes that no one complains about when I serve it — so it stays in our rotation!

7. Watermelon Feta Salad

This refreshing watermelon feta salad is a delicious sweet and salty combination of fresh ingredients for summer. Quick and simple to toss together, this salad makes for the perfect summer side dish for your next cookout, potluck, Sunday brunch, or dinner al fresco.

– Our Favorite Salad Tools –

8. The Jennifer Aniston Friends Salad

The viral salad that Jennifer Aniston ate every day, for 10 years while on-set of the Friends show (allegedly)! Regardless, it’s so good.

The salad has apparently been adapted over the years but the viral recipe includes a high protein combination of grains, red onion, extra virgin olive oil, chopped pistachios, crumbled feta cheese, garbanzo beans, fresh herbs (fresh mint, fresh parsley), lemon juice, and fresh veggies.

9. Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad Recipe

Did you know Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Salad recipe was released by the chain after it was discontinued in 2017? While this beloved classic can no longer be ordered in the restaurant, you can make it at home — and it is just as delicious as I remember!

The homemade version follows the original recipe, combining tender chunks of Chick-fil-A chicken with a hint of sweetness from sweet pickle relish and a satisfying crunch from diced celery. This 5-ingredient recipe is easy to make and is deliciously creamy and savory.

My Favorite Salad Tools

If you’re making lots of salads this summer, I highly recommend stocking your kitchen with the tools you need to make dinnertime a breeze. Here are a few of my favorite salad tools!

Salad Dressing Shaker: I use this shaker for all of our homemade dressings and marinades. I also have the smaller size too which is perfect for storing leftover dressing to use throughout the week.
Salad Chopper & Bowl: This set makes it a breeze to quickly chop up greens into perfect bite-size pieces. You can purchase just the chopper separately, but I would highly recommend the set because the bowl is huge and curved too so it’s easy to run the chopper through it.
Vegetable Peeler: Perfect for peeling potatoes, apples, carrots, cucumbers, and more.
Herb Saver: This container keep our herbs fresh for what feels like forever. It includes 3 removable dividers, air vents in the lid help herbs to breathe, and a collapsible clear lid for storage.
Egg Slicer: For perfectly sliced hard-boiled eggs. We also use ours for cutting soft fruit like strawberries.
Melon Baller: We love this tool for scooping out decorative balls from melons for our salads with fruit! This melon baller features two different-sized scoops — 1 inch and 1-1/4 inch diameter.
Herb Stripper: Strips kale, collard greens, chard, and herb leaves from stems in seconds! It also works well with woody herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, and taragon.
Breville Air Fryer Smart Oven: Hands down, my favorite kitchen gadget (maybe of all time). We use this almost every night to quickly air fry/roast/bake proteins and veggies. I love how this appliance combines several into one so it gives me a lot more counter space back!
Lemon & Lime Squeezer/Juicer: Another fave gadget for squeezing fresh fruit for cocktails, salad dressings, sauces and so much more!
Kosterina EVOO: Last Christmas one of my girlfriends brought this incredible olive oil to our Favorite Things Party and I’ve been hooked ever since. The quality of this EVOO is truly excellent. This is also the perfect housewarming or hostess gift too!
Garlic Twister: An all time top 3 favorite kitchen tool. All you do is throw a few cloves into the container and twist! And getting ALL the garlic out is so easy — just make sure to line up the twist correctly and you can scoop it all right out. It’s also easy to clean, I toss mine right into the dishwasher. Anyway, this little tool has been a game-changer in the kitchen for me. HIGHLY recommend!!!
Citrus Zester: This hand grater has a razor-sharp stainless steel blade for zesting cheese, citrus, vegetables and more.
Rapid Egg Cooker: Been using this miracle egg cooker since 2018! It can whip up hard boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, individual omelets, and all within minutes of the push start button – it is amazing.
Glass Containers: Two years ago I ditched our plastic tupperware for these glass containers! This set comes with 18 pieces.
Herb Scissors: For quickly and evenly chopping your green onions into perfect size pieces.
Fruit & Veggie Storage Savers: These containers extend the life of our produce SO much further!