We’re all about celebrating produce at Delish, and a nice, simple salad is one of the best ways to showcase all your favorite greens. Just a little dressing on some kale or arugula and you’re set for a perfect side dish for everything from casseroles to chicken. But what about when you’re not planning a big main dish, and want your salad to be the main event? You’re going to want a salad with a little more going on, like LOTS of veggies, crunchy nuts, sweet fruit, and chewy grains that will excite your palate and fill you up. Check out our list of 37 healthy salads that are hearty enough to stand alone for dinner.
One way to make a salad more substantial is to add some protein. We’ve highlighted a few salads with chicken, salmon or steak, like our buffalo chicken salad, balsamic steak salad with peaches, or our greek salmon salad, but feel free to use up any leftovers (like ham or lamb?) you’ve got. Adding them to a salad for dinner is a great way to give them new life.
And it’s not all about meat—nuts, grains and cheese can add filling protein too. Our vegan taco salad pairs black and pinto beans with nutty quinoa (and that avocado-chipotle dressing is killer too). Our halloumi salad swaps straightforward protein for big slabs of squeaky, tangy cheese (make extra, trust us!) We’ve also got two filling farro salads—if you’re unfamiliar, farro is a nutty, chewy grain (with 6 grams of protein per quarter cup!) that’s a wonderful whole grain sub for things like rice. One of our farro salads is called an “anything goes” salad for a reason—we’ve used white beans and roasted veggies, but toss in any nuts, fruit or greens you’ve got or love, and you’ll have a salad you’ll look forward to eating.
If you’re still feeling a little hungry, you know what pairs great with salad? Soup! Check out some of our top soup recipes here.
Crunch Salad
Salads are 90% about texture and more often than not, we want that texture to be crunchy. Whether it comes from a crispy lettuce such as iceberg, or the snap of a cucumber, we find salads infinitely more enjoyable when they have some bite. Every ingredient here like green apple, roasted peanuts, and cabbage have been chosen to amplify texture while also adding bold flavors. Go ahead and add your faves!
Get the Crunch Salad recipe.
Cobb Salad
In terms of Cobb salad, you can take a lot of different routes. Our recipe is filled with crispy bacon, hard-boiled eggs, chicken breast, and creamy avocado, but feel free to swap in your faves (like chopped chicken nuggets maybe?)
Get the Cobb Salad recipe.
Buffalo Chicken Salad
This buffalo chicken salad has it all. It's the best way to eat your buffalo chicken wings, covered in a homemade ranch dressing, with all of our favorite sides. Bonus, no saucy orange fingers!
Get the Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe.
Farro Salad
If you haven't tried farro before, get on it—pronto. It's one of our absolute favorite grains: chewy and toothsome with just a hint of nuttiness.
Get the Best-Ever Farro Salad recipe.
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad
Grilled chicken salad—filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado—is the healthy summer dinner recipe we tend to make again and again. If you're vegetarian, try subbing in hard boiled eggs for the chicken!
Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad
This is the perfect salad: creamy goat cheese (sub feta if you prefer it), roasted beets, avocado. We love arugula for its peppery bite, but feel free to swap in whatever salad green you like.
Vegan Taco Salad
Our favorite taco salad got a vegan makeover. Filled with grains and two different types of beans, it's a filling salad worthy of your dinner table. The spicy dressing brings tons of flavor and is our favorite part of the salad. Top it will all of your favorites like cherry tomatoes and tortilla chips for a little crunch!
Get the Vegan Taco Salad recipe.
Antipasto Chickpea Salad
This versatile chickpea salad is a great side dish (hello, potlucks!) but can easily be a full meal on its own! Adding a spoonful of Dijon mustard to your red wine vinaigrette makes it creamier in both taste and body—consider it your secret weapon in making a classic dressing just that much better.
Get the Antipasto Chickpea Salad recipe.
Beef Taco Salad
When it comes to dinner salads, none are more hearty than taco salad. Load it up with veggies, cheese, and ground beef for an extra satisfying weeknight dinner. We love this classic version, but if you want to get fancy we've got some easy substitutions and additions too.
Get the Beef Taco Salad recipe.
Anything Goes Grain Salad
We love a giant grain salad that is full of so many beautiful things! This farro and white bean salad has roasted veggies along with crunchy veggies like bell pepper and radicchio. It's all tossed in a bright lemony dressing and finished with some goat cheese to add the creamy tanginess. It's as flavorful as it is beautiful and we can't get enough of it.
Get the Anything Goes Grain Salad recipe.
Greek Salmon Salad
Whenever we're craving a salad, it usually mean we want something super fresh and crisp with lots of flavor. This gorgeous salad is hearty enough to be dinner. While the salmon is cooking, you can get all of your veggie chopping done too, and it'll all come together in less than 30 minutes.
Get the Greek Salmon Salad recipe.
Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad With Peaches
Peppery arugula is the perfect vessel for this savory-sweet combo, and you just can't beat ripe, juicy peaches come summertime. We love this with funky blue cheese crumbles, but you can use feta too if you prefer.
Classic Chef Salad
The chef salad has been around for a long time and it's a great staple to turn to. It typically comes with three kinds of meat, two cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, and lots of veggies, but really these toppings are just a jumping off point—get creative!
Get the Classic Chef Salad recipe.
Vegan Antipasto Chopped Salad
If, like us, you can’t resist a good olive bar, this recipe was made for you. Perfect as a main and even better paired with vegan pizza, this zesty, crunchy salad is an Italian flavor bomb.
Get the Vegan Antipasto Chopped Salad recipe.
Halloumi Salad
We think it's due time that halloumi, the brined Cypriot cheese, got its time in the spotlight. Besides the delightfully squeaky texture (where the cheese curd lovers at?) and the tangy, salty flavor, the high melting point is really what makes this cheese stand out — when heat is applied, it develops a delicious golden crust that is so delightful in this salad.
Get the Halloumi Salad recipe.
Extra-Garlicky Wedge Salad
We attribute this salad's greatness to three things: 1) a homemade garlic confit and blue cheese dressing that will knock your socks off, 2) fresh herbs both in the dressing and as garnish, and 3) thick. cut. bacon.
Get the Extra-Garlicky Wedge Salad recipe.
Tomato Fried Rice Salad
This bowl of warm, savory grains and tender, dressed greens with creamy crumbly feta is as much a salad as it is a rice bowl. It's perfect for spring when the weather drops from warm out to freezing.
Get the Tomato Fried Rice Salad recipe.
Coconut Ranch Kale Salad
The best salads are loaded with roasted veggies and topped with a creamy dressing. This vegan coconut ranch is absolutely irresistible. (Seriously, you'll want to dip everything in it.) But the crunchy chickpeas may just be our favorite part. Who needs croutons?
Get the Coconut Ranch Kale Salad recipe.
Crunchy Mandarin Orange-Chicken Salad
This recipe was semi-inspired by the Chinese Chicken Salad at The Cheesecake Factory, where they use wonton strips and crispy rice noodles. Instead, we sub in a block of dried ramen — broken up, the crunchy, wavy noodles act as croutons just as well. Feel free to sub the almonds for cashews or peanuts too!
Niçoise-Style Chopped Salad
Traditional French salade niçoise is a protein-packed meal made with tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, anchovies, and a nice drizzle of olive oil. For protein, we add perfect 9-minute hard-boiled eggs and high-quality oil-packed tuna (not anchovies!). Tossed with a quick-to-make Dijon vinaigrette, this is hands-down one of the most nutritious meals you can have all year round.
Get the Niçoise-Style Chopped Salad recipe.
