Spring is coming and that means longer, warmer days, plenty of sunshine, and lots of fresh spring greens and early veggies from the garden. What better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than with some delicious and easy spring salad recipes that the whole family will love?
Salads are so versatile, and there are so many different salad ideas to enjoy. Here are some fresh spring salad ideas that you’ve simply got to try! They’re perfect for refreshing your weekly rotation and make great additions to your list of meal plan ideas for the season.
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Whether you’re planning quick lunch recipes, easy weeknight dinners, or something in between, these different types of salads are great spring food ideas sure to inspire plenty of enjoyable spring meals. I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up making your favorites on repeat all season!
If you’re looking for a filling, healthy, and refreshing salad that celebrates all the flavors of spring, this farro salad with quinoa is the recipe that you are looking for. Asparagus, peas, feta cheese, and mint are all combined with hearty farro for a delicious vegetarian dish that everyone will love. The tangy homemade lemon vinaigrette brings a fresh citrus flavor that really kicks this spring salad up a notch.
You’ll love this simply delicious Greek Chicken salad with a homemade lemon vinaigrette dressing. It uses a flavorful store-bought rotisserie chicken which means less time in the kitchen for you. Rotisserie chickens are a wonderful kitchen shortcut for busy days. The remaining ingredients are probably items you already have on hand. You can use any type of dressing you like for this fresh spring salad, however the homemade lemon vinaigrette really gives it a burst of fresh and refreshing spring flavor you’ll love.
This Oriental Chicken Salad with DIY Asian Salad Dressing is a deliciously fresh and easy meal that’s perfect for spring. With crisp romaine (or spring mix), tender chicken, crunchy rice noodles, slivered almonds, and green spring onions, it’s packed with flavor and texture. The simple homemade dressing adds a sweet and tangy twist that pulls everything together. Perfect for a light lunch, easy dinner, or meal prep!
This Mediterranean quinoa salad is perfect for anyone who likes to meal prep because you can make a big batch and eat it all week long. Healthy and filling quinoa is brought to life with plenty of fresh veggies, olives, red onion, feta cheese, and a fantastic lemon and oregano vinaigrette dressing. You can serve this filling salad as a main dish or as a side dish for all of your favorite spring dinners.
This colorful salad is a delicious way to get more veggies into your diet. Made with orzo, a light rice-shaped pasta, fresh asparagus, feta cheese, shallots, and crispy bacon, it’s a crave-worthy salad you’ll enjoy eating often. You could add some grilled chicken to make it a complete meal, or serve it as a side dish all season long.
Spring is the season for asparagus and you’ll be so glad that it is once you try this roasted asparagus and red pepper quinoa salad. This spring salad is bursting with fresh flavors, it’s vegan and gluten-free and it tastes amazing! Quinoa, asparagus, roasted red peppers, garbanzo beans, and shallots all come together for a delicious salad that you will enjoy all season long!
If you are looking for a different salad idea that’s perfect for spring and outdoor gatherings, then you need to try this Panzanella salad. Crunchy croutons, fresh tomatoes, zucchini, red onions, and mozzarella and parmesan cheese are a powerfully delicious combination that everyone will love. This is also a great way to use up any stale bread you have sitting on the counter.
Warm spring days are the perfect time for a colorful salad made with spinach and three different kinds of berries. This spinach and berry salad is full of textures and flavors with crunchy walnuts, creamy goat cheese, flavorful sweet berries, and a tangy homemade poppyseed dressing that gives it a zing of flavor that you're going to love.
If you like elote, or Mexican street corn, then you’re going to love this street corn pasta salad. It’s creamy and zesty, and you can easily adjust the amount of spice. It’s a delicious salad for those warm spring days, and it’s sure to become a family hit with the sweet roasted corn, tangy lime juice, and salty cotija cheese.
There are multiple ways to serve this delicious, healthy chicken salad, and the recipe includes two different kinds of dressing. This amazing spring salad can be served on a bed of greens, in a wrap, on a bun, or with crackers for dipping. You can serve it with Greek yogurt and Dijon dressing or with a smooth and creamy avocado dressing that only takes three ingredients to make.
If you’re looking for a filling salad idea for spring you need to try this potato asparagus salad. It’s got everything you need for a complete meal with hard-boiled eggs, asparagus, ham, and so much delicious flavor. You could serve this hearty salad as a main course, but it's perfect as a side dish or for taking to spring cookouts too.
This main course healthy spring chicken salad looks like spring on a plate! Filled with varying shades of green from the romaine lettuce, asparagus, green peas, cucumber, and mint, this salad is beautiful and refreshing. The addition of chicken, feta cheese, and a zesty dressing really takes it over the top.
Spring marks the return of beautiful vibrant colors so this colorful salad fits right in. Orange, blue, red, and green are all featured in this delicious salad with carrots, blueberries, red onions, and romaine lettuce. This spring mix salad is a perfect addition to picnics and springtime dinner menus.
If you’re in the mood for something tropical and refreshing, then this mango avocado salad is a recipe that you need to try. This salad has brightly colored mango, creamy avocado,
juicy orange and pineapple chunks, crunchy walnuts, and tangy gorgonzola cheese. Top it with a bright and zesty homemade vinaigrette dressing for a salad experience that you won’t soon forget. This salad can be served on a bed of lettuce, by itself, or added to a wrap or sandwich for a boost of tropical flavor.
More Ideas for Your Spring Meal Planning
12 Freezer Friendly Meals For Easy Spring Dinners
34 Early Spring Dinner Ideas: Fresh Flavors for Delectable Spring Meals {Free Printable}
54 Tasty Spring Crockpot Chicken Recipes For EASY Cooking This Season
Struggling with meal planning? My Essential Meal Planning Printables are here to help you out. Whether you’re planning meals for a week or a month, these pages are designed to fit your lifestyle. Say goodbye to wasted food and hello to easy, stress-free meal planning!
My Spring Salad-Making Must Have Tools
Preparing spring salads is so much easier with the proper tools!
Heavy-duty sheet pans — great for roasting meats or vegetables for your salads or for carrying cooked foods in from the grill. I use both half-size and quarter-size sheet pans.
*Note: I have linked to aluminum pans, which I use daily even though they are almost the only things in my kitchen that are not dishwasher-safe. I would prefer stainless pans that can go into the dishwasher, but I have yet to find any that are highly-rated and warp-free. When roasting, I coat the pan with oil or use parchment paper sheets.
Sheet pan lids — LOVE these for thawing frozen items like chicken or steak and then popping into the dishwasher afterward. They’re also great for covering a sheet pan and the universal size fits my different brands of half-size sheet pans.
Flexible cutting boards — Having several boards makes prep easy, and a ‘grippy’ back is a plus!
Knives — A good variety of knives is great for salad prep, plus sometimes you can ‘cheat’ and run them through the dishwasher. I know you’re not supposed to, and I would never do it with expensive knives, but sometimes a less expensive knife set serves all of the necessary purposes and makes life a little easier.
Egg slicer that can go into the dishwasher. I love hard-boiled eggs on my salads, so this tool gets used a lot and it’s important that I don’t have to spend an hour cleaning it.
Plastic storage containers — stackable is best for prepped salad ingredients.
Large mixing bowl with lid — I have two (one kept ‘pretty’ to use for parties and one everyday workhorse) — perfect for mixing salads, mixing and seasoning vegetables before roasting, soaking beans overnight, storing a prepped dinner salad in the fridge, and all sorts of general kitchen needs.
My large bowls are older-style Tupperware and I’m not even sure they make those anymore. If I were buying bowls today, I would get this stacking stainless steel set with lids.
Silicone mixing spatulas — I have 2 large size AND 2 medium size; I use at least 2-3 of them almost every day.
Silicone-tipped tongs for mixing and serving salads. They’re not fancy, but the open/close button on the side means I can use them one-handed. I have two because I use them ALL the time.
Salad spinner — because making all of these salads means prepping a LOT of lettuce.
Food chopper — helps with chopping vegetables, eggs, or nuts into smaller pieces for salads if you’re not great with a knife.
A good ‘personal’ blender — This is nice to have when making salad dressings – not too large, and you don’t have to scrape down into a deep jar to get all of the yummy dressing for your salad.
Some people tend to think that salads are ‘boring’ – but as you can see with the many different amazing salads here, they are anything BUT boring! They are flavorful, delicious, and healthy, and they’re the perfect companion to springtime lunch and dinner tables. From rich and hearty, to light and airy there is a perfect spring salad out there for everyone. Enjoy!
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