Delicious Dinner Salad Recipes

These dinner salads will keep you interested in your greens, thanks to varied flavors and a range of proteins. Plus, try a basic vinaigrette that goes with everything.

Related To:

Greek Salad With Oregano Marinated Grilled Chicken

Chicken possesses Grecian flair when marinated in a citrus-spiked oregano rub, grilled and then nestled atop a mountain of romaine, kalamata olives and feta. The salad dressing echoes the marinade with extra oregano and lemon juice.

Get the Recipe: Greek Salad with Oregano Marinated Chicken

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Curry your crowd's favor with this recipe's healthy and exotic marinade. It adds Thai flavors to both flank steak and the salad beneath it, with citrus, ginger and red curry paste. 

Get the Recipe: Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Blackened Chicken Salad

Chuck Hughes builds intense flavor in every layer of this salad, from the chicken blackened by both smoked paprika and smoked sea salt to a flavorful tomato-spiked French vinaigrette. 

Get the Recipe: Blackened Chicken Salad

broiled flank steak with grilled champagne grapes and a bitter greens and blue cheese salad

Enjoy thin strips of flavorful flank steak alongside champagne grapes — charred and blistered to bring out their concentrated sweetness — and a lightly dressed blue cheese and pecan salad.

Get the Recipe: Broiled Flank Steak with Grilled Champagne Grapes and a Bitter Greens and Blue Cheese Salad

Southwestern Shrimp Salad

This lively Tex-Mex salad boasts so many flavors and textures, it defies simple description. Chipotle-flavored shrimp, toasted pumpkin seeds, a citrus-cotija cheese dressing and crunchy cabbage are just a handful of its many ingredients.

Get the Recipe: Southwestern Shrimp Salad

buffalo chicken salad

If you love Buffalo wings, then this is one recipe that's worth a test drive. Ellie's blue cheese dressing delivers salty, creamy flavor with a fraction of the fat thanks to fat-free yogurt in place of mayo.

Get the Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Salad

Salad Nicoise

Provence is just one plate away when you construct this colorful salad that's both delicate and hearty at the same time. Tuna and red potatoes make it a meal while sour nicoise olives and fresh parsley vinaigrette diversify each bite. Bon appetit!

Get the Recipe: Salad Nicoise

Antipasto Trifle Salad

Though ordinarily laid out on a platter to be picked at and enjoyed one ingredient at a time, meats such as mortadella and soppressata come together nicely with artichoke hearts, tomatoes and more when layered in the same fashion as the classic British dessert.

Get the Recipe: Antipasto Trifle Salad

curried chicken and mango salad

This chicken salad made with a yogurt-based curry sauce, mango and apple is healthy, flavorful and just the right amount of sweet.

Get the Recipe: Curried Chicken and Mango Salad

Tuna Bean Salad

Chickpeas, red kidney beans and green beans make a filling, protein-packed bed for tuna with a yogurt and tahini dressing.

Get the Recipe: Tuna Bean Salad

kale buttermilk caesar salad with chicken

This hearty dinner salad is extra satisfying thanks to a creamy garlicky dressing and crisp whole-wheat croutons. Even when dressed, kale is a nutrient powerhouse that won't wilt, which makes this salad a good pick to pack ahead for lunch.

Get the Recipe: Kale Buttermilk Caesar Salad with Chicken

Chinese Chopped Chicken Salad With Peanuts

This salad is a study in flavors: Soy and ponzu add their salty brine to the dressing while fresh orange juice adds welcome sweetness. Gently charred peanuts and chile flakes round out the powerful plate. 

Get the Recipe: Chinese Chopped Chicken Salad with "Wok"-Fried Spicy Peanuts

garlicky grilled chicken, portobello and radicchio salad

Toss chicken, mushrooms and radicchio in a garlic-herb marinade for a terrific grilled vegetable salad with substance.

Get the Recipe: Garlicky Grilled Chicken, Portobello, and Radicchio Salad

Fennel Caprese Salad With Tomato Jam Toasts

For a new spin on a classic caprese salad, toss the mozzarella and basil with watercress and fennel, which add peppery and anise flavors to the mix. Tomatoes are turned into a jam that tops toasts and complements the light dressing.

Get the Recipe: Fennel Caprese Salad with Tomato Jam Toasts

Herb Radicchio Salad With French Lentils

Lentils, bacon lardons and shallots add rustic, earthy flavors to bitter radicchio — perfect for pairing with a full-bodied Merlot.

Get the Recipe: Herb Radicchio Salad with French Lentils

Mushroom Spinach Thai Salad

By adding soy sauce, basil, sesame seeds and jalapenos to a bed of spinach — rather than a wok — you can enjoy some of your favorite Thai flavors in lighter form.

Get the Recipe: Mushroom Spinach Thai Salad

Composed Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Rows of grilled chicken and eggplant, haloumi cheese, cucumbers and roasted peppers form a salad that's beautiful to behold, and needs little more than extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar to be fully dressed.

Get the Recipe: Composed Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Smoked Salmon Bistro Salad

Part French fare, part bagel and smoked fish, this interesting salad calls for bitter frisee to be tossed with a creamy, acidic dressing and then piled atop bagel chips and smoked salmon. When breakfast and lunch are combined into one dish, the result is dinner!

Get the Recipe: Smoked Salmon Bistro Salad

Tofu Salad With Chive Ginger Oil

Toasted sesame seeds and miso add nutty, sweet flavors to a wispy salad of mesclun lettuce and pea shoots. Tofu easily absorbs a vegetable broth base and rounds out this salad with a salty bite.

Get the Recipe: Tofu Salad with Chive Ginger Oil

Easy Dijon Vinaigrette

This simple vinaigrette works as a wonderful topping to nearly any type of salad. To make, whisk together 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Then whisk in 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a thin stream.