My Five Go-To Summer Salad Recipes I Keep on Repeat (Heathy, Easy and Crowd-Pleasing)
Make summer meals easy, healthy, and delicious with these 5 simple salad recipes I keep on repeat all season. Perfect for pool days, BBQs, park picnics, and anytime healthy snacks.
Summer is for ease, sunshine, and saying yes to fun.
One way I bring that energy into our daily rhythm is with simple, nourishing meals I don’t have to overthink. These five summer salads are on constant rotation in my house—each one is easy to prep, totally craveable, and perfect for everything from lunch at home to park concerts, BBQs, pool days, and everything in between.
Whether you're trying to eat lighter, pack more plants into your day, or just want to avoid turning on the stove—these recipes will make it easy to keep your cool (literally).
Obviously this is not a food blog and I am not a recipe developer. I am going to share these recipes exactly how I make them which means I don’t really measure and I go on my taste. That’s how simple and fail proof these recipes are! Give them a try and customize to your liking! Also, I will plan to photograph these soon and add in the photos. I personally love seeing what I am making and I’m sure some of you do as well!
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Why I love it: What The only thing you need to cook is the Orzo which takes less than 10 minutes. The other ingredients are simply chopped and tossed in with the orzo so the entire salad comes together in a flash. This orzo salad always gets rave reviews at parties.
Ingredients:
1 bag orzo
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 jar marinated sun dried tomatoes in oil - I use the Trader Joe’s brand
1 zucchini, chopped into half inch pieces
1 jar artichoke hearts in water, drained and roughly chopped
Capers - approx 2 TBSP. I love capers and can always add more!
Feta - approx ½ cup. I personally like the Feta in brine and crumbling myself but crumbled works fine as well
Fresh Basil - Approx 1 TBSP chopped
Directions:
Cook orzo per package.
While waiting for orzo to cook, prep all other ingredients.
Once orzo is cooked, drain water and add sun dried tomatoes in their oil and zucchini. I find this helps the orzo soak up the flavor of the oil and allows for the zucchini to soften just a bit. Add remaining ingredients. Give it a taste, if you need you can add a little more olive oil or any other seasoning you may prefer. Top with fresh chopped basil if you want!
Pack in the protein: Simply top with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp.
Perfect for: Easy and light dinner, BBQ, picnic in the park.
Edamame, Cucumber & Garbanzo Bean Salad
Why I love it: Once again this salad is easy, fresh, healthy and comes together so quickly. The lemon zest is a great addition to this salad and I often bring this to the pool for my lunch as it transports so well and only gets better the longer it sits.
Ingredients:
I package fresh edamame - I use Trader Joe’s
1 can garbanzo beans - rinsed and drained
3 Persian Cucumbers - chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ of lemon
Olive oil - approx. ½ cup
*Avocado - See note below
**Feta- See note below
Directions:
Add edamame, garbanzo beans and cucumbers to the bowl. In a separate bowl make the dressing. Start with about ½ cup of olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and adjust to your liking. I do not use a lot of salt but you may want to add. When you get your desired taste add to the bowl and mix well.
*I love to add avocado to this recipe but they brown quickly. If you want to add avocado I recommend adding just before you serve. If you are having a single serving for yourself just add to your individual serving.
**Feta is a delicious addition to this salad. If I’m hosting guests and I put feta in the orzo salad I may omit it. Additionally I may omit cheese altogether to have a vegan option for guests.
Pack in the protein:: Top with wedges of hard boiled eggs.
Perfect for: Poolside lunches, Mom get together with a glass of rosé.
Herby Potato Salad
Why I love it: The entire salad comes together so quickly, the herbs are delicious and the olive oil in place of mayonnaise makes it a much healthier option. It also looks beautiful and makes me feel like I am having lunch in Provence! I even reheat this salad in the morning and eat with my dippy eggs.
Ingredients:
1 Small bag Red Potatoes and Fingerling Potatoes - I like to mix my potatoes but not necessary. I get the bags from Trader Joe’s. Cut into bite sized pieces. It works out to about 3 cups chopped, approx. Adjust for the size of dish you want to make.
½ cup diced red onion
3 green onions, green parts chopped
2 tbsp capers
Approx 1 tbsp each chopped parsley, dill, basil
Approx ½ cup olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
Stone ground mustard - I use Trager Joe’s
Directions:
Boil Potatoes until they are just fork tender. Potatoes will continue to cook out of the water so be careful not to overcook. However, even if you do (like I did last weekend) this is still a crowd pleaser and everyone will ask you for the recipe!
While potatoes are boiling prep other ingredients and make dressing.
Dressing - in a bowl mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, stone ground mustard. Taste and adjust to your liking.
Once potatoes are ready drain water and add to bowl. Add chopped red onions first. I like to do this so that they get a good little steam from the potatoes.
Add remaining ingredients and dressing.
Toss everything to combine.
Taste and adjust. You may want more herbs, more capers, dressing, etc.
Pack in the protein: Delicious with salamon.
Perfect for: Make ahead for camping trips, easy dinner side, cookout
Arugula, Citrus, White Bean and Beet Salad
Why I love it: I want a salad that really packs a punch, leaving me feeling fueled and satisfied. The variety of flavors in this salad does just that. The spicy arugula paired with citrus and beet make this a great combo.
Ingredients:
Handful of arugula
½ orange, peeled, torn and cut into pieces (In the fall I change out the citrus for apple)
¼ cup white beans, rinsed and drained. (Garbanzo or butter beans could work as well)
1 beet cut into bite sized cubes. Costco and Trader Joe’s both sell fresh, pre-cooked and ready to eat beets that are delicious.
½ cup persian cucumber cut into bite sized cubes
Pumpkin seeds for topping, optional
Dressing:
½ cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Honey
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
2 tsp Stone ground mustard
Directions:
Assemble all ingredients in a bowl. Top with dressing below or simply olive oil and lemon juice or olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss and enjoy!
For the dressing - I like to keep a jar of my favorite dressing in the fridge. Usually I will turn an almost empty honey jar into the dressing jar as the honey is already there. Simply add all ingredients to taste. My measurements above are approximate.
Pack in the protein:: Top with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp.
Perfect for: Light yet satisfying lunch, add protein and a baguette for a simple summer concert in the park picnic.
Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Why I love it: Incredibly easy to make and customize to your liking. Light, fresh and great anytime meal.
Ingredients:
1 cup Couscous prepared per package directions
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 green onions, green part only, chopped
Tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped into small pieces, about 1 cup total when chopped
Persian cucumbers, chopped into small pieces, about 1 cup total when chopped
½ cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
½ cup Olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
Directions:
In bowl combine olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and adjust per your liking.
Combine all salad ingredients. Add dressing mixture and toss thoroughly. Pack in the protein:: Top with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp. Add in 1 cup of garbanzo beans.
Perfect for: Meal prep, summer BBQ, lunch with friends
💫 Final Thought: Fuel Your Summer, Magically
Summer can be both joyful and nourishing—you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. These salads are one tiny way I bring intention, simplicity, and pleasure into our family rhythm.
Let me know if you try one—or if you have a favorite summer salad that’s on repeat in your kitchen too!