20 Cold Salad Recipes for a Refreshing Bite

From seafood to pasta and a few cucumber options, these are our favorite cold salad recipes to serve this season.

By

The Serious Eats Team

Updated November 21, 2024

A dark bowl with tomato-watermelon salad, sprinkled with mint and feta, — Serious Eats / Jen Causey

Spring is in full swing, and summer feels like it's just around the corner. With warmer weather comes lighter fare—think grilled meats and fish, as well as an array of no-cook options to keep the kitchen cool. What better accompaniment to these foods than a refreshingly cold salad? From seafood to pasta and a few cucumber options, these are our favorite cold salad recipes to serve this season.

Insalata di Mare (Italian Seafood Salad)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Italy's classic light, bright salad of gently cooked and marinated seafood is finished with lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and subtle spices.

Italian Seafood Salad (Insalata di Mare)
Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles

Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

Two classic dishes—Italian-style seafood salad and refreshing pasta salad—collide in this perfect warm-weather dish, bright with lemon and olive oil.

Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles
Classic Potato Salad

Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

Tangy, salty, and sweet, this potato salad has a texture that's simultaneously creamy, crunchy, and fluffy in each bite.

Classic Potato Salad
Japanese Potato Salad With Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Onion

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

This potato salad is a unique take on the classic flavor with tangy mayo, rice vinegar, and hot mustard.

Japanese Potato Salad With Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Onion

Continue to 5 of 20 below
Tomato-Watermelon Salad

Serious Eats / Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle

Sweet watermelon, juicy tomatoes, salty feta, and mint come together in this refreshing salad. Marinating sliced shallot and halved cherry tomatoes in a serrano-spiked vinaigrette mellows and melds flavors while drawing out juices, forming a delicious dressing for cubes of watermelon, torn mint, and thick slabs of salted heirloom tomatoes.

Tomato-Watermelon Salad
Caprese Salad

Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

The only trick to a great caprese salad is to use high-quality, in-season ingredients.

Caprese Salad
Creamy Cucumber Salad

Serious Eats / Lynn Wolsted

This crunchy, creamy cucumber salad is made with tahini, lemon, and fresh dill.

Creamy Cucumber Salad
Mustard Oil-Dressed Cucumber Salad

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This cucumber salad is both fiery and cool, thanks to the distinctive properties of mustard oil and spicy red pepper flakes.

Mustard Oil-Dressed Cucumber Salad

Continue to 9 of 20 below
Salata Falahiyeh (Palestinian or Farmers Salad)

Serious Eats / Mai Kakish

If all you have at home are tomatoes, onion, and mint, you can enjoy a very delicious salad.

Salata Falahiyeh (Palestinian or Farmers Salad)
Gajarachi Koshimbir (Carrot Salad with Mustard Seeds and Curry Leaves)

Serious Eats/Kanika and Jatin Sharma

Sweet, spicy, and acidic, gajarachi koshimbir features carrots tossed with lime juice, spice-infused oil, cilantro, peanuts, and grated coconut for a crunchy and aromatic side salad.

Oi Muchim (Korean Marinated Cucumber Banchan)
Sichuan-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Try smashing your cukes to create a lot of flavor in this cucumber salad.

Sichuan-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad
The Un-Composed Niçoise Salad

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

In this recipe, we abandon the rules of a classic Niçoise salad and bring you one unlike any other.

The Un-Composed Niçoise Salad

Continue to 13 of 20 below
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Serious Eats / Kevin White

Go all out and grill the chicken, romaine, and croutons for a grilled chicken Caesar salad that's a cut above the rest.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Horiatiki (Greek Salad)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

For the best Greek salad, combine traditional and non-traditional elements.

Horiatiki (Greek Salad)
Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

If you want nothing more than heavy, mayo-laden pasta, the ubiquitous deli macaroni salad is for you. This recipe, however, takes the standard and gives it a depth and tang that makes it stand out in a crowd.

Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad
Raw Corn Salad With Shiso and Basil

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Here, shiso is combined with crunchy-sweet raw corn, spicy radishes, tangy feta cheese, juicy tomatoes, and crisp sliced cucumber, with some sliced shallots for a little extra bite.

Raw Corn Salad With Shiso and Basil

Continue to 17 of 20 below
Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

This Chinese cold salad features clingy, velvety sauce, starchy noodles, and fresh vegetables.

Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Fattoush (Chopped Vegetable and Pita Salad)

Serious Eats / Mai Kakish

Crunchy, refreshing vegetables, crisp pita, and a tangy pomegranate dressing make this a satisfying salad you’ll want to eat every day.

Fattoush (Chopped Vegetable and Pita Salad)
Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải (Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad)

Serious Eats / Vy Tran

A classic Vietnamese salad of tender chicken, crunchy cabbage, sweet carrot, pickled onion, fresh herbs, and crispy toppings, served with a gingery sauce.

Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải (Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad)
Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Everything you could want in a salad—refreshing, light, and quick to prepare. Mixing in and lightly pounding green papaya just before serving ensures that it absorbs the dressing but also retains its crunch.

Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)

April 2023

Explore more:

More Serious Eats Recipes