15 Refreshing Main Course-Worthy Summer Salads That Are Perfect for Hot Days

Looking for an easy summer meal? Start here.

By
Rabi Abonour
Rabi Abonour is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Rabi Abonour
Rabi Abonour is a planner specializing in transportation, but has also been a photojournalist, writer, and editor for several online and print publications.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published June 19, 2025
A plate of grilled peach salad with herbs, prosciutto, and cheese

Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

Now that summer is in full swing, I'm all about salads. This is the season for salads that can stand alone as a main course. The best ones are balanced, full of texture and flavor, and dressed with just the right amount of dressing. There should be a variety of textures and flavors to keep things interesting—think fresh, crisp vegetables and other delightful ingredients, such as briny olives, tangy feta, or satisfyingly salty anchovies. Below, we've gathered 15 of our favorite main-course-worthy salads, including a classic Cobb and Italian pasta salad, that, yes, can be served as a side, but are filling enough to be meals unto themselves.

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  • Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

    Grilled chicken caesar salad on a platter.

    Serious Eats / Kevin White

    This chicken Caesar salad is a cut above the rest. Grilling every element of the salad (except for the dressing!) infuses the salad with a smoky char, and marinating the chicken for at least 30 minutes seasons it deeply while also helping it retain moisture once it's grilled.

  • Yam Woon Sen

    A serving bowl of yam woon sen with shrimp.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    This spicy–sour noodle salad features shrimp, ground pork, fresh herbs, roasted peanuts, and a punchy dressing. It’s a dish that works equally well as a solo act for a light lunch or as part of a whole feast ensemble.

  • Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải (Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad)

    Overhead view of chicken and cabbage salad

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

    This classic Vietnamese dish has everything you want in a salad: tender chicken, crunchy cabbage, sweet carrots, pickled onions, fresh herbs, and crispy toppings. Nước chấm, a sweet, tangy dipping sauce, brings it all together.

  • The Un-Composed (i.e., Best) Niçoise Salad

    20150909-nicoise-salad-vicky-wasik-9.jpg

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    The Niçoise is traditionally a composed salad, with each ingredient artfully arranged on a plate in separate little piles. Here, we go a different route and toss all the components together with the vinaigrette, resulting in the fullest-flavored Niçoise salad possible.

    Continue to 5 of 15 below

  • Horiatiki (Greek Salad)

    20170814-greek-salad-vicky-wasik-8.jpg

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Instead of crumbling feta into your Greek salad, consider topping it with slabs of the salty, tangy cheese, which will allow you to control the amount of feta in each bite.

  • Chinese Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

    Sesame Noodles with chili paste, cucumbers, and scallions in a blue bow with a wavy patterm

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    There's a dizzying array of sesame noodle recipes, including American-Chinese takeout-style noodles thickened with peanut butter and spicy Sichuan dandan noodles. This recipe is a basic homestyle version, which is dressed in a savory vinaigrette and incorporates crisp cucumber and scallions.

  • Fattoush (Chopped Vegetable and Pita Salad)

    Overhead view of Fattoush

    Serious Eats / Mai Kakish

    Many salads are an afterthought, but not fattoush—the many textures and flavors make it a star in its own right. Crunchy, refreshing vegetables, crisp pita, and a tangy pomegranate dressing...it's a satisfying salad you’ll want to eat every day.

  • Cobb Salad

    A Cobb salad served on a decorative platter, featuring rows of ingredients including chicken, bacon, cherry tomatoes, eggs, avocado, and blue cheese

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    A well-made Cobb might be the perfect dinner salad—it's versatile, hearty, easy to make, and gorgeous. Our version features crisp romaine lettuce and bacon, juicy tomatoes, tender poached chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and creamy avocado and blue cheese, all tied together by the star of the show: a tangy, slightly sweet homemade vinaigrette. 

    Continue to 9 of 15 below

  • Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad

    A bowl of orzo pasta salad with chickpeas, garnished with fresh herbs, served with utensils

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This lemony orzo number with radicchio, chickpeas, basil, and banana peppers is light, bright, and bold. Built from pantry staples and perked up with a few fresh accents, it's a no-fuss meal that’s as good at a potluck as it is for a quick lunch.

  • Kale Caesar Salad

    Kale caesar salad in a speckled ceramic bowl. On the right periphery are a pair of wooden serving spoons, and on the left periphery is a small bowl holding croutons.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Deeply savory Caesar dressing is the perfect partner in crime to bitter, crunchy kale. Here, we marinate the kale leaves in olive oil and let them sit while we prep the rest of the salad, which transforms them into crisp, tender greens.

  • Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad

    A plate of grilled peach salad with herbs, prosciutto, and cheese

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    Fruit may not be the first thing that comes to mind when firing up the grill, but it’s one of the simplest—and most rewarding—ways to turn a basic summer salad into something unexpected. Here, sweet grilled peaches sit alongside creamy, rich burrata, fresh herbs, and a vinaigrette that’s more savory than sweet. 

  • Laab Moo Isan (Thai Isan-Style Minced Pork Salad)

    Serving bowl of pork laab with a bowl of sticky rice in the background

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    If you love a protein-heavy salad, you'll love laab. Like tam (pounded salads) or yam (mixed salads), laab is a distinct salad category that's defined by an action—namely, chopping or mincing. As such, laab can best be described as a chopped or minced meat salad.

    Continue to 13 of 15 below

  • Salade Lyonnaise (French Bistro Salad)

    Salade Lyonnaise on antique blue and white plates with sparkling water, and utensils on white and grey striped napkin on a white marbled surface

    Serious Eats / Two Bites 

    This staple bistro salad of Lyon features bitter greens tossed in a warm vinaigrette and is topped with chewy lardons and a gooey poached egg.

  • Buffalo Chicken Salad

    Overhead view of buffalo chicken salad

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    This salad was made for Buffalo wing lovers. There’s tender chicken that’s been marinated with lemon juice and Frank’s RedHot, slices of creamy avocado, and crisp vegetables tossed in two different dressings: a blue cheese-based one and a sweet, spicy vinaigrette made with hot sauce and brown sugar. 

  • Italian Pasta Salad

    Overhead view of a Italian pasta salad

    Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

    Italian-American-style pasta salad has a lot going for it—if you take the time to give it the attention to detail it deserves. For a stellar pasta salad, skip the vinaigrette and opt for punchy, briny ingredients like capers and olives.

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