Healthy Summer Salads For Long Hot Days

Summer salads can be light and refreshing any time of day. Whether it’s a simple side dish or the main course, a fresh salad is perfect for hot, summer days.

This time of year you can eat fresh garden-grown produce all day long. Use these recipes and tips for easy, tasty summer meals.

A summer salad can be a light meal fit for a warm day. It can also be a meal that includes a few proteins to make you feel full.

Learn how to make a variety of fresh and delicious salad recipes using fresh ingredients available in your local grocery store, supermarket or farmers market.

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy everything that’s fresh, light, and healthy. The collection below includes some of the best summer salad recipes, made with fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins. Plus, some of these delicious salads provide a long lasting energy boost.

Today, we'll go beyond the regular salad offerings of summer such as cobb salad, kale salad or broccoli salad. Here you'll find some unique and delightful ingredient, texture and flavor combinations.

I hope you'll discover your favorite summer salad here. They're perfect for lunch, brunch, dinner, cookouts, or summer picnics.

Grilled Peach and Ricotta Panzanella

This is the perfect way to use stale bread to create a meal that tastes so luxurious!

This salad features grilled peaches, rustic bread croutons, tomatoes, basil, ricotta cheese, and walnuts. Balsamic vinaigrette with honey and thyme tops this Italian style salad for a perfect lunch or brunch.

This just might be your favorite way to incorporate peaches into your summer meals.

Summer Berry Salad

Do you love summer salads that are bursting with berry flavor!

You're going to love this fruity salad featuring strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries - all the fruits of summer. Everything comes together with an amazing poppy seed dressing. Plus, candied almonds are sprinkled right on top.

Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad

Packed with the flavors of summer, this salad features cantaloupe and cucumber. It's bright, refreshing and easy to make for a last minute meal, from the garden.

Cantaloupe cubes are combined with sliced cucumbers, avocado cubes, chopped mint leaves, and cumin and fennel seeds. Olive oil and lemon juice make a delicious dressing for this light, fresh salad.

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

No need to go to Panera to get your salad fix. This copycat might be even better than the original. Lots of fruits are served on a bed of lettuce and greens. This is my all time favorite chicken salad and one I often order at Panera.

This creamy poppyseed dressing is savory and sweet all at the same time. It can be made in advance and improves with time.

Hawaiian Potato Salad

Summer would not be summer without potato salad, and this is a tasty twist on this classic summer side salad!

This is like having your potato salad and macaroni salad all in one tasty dish!

Sweet Corn and Arugula Salad

A simple salad is always perfect for a hot summer day.

This corn and arugula combination is light, bright and tastes just right when you want a light meal.

Crumbled feta cheese, sliced red onions, and cherry tomatoes add extra flavor and nutrition. Corn on the cob is cooked and shaved to add to this delicious meal.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Feta and Hot Honey

Heirloom tomatoes are just the thing to base a salad around in the summer.

This salad has a delicious, sunny flavor with just the right kick thanks to the hot honey dressing.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Make use of fresh garden veggies like tomato, cucumber and onions for a great salad.

Cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes are tossed with crumbled feta in a vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Sometimes I like to add chopped black olives to this salad before tossing it in a large bowl.

This one is simple but so flavorful!

Favorite Tomato Salad

If you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes; then this is the salad for you!

It has fresh herbs, some onions and of course loads of fresh tomatoes!

It's really tasty when served with fresh mozzarella cheese balls. Did you now that the name for small bolls of mozzarella cheese is bocconcini? These cheese balls are soft, creamy textured, and boast a lovely mild flavor.

Watermelon Feta Salad

I think you will agree, after just one bite, that this is the perfect summer salad.

Made with arugula and spinach, this salad works great with kale or shredded romaine lettuce too.

It is sweet, juicy and savory all at once!

Creamed Pea Salad

Anyone who loves peas will cheer for this delightfully creamy summer salad.

This delicious creamy dressing is made with mayo, Greek yogurt, and apple cider vinegar.

You can experiment with this recipe and add some green beans or other beans if you wish.

It pairs well with so many dishes and is so colorful!

Sweet Corn Pasta Salad

This salad packs a sweet bite of corn in with some hearty orzo pasta for a summer salad you can make a meal of.

This truly is a taste of Italy on a plate.

Lemon Orzo Salad

This lemon pasta salad is light, bright and perfect for serving alongside grilled meats.

But, you could totally make a meal of this salad if you like!

Mexican Street Corn Salad

This corn salad has such a great flavor! You're going to love it on a summer evening!

If you like your salads to have a good crunch then this is the salad for you. Corn on the cob is cooked then the corn pieces are sliced from the cob.

Sweet corn niblets are combined with diced red bell pepper, green onion, jalapeno, mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, and chopped cilantro. Simply delicious!

Farmers Market Salad with Beet Vinaigrette

This is the salad to make after a trip to the farmers market!

The beet vinaigrette is tasty and adds so much vibrant color to your salad!

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Chickpeas are packed with protein and are the highlight of this summer salad. Combined with chopped fresh veggies, tossed in a refreshing red wine vinegar dressing, this summer salad really packs a punch.

Chickpeas, cucumbers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta cheese add oodles of texture and flavor to this salad. It can be a meal in an of itself, or a perfect side dish.

A big thank you to all the readers and fellow bloggers who contributed to this summer salad roundup. I really appreciate your submissions and your permission to share your lovely food photos here.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.