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20 Quick Side Salad Recipes for Any Occasion

20 Quick Side Salad Recipes for Any Occasion

By Kelly Vaughan

Updated January 20, 2020

Yunhee Kim

In less than 30 minutes, you can make a crisp and colorful seasonal salad.

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Yunhee Kim

No matter the season, one of the best dishes to serve alongside a main course is a delicious side salad. Whether you need something crowd-pleasing to complement grilled meat or a light accompaniment to broiled fish for a weeknight dinner, these quick side salad recipes make good use of a variety of seasonal ingredients and take less than 30 minutes to prepare.

We have plenty of recipes featuring bitter greens like radicchio, endive, and frisée, such as the Frisée Salad with Pistachios and Dijon Vinaigrette pictured here, as well as milder blends of mixed greens, spinach, and watercress. In the middle of summer, Garden Salad with Herbs and Sour-Cherry Dressing is a real stunner. Tart sour cherries are at their peak in June; a big bunch of fresh herbs and leafy greens serve as the backdrop for bright red ingredients like berries and radishes.

Of course, salads don't have to have a green base. Take our recipe for Bloody-Mary Tomato Salad, which comes together in 15 minutes—juicy heirloom tomatoes in a variety of stoplight colors are garnished with classic Bloody Mary-inspired flavors like horseradish, celery, and Worcestershire sauce. There couldn’t be a more apt salad to serve with your eggs at brunch.

You can also honor the season with a fresh, bright salad. Celebrate spring, for example, by serving Pea and Asparagus Salad, when these green vegetables are in season. But if you're look for something more universal, consider our Moroccan Barley Salad, which is great all year round. Best of all, any leftovers will be great for lunch the following day.

Your family, friends, and the dinner party crowd will adore these quick and delicious side salad recipes.

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Raw-Beet and Celery-Root Salad

Justin Walker

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Make this 20-minute salad in the winter when you need something crisp and bright for the table. The vegetables are tossed with fresh parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, toasted pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.

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Bloody-Mary Tomato Salad

Dana Gallagher

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Fancy a healthier version of the classic cocktail? Whip up this colorful salad made with heirloom tomatoes and garnish with celery seeds, caraway seeds, and freshly grated horseradish. It takes just 15 minutes to assemble from start to finish.

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Julienned-Carrot and Kale Salad

Mikkel Vang

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Looking for a new way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet? This crispy, crunchy salad will become your new go-to side. The vinaigrette is a classic blend of honey, Dijon, olive oil, and lemon juice.

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Mediterranean Three-Bean Salad

Petrina Tinslay

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Serve it with burgers, grilled fish, or just eat it on its own—this protein-packed salad includes canned white and pink beans, fresh green beans, crunchy celery, and jarred sweet roasted peppers.

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Moroccan Barley Salad

Petrina Tinslay

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Add a nutritious boost to any meal with this fiber-packed, slightly tangy salad. It's a great make-ahead option and a good choice for potlucks and parties. Briny olives, preserved lemons, carrots, and cilantro add color against pearl barley.

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Cucumber Salad with Herbs, Kumquats, and Sumac Dressing

The Ingalls

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Crunchy cucumbers and scallions meet tart kumquats in this alluring, tangy salad. Sumac, a lemon-flavored spice, is an unexpected flavor that ties every ingredient together.

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Radicchio Salad with Chopped-Lemon Dressing

Justin Walker

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If you've never used radicchio, a slightly bitter, bright purple leaf, before, try it in this elegant salad. Our recipe serves two but can be easily doubled or tripled depending on how many people you're serving.

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Winter White Salad with Creme-Fraiche Vinaigrette

Mikkel Vang

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How stunning is this salad? Pomegranate arils look gorgeous against pale crunchy endive, fennel, celery root, and Granny Smith apples. Not only is it quick, but this salad can also be made up to three days in advance—perfect if you're hosting a dinner party and want to get ahead with prep.

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Shredded Cabbage Slaw with Ginger Vinaigrette

Marcus Nilsson

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Not all salads are slaws, but all slaws are fabulous side salads. And who could resist digging into this Asian-inspired slaw with a delicious dressing made with rice vinegar, ginger, and lime juice?

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Tomato Salad with Chile Yogurt

Christopher Testani

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Layered heirloom tomatoes over a spicy yogurt spread truly tastes as good as it looks. Perhaps the best part is that it comes together in 10 minutes.

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Butter-Lettuce Salad with Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing

Lauren Ross

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When you want a side salad that feels a little bit indulgent, this is the recipe for you. Crumbled bacon makes this salad next-level irresistible.

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Escarole Salad with Lemon-and-Anchovy Dressing

Ngoc Minh Ngo

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It's all about the dressing here—garlic, anchovies, Dijon, and olive oil create a flavorful dressing for any leaves. We particularly love it with escarole, a vegetable we think is sadly underutilized.

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Watercress, Radicchio, and Radish Salad

John Dolan

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Use that big bag of radishes hanging out in the crisper drawer in this lively salad. Their fresh crunch and bright pink color pops against the peppery watercress and slightly bitter radicchio.

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Persimmon and Escarole Salad

Raymond Hom

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When you're craving something healthy during the holiday season, make use of seasonal persimmons, which add color and tartness to bitter escarole.

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Gazpacho Salad with Croutons

Christopher Testani

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Similar to a Panzanella, this salad features the flavors of a gazpacho. Mini cucumbers, yellow bell pepper, small tomatoes, country bread, and sweet onions are tossed with a Dijon and sherry dressing.

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Pea and Asparagus Salad

Armando Rafael

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This salad is like spring on a plate! From the blanched, shelled English peas to the toasted almonds and raw asparagus, everything about this dish is a welcome bite.

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Warm Spinach Salad with Soy Vinaigrette

Armando Rafael

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An upgrade on the usual spinach salad, soy sauce, sliced cremini and shiitake mushrooms, and carrots come together to give this side an Asian flavor.

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Avocado, Mango, and Toasted Seed Salad

Bryan Gardner

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Sweet and creamy, this salad can easily be scaled up for a larger crowd (the recipe only serves one). Or make it ahead for a fabulous lunch—just keep the dressing on the side so that the greens don't wilt and get soggy.

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Garden Salad with Herbs and Sour-Cherry Dressing

Mikkel Vang

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When sour cherries are in season, let them shine atop mixed greens, sliced fennel, radishes, spring onions, and fresh tender herbs. It's tart, bright, and a delight to dig into.

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