June 20, 2024

Superfood Salads for Summer

About Nicole Pajer

Nicole Pajer is a Los Angeles-based freelance published in The New York Times, Woman's Day, AARP, Parade, Wired, Glamour, People and more.

Summer means backyard BBQs, outdoor dinners and lots of get-togethers with family and friends. Many of these gatherings may be potluck style, or you may be hosting, so you’ll likely be scrambling for dishes to serve. Everyone loves a salad, especially if it’s delicious. Instead of doing a boring old salad (sorry, lettuce), why not spice things up and get creative? And bonus points if the salads can sneak in some healthy ingredients too. Here are 7 superfood salad recipes to try this summer.

Vegan Curried Pasta Salad

Everyone loves a good pasta salad. It’s the perfect dish to bring to a BBQ or backyard pool party. This one is great for vegan guests. It packs in so many vegetables and provides an extra fun take with its curry flavor. It’s also filled with a few “superfood” ingredients, like ginger, which can aid in digestion, turmeric with its anti-inflammatory properties and broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable that is loaded with vitamin C, K, iron and potassium.

Chickpea Superfood Salad

When you think of salad, you think of lettuce, but this one is packed with kale and arugula as the base. Throw in some edamame and chickpeas, quinoa, plus slivered almonds and you’ve got a nice variety of plant-based proteins. And to really make the flavors pop, this summer salad is topped with crumbled feta cheese and golden raisins. And the dressing on top is an entire superfood situation itself, with olive oil, garlic, honey, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, lemon, sea salt, a hint of black pepper and oregano.

Spring Roll Salad

Who doesn’t crave an egg roll every now and then? But if you’re trying to take a somewhat more health-focused approach this summer, you might want to pass on that crispy fried shell. This salad brings out the Asian cuisine flavor that we all love, without the roll. It features ingredients like shrimp, which is generally high in omega 3 fatty acids, purple cabbage, which is typically loaded with antioxidants and romaine lettuce which can be a source of the nutrient folate.

Watermelon Salad with Feta

Watermelon isn’t just meant to be served in a fruit salad. This delicious salad recipe is both sweet and savory with delicious ingredients like red onion, cucumber, feta cheese, avocado, and serrano pepper (if you like things spicy, if not you can leave the pepper off). Top it off with a bright lime dressing and this is a dish that will win over everyone at your BBQ. And bonus: watermelon is rich in vitamin A and C and is filled with delicious antioxidants.

Refreshing Summer Antipasto Salad

Antipasto salad, though delicious, can sometimes be heavy. Meat, cheese, lettuce, and Italian dressing can make it a meal in itself. This is a lighter version that throws in some summer vegetables, like cherry tomatoes. It has some unique flavors from a combination of green and black olives, dill (which can be a good source of certain vitamins and minerals, and broccoli. It’s the perfect salad to accompany a summer pizza party and is protein-packed with its various meats and cheeses as well.

Potato Salad

Potato salad doesn’t always have to be packed with mayonnaise. This is a lighter version of potato salad that uses non-fat Greek Yogurt instead, which has an array of health benefits, such as bone-supporting calcium and gut-healthy probiotics. You can also swap the regular potatoes for sweet potatoes, which contain Vitamins A, B, and C, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

Ambrosia salad is always a hit. This version is packed with certain ingredients, like nuts and shredded coconut, to help provide a dose of healthy fats. You can use any fruit you want but the recipe calls for blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (all of which are great summer fruits), along with pineapple and bananas. And instead of heavy cream, it’s topped with coco whip or light whipped cream. The recipe author has a recipe for Yogurt Whipped Cream if you want to make this even lighter. But hey, it’s dessert, it’s okay to splurge every now and then.