Food and Recipes Party Food and Drink 24 Fresh and Colorful Spring Salad Recipes By Southern Living Editors Southern Living Editors Since 1966, the editors of Southern Living have been carrying out the mission of the brand: to bring enjoyment, fulfillment, and inspiration to our readers by celebrating life in the South. We inspire creativity in their homes, their kitchens, their gardens, and their personal style. We are a friend they can trust, a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a relentless champion of the Southern way of life. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 17, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Simple preparation and fresh ingredients make these salad recipes perfect for the season. Our spring salad recipes come together in a jiffy; no need to spend hours in the kitchen. Whether you want a light side salad or something heartier for a main dish, these spring salad ideas are sure to impress. A few quick steps and a couple of your favorite ingredients will wow any spring party guest. Plus, many of our favorite spring salad recipes would pair beautifully with your Easter ham. Beyond basic lettuce and dressing, we've added flavorful parings like poached shrimp and orzo, strawberries and bacon, and crispy chicken and broccoli. Take a look through our best-ever spring salad recipes and choose the one you just can't resist. 01 of 24 Tangy Potato-Green Bean Salad Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Potato salad gets a fresh and crunchy twist with bright flavors and lots of yummy texture. Dill and chives add fresh flavors, Dijon vinaigrette provides tang, and sharp radishes add crunch. Make the dressing ahead of time for an easier assembly. 02 of 24 Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Entertaining is easy with this elegant Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing. Spring forward asparagus, snap peas, and English peas, along with fresh herbs, add bright green color. It's light, fresh, and oh-so tasty. 03 of 24 Radish, Avocado, and Citrus Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox How gorgeous is this fresh salad? Two types of radishes, avocado, and citrus provide incredible texture and color, while a honey-mustard dressing balances some of the sharper flavors. It definitely deserves a spot on the Easter table. 04 of 24 Dilly Bean Pasta Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners This bright pasta salad is the ideal lunch to make ahead for the week. It works as a side dish with burgers, or a meal with the addition of rotisserie chicken. If you like this lemon vinaigrette, use it for your favorite salads in need of a citrus kick. 05 of 24 Warm Radish-and-Potato Salad with Smoked Trout and Radish Leaf-and-Mint Pesto Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox This elegant salad makes a beautiful main dish or hearty side. We always like flexible recipes, here you can swap smoked salmon, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, or shrimp for smoked trout, baby arugula or watercress for radish greens, and rainbow or icicle radishes for red ones. If you’re using radish greens for the pesto, make sure to rinse them in cool water, they can be pretty gritty. 06 of 24 Spring Mix Salad with Herbed Goat Cheese Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Full of the season's finest vegetables and topped with herby goat cheese, this salad is the ultimate spring side. In-season asparagus, sugar snaps, and peas celebrate spring along with crunchy radish and fresh herbs, which are enhanced with a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil. The herb-covered goat cheese rounds can be made up to one day in advance. 07 of 24 Crispy Chicken-and-Broccoli Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Crispy chicken and fresh broccoli make this garden salad an excellent choice for a light, spring meal. Tangy honey-Dijon dressing, sweet grapes, and crunchy almonds, broccoli, and chicken deliver flavors with wide appeal. A great make-ahead recipe, the broccoli base of the salad should chill at least two hours to allow the flavors to meld, and then add the chicken just before serving to preserve its crispy exterior. 08 of 24 Crispy-Shrimp Salad with Avocado Dressing Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners This healthy spring salad makes an incredible dinner or lunch. Plus, you'll want to use this homemade avocado dressing as a dip for veggies, a spread for sandwiches, or a topping for tacos. This quick and easy salad comes together in 20 minutes. 09 of 24 Strawberry Caprese Salad IAIN BAGWELL You'll love this springy version of your favorite summer caprese, whether alone, on a bed of lettuce, or over crostinis. Marinating the ingredients is the key to building flavor in this salad, you won’t regret it. After marinating the mini mozzarella balls in a white balsamic vinaigrette and basil for 2 hours, fresh strawberries are added for the final 30 minutes. 10 of 24 Potato Salad with Dijon and Scallions Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall As delicious as this new potato salad is, we particularly love that it can be made up to one week in advance. Our dijon dressing version is a lighter and more flavorful option than typical, mayonnaise-based potato salads. The pickled onions and dressing can both be made in advance, making the assembly of this salad even easier. 11 of 24 Crispy Pork Cutlets with Creamy Spring Slaw Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall This 30-minute meal pairs comforting fried pork chops with a springy homemade slaw. For crispy cutlets, boneless pork chops are pounded to ½ inch thickness, panko-crusted, and then pan-fried in high-smoke-point peanut oil. Serve the cutlets with the slaw on the side, or on sliders topped with the slaw. 12 of 24 Deviled Egg Salad and Asparagus Tartines Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Torie Cox Classic egg salad finger sandwiches are made over for the season with this asparagus-topped, spiced version. Hot sauce makes this egg salad “deviled,” add more or a pinch of cayenne tailored to your audience’s heat tolerance. You can make the egg salad a day in advance, but toast the bread and assemble just before serving. 13 of 24 Breaded Chicken Salad with Grapes, Honey, Almonds, and Broccoli Hector Sanchez We oven “fry” these breaded chicken cutlets for a lighter version instead of using fried chicken. The sweet, crunchy, and tangy formula of honey-Dijon, broccoli, nuts, and grapes is sure to be a hit. This gorgeous salad partners with breadsticks and cheese tortellini tossed with fresh basil, grape tomatoes, and Italian dressing. 14 of 24 Arugula Salad with Bacony Croutons and Sherry Vinaigrette Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Bacony croutons make this healthy salad taste totally indulgent. But the layers of arugula, blue cheese, Honeycrisp apple, cirspy bacon, and toasted pecans are hardly ho-hum. Sherry vinegar (or your favorite vinegar of choice) dressing is a balanced companion to the rich assembly of ingredients. 15 of 24 Baked Pork Tenderloin Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Pork tenderloin is one of our go-tos for affordable but delicious suppers, and all you need for a complete meal is this simple and lemony salad. Customize the pork tenderloin with a dry rub of your favorite spice blend before baking. Thinly sliced vegetables, a spring mix of fennel, carrots, zucchini, and radishes, make an elevated presentation. 16 of 24 Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon Johnny Autry; Food and Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Strawberries are the star in in this seasonal salad, with two cups tossed with cherry tomatoes, spring greens, and bacon, and another cup used to make the honey-Dijon vinaigrette. This sweet and savory salad is perfect for Mother’s Day brunch or a luncheon, and can be made heartier with shredded chicken or whole grains. For the dressing, it is so good, you’ll want to make extra. 17 of 24 Shrimp Cobb Salad with Bacon Dressing Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox This colorful version of a classic Cobb is fresh, nutritious, and indulgent at the same time. To amp up the dressing, bacon (and drippings) are added to the red-wine vinaigrette. This salad is flexible, swap the shrimp for chicken or ham, and the blue cheese for feta, and several ingredients can be prepared a day ahead. 18 of 24 BLT Salad with Buttermilk-Parmesan Dressing and Buttery Croutons Photo: Alison Miksch If you're looking for the ultimate comfort salad recipe, give this BLT variety a try. Complete with buttermilk-parmesan dressing, it's rich and creamy. Cut down on cleanup while adding a flavor boost to the croutons by baking them on the same sheet pan as the bacon. Complete this salad with buttermilk-parmesan dressing, it's rich and creamy. 19 of 24 Strawberry-Avocado Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Tender Boston lettuce, creamy avocados, and a generous amount of strawberries make this a fast, delicious, and pretty spring salad. The ginger-sesame white balsamic dressing is lightly sweet with a little zip. Modify the salad with additions, like watermelon and tomatoes for sweeter flavors, or go more savory with crumbled bacon or roasted garlic. 20 of 24 Grilled Radish-and-Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely With spring in swing, it’s time to dust off the grill and get creative with seasonal vegetables. Toss fennel and radishes and butter and grill them 4 to 5 minutes per side to bring out their sweetness. The salad comes together with lettuce leaves, a lemon-Dijon dressing, and grill-toasted baguette slices smeared with goat cheese and fresh dill. 21 of 24 Pasta Shells with Spring Vegetables Alison Miksch Asparagus, sugar snap peas, and radishes pair with spring-fresh flavors of lemon and mint in this lovely pasta salad. Ricotta adds creaminess—half is tossed with the warm pasta shells and the other half is dolloped on top. This salad serves 6 very quickly in just 30 minutes. 22 of 24 Roasted Chicken Caesar Salad Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Broiled romaine halves takes this Caesar salad to another level with warm, caramelized leaves. Composed of roasted chicken tenders, thinly sliced red onion, lettuce, and your favorite refrigerated Caesar dressing, pick and choose additional classic toppings like Parmesan, parsley, croutons, and fresh black pepper. Test kitchen tip: place sliced onion in water and chill, when ready to use, drain and pat dry—this takes that sharp bite out of raw onion so they aren’t so overpowering. 23 of 24 Warm Mustard Potato Salad Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Swap out mayonnaise with tangy mustard-vinaigrette for a lighter, brighter potato salad. Baby Yukon gold potatoes, crispy bacon, soft-boiled eggs, and fresh chopped parsley creates a decadent combination, and especially flavorful when tossed with the warm dressing. To reduce time and multiple pans, the eggs can cook with the potatoes. 24 of 24 Strawberry-Spinach Salad Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Nothing says, "It's spring!" like a strawberry salad. Ripe strawberries, sharp blue cheese, and candied pecans are the perfect trifecta of salty, sweet, and crunchy. This salad would be delicious topped with grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, or boiled shrimp for added protein. 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