Main Course Salads

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You might think salads are just a side dish, but my 15+ Main Course Salads make filling main dishes! All of my easy dinner salad recipes, from greens to pasta salad, come with homemade dressings and topping suggestions I know you'll love.

Jump to:

• What Makes a Great Main Dish Salad
• Homemade Salad Dressings
• Main Course Salad Recipes
• Main Course Salads + Grilled Chicken Salad
• Reviews

I love making salad as a meal. Out of all of them, my family's favorite is my Grilled Chicken Salad (see the recipe card at the bottom of the page!), but there are so many different ways to serve salad for dinner. I'll share all my best main dish salads with you below!

What Makes a Great Main Dish Salad

To make the best salad recipes for dinner, mix up your ingredients! Here are some tips on what you can use to make the most filling salads:

• Lettuce: Romaine and Spring Mix are excellent choices for salads. You can also use baby lettuce, butter lettuce, spinach, or even kale. You can even get creative and mix in other greens like dandelion greens. If you use spinach, try mixing in arugula!
• Whole grains: Instead of lettuce, you can use whole grains like brown rice or quinoa. I also like to use cauliflower rice.
• Protein: Rotisserie chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon, or tuna are great choices for protein in main course salads. (Salmon salad is incredible!)
• Vegetables: Try cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions, or even veggies like summer squash, jicama, crisp blanched green beans, carrots, peas, and corn. Pickled and roasted vegetables are great choices too!
• Fruit: Cranberries, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and clementines are all delicious in a salad. Grilled fruit is great, too - how about grilled peaches? (Olives are technically a fruit, too, and I love adding them!)
• Sprouts: Have you ever tried adding sprouts to a salad? They are a delicious addition to any salad and add a lovely texture. Alfalfa sprouts are my favorite.
• Nuts: Nuts are awesome in any main or separate-course salad recipe! Try pecans, walnuts, and sliced almonds.
• Seeds: If you can't eat nuts but still want crunch, or just want some variety, try adding seeds like sunflower seeds or even pumpkin seeds!
• Cheese: Shredded hard cheeses like Parmesan, or the softest cheeses like goat cheese, feta cheese, burrata, and blue cheese all work well.

Homemade Salad Dressings

• Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
• Honey Balsamic Dressing
• Buttermilk Ranch
• Chipotle Ranch Dressing
• Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing

One of the best and most important elements to a main dish salad is the salad dressing. Above are some of my favorite dressings, so you can mix and match with the salads below. Each one is tailored to a specific recipe, but you can really get creative with it - main dish salads are perfect for experimenting with whatever you have in the fridge!

Main Course Salad Recipes