9 Summer Salads Your Friends and Kids Will Love

Salad, kids and love in the same sentence?! We get it. We hear you. You think it’s crazy. But you won’t after checking out our roundup of must-eat summer salad recipes that will impress your friends and your kids.

These dishes put the fun back on your plate of greens with colorful veggies, delicious dressings, and⁠—because life is all about balance⁠—cheese included. They pair perfectly with barbecued mains and can be topped with all kinds of delicious extras (grilled shrimp, anyone?).

To save you even more time in the kitchen, we also included a recipe that takes max 15 minutes to prepare. Make it now and thank us later when the kids are asking for seconds!

Salad comes from the Latin word “herba salta” or “salted herbs,” because greens were usually seasoned with dressings containing lots of salt.

BBQ Chicken Salad

This salad is packed with all the goods—cheese, chips, sweet corn, and tangy barbecue sauce included! Because it’s not summer without a little barbecue! Find the recipe here at A Mindful Mom.

Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing

The green tahini dressing is the star of this recipe. And because it’s all about the dressing, feel free to swap out the veggies for whatever you have on hand! Make sure to try this delish recipe from Cookie and Kate.

Christopher Columbus introduced lettuce to the Americas.

Famous Mexican Bean Salad

Load up on fiber and savor the delicious flavors of this killer recipe that only takes 15 minutes to make. Get this time-saving how-to at Live Eat Learn.

Have you listened to my podcast? Check out The Mom Confidential!

The average American eats approximately 30 pounds of lettuce each year. This is five times what was eaten in 1900.

Summer Vegetable Salad

Veggies, but make it fun! We love this colorful salad made with cilantro, bell peppers, cucumber, radishes, and feta. Yum. Try it over at Two Peas and Their Pod.

In the 1930’s US spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33 percent increase in domestic spinach consumption.

Italian Pasta Salad

Okay, so it’s not salad salad, but it still counts! Your kids will love this pasta salad recipe because of favorites like olives, baby corn, and artichokes. See this Italian night favorite over at Favorite Family Recipes.

Strawberry Summer Salad

Summer is just beginning, and if any fruit can lay claim to the summer season, it’s strawberries. This recipe incorporates fresh berries with a strawberry vinaigrette for total deliciousness. Get the recipe at A Couple Cooks.

Cobb salad was invented in a Hollywood restaurant and named after the owner Robert Cobb. 

Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad

Break out the grill because this classic cobb will be your go-to for the rest of the year—summer, winter, fall—doesn’t matter! Get this 365-day favorite at Damn Delicious.

Check out my favorite recipes over on the City Girl Gone Mom Pinterest Board!

In 2012, the world’s largest salad was made in Romania, weighing in at 41,998 pounds.

Quinoa Crunch Salad

The entire rainbow is included in this colorful, crunchy salad tossed with a tasty peanut dressing. Find out how to make this colorful concoction over at Pinch of Yum.

There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes, from small cherry ones to Ponderosa, which can weigh over three pounds.

Greek Summer Salad

This Greek salad is a staple for good reason! Join us on the dark side and go for extra feta. Double your cheese over at The Blond Cook.

Caesar salad was not born in Italy; it was first created in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1920s by Alex Cardini, who made this salad at his brother Caesar’s restaurant.