If you're looking for unusual and unique salad recipes, we have some awesome recipes for you! These delicious salads are bright, bold, and full of interesting flavor combinations.
There are seasonal recipes and recipes you can make year-round. We've got something for everyone, from green salads to fruit salads.
Many of these recipes can be served as side dishes or main courses.
How to Make the Best Salad Recipes
To make flavorful, interesting salads consider adding multiple overlapping flavors and textures.
You might want something bright and sharp (like citrus, radicchio, or red onions), something creamy (like avocado or feta), something crunchy (like a toasted walnut or panko).
Don't be afraid to try flavors that may not immediately seem like they go together - for instance, one of our favorite salads is a combination of blueberries, mango, and avocado!
Mexican Watermelon Salad
This Mexican watermelon salad recipe with tajin, Cotija cheese, and cilantro is a delightful, refreshing dish!
It's got the chili lime tajin seasoning that adds some heat and citrus flavor but is mellowed out with the crumbly Cotija.
Mediterranean Salmon Salad
Tender salmon combines with crisp Romaine lettuce, juicy tomatoes and cucumbers, and much more for a delicious Mediterranean salmon salad recipe.
Endive Salad Bites with Grilled Feta
These delicious endive salad bites have citrus, grilled feta, toasted nuts, fresh herbs, and pomegranate seeds. It's all of winter's best produce in one dish!
Roasted Chickpea Salad Recipe
This delicious chickpea salad is full of flavor and is easy to make.
This vegan recipe starts with roasting chickpeas with spices and then combining them with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and tahini dressing for a healthy and filling meal.
Citrus Fennel Salad Recipe
This citrus fennel salad is a wonderful winter salad recipe. It combines grapefruit, Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges, fennel, and mozzarella into a delicious and bright fruit salad.
Easy Tomato Salad with Tarragon Pesto
This bright, easy tomato salad is topped with a basil tarragon pesto and toasted pine nuts. It's truly delightful! This will be one of your favorite summer side dishes.
Spring Farro Salad
This delightful spring farro salad has roasted asparagus, broccolini, and radishes. It's absolutely bursting with flavor.
It's topped with dill, chives, and a mustardy dressing for a bright hit of spring flavor!
All the Radishes Salad
This radish salad has four kinds of radishes! If you love the peppery, crisp flavor of radishes, then this is the salad for you.
The bright, fresh flavors or thinly shaved radishes pair beautifully with some mellow olive oil and parmesan cheese.
Chickpea Salad with Cucumber
This easy chickpea cucumber and feta salad is ready in about 15 minutes! It's a great light lunch for two or a side dish for four.
Grilled Halloumi Salad
This grilled halloumi salad is a tasty, savory recipe! It's paired with fresh and juicy tomatoes and cucumbers for a crunchy vegetable bite.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
This roasted beet salad with goat cheese recipe hits so many delicious flavor notes!
It's got crunchy pepitas, and creamy goat cheese, earthy beets, and peppery arugula. It's a delightful salad that I know you'll enjoy.
Grapefruit Avocado Salad
This delicious grapefruit avocado salad with feta cheese and pepitas is an awesome side salad. It's perfect for winter or early spring!
French Potato Salad
This French potato salad with green beans is a hearty side dish or a wonderful lunch.
It's full of flavor, has velvety potatoes, a fresh punch from the green beans, and added substance from the hard-boiled eggs.
Roasted Grape Salad
This roasted grape salad is full of wonderful flavors! It’s a great side dish at a dinner party or for a holiday meal. Roasting grapes brings out their natural sweetness for a delicious, juicy pop of flavor.
Strawberry and Cantaloupe Salad
This easy strawberry cantaloupe salad recipe with a sweet mint and lime topping is wonderfully delicious.
It's a perfect side dish to serve at a summer dinner. It makes four side salad servings and is ready in just a few minutes.
Heart of Palm Salad
This heart of palm salad with arugula, chicken, and hard-boiled eggs is an easy, flavorful main course for two people. It can easily be scaled up.
The Best Fattoush Salad Recipe
This is the best fattoush salad recipe. It's not traditional fattoush, but it is the best. If you like fresh ingredients and Mediterranean salads, you're going to love this recipe.
Mango Avocado Salad with Blueberries
This simple salad of mangoes, avocados, and blueberries is easy to make and full of great flavor! The juicy mango pairs perfectly with the creamy avocado and the plump blueberries.
The Best Green Salad Recipe
This is the best green salad recipe - it's got crumbled pecorino, rich panko, soft butter lettuce, a bright jolt of red spring onions.
It's the perfect green salad because it’s lush, easy to make, and has a deliciously, mustardy dressing. You’ll love this green salad recipe!
Kumquat Radish Salad with Dukkah
This delightful kumquat salad with watermelon radishes, radicchio, and dukkah seasoning is a bright pop of flavor. It's bursting with seasonal produce and topped with a delicious, nutty blend.
Shaved Zucchini Salad Recipe
This shaved zucchini salad recipe combines lemon, goat cheese, microgreens, and toasted pine nuts for an exquisite and luscious side dish. It’s zesty and flavorful while showcasing some of the best summer vegetables.
Watermelon Olive Salad
This watermelon olive salad with feta and herbs is a delight! It's an unusual flavor combination that we think you'll love.
Pearl Couscous Salad
This pearl couscous salad with zucchini, mozzarella, and tomatoes is hearty and full of bright flavors. It's a delicious side dish or lunch option.
Artichoke Potato Salad with Dill
This artichoke potato salad with dill is fresh and filling. It’s a simple recipe and is largely hands-off, as the bulk of the time is spent roasting the potatoes.
Watermelon Summer Salad
This healthy watermelon summer salad is so refreshing and bright! With the watermelon, cantaloupe, and apples cut into matchsticks, the flavors blend together and the salad looks playful and fun.
Citrus Pomegranate Salad
This citrus pomegranate salad recipe combines crumbly feta cheese, bright greens, slivered shallots, and a zesty dressing for an exceptional winter citrus salad. It’s juicy and fresh and showcases some of the best winter's fruit.
Radish and Cucumber Salad
This easy radish cucumber salad recipe with dill and feta is a crunchy and fresh side. It's a perfect side dish to serve with BBQ or roast chicken.
Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad Recipe
Stay cool and hydrated with this easy cantaloupe and cucumber salad recipe! It's a healthy and refreshing side dish or light lunch.
Grilled Peach and Tomato Salad
This grilled peach and tomato salad recipe is total summer salad brilliance. It's juicy and delightful.
Strawberry Cucumber Salad
This beautiful salad recipe with strawberries and cucumbers is refreshing and delicious.
It's perfect for late spring and early summer when strawberries are at their peak. The crunchy cucumber pairs perfectly and it's topped with a healthy portion of chopped herbs and crumbly feta.
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
This Mediterranean chicken salad is everything you need in an easy, quick weeknight meal. It's full of delicious flavors - artichokes, bell peppers, beans, chickpeas - it has everything.
Spicy Thai Grapefruit Salad
This spicy Thai grapefruit salad is bright and zesty with complementary flavors. It's a real showpiece for a dinner party!
Chopped Middle Eastern Salad
This Middle Eastern salad is a cinch to make and full of fresh ingredients. It's a combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, fruit, and a quick vinaigrette.
Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad with Apples
This shredded Brussels sprouts salad with kale and apples is quick and easy to make! It's full of crunchy bits (apple and toasted walnuts) and savory bits (olive oil massage kale and shredded parmesan).
Honeydew Melon & Blackberry Salad
This recipe for a honeydew melon and blackberry salad with watercress and red spring onions is a delightfully flavorful and unique summer salad. It's especially good if you get very ripe, juicy blackberries!
Watermelon, Blueberry, and Feta Salad
This watermelon, blueberry, and feta salad recipe is a fruity, summer delight! The chopped mint and honey truly elevate this salad recipe.
The Detox Crunch Salad
This detox salad recipe is full of all the best, crunchy ingredients - grapes, apples, carrots, walnuts, pomegranate seeds, cranberries and more.
I hope you've enjoyed these unique salad recipes and have been inspired to try some new recipes!
Unique Salad Recipes
Try one of our favorite unique salad recipes - this delicious and refreshing watermelon salad with tajin, cotija cheese, and jalapeno is so easy to make!
Ingredients
- ½ small seedless watermelon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tajin seasoning
- 2 ounces Cotija cheese, finely crumbled
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
- ½ lime, sliced for serving
- optional - ¼ of a jalapeno, finely sliced
Instructions
- Place the watermelon cut side down on a cutting board. Run a knife from the top to the bottom in strips to cut the rind off.
- Cut the watermelon into 1-inch thick plates then slice into triangles.
- Arrange the sliced on a large plate or tray.
- Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice.
- Sprinkle with tajin seasoning and Cotija cheese. Add the cilantro and optional jalapenos.
- Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 101Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 758mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
What are the different types of salad?
There are multiple types of salads - the include green salads, fruit salads, rice and pasta salads, dinner salads, dessert salads, and bound salads (mayonnaise or other sauce-based salads).
How can I make a healthy salad?
You can make a healthy green salad, a fruit salad, or a vegetable salad. Salads that are healthy, usually showcase fresh, seasonal ingredients and minimize use of canned or jarred salad dressings (they often have hidden sugars). Make your own vinaigrette or toppings for your salad so you know what's in it.
What's an easy salad dressing?
The easiest salad dressing is a quick vinaigrette. You can make a vinaigrette with almost any type of oil and acid, but the ratio should be 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar or acid. This might look like 3 tablespoons olive oil to 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, mix in a pinch of salt and pepper and you've got a great salad dressing!.
Here are several types of oils you can use in dressings - olive oil, safflower oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or walnut oil.
For the vinegars you can use balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or rice wine vinegar.
You can also mix in lemon, lime, or orange juice. A tablespoon of mustard makes a dressing really pop too! And don't forget to mix in some salt and pepper.