Summer Salads for Ridiculously Hot Days
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The hotter it gets, the less enthusiastic I am about cooking. By August, dinner needs to be cool-ish, satisfying, and preferably not involve standing over anything hot. These are the salads I make all summer—big on flavor, light on kitchen duty, and substantial enough to count as dinner.
Some are perfectly happy next to something from the grill, and two can handle dinner all by themselves. Add a cold drink, eat outside if the weather and mosquitoes cooperate, and call it done.
Chinese Chicken Salad
This one came from my mom’s handwritten recipe book—stuffed with newspaper clippings, half-finished recipes, and notes I’m still trying to decipher. Tucked among them was this gem, marked with one word: “Great.” She was right.
The hardest part is remembering to marinate the chicken the night before. Ask Alexa to remind you. Once that’s done, the rest comes together pretty easily.
Mango Chicken Salad
Mango Chicken Salad is fresh, a little sweet, and substantial enough to call dinner. Tender chicken, crisp greens, juicy mango, and plenty of crunch come together with a dressing that keeps the whole thing light.
This one originally showed up in our Lunch on the Greens outing, and it’s been in the summer rotation ever since. It works just as well for dinner when I’d rather spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.
Tabouli
This is the one I forget how much I love until I make it again. Fresh parsley, tomatoes, lemon, and just enough bulgur make it bright, tangy, and especially good alongside anything off the grill.
My sister’s recipe is the keeper. She serves it with warm flour tortillas. Somehow, that turns a side into dinner. Genius.
More Salads for Hot Days
Three salads, three very good reasons not to make dinner complicated. And if Johnny B insists that salad is not dinner, I hand him a piece of salmon and send him out to the grill.
Looking for more? Head to the Salads page → for more easy recipes.
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