Favorite Lunch Salad Recipes (2024)

26 Vegetarian Sandwich Recipes You'll Want to Make for Lunch

To keep your salad fresh, consider packing your dressings on the side so the lettuce base doesn’t become soggy in your lunchbox or stored in the fridge.

Scandinavian Shrimp Salad

Inspired by the Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, this yummy lunch salad recipe will help you push through any afternoon slump, without feeling too heavy on your stomach. In addition to the protein-rich shrimp and eggs, the fennel and cornichons add a satisfying crunch.

Chicken Paillard Caprese Panzanella

Is there anything that feels more like you’ve been whisked away to the Italian seaside than a classic salad Panzanella? While this may seem heavy with ingredients, it’s surprisingly light, featuring vine-ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fast-to-make chicken cutlets. You can skip or add the bread—but we suggest toasting it and drizzling a bit of olive oil for a mouthwatering bite you won’t forget.

Kale and Lentil Bowl with Avocado Dressing

There are some days when a simple salad is enough to get you through (yet another) day of Zoom meetings. And sometimes, you need something heartier. Enter: this protein-packed kale and lentil bowl with a creamy avocado dressing. We love how you can add nearly anything on top—from chicken and turkey to tofu—or keep it vegetarian. Psst: try to buy vacuum-packed cooked lentils to make prep as easy as possible.

Cobb Salad

This popular salad consists of shredded chicken, hard-cooked eggs, tomato, avocado, blue cheese, shredded romaine lettuce, and crumbled bacon. It requires only 15 minutes of prep time, but you can cut that down further by using rotisserie chicken instead of roasting your own chicken breasts.

Bean, Corn, and Tortilla Salad

This healthy taco salad begins with a bed of romaine lettuce and baked tortilla chips. Heat pinto beans, frozen corn, and salsa in the microwave to make the warm topping.

Flank Steak and Arugula Salad

A rub of chili powder, oregano, and cumin coats seared flank steak in this Tex-Mex salad. A dressing of prepared salsa and balsamic vinegar is a smart way to punch up the flavor without adding extra oil, while crumbled goat cheese adds a hint of creaminess.

Chopped Salad with Spicy Pork and Buttermilk Dressing

Rub pork tenderloin with a mix of chipotle chile powder, salt, and pepper before broiling. Cut the cooked pork into chunks and toss with romaine lettuce, pepper Jack cheese, corn kernels, and cherry tomatoes, along with a creamy buttermilk dressing.

Chicken Tostada Salad

This quick Mexican salad is packed with flavor and texture. Crispy tortillas are piled high with melted cheese, lettuce, cilantro, tomato, avocado, and onion, as well as a mixture of chicken breast, onion, and chili powder. Feel free to add salsa, sour cream, or taco sauce as toppings.

Nicoise Salad

This super-quick version of this time-honored favorite can be ready in only 20 minutes. Canned tuna mixed with vinaigrette tops Bibb lettuce, along with blanched green beans, hard-cooked eggs, plum tomatoes, and olives. Roast the tomatoes, if you like, to concentrate their flavor.

Chef's Salad with Turkey, Avocado, and Jack Cheese

Top Boston lettuce with deli-sliced turkey, avocado, and Monterey Jack cheese for this Southwestern-style chef's salad. Mix buttermilk and reduced-fat sour cream for a creamy but light dressing.

Buttermilk Chicken Caesar Salad

This take on a chicken Caesar salad has the familiar flavors of romaine lettuce, sliced chicken breasts, Parmesan cheese, and crunchy croutons. These are enhanced by a zippy buttermilk dressing that doubles as a tenderizing marinade for the chicken. Radicchio adds a burst of color and a pleasant hint of bitterness.

Shrimp Pasta Salad with Cucumber and Dill

This fresh-tasting pasta salad features shrimp, large pasta shells, dill, and sliced cucumber. The dressing is made with light mayonnaise, accented with mustard. To keep the texture and flavor of this salad at its best, toss the pasta mixture and dressing together right before serving.

Chopped Greek Salad

This colorful Greek salad of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and green pepper is accented with Kalamata olives and diced feta cheese. To make it ahead, prepare the lemon juice and olive oil dressing separately and combine with the salad when ready to serve.

Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese

This hearty warm salad consists of green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, shallots, and fresh parsley. Coarsely chopped spinach wilts slightly as it is stirred in at the end. Goat cheese adds a touch of richness.

Spinach Salad with Turkey Bacon and Blue Cheese

Prepare this simple but flavorful salad of spinach, red onion, hard-cooked eggs, blue cheese, and crumbed turkey bacon in just 30 minutes, and serve it with herb toasts. Turkey bacon imparts a similar smoky flavor as regular bacon but is lower in fat.

Asian Chicken Salad

Shredded red cabbage and chicken are combined with fresh mint and cilantro, then topped with a spicy, sweet dressing to make a salad packed with flavor and texture. A jalapeno pepper brings the heat to this dish; remove its seeds and ribs for a milder dressing. Swap cubed firm tofu for the chicken to make the salad vegetarian.

Smoked-Salmon Cobb Salad

Smoked salmon replaces chicken in this modern spin on the classic Cobb. The salmon is a nice match to crisp bacon and creamy buttermilk dressing.

Antipasti Pasta Salad

This salad features the zesty flavors of a traditional Italian antipasti platter mixed with spiral-shaped pasta. This recipe calls for salami, mozzarella, green olives, and jarred red peppers, but feel free to add or substitute other antipasti favorites, including tuna, provolone, anchovies, artichoke hearts, capers, or marinated mushrooms.

Turkey Taco Salad

This flavorful Tex-Mex salad matches Boston lettuce and crushed tortilla chips with tomatoes, white cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, and a warm mixture of ground turkey, onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and green salsa. You can substitute ground beef for the ground turkey, or to make a vegetarian salad, leave out the meat and add your favorite canned beans instead.

Caesar Salad with Spicy Shrimp

Chili powder adds punch to shrimp and corn tortilla croutons in this spicy version of a Caesar salad. Combining light mayonnaise and lime juice with the typical anchovy fillets and Parmesan cheese lightens up this dressing without affecting the flavor. Toss the dressing with romaine lettuce, top with shrimp and tortilla croutons, and garnish with more Parmesan if desired.

Spinach Salad with Ham and Egg

This easy main-course salad is a good way to use leftover ham, but feel free to substitute deli-sliced ham or turkey. The spinach, meat, and radishes are tossed with a warm dressing of sauted onion, oil, mustard, and vinegar and garnished with quartered hard-cooked eggs.

Chicken Club Salad

The filling from this classic sandwich is reinvented as an equally tasty salad. Diced chicken breasts, tomatoes, celery, and onion are dressed with mayonnaise and vinegar, then served on a bed of lettuce topped with crumbled bacon. Cooking bacon on the same baking sheet as the chicken breasts lends them extra smoky flavor. To make ahead, store each component separately and combine just before serving.