Summer salads
3/23/2026 by Natalie Niebler
Summer salads are a great way to take advantage of seasonal produce in their peak flavor. With endless ways to customize, putting together the perfect summer salad creates a healthy and satisfying meal. Shopping for a variety of fruits and vegetables at your local supermarket or farmers market helps to capture peak freshness and packs in fiber and nutrients for a refreshing meal.
Building a tasty and filling salad:
- Start with a bed of leafy veggies. Summer favorites might include spinach, arugula, red and green leaf lettuce and more.
- Add a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, including sweet corn, roasted zucchini or berries.
- Make it filling. Adding an extra grain like quinoa, rice or farro; a protein source like grilled chicken, tofu, or shrimp; or a variety of nuts or seeds like pistachios, pumpkin seeds or almonds will help make the salad more satisfying.
- Choose a dressing. Making your own dressing with ingredients like olive or avocado oil for healthy fats, and vinegar, lemon juice, or fresh herbs for flavor can be a money-saving and healthier option to store-bought dressings.
Incorporating multiple ingredients from different food groups builds a nourishing and satisfying meal without compromising flavor. Get other recipe ideas from the Mayo Clinic Healthy Recipes website. Use them for inspiration or build your own.
Natalie Niebler received a bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is currently completing her master’s degree in clinical nutrition at UW–Madison in addition to a dietetic internship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.