Our 20 Best New Salads for Summer

This avocado caprese salad has all the flavors of a classic caprese salad with the addition of creamy avocado. The sweet and tangy balsamic dressing pulls everything together, with fresh basil adding a refreshing pop of color. Add capers for an even bigger flavor.

This cucumber vinegar salad has the perfect balance between sweet and sour flavors, plus a hint of fresh dill. The red onion adds nice crunch. Enjoy this salad right after you're done making it or store it away to snack on for later.

If fresh peas aren't available, thawed frozen peas make an excellent substitute. Look for tender mâche at farmers' markets and natural-foods stores.

Jicama is the crunchy, sweet tuberous root of a legume native to Central America. If you love it in this salad, try including sticks of it with your next crudités spread.

Kohlrabi (a bulbous vegetable related to broccoli and Brussels sprouts but with a milder, sweet flavor) and almonds add crunch to this crowd-pleasing salad. Baked tofu or shrimp can be used instead of the chicken.

A bright lemon, garlic and tarragon vinaigrette coats this salad topped with grilled steak. Since the grill is already fired up, we throw on some bread for homemade croutons.

Here, fresh arugula is whirred into a peppery pesto for dressing this wild rice salad featuring cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta and toasted pine nuts.

This fresh and clean crab salad sits on top of crunchy romaine lettuce with extra crunch coming from bell pepper and celery. The sweet crab is laced with a creamy dressing (thanks to Greek-style yogurt and mayo) with just a hint of Old Bay seasoning. Lemon and herbs bring it all together and brighten everything up.

A Top Chef finalist and James Beard Award nominee, Dawn Burrell is also an Olympian. She found her love of food while traveling the world with the USA Track & Field team. That journey is what inspired her signature global comfort cooking style, which explores the intersection of African and Asian foods. Here, raw collard greens are massaged with a tangy peanut vinaigrette—featuring lime juice, ginger and fish sauce—to tenderize the leaves, like you would do with kale.

This Caesar salad skips croutons in favor of cheesy pan-fried artichokes for an extra boost of vegetables and the same satisfying crunch.

This light and fresh caprese pasta salad is brought together with a bright and tangy dressing, with fresh mozzarella pearls adding creaminess to every bite.

This salad is loaded with colorful produce: fresh mint, snap peas, radishes and oranges. For pretty snap pea slices, cut them into long, thin strips.

This Greek-inspired orzo salad has just the right amount of tartness from red-wine vinegar and just a hint of sweetness. Fresh veggies give it crunch and texture.

The magic of this easy spinach salad is the warm, garlic-infused dressing, which makes the spinach, carrots, radishes and scallions slightly tender and helps them absorb a bit of the dressing.

This chopped salad with chicken is smoky and zesty thanks to the creamy chipotle dressing. Cilantro adds a pop of freshness to each bite.

A cross between turnip and cabbage, rutabagas have purple-tinged yellow skin and yellow, slightly sweet flesh. Adding this veg along with chicken to this classic side transforms it into a hearty dinner salad.

Avocado adds creaminess while sunflower seeds provide texture and crunch in this easy tuna-spinach salad.

Inspired by a traditional Moroccan salad, which consists of oranges and radishes, this version adds romaine lettuce and a classic vinaigrette. Fresh orange juice adds acidity and brightness to the vinaigrette. Pomegranate seeds bring color and crunch. This recipe is perfect for a Kwanzaa celebration; read more in "Why the Karamu Feast Is My Favorite Part of Kwanzaa—and a Simple Menu to Celebrate".

The combination of golden raisins, malt vinegar, fresh ginger and chile yields a complex dressing for an otherwise simple green salad.

The basil dressing packs a punch in this caprese salad with cherry tomatoes. Dark balsamic vinegar is traditional, but to make the color pop, white balsamic vinegar can be used in its place.