The best picnic salads are the ones that can be made in advance and actually improve as the flavors meld together in the fridge while they await their final destination. If you're looking for something to fill a picnic basket or feed a crowd at a cookout, peruse this roundup of make-ahead salads, including savory fruit salads, robust pasta salads like orecchiette with esquites flavors, hearty bean salads, and more.
Spanish pantry staples like mildly spicy and sweet piparra peppers and tangy sherry vinegar bring bold flavor to this hearty pasta salad from 2015 F&W Best New Chef Katie Button of Cúrate in Asheville, North Carolina. "I love this pasta salad because it incorporates fresh summer ingredients, like …
Few things say summer like watermelon. Jacques Pépin's staple warm-weather salad combines sweet melon and cool mint with savory olives, onion, and feta cheese. This easy watermelon salad is ideal for eating outside under the warm sun. Watermelon and mint are refreshing and flavorful, while briny …
Red baby potatoes are ideal for potato salad because of their tender skins and creamy interiors that hold together, even when cooked. Quickly soaking the onions in vinegar mellows their bite and allows the summery fresh herbs to shine in the dressing. Be sure to taste the salad after chilling and …
Shredded carrots are cooked until just softened and paired with a tangy and creamy yogurt to make this vibrant Turkish side. Popular at Turkish meze, a collection of small plates served as appetizers, the beauty of this dish lies in its effortlessness. Naturally sweet carrots are intertwined with …
This colorful salad pairs Savoy and red cabbage, tender herbs, and crunchy cashews with a creamy lemon-ginger dressing. Creamy avocado and juicy mango balance the crunch of Savoy and red cabbage in this slaw-like salad. Tender scallions, mint, cilantro, and toasted cashews play off the tangy, …
Pick up a rotisserie chicken for this salad, then toss it with crisp cabbage, carrots, red onion, herbs, and a tangy dressing before topping it with fried shallots and chopped peanuts. Seattle chef-restaurateurs (and siblings) Eric and Sophie Banh like to poach the chicken for this vibrant …
Salami, provolone, tomatoes, olives, and roasted peppers make this crunchy, savory salad hearty enough for a light meal. This salad takes all the bits and pieces you love picking from the antipasti bar at a specialty market or Italian restaurant, and combines them in a single bowl full of …
Esquites is the creamy corn salad version of elote, the beloved Mexican street food where corn on the cob is slathered with mayo and sprinkled with chili powder and Cotija cheese. Here, we've taken esquites and turned it into a pasta salad, loaded with charred corn, zucchini, scallions, and poblano …
This bright Roman-style tuna salad includes crisp celery, Castelvetrano olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. This Italian tuna salad combines oil-packed jarred tuna, sundried tomatoes, red onions, juicy olives, and celery, all tossed in a lemony honey mustard dressing. This recipe is a perfect example of …
This bright, punchy slaw is just what you want to eat alongside grilled meat at a barbecue. When summer barbecues mean you are smoking or otherwise grilling slabs of pork, chicken, or beef, you want something bright to balance all that richness and smoke. This mustard slaw, created by the …
Vinegar, sugar, salt, and onion add gentle, versatile flavor to this quick and easy cucumber salad recipe. Believe it or not, there are actually more than 100 varieties of cucumbers! You're only likely to find a small fraction of them at the grocery store or farmers market, but it's worth noting …
Turn Greek salad into a bright and zingy rice dish. This bright, punchy rice dish is packed with all the flavors of a Greek salad, with crunchy vegetables, juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs, and salty feta cheese. Torn olives give a wonderful texture and create crevices to hold the rice, while a simple …
Serve Tom Colicchio's lemony chickpea salad with warm, soft pita bread to soak up the olive oil dressing. This chickpea salad is accented with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and oregano, and gets a kick of flavor from quick-pickled onion and chopped peperoncini. It is a testament to how delicious and …
Fresh plums and cherries add pops of juicy sweetness to this hearty summer salad. Black rice gives the dish a dark, moody hue and an extra textural bite. The salad builds to a delicious crescendo with its finishing touch: crunchy, craggy, blue cheese–infused breadcrumbs, which provide a lovely …
This simple chilled salad features a zesty dressing of black vinegar, chiles, oyster sauce, and toasted sesame oil over sautéed beech mushrooms. The chewy texture of beech mushrooms — a texture known as “Q” in Taiwan — gives this chilled appetizer salad a fun and toothsome bite. The mushrooms are …
Potlikker, as it’s called in the South, is the savory, starchy liquid left over after cooking beans or greens. Here, chef Joe Kindred whisks the über-flavorful liquid into a vinaigrette, but you can also use it in soups and pasta sauces, or thicken it with butter and drizzle over fish. 2 quarts …
The Good News Sicily's caponata is a tangy eggplant salad served as a side dish or appetizer. This version adds bits of velvety avocado, full of monounsaturated fats that can help lower cholesterol.Plus: More Vegetable Recipes and Tips 2 tablespoons brined capers, drained 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive …
Chef Ken Oringer mixes quinoa with black beans, onions, and peppers to make a hearty and very satisfying side dish that's a fun variation on prosaic five-bean salad. 12 ounces dried black beans, picked over and rinsed Kosher salt 1 cup quinoa, rinsed 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 …
