Fruit

10 Fruity Summer Salads That Aren't Fruit Salad

July 23, 2015

Salad shouldn't be an obligation or an afterthought—and it doesn't always have to be kale, either. 

Today, entirely green salads are boring! These 10 fruit-filled salads will give you something sweet to look forward to as you plow through a bowl of leaves.

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Which salad experience do you prefer: leaf-leaf-leaf-leaf-leaf-leaf-nut-leaf or leaf-tomato-peach-cheese-nut-leaf-peach-tomato-cheese?

If you're tired of slogging through a leaf-heavy salad, fishing for the sad slivers of nuts that have gathered at the bottom of the bowl, there's an easy solution: Add more stuff to those greens (we've advocated for this before).

Mixing in chunks of ripe fruit will make the eating experience less monotonous—and more enjoyable. Each of these 10 salads, a mix of our favorites from our resident salad expert Elizabeth Stark and our recipe archive, contains something sweet (and fruity) to look forward to:

Fig and Manchego Salad with Herbed Croutons

 

Grilled Peach and Apricot Salad

 

Grilled Salad with Romaine, Peaches, Garlic Scapes, and Steak

 

Watermelon, Tomato, and Four-Herb Salad

 

Plum Avocado Summer Salad

 

Farro, Kale, and Strawberry Salad with Bacon and Chili-Dusted Pepitas

 

Charred Corn Salad with Quick Pickles and Lime Dressing

 

Fig and Cantaloupe Salad with Watercress and Creamy Garlic-Lime Dressing

 

Grilled Watermelon and Donut Peach Salad with Balsamic Reduction

 

Green Bean Salad with Peaches and Balsamic Bitters Vinaigrette

What's your favorite salad to make in the summer? Share with us in the comments below!

Photos by Elizabeth Stark and James Ransom

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • Hermione
    Hermione
I used to work at Food52. I'm probably the person who picked all of the cookie dough out of the cookie dough ice cream.

2 Comments

AntoniaJames July 23, 2015
Genius (truly he is) Bill Smith's Green Peach Salad https://food52.com/recipes/13549-crook-s-corner-s-green-peach-salad
Shown with white peaches (gorgeous) https://instagram.com/p/vAQDupGBzH/?taken-by=howmothercooks
and yellow peaches (just as luscious) https://instagram.com/p/vAOn1BmBxD/?taken-by=howmothercooks
Another fruit - savory cross over, of which we cannot get enough, is this tomato + beet + strawberry salad -- the best of summer in a bowl!
https://food52.com/recipes/18576-all-kinds-of-red-summer-salad-with-tomatoes-beets-and-strawberries
Those are just a few . . . we eat salad every day, and throughout the year I routinely, almost always in fact, put seasonal fruit in green salads. ;o)
 
Hermione July 23, 2015
I love my carrot, beetroot and courgette salad, very fresh and summery!
http://hermionespantry.com/2015/07/08/carrot-beetroot-and-courgette-salad/