In need of easy salad ideas and great salad recipes? Hope you are ready to have your mind blown by these 16 best salad recipes that are filling, satisfying, and easy to make. From quick salad recipes to make-ahead salads, you have plenty of options to make your salad meals healthy and delicious.
Salads are convenient and easy to make. They are also the go-to healthy meal for everybody who wants to add more nutrients to their diet.
How would you describe your favorite salad? For me, it’s a clean, healthy salad packed with protein and fiber, and rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It also has to be colorful. And to taste delicious. Different textures and flavors are nice, too.
I don’t like salads that don’t taste good or salads that taste good, but are not healthy. Not to mention, a salad is no good if it’s not filling or satisfying. So these characteristics have to be on the list as well. Who wants to bother prepping a salad only to feel hungry after an hour or so. No one, right?
I like my healthy salads to be able to replace a meal. Successfully. The good news is, I know many salad recipes that can do that.
I’m pretty sure you want the same thing from a healthy salad so I decided to gather all my favorites in one place. All these healthy salads are clean, easy salads that are delicious and filling despite being made with unrefined ingredients.
If you are looking for salad ideas, stick around and discover the best salads you can make for lunch or dinner, plus tips for how to make a salad healthy and delicious at the same time, and all my favorite healthy salad recipes.
Before diving into the salad recipes, let’s discuss the tools you need to make healthy salads. That’s the first step in learning how to make a salad and we shouldn’t skip it. These tools allow me to make delicious and healthy salads and amazing salad dressings. And they will do the same thing for you.
If you want to test these easy healthy salads, find your mixing bowls because you will use them a lot. Also, make sure you have airtight containers and mason jars on hand for all the amazing make ahead salads. To make filling, satisfying salads, and delicious salads, you need to use both fresh and cooked ingredients. You’ll need a skillet or a pan to cook lean meats and a pot for boiling eggs and cooking rice or quinoa. To make delicious homemade dressings for your healthy salads, you’ll need a food processor or blender. Aside from the tools I mentioned, you’ll, of course, need some kitchen essentials such as vegetable peeler, knife, cutting board to prep the veggies for the healthy salads.
TIPS FOR MAKING SALADS EXTRA DELICIOUS-AWESOME
To make salads delicious, you have to be open to new flavor combinations and to learn how to make a salad balanced and nutritious. Because no, unfortunately, not all salads are healthy. But it’s definitely very easy to make them healthy. So here are my tips:
To make salads healthy and delicious, mix greens with veggies and/ or fruits; Add healthy grains such as quinoa to make them filling; Pack them with healthy proteins such as lean meats, eggs, and beans; Skip the store-bought salad dressing that is loaded with fats and sodium and make healthy salad dressing from scratch with clean ingredients.
BEST HEALTHY SALAD RECIPES
These healthy salad recipes are perfect for lunch or dinner and they are easy salads you can easily put together when you don’t have a lot of time to make a meal from scratch. In fact, there are some great make ahead salads on the list. Those are perfect for meal-prepping. But, most of the recipes are quick salad recipes you can put together in less than 30 minutes if meal prepping is not really your thing. Although I really think it should be because meal prepping makes everything easier.
Good salad recipes = easy healthy meals
So let’s start talking about these amazing salad recipes, shall we?
1. HEALTHY BROCCOLI SALAD WITH GREEK YOGURT DRESSING
Transform the classic broccoli salad into a healthy broccoli salad. Made with a Greek yogurt dressing, the Healthy Broccoli Salad with Greek Yogurt Dressing is filled with goodness and it is great as a side salad or entree. Simple salad recipe but so delicious
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 20 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 226 kcal 2. CHICKEN COBB MASON JAR SALAD
This Chicken Cobb Mason Jar Salad is the best salad ever for a nutrition-packed lunch. But it’s also great if you’re looking for salad ideas for dinner. It’s healthy, it’s clean but it’s also filling and delicious.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 364 kcal 3. HEALTHY TACO SALAD RECIPE
With this Healthy Taco Salad Recipe, you’ll be cutting down on carbs without realizing it. This salad recipe gives you the texture and amazing flavors of tacos but with fewer carbs and more fun. BTW, the Healthy Taco Salad Recipe is great for make ahead salads.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 284 kcal 4. BEET & GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH WHITE WINE VINEGAR DRESSING
If you’re looking for easy salads that allow you to satisfy your cheese cravings, this Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing is calling your name. The salad is packed with fibers, protein, and vitamins and it’s perfect for a light dinner or a lunch on-the-go.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 419 kcal 5. STEAK COBB SALAD WITH CREAMY AVOCADO CILANTRO LIME DRESSING
Steak Cobb Salad With Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing – a fresh and easy salad that’s filling and tasty. Don’t even get me started on the avocado cilantro lime dressing. It’s. So. Good.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 20 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 478 kcal 6. QUINOA LENTIL SALAD WITH LEMON VINAIGRETTE
Out of all the healthy lunch salads out there, this Quinoa Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette has to be my favorite. It’s not only light and healthy, but it’s also vibrant, colorful, and flavorful.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 15 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 425 kcal 7. LEFTOVER TURKEY SALAD WITH CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Easy healthy salads are the salads you can make without too much effort. Salads like this Leftover Turkey Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette that is ready in less than 15 minutes and is as delicious as it can be.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 8 mins Total Time: 13 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 634 kcal 8. 4 EASY MASON JAR SALAD RECIPES
Add these 4 Easy Mason Jar Salad Recipes on your list of easy salads. As a matter of fact, add them to your list of quick salad recipes too because they are indeed quick and easy. And they look so pretty in the mason jars! Amazing make ahead salads!
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 30 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 530 kcal 9. MAKE-AHEAD GREEK QUINOA STACKS
Speaking of make ahead salads, I have another amazing recipe for you – Make-Ahead Greek Quinoa Stacks. This salad recipe makes a week worth of lunch salads in only 30 minutes. Amazeballs!
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 591 kcal 10. CHOPPED THAI SALAD PEANUT DRESSING
If you need healthy lunch salads ideas that are vegetarian (and easily made vegan by replacing raw honey with maple syrup in the salad dressing), make this Chopped Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 541 kcal 11. SPRINGTIME COBB SALAD WITH RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Spring is colorful, fresh, and amazing and the healthy lunch salads you make during spring should reflect that. Like this Springtime Cobb Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette does. It’s so colorful, fresh, and filled with delicious seasonal ingredients.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 502 kcal 12. TURKEY TACO LUNCH BOWL
This Turkey Taco Lunch Bowl is a delicious bowl of goodness that tastes incredible, is filling, satisfying, and very easy to make. And yes, this easy salad is another great way to make tacos healthier without compromising on taste and flavor.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 578 kcal 13. STRAWBERRY FIELDS SALAD WITH CHIA SEEDS VINAIGRETTE
Adding fruits to salads is a great way to make them interesting and exciting. And seasonal fruits are always the best option. During spring months, make this Strawberry Fields Salad with Chia Seed Vinaigrette and enjoy the best flavors of spring in a light, healthy, and easy to make salad.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 402 kcal 14. SPRING GRAINS + GREENS SALAD WITH HONEY LEMON VINAIGRETTE
This Spring Grains + Greens Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette is fun, creative, and so, so, so delicious. It’s made with snap peas, goat cheese, blackberries, and other amazing ingredients. Plus a delicious honey lemon dressing that brings all the flavors together.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 35 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 467 kcal 15. END OF SUMMER SALAD WITH FIG BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
After so many amazing healthy lunch salads, I think it’s time for more salad ideas for dinner. I hope you agree because I’m very excited about this End Of Summer Salad With Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette. It has the most amazing flavors!
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 20 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 549 kcal 16. MAKE-AHEAD MASON JAR SALADS FOR THE WEEK + A KILLER CLEAN HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING!
In a matter of minutes, you’ll make these Make-Ahead Mason Jar Salads For The Week + A Killer Clean Honey Mustard Dressing that will last you for an entire week. Amazing, right? The salad is even more amazing. And the dressing? LOVE!
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 434 kcal
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Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!
Do you observe Meatless Monday? It’s a movement to once a week, eat all vegetarian and vegan recipes! In our own life, Alex and I take it a step further and do mostly meatless recipes during the week, and then splurge on the weekends. Though A Couple Cooks is a vegan and vegetarian food blog, it sometimes surprises people to know we’re not 100% vegetarian! (We call it flexitarian.) Whatever the case, Alex and I started eating more vegetables for two reasons: it’s improves our physical health, and the health of the planet. Keep reading for our favorite Meatless Monday recipes, a bit more about Meatless Monday, and a podcast episode that explains how eating less meat helps the planet.
What is Meatless Monday?First of all, what’s Meatless Monday? Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: one day a week, cut the meat. It was launched in 2003 as a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, working with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15% for our personal health and the health of the planet. Now entering its second decade, Meatless Monday is embraced in over 40 countries and in over 20 languages! How cool is that?
Why eat less meat?There are lots of reasons to eat less meat. The two most important for us: eating lots of vegetables is good for our health. And it’s also good for the health of the planet. Why is it better for the Earth to eat less meat? In short: eating meat takes up a lot of resources. And growing plants uses less resources than growing meat. It’s a complicated topic, so we brought in an expert to help!
In our Small Bites podcast episode called Eating to Save the World, Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to breaks it down for us! She shared how what we eat affects the planet. We also talked about practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals: like all these Meatless Monday recipes! Listen below.
And now…our top 25 Meatless Monday recipes!
These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring a taco spiced quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta cheese! And they take only 30 minutes to make, putting them at the top of our list of Meatless Monday recipes.
Best Teriyaki Vegetable Stir Fry
This one’s the best veggie stir fry out there! This teriyaki vegetable stir fry is a favorite tasty and easy vegetarian recipe. The homemade teriyaki sauce is so easy to make: it takes just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes. The teriyaki also has no refined sugar, instead relying on maple syrup! This Meatless Monday recipe is so delicious, it’s become a serious go to in our house.
White Bean Shakshuka with Feta
This white bean shakshuka recipe is a delicious vegetarian brunch or dinner recipe! The eggs are cooked in a savory tomato sauce, along with peppers, onions and white beans. Shakshuka recipes are having their moment, and this one’s one of the best.
Veggie Burrito Bowls
This low carb burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is a delicious way to eat more vegetables! It’s Whole 30 vegetarian and customizable for all diets. And can we say chorizo eggs? The way we’ve cooked the eggs here has gotten rave reviews from readers. One reader even made the chorizo eggs to go on a breakfast sandwich too: this genius move makes for two Meatless Monday recipes in one!
All Star Sweet Potato Chili
This vegetarian sweet potato chili recipe is all star and a family favorite! It’s a delicious healthy dinner recipe where you won’t miss the meat.
Mexican Pizza
Can’t decide between Italian and Mexican food? Have we got the perfect Meatless Monday recipe for you! This delicious Mexican pizza recipe features creamy refried beans, spicy jalapeño, and sweet corn. Make the dough in advance or use storebought dough for weeknight ease.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes! They feature tomatillo salsa verde that makes them “green” enchiladas, and they’re filled with sweet potato, black beans, and Colby Jack cheese.
Easy Calzone Recipe
This simple calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. Make the dough in advance or use storebought pizza dough to make this easier for a weeknight in your Meatless Monday recipes repertoire!
Mexican Lasagna
Remember that Mexican pizza? This vegetarian Mexican lasagna uses the same Mexican and Italian fusion, and is the ultimate healthy dinner recipe! Layered with lasagna noodles, corn, and black beans, it’s full of zesty flavor.
Hearty Sweet Potato and Kale Soup
Looking for a hearty meal? This sweet potato and kale soup features black beans and is flavored with cumin and lime; it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
Vegetarian Gumbo
Packed with red beans and okra, this easy vegetarian gumbo recipe brings New Orleans to your kitchen. With a few swaps, this recipe can be made vegan too.
Margherita Pizza Recipe
What’s more classic than a margherita pizza in your Meatless Monday recipes? This homemade margherita pizza recipe features a time saving no-cook sauce. Although this pizza uses few ingredients, it packs in big flavor. Make the pizza dough in advance or use storebought to make it a weeknight meal.
Quinoa Veggie Burgers
This coconut lentil curry has it all: it’s a fast and easy dinner idea that’s healthy and full of flavor. Perfect for weeknights and your arsenal of Meatless Monday recipes.
Loaded Veggie Quesadilla Recipe
This Italian pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, and crisp romaine. It takes under 30 minutes to make, which is perfect as a healthy weeknight meal. It’s also great for lunches!
Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce
These chickpea couscous bowls are a super quick dinner recipe: in just 25 minutes you have a fresh, vegan Mediterranean bowl covered in tangy tahini sauce.
Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter Sauce
These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe! They’ve become one of our favorite go to’s for Meatless Monday recipes, and are a hit with our readers over on Instagram.
This vegetarian and vegan Italian vegetable gnocchi soup is bursting with flavor and can be made in around 30 minutes, making it an easy weeknight meal. If you eat dairy, top with Parmesan shavings as a garnish.
BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
These plant-based BBQ bean tacos with tangy pineapple salsa are a delicious fast and easy dinner recipe! They’re on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Everything Bagel Pasta
This Everything Bagel pasta takes the magic of an everything bagel and makes it into a delicious vegetarian dinner. And it takes only 15 minutes to make!
Easy Vegan Korean Ramen
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)
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Pin RecipeDo you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @acouplecooks on Instagram and hashtag it #acouplecooks
A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes
These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta!
This post was created in partnership with ALDI. All opinions are our own.
Ready for another delicious and easy dinner idea? Meet our new favorite: Loaded Quinoa Tacos! That’s right: quinoa and tacos meet to create a delicious vegetarian taco recipe that takes only 30 minutes to make! (3 cheers, over here!) These tacos can be vegetarian or vegan, depending on the toppings. Here we’ve topped the quinoa taco filling with a quick bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, pickled onions, and feta cheese. One word: magic. Oh AND you can get every single ingredient in this recipe at ALDI, making it super accessible and affordable. To show you just how easy and delicious it is, we even made you a video of us making this quinoa tacos recipe in our kitchen!
PSST! We’ve got a $50 ALDI gift card giveaway! Just click the Quinoa Tacos video below and click over to YouTube to add a comment. Giveaway ends January 18, 2019 at 10:00 pm. US only; winner will be chosen at random from the YouTube comments.
COUPON! ALDI now delivers groceries to your door using Instacart! Place your ALDI order on Instacart, then use the code ALDIFAN for $10 off your first three ALDI orders on Instacart of $35 or more.
Related: Veggie Burrito Bowls
Watch how to make quinoa perfectly & quinoa tacosHere’s a peek into Alex and my home kitchen in Indianapolis! This year we’re transporting you right into our kitchen to make some healthy, delicious and simple recipes. Along with the quinoa tacos, we also share our method for cooking quinoa perfectly and a few tips for amping up flavor in your quinoa.
How to make loaded quinoa tacosNow for the quinoa tacos! Alex and I created this vegetarian taco recipe as a quick and easy dinner idea. To make the quinoa taco filling, we do the following: follow the 2 ways to make quinoa taste better below. Then when the quinoa is done, sauté it in a skillet for a few minutes with coconut oil and taco spices. When it’s done, add a bit of lime juice and sliced green onions for freshness. It transforms everyday quinoa into a delicious taco filling. The organic quinoa shown here and all the ingredients in this recipe are available at ALDI, so it’s an accessible way to eat lots of organic grains and veggies! ALDI has a huge selection of organic, gluten-free, low carb, high protein and clean label products and produce that you can pick up at incredibly affordable prices.
Then, get creative with your taco toppings! There is some art to topping a taco to make sure the toppings work together in terms of texture, flavor, and color. You can use whatever toppings you’d like, just make sure to have a creamy sauce! The creamy sauce is a must with quinoa tacos since they can be dry without it. We chose our toppings to be simple but compliment the quinoa taco filling perfectly. A quick bell pepper slaw is tangy and crunchy, and our spicy sour cream makes the creamy sauce. Then top with salty feta crumbles! We’ve also used a spring mix as the base of the taco, to get in some nutritious greens! And finally we’ve used pickled onions for some flair! You can definitely omit them (they take 1 hour to make and you can make the night before). We like using them for some extra tangy flavor and pizzazz.
Want to try it? Are you an ALDI fan? Let us know if you head to ALDI and make this recipe! Tell us in the comments below or tag us on Instagram: @acouplecooks and @aldiusa.
In the video above, we share our 2 ways to make quinoa taste better. Alex and I have found there a few ways to step up our Perfect Quinoa method to make it taste even better. Here’s what we do (and we use them both in our quinoa tacos recipe):
Toast the quinoa. Toasting the quinoa in a dry pan before cooking it brings in a beautiful, nutty flavor to the quinoa! Use veggie broth. Instead of using water to cook your quinoa, use broth instead! It brings a bold, savory note to the quinoa that’s takes no extra effort to add.Do you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker? Try our Instant Pot quinoa method instead!
This quinoa tacos recipe is one of our favorite new easy dinner ideas! Some of our other top easy dinner ideas on A Couple Cooks:
Veggie Packed Quinoa Fried RiceCoconut Lentil Curry with Greens5 Minute Romesco Gnocchi Sauce RecipeBest Stir Fry Vegetables with TeriyakiUltimate Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
And a little behind the scenes of “assistant” and toddler Larson, who absolutely LOVES these quinoa tacos! So they’re kid friendly too.
This recipe is…This quinoa tacos recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free and vegan (see vegan toppings below).
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(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)
Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes 
Yield: 10 to 12 tacos 
Category: Main Dish 
Method: Stovetop 
Cuisine: Mexican InspiredThese loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta!
*For the toppings, get as creative as you’d like! Just make sure to have something creamy as a sauce to hold it all together. For vegan, using hummus brings in an almost cheesy flavor (we like the Park Street Deli Classic Hummus at ALDI.) Options of other creamy vegan sauces are: Cilantro Drizzle & Chipotle Tahini Sauce. You could also add pinto or black beans to make it more filling, or serve with a side of our Supremely Simple Refried Black Beans as mentioned above.
Keywords: Quinoa tacos, Quinoa taco filling, Vegetarian taco recipe, Taco Recipe, Vegetarian Dinner Ideas, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Vegan Dinner Ideas
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A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes
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