These Unconventional Summer Salads Are Basically Sunshine In A Bowl

Eating healthy has never been tastier!

With its abundance of creamy ice cream, charred barbeque dinners, and nearly-endless Happy Hours, Summer is a truly glorious time to be a foodie! But there’s one dish that relentless humidity and outdoor parties don’t always get along with, and that’s a leafy green salad.

After sitting out in the sun for just a few hours, the average mixed-greens salad will probably become brown, shriveled, and flavorless. Thankfully, a few determined food bloggers have some fun and unexpected ideas to transform your bland salad into the most legendary summer dish on your picnic table!

1) Easy Grape Salad

Want your salad to be refreshing, colorful, and easy to prepare? Look no further! Spicy Southern Kitchen has an Easy Grape Salad recipe for parents who need a healthy and quick meal to feed their kids after a long day at the pool. Grapes are like the perfect summer snack, anyway–they’re small, sweet, and virtually mess-free–so when you coat them in a creamy mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract, you get a totally refreshing summer salad you can enjoy at the beach, at a block party, at a barbeque, or on a regular weekday!

If you want to transform this healthy salad into an even sweeter dessert salad, Spicy Southern Kitchen recommends topping it with a sugary mixture of brown sugar, chopped pecans, and toffee bits. We never would have thought of adding toffee to a grape salad, but now we can’t stop thinking about it! Adding some raisins to the mix could, in addition to the toffee, contribute a pleasant chewy element to the salad. The combination of such naturally sweet ingredients with “nature’s candy” makes for a salad both you and your kids will want to make every week!

2) Popcorn Salad

Yes, you read that correctly! Homemade Hooplah has a recipe for Popcorn Salad that will make you push your regular ol’ potato salad aside for something a little more exciting. Popcorn Salad contains many traditional summer salad ingredients, like creamy mayonnaise with fresh and crunchy celery, carrots, and chives, so any picky eaters out there can rest assured that this dish isn’t totally unconventional. But prepare yourself for a savory kick–the addition of smoky bacon and cheddar cheese makes for a well-rounded flavor with sweetness complementing the savory taste of the bacon and cheese. By tossing some water chestnuts into the mix, you ensure that this Popcorn Salad is satisfactorily crunchy.

Lastly, of course, is the freshly-popped popcorn! Homemade Hooplah recommends adding the popcorn last so it doesn’t get saturated with the heavier ingredients, like the mayonnaise and diced vegetables. Mixed with the other ingredients, the popcorn provides an amazing crunch most barbeque guests won’t see coming! This recipe is perfect for a summer party and will make an outdoor movie marathon a sophisticated, unforgettable experience.

3) Healthy Dragon Fruit Waldorf Salad

Okay, so maybe acai/pitaya bowls are not exactly unconventional anymore, but when was the last time you dug into a Dragon Fruit Waldorf Salad? You can thank Food Network for this unique and flavorful dish that is perfect for health nuts, vegans, and anyone searching for a summer salad that will quench your hunger and your thirst!

Dragon fruit (pitaya) is a beloved superfruit due to its many health-happy qualities: It’s packed with fiber, vitamins B and C, and digestion-improving nutrients, according to Health Line. In addition to being incredibly healthy, dragon fruit is also totally gorgeous, and its vibrant magenta skin and seed-speckled interior stand out on a summer potluck table adorned with limp lettuce and plain potato salad. Food Network’s recipe is also suitable for a ~fancier~ occasion, like a summer cocktail party or perhaps even a festive wedding reception.

The greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and lemon juice combo results in a one-of-a-kind, refreshing taste that is amplified by freshly-grated ginger and a teaspoon of honey. Though the dragon fruit is the star of the show, other ingredients like a tart Granny Smith apple, red seedless grapes, and crunchy chopped cashews help make this a sophisticated dish with complex, elegant flavors. The lettuce-leaf base of the salad helps hold all of the fruity-nutty goodness together while putting the colorful dragon fruit slices on display. With this bright and summery salad on hand, you’ll no doubt be the envy of any outdoor party!

4) Asian Ramen Slaw

Mayonnaise is a staple in most summer salads and especially in slaws, but the creamy condiment definitely isn’t for everyone–just ask this impassioned Buzzfeed writer! Thankfully, A Pinch of Healthy is here to save the day for everyone who wants to enjoy a healthy summer salad without the infamous mayo. Their recipe for Asian Ramen Slaw is light and tangy, the ideal complement to a plate of barbequed ribs and roasted vegetables. The best part? Once you have the ingredients, it only takes about ten minutes to prepare!

This mayo-less slaw/salad combines sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and avocado oil in order to attain a dynamic Asian-inspired flavor. This recipe puts all kinds of textures and flavors into one salad, from crunchy ramen noodles and almond slivers to a rich, salty drizzle of soy sauce. This soon-to-be family favorite is also completely customizable, so the recipe can be altered depending on the flavor you’re going for. If you want a smoky flavor, A Pinch of Healthy recommends toasting the ramen and almonds before adding them to the coleslaw mix, either in a skillet or in the oven.

With the purple cabbage slivers, orange carrot sticks, and green scallion slices, this recipe is already brightly colored, but if you want a sweeter, more summery look and taste, try adding in some vibrant mandarin oranges or even some apple slices. For a more protein-rich salad, you can’t go wrong by adding edamame or other nuts in addition to the almonds. No matter which variation you go with, there’s no doubt that this Asian Ramen Slaw is sure to be an easy-to-make favorite on your dinner table!

5) Pizza Salad

Is pizza the perfect summer food? Perhaps–but this healthy salad alternative just may give it a run for its money! If Pizza absolutely had to come in any other form, this zesty recipe from Taste of Home would be the next best choice. This Pizza Salad recipe is both light and lighthearted–it’s a delicious mix of healthy ingredients and colorful, fun pizza-like flavors. The use of cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, oregano, and sliced pepperoni maintain the classic essence of pizza while the use of red wine vinegar and sliced green onions add a rich, sophisticated element to an otherwise kid-friendly recipe.  

This salad is more like a pasta salad, which only makes it better, right? It’s basically a combo of everyone’s two favorite foods–pizza and pasta–into one bold dish. Some fans of the recipe recommend adding mozzarella to the mix for a truly cheesy and pizza-y salad, and others add peppers in order to increase the spiciness of the salad. The idea of pizza in salad form may sound crazy, but this party-ready dish is sure to tempt even the most die-hard pizza fans!

6) Chilled Calamari Salad with Lemon & Parsley

When we think of summer, we automatically think of the beach, and nothing screams “beach day” more than seafood! Calamari is a more unusual salad ingredient that only the most daring of diners are likely to try, but we would recommend this recipe by SkinnyTaste to anyone looking for a unique summer salad to brighten their tabletop. SkinnyTaste’s recipe for Chilled Calamari Salad with Lemon & Parsley is also a totally guilt-free dish: It’s gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly, so really, what are you waiting for?

This salad is refreshingly daring and just plain refreshing, thanks to such palate-cleansing ingredients as lemon and ginger. The red onion, roasted red pepper, and sliced ginger make for a spicy salad reminiscent of Greek flavors; add some kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes to give your whole dish a cool Grecian flair. If you want to enhance the spice of the salad to create a summery Latin flavor that’s ideal for hot weather, add some cilantro and lime. The use of celery and lemon is wonderfully cooling when used with the spicier ingredients, so feel free to experiment with ingredients of all kinds of flavors! The use of fresh calamari makes this a totally unique dish, so whichever way you prepare it, your guests are definitely in for a memorable dining experience!

7) Creamy Pineapple Fluff Salad

Okay, so this recipe by Taste of Home may not be the healthiest salad option, and the recipe may not include any vegetables per se, but hey, summer is all about letting go and having some fun–why not do so with your salad?

Dessert Salads are as classic as classic gets, and so is the controversy surrounding whether or not these fruity, creamy, and sugary dishes can actually be considered salads. We say, why think negatively? Taste of Home’s Creamy Pineapple Fluff Salad contains fruit, so it’s good enough for us.

This salad combines the creamy goodness of ice cream, the chewy fruitiness of a regular fruit salad, and the sweet-and-sour taste of lemon into one glorious bowl. It achieves its winning creaminess thanks to some softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and frozen whipped cream. The mix of maraschino cherries and pineapple make the salad feel even more tropical and summery, while the lemon juice and cream cheese give it some extra tang. If you’re still not convinced that this salad makes a perfect summer dish, the chopped nuts and multi-colored mini marshmallows used as toppings really give off those coveted summer vacation vibes!

This is a luxuriously creamy dish that, when mixed with such tropical ingredients as pineapples and cherries, make it a tangy and invigorating dessert salad!

Written by Emma Patterson