67 Main Course Salads to Enjoy!

I love how easy this salad is to make. It’s also a pretty affordable recipe using a couple of items that most of us have in our pantries! Pasta and canned tuna for the win.

This hearty salad is a winning combination of delicious fresh ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil-one of my favorite condiments.

I’ve never considered combining tortellini and chicken and throwing it into a bed of arugula, but I’m so glad that Son Shine Kitchen did. As a person who is obsessed with lemons, I can’t get enough of this dressing.

Ok, some people may consider this salad a chunky version of guacamole but I love that it’s a delicious, tangly salad made with one of my favorite things to eat-avocado!

People fight over potato salad and it’s amazing to see how the simple potato can be so delicious. What is so nice about this salad is the simplicity of ingredients. 

There are three must have condiments that every home cook should have in their home kitchen: sesame oil, vinegar, and olive oil. This asian chicken salad is an upleveled frugal meal with super affordable, fresh ingredients including bell pepper, garlic, car

If you enjoy a good steak but don’t want to splash out on a huge piece of expensive meat, this salad is a great way to enjoy your favorite cut of meat for a lot less money. The ingredient that pulls this whole recipe together is bacon. Everything is made better with bacon.

You may notice a trend because this salad also includes one of the world’s tastiest ingredients-bacon. In addition to being a beautiful looking salad, it tastes good too.

This wonderful gluten-free salad is a take on Italian pasta salad. Garbanzo beans gives this salad a protein punch. This recipe encourages cooks to clean out the fridge and add it to the salad.

This salad is so dang delicious. With a mix of arugula, avocado, shredded chicken, and prosciutto, it’s an elegant and simple meal paired nicely with a glass of white wine.

Mixed greens, eggs, chicken, and sunflower seeds create a meal that anyone could create. Even the worst cook in the world.

There are a couple of salad combinations that are addictive to me and prosciutto and arugula in a salad is always a winning combination. What’s nice about this salad is the addition of cannellini beans and fennel which gives the salad a slight licorice flavor and crunch.

There’s something about this salad that reminds me of my grandma in the best of ways. Happily, there’s no jello added to it.

One of the most challenging aspects of eating keto, paleo, etc. Is finding enough delicious recipes so that you have a constant rotation of yummy things to eat. This salad takes 10 minutes to whip together and the Italian seasoning gives it a nice tang.

This is a wonderful summertime salad. Shrimp, cauliflower, and fresh dill are a fun combination.

It’s not often that people think about grilling fruit for salad, but hopefully this recipe will change people’s minds. If you have a mini stove top grill collecting dust in your pantry, grab it and make this dish. There’s also grilled halloumi in this dish.

The saltiness of capers balances out the rest of the ingredients in this salad. Toss together potatoes, frozen peas, spring onions, and tomatoes for a hearty main course salad.

Shallots are the red-headed stepchild of the onion family and I don’t know why. This ingredient elevates the simplest of dishes and that’s definitely the case with this salad. 

Kale makes this salad hearty. What’s so nice about this dish is the addition of pomegranate seeds, an ingredient that many people have never really used except during Thanksgiving.  

Grab your bacon, avocado, and tomato and whip up this keto cobb salad for dinner. Use your favorite keto dressing to top it off.

Strawberries and steak are a combination that many people may not have considered until now. This is a five ingredient salad, not including the ingredients to make the dressing. Top it off with freshly ground pepper and salt and enjoy!

Do you love fruit? Then you’ll love this salad. Strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mandarin oranges are a yummy accompaniment with cooked chicken

Not all salads have to be light. If you’re craving a slightly naughty salad, the frito taco salad is your new delicious fix.

What’s fun about this recipe is the addition of mint. This six ingredient salad is easily whipped together when you’re rushed for time.

This salad has pickles in it. And whole grain mustard. Lime juice and dill weed. It’s a slightly tart and tangy mix of ingredients that initially feel like they shouldn’t be mixed together.

What is unique about this salad is the creation of an avocado dressing. Aquafaba is the surprising special ingredient. In case you’re wondering, aquafaba is the liquid found in cans of chickpeas. It’s also great to use in baking.

Stone ground mustard is the key ingredient in this salad’s dressing. You can double the ingredient amounts if you like more dressing on your salad.

If you’re a busy mom who would like to make this salad you’re in luck, the main ingredient is pre-made chicken strips. Your kids will love eating this salad. And it’s super easy for you to make too.

This elegant salad uses watermelon, jalapeno, and shrimp in a surprisingly simple combination of sweet and hot. Lime and cilantro balances out the sweetness of the watermelon.

Grilled salmon is a delicious protein to use for a nice summer salad. The strawberry vinaigrette gives a nice sweetness that pairs well with the salmon.

This is the perfect pantry salad for those days when you don’t feel like going to the store. Grab a can of kidney, pinto, or black beans, corn, and cornbread to make this dish.

This recipe made me run to the grocery store and pick up a bag of wild rice. Everything about this salad is incredibly simple and filling. The most complicated part of this dish is cooking the rice. Once that’s done, assembling the rest of the ingredients is super easy.

This salad is beautiful. Mini potatoes, bacon, avocado, and red onion are a few of the ingredients that make this a salad that wows.

Anything with peanut butter is a winning combination in my world. And, the great thing about this dish is that it’s a super affordable meal as well. Boxed spaghetti and peanut butter are in almost everyone’s pantry. Garlic, ginger, and sesame oil make a wonderful dressing.

Grab your pressure cooker and get cooking ASAP! As with a number of the salads on this list, this recipe relies heavily on items that may already be in your pantry.

Israeli couscous is my favorite style of couscous to eat because it’s so hearty. It’s also a really pretty grain to cook with as well. The next time you’re in Sprouts or Whole Foods make sure to grab some Israeli za’atar which is a spice mix that many people may be unfamiliar with.

What makes this strawberry spinach salad with grilled chicken combination unique is the yogurt dressing. Double-check that you have dried mustard in your pantry before making the dressing.

Grab a can of mixed beans, drain and toss in the fresh ingredients. If you don’t have one can of mixed beans then you can use a combination of garbanzo beans, pre-cooked black-eyed peas, and cannellini or white beans.

This salad looks like summer in a bowl. If you’re gluten intolerant, just substitute the pasta for your favorite gluten-free variety. The lemon herb vinaigrette is incredibly easy to toss together in under 5 minutes.

Taco salad reminds me of visiting my relatives in the midwest. Nothing about this salad screams healthy, but everything about it screams delicious. If you have a trifle dish or a deep glass dish to serve it in, make sure to use it when putting this salad together.

One of the best things about fajitas is the sizzling sound it makes as it’s being cooked. Use your air fryer to cook this salad quickly. Use a variety of toppings ranging from radishes, onions, or cilantro to give it an extra “umph!”

Use fresh or roasted cauliflower as the base of this salad. The almond butter dressing is the star of this dish.

Do you love pepperoni? If you answered “yes” then this salad is for you! It’s easy to make and is 3 points on the Weight Watchers smart points scale.

This salad has an unusual combination of broccoli, cauliflower, and blueberries to name a few of the ingredients. It’s tied together with a yogurt dressing that you can whip together in no time.

The key to making a great Greek cucumber salad is the dressing. Make sure that you have good quality olive oil on hand because you will really taste it due to the simplicity of the salad. 

The next time you have frozen meatballs in the fridge, make this salad! 

This salad is great to eat by itself or in a sandwich. It’s a gr

eat way to repurpose leftover turkey after Thanksgiving and is incomplete without the cranberries.

My favorite way to eat chicken salad is in a croissant sandwich. The sweet, crunchy combination pairs nicely with the butteriness of the croissant. 

Kale sometimes gets a bad rap. But, I love how hearty kale is and it holds up so much better than spinach in a salad.

This is a perfect end of summer early fall salad. Carrots, potatoes, and sesame goddess dressing makes this hearty salad a great dish to eat at work. 

Sweet and savory is the key to this dish. And use fresh cracked pepper if possible.

This was the only salad on this list to use one of my favorite peppers: pepperoncini!

Mango is the tropical fruit that everyone seems to enjoy. Quinoa makes this salad a hearty dish that anyone can enjoy.

Who knew that salads could mimic the taste of a cheeseburger? Well, this salad does. Don’t forget to grab some hamburger buns.

I used to live in Japan and what I love about this salad is the simplicity of the ingredients.

Vietnamese food has some of the best combinations of ingredients in the world. Fish sauce and oyster sauce are key ingredients in the creation of this salad.

This bright and lively salad is easy to make with ingredients that are almost always in every kitchen.

Dust off your spiralizer and get ready to make this spiralized Thai salad. Daikon radish is the standout ingredient in this salad.

The great thing about this salad is that you can use pre-cooked grilled chicken. Tahini is the ingredient that makes this salad delicious.

Tilapia is a light and delicious fish that is wonderful paired with a salad. It’s also a much more affordable fish than salmon.

The keto diet sometimes gets a bad rap for not being fun. This big Mac salad is fun for your stomach.

This salad is gorgeous and nothing beats the spicy avocado dressing that tops it off. 

As a salad lover, I’m so excited to eat my way through this list. Salads don’t have to be boring and they aren't always lettuce and tomatoes. What I love about the different salads on this list is that they make the case that salads can be an entire hearty and delicious