Banish Your Dinner Rut with These Creative Main-Dish Salads

No need to be alarmed about all the garlic; the OJ and soy sauce mellow it out.

Recipe: Garlicky Steak Salad with Chickpeas and Artichokes

This reinvented version of Salade Niçoise uses wild Western salmon instead of tuna and anchovies, and adds watercress—because we love greens.

Recipe: Poached Salmon Niçoise

In this fresh take on the classic Cobb, a little smoky char adds depth to asparagus and green onions, and the grill turns prosciutto into crisp shards. Choose large asparagus so they won’t fall through the grates.

Recipe: Grilled Asparagus and Prosciutto Cobb Salad

For a warm salad, have the greens prepped and ready to dress when the hot chicken comes out of the oven. Using two kinds of paprika makes the dressing a little smoky and a little sweet.

Recipe: Spanish-Style Chicken Salad

The mix of chicory greens creates layers of textures and flavors from mild to somewhat bitter. It’s a great combo with the sweet shrimp and big hit of lemon.

Recipe: Shrimp and White Bean Salad with Lemon Dressing

A touch of honey in the dressing brings out the roasted vegetables’ natural sweetness, and their meaty texture satisfies even the carnivores at the table. For an extra layer of flavor, serve the salad with shaved parmesan or asiago cheese.

Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Salad with Honey Dressing

Dandelion greens give a bright, appealingly bitter edge to the rich chicken and the sweet beets.

Recipe: Chicken Salad with Roasted Beets and Dandelion Greens

One of the tastiest parts of this upgraded chicken salad are the young carrots. If you can’t find young carrots, cut regular ones into 1/2-in. sticks instead.

Recipe: Champagne Chicken Salad

Robust, briny, and herbaceous, Italian-style salsa verde works beautifully as both a marinade and a table sauce.

Recipe: Beef, Broccolini, and Bread Salad with Salsa Verde

Crumble crunchy won tons into this twist on a traditional salmon salad for a crisp texture.

Recipe: Salmon Sesame Salad

Slicing the carrots is fastest on a classic French- or Japanese-style mandoline, but you can also use a vegetable peeler.

Recipe: Rainbow Carrot, Pea Shoot, and Chicken Salad

Using both fresh and smoked jalapeños (chipotles) gives this version of chimichurri, the Argentinean steak sauce, lots of flavor without being wildly spicy.

Recipe: Grilled Steak and Vegetable Salad with Chipotle Chimichurri Dressing

Marinate albacore tuna in honey and Dijon and quickly sear it on the grill. Serve with mixed baby greens, thinly sliced sweet onion, oranges, sliced avocado, and a fresh lime dressing.

Recipe:  Grilled Albacore Citrus Salad

Crunchy green papaya is usually the main ingredient in this type of Thai salad, but it can be hard to find.

Surprisingly, jicama—a crisp, beige-skinned root—makes a great stand-in. Find it at well-stocked grocery stores and Latino markets. To serve as a main course, increase shrimp to 1 lb.

Recipe: Thai-syle Jicama Salad

To add even more delicious flavor to this salad, try eating the young leaves from your radishes instead of composting them.

Recipe: Grilled Beef and Spring Onion Salad

This lighter version of Russian Salade Olivier replaces much of the mayonnaise used in the original with yogurt.

You can steam the vegetables and make the dressing ahead, but serve the dressed salad right away.

Recipe: Baby Vegetable Salad with Cornichons

Succulent shrimp, sweet mango, and creamy avocado makes a delicious meal in a bowl. Minced chiles gives the lime dressing the perfect kick.

Recipe: Mango Avocado Shrimp Salad

This dish has all the great flavor of the original and is packed with garden-fresh ingredients.

Recipe:  Best-Ever Chicken Salad

This chicken salad gets its wow factor from a dressing spiked with harissa, a Tunisian chile sauce. Cool yogurt balances the heat.

Recipe:  Grilled Chicken on Greens with Creamy Harissa Dressing

Leftover sliced beef makes this salad easy to whip up. We love its distinctive fresh herbs and crunchy peanuts.

Recipe:  Thai Beef Salad

Top a beautiful bowl of local salad greens with a perfectly fried egg, crisp slivers of leeks, and a fresh-thyme vinaigrette.

Recipe:  Eggs and Greens

Celebrate summer with a hearty dinner of vine-ripened tomatoes topped with a savory mix of tuna, cannellini beans, green onions, and a lemony dressing.

Recipe:  Tomato “Bruschetta” with Tuna and Cannellini Salad

Fresh mint, basil, dill, parsley, and cilantro make a delicious counterpoint to crunchy fried calamari.

Recipe:  Vietnamese Calamari Herb Salad

Endive adds crunch to this delicious mix of creamy gorgonzola, avocado, and salty crumbled bacon.

Recipe: Endive Salad with Bacon, Gorgonzola, and Avocado

We’ve updated the classic steak salad with a sweet and salty dressing of soy sauce, black beans, sherry, ginger, vinegar, and brown sugar.

Recipe:  Hot Flank Steak Salad with Chinese Black Bean Dressing

Pasta salad goes main-dish with the addition of succulent shrimp, baby spinach, mint, onion, and a light and lemony yogurt dressing.

Recipe: Shrimp, Lemon, and Spinach Whole-Grain Pasta Salad

Toss together shredded chicken with orzo pasta, sweet corn, chopped red onion, and basil. Add a ricotta-lemon dressing. Dinner’s ready.

Recipe:  Chicken, Corn, and Tomato Pasta Salad 

Flavor and texture contrasts give this salad extra appeal: Nutty pasta mingles with crisp green beans, strewn with bits of crunchy bacon and creamy Roquefort.

Recipe:  Green Bean and Whole-grain Penne Salad

It’s surprising how light and fresh this vinaigrette-dressed salad tastes, given that most of the ingredients come from the pantry. Here it’s served as an entrée, but it also works as an appetizer or sandwich filling.

Recipe: Greek Tuna Salad

Toss this hearty salad in a bit of olive oil and red-wine vinegar and you’ve got a light but satisfying dinner in 25 minutes.

Recipe:  Chickpea Panzanella with Capers 

We cut the lamb into smaller pieces so it cooks quickly and each one has some of the flavorful harissa crust.

Recipe: Harissa Lamb with Lemon Mint Chickpea Salad

Mizuna and mustard greens add bite and a healthy base to this zesty salad.

Recipe: Sesame Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Greens

The paprika delivers great smoky flavor in this main-dish salad.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken, Corn, and Spinach Salad with Smoky Paprika Dressing

All the best flavors of the Mediterranean, tossed in a lovely salad. We prefer the chicken grilled and sliced, but if you’re pressed for time, you can easily substitute 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken from the deli.

Recipe:  Grilled Chicken Pita Salad

The spicy flavor of horseradish is a nice contrast to the richness of grilled steak. Grilling whole gourmet mushrooms as an accompaniment is a good way to keep all the cooking outside.

Recipe:  Grilled Horseradish Steak with Mushroom Salad

Recipe:  Smoked Trout and Veggie Salad

Since the greens are eaten raw in this garden salad, be sure they’re very tender.

Recipe: Fava Green, Grapefruit, and Flower Salad