11 Salad Recipes That Put the Taste of Spring Right onto Your Plate

This salad may be simple—note the very short ingredient list—but is full of exotic, refreshing flavor.

“The pairing of favas and pecorino is a typical springtime dish in Rome—often you’ll see them speared on toothpicks as a snack,” says chef Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene’s in Portland. “Here I’m tossing it all together with chewy farro and cubed salami to make a hearty but still springlike salad.”

“The pairing of beets with pistachios and citrus is a classic blend of flavors in the California cuisine repertoire, and we [often] take a twist on this combination with the addition of mandarins that are bursting with salinity, spice, and heat,” explains Bryan Oliver, who is chef de cuisine at Little Saint in Healdsburg, California. “Roasted baby beets are tender, sweet, and earthy, allowing the bright flavors of spring mint from the farm to round out the dish. [In the restaurant] we make our own pickled mandarin for this dish using California mandarins, but [here] store-bought pickled lime can be used as a substitute for similar results.”

If niçoise and antipasti had a love child, this would be their girl—simultaneously elegant and rustic. A main course event, this salad requires nothing more than a chilled bottle of wine, a crusty sourdough loaf, and good butter. The artichokes in this salad will be particularly tasty if made in April or May.

Dandelion greens can be quite bitter, but the olive oil, lemon, and salt in the dressing—and the sweet beets—mellow them so they give no more than a pleasant edge. For the prettiest salad, go for a mix of beet colors such as red-and-white ringed Chioggia, golden Yellow Detroit, and reddish purple Bull’s Blood.

This salad, from San Francisco cookbook author and teacher Michelle McKenzie, benefits from a variety of greens: at least one sweet (pea shoots and flowers, fava greens), one peppery (watercress or peppercress), and one bitter (dandelion greens or amaranth).

A simple salad topped with chicken breast can be an uninspired fallback healthy lunch, but in the hands of Emma Bengtsson, executive chef of New York’s legendary modern Swedish restaurant Aquavit, it’s a full flavored and uplifting thing of beauty that wins on technique.

Use a peppery, top-quality olive oil to bring out the best in this spring salad and really fresh asparagus and radishes, from a farmers’ market if possible. These details will make a difference, so it’s important to toss together this salad in April or May, while both asparagus and radishes are in season.

“Don’t even try this salad unless you have very early artichokes; the first ones to show up in the spring markets,” says chef Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene’s in Portland. “As with all spring vegetables, the still-cold nights help the artichoke’s sugars develop for the best flavor.”

We could make a meal of this deliciously unexpected combination, but it’s excellent alongside a grilled steak, too. Sautéing the quinoa in oil before simmering helps it come out fluffy every time. The fresh ingredients alongside the homemade dressing make for a splendid dish, leaving you feeling light but full.

Meet your new picnic staple: a potato salad classic enough to satisfy purists, but with onions, peas, and tarragon for fresh flavor and pretty hits of green. The fresh spring peas contrasted against the heavier potatoes create a match made in heaven.