The Best Summer Salad Recipe
I always serve this summer chicken salad to my family, and they all agree it is one of the most awesome salad bar ideas!
How much fun is a late spring or summer salad bar? I love giving my family salad bar ideas, and this mason jar/charcuterie salad idea was a huge hit! I serve salads frequently, especially in the summer, which means I make them. Today, I am sharing the best summer salad recipe.
Summer Salad Bar Ideas
This salad is crunchy, refreshing, and delicious. Usually, I serve the salad tossed. With six people enjoying this salad, I decided allowing everyone to make their own would be great. That allows everyone to make the salad exactly how they like it!
I decided to serve all of the salad bar items in mason jars. I have many of them, and I love how they look on this large cutting board.
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What’s in This Summer Salad Recipe?
Baked Chicken
Romaine lettuce
Green onions
Dried cranberries
Honey crisp apples
Mandarin oranges
Toasted almonds
Avocado
Goat cheese
Salad dressing
Having all the salad ingredients in different-sized mason jars makes the presentation fun. This allows everyone to choose their ingredients for a customer salad.
Lettuce sliced in 1″ pieces is perfect for a salad bar. I have done it this way for years!
These sugared almonds are undoubtedly one reason this is the best summer salad recipe ever.
They are cooked on the stovetop with two tablespoons of sugar. That’s it! The trick is to keep stirring until golden brown and immediately place them on foil to cool. This is one of those items where you must give them your full attention. Unfortunately, I have burned these a gazillion times because I briefly walked away from the almonds and returned when it was too late.
You can grill, bake, or boil the chicken for the salad. I placed it in a baking dish, sprinkled it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, and baked it at 350 degrees for twenty-five minutes. This is so good!
The Best Summer Salad
Ingredients
- Sugared Almonds
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds
- 2 TBL. sugar
- Chicken breasts:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 TBL olive oil
- 2 tsp poultry. seasoning, 1 /2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 2 avocados, cut into pieces
- 2 cans mandarin oranges (11 oz.)
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1/2 cup goat cheese
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 honey crisp or pink lady apple, diced
- 5 green onions
- Dressing:
- 2 TBL sesame oil
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- To make the slivered almonds, place almonds and sugar in a stovetop pan. Cook at medium temperature for approximately four minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon the entire time. As soon as the almonds are golden brown, remove from heat and place on aluminum foil to cool.
- Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish, sprinkled it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning and bake at 350 for twenty-five minutes. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix all ingredients for salad dressing in a container and shake.
- Mix all salad ingredients (or place in containers as a salad bar). Add sugared almonds and sprinkle with dressing.
Enjoy this fantastic salad. I know you will be making it all summer long.
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This salad looks so fresh and tasty! Perfect for hot summer days. By the way, if you like exciting stories too, check out The Sword God From the Destroyed World – great manga to read while enjoying your meal!
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This sounds like such a fantastic summer salad! I really love the ‘mason jar/charcuterie salad idea’ for a salad bar – that’s brilliant for letting everyone customize. It’s so smart to let your family build their own, especially with six people, ensuring everyone gets their perfect crunchy, refreshing salad!
This sounds like a perfect summer salad! I love the salad bar concept, especially the creative mason jar/charcuterie idea. Letting everyone customize their own salad is brilliant, simplifying mealtime. This crunchy, refreshing recipe sounds fantastic for families!
This sounds like such a fantastic summer salad! I love the idea of a salad bar, especially the mason jar/charcuterie concept – so creative! It’s smart to let everyone customize their own, ensuring everyone gets exactly what they like. Can’t wait to try this crunchy, refreshing recipe!
This summer salad looks absolutely mouthwatering! The combination of ingredients is rich and healthy—grilled chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, plus sugared almonds must create an amazing layered texture. Just thinking about it makes me feel its refreshing and deliciousness, which is perfect for the hot summer. What’s more, the idea of letting everyone mix their own ingredients is so thoughtful, as it can cater to everyone’s taste preferences.
Good.
Nice.
This salad looks so refreshing! Perfect for summer vibes while I take a break from playing Deltarune. Gotta try this recipe soon! 😋
This salad looks so refreshing! Perfect for summer picnics between Sand Blast Block Puzzle sessions when you need a quick, tasty meal. 😋
This looks so refreshing! Would love to see a YouTube Transcript of the recipe steps – perfect for summer gatherings. 😊
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Fantastic
This summer salad is a winner—apples, mandarin oranges, avocado, goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted sugared almonds, and baked chicken all layered over crisp romaine. It’s bright, fun to serve from mason jars, and every bite tastes like summer.
This sounds like a truly awesome summer salad idea! I particularly love the concept of the mason jar/charcuterie salad bar – what a fun and creative way to serve it. Allowing everyone to customize their own salad is brilliant. I’m excited to try this crunchy, refreshing recipe!
thanks for sharing
thanks for sharing!
This sounds like such a fun approach to summer salads! I love the idea of a mason jar/charcuterie salad bar, especially for a family with different preferences. Allowing everyone to customize their own salad is brilliant for busy summer meals. Can’t wait to try this “best summer salad recipe”!
This summer salad recipe looks amazing! I love the idea of setting it up as a salad bar. Those sugared almonds sound like the perfect touch! Gonna try this soon.