7 Supremely Satisfying Salads and Grain Bowls You Need in Your Rotation

Justine Lee
Justine LeeRecipe Production Coordinator
Justine Lee is Kitchn's Recipe Production Coordinator and a food writer and recipe developer based in NYC. Her writing frequently appears in Food52, Bon Appetit, Food Network, The Infatuation, among others. She has also been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In her past, Justine has worked in various professional kitchens and food companies. This, along with her Korean-American culinary identity and a lifelong passion for baking, often informs her work. You will find Justine drinking iced coffees year-round, even in a snowstorm with gloves on.
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published Sep 23, 2022
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caesar salad on a platter
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

If you hear the word “salad” and automatically imagine a plate of wilted lettuce flooded with dressing, it’s time to start fresh. As a matter fact, leafy greens are but a fraction of the flavor-packed medleys that make up the wide world of salads. From bright and fresh sides to heartier plant-based mains, here are the seven best-of-the-best salad recipes to toss into your cooking routine.

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The Grain Bowl | The Ultimate Fall Salad

The way the flavors and textures of seared radicchio, roasted squash, farro, apple, and blue cheese mix and mingle earned this salad its "ultimate" title. Its roasty, toasty notes celebrate everything you love about autumn, but you can easily riff on the recipe to make it fit any season.

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The Chopped Salad | Big, Beautiful Grilled Chicken Salad

We're all about efficiency in the kitchen. For this bright, bold salad, that means making a punchy marinade (lime juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil) that doubles as the dressing.

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3 / 7
Credit: Kitchn
The Caesar | Serious Eats' Best Caesar Salad

There were plenty of viral Caesar salad moments on TikTok in 2022, but none compare to this pretty classic recipe. Shockingly, our favorite part isn't the garlic-oil croutons (although they're pretty great) — it's the rich, creamy dressing that comes together in the food processor and can be made up to a week in advance.

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4 / 7
Credit: Kitchn
The Celeb Salad | Jennifer Aniston's "Favorite" Salad

Although the Friends star has since debunked the myth of this viral grain salad, we still love it. It's loaded with feel-good ingredients (bulgur! Chickpeas! Cucumber!) and is easy to adjust to suit your lunchtime cravings.

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The Caprese | Grilled Eggplant Caprese

Meet the caprese upgrade you never knew you needed. Adding grilled eggplant makes the pretty, layered salad hearty enough to be a meatless main, paired with nothing but good bread on the side to soak up that wonderful mix of tomato juices, olive oil, and balsamic that’s left behind on the plate.

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The Pasta Salad | BLT Pasta Salad

Production Editor, Tracey Gertler, makes this pasta salad almost every week during the summer. Try the Greek yogurt and mayo dressing once, and you'll understand why. Not to mention, we're talking bacon plus pasta here.

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The Salad Dressing | The New All-Purpose Vinaigrette

Every home should have a good go-to vinaigrette. For us, it's a 1:1 ratio of oil and vinegar for a brighter (and infinitely better) dressing that complements just about every salad green.

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Salad