15 Easy High-Protein Salads to Make for Dinner Tonight
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
Enjoy a refreshing, satisfying dinner with one of these simple high-protein salad recipes. Each recipe only requires 15 minutes of active prep time or less, so you can get in and out of the kitchen in record time. Recipes like our Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing and Kale Salad with Quinoa & Chicken contain at least 15 grams of protein per serving, so you can enjoy a healthy, filling supper at the end of the day.
Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches or dinner. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. For a delicious vegan option, swap in roasted tofu for the chicken breast.
Kale Salad with Quinoa & Chicken
Toss the cooked chicken into this healthy salad recipe while it's still warm to lightly wilt the kale, making it softer and easier to eat. Using store-bought salad dressing saves time, but you could also make your own tangy vinaigrette.
Spinach & Artichoke Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Inspired by the classic warm party dip, this simple salad can be served up right away or divided into small lidded containers for a week of delicious lunches. To keep the hard-boiled eggs tasting fresh, we suggest adding them to your salad just before serving.
Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad with Chicken
In this healthy copycat of a takeout salad favorite we combine precooked (or leftover) chicken and poppy seed dressing with fresh greens, strawberries and goat cheese for an easy throw-together meal that's ready in 10 minutes.
Spring Roll Salad
All the tastes, color and fun of a spring roll without all the work! This healthy salad recipe is bursting with the colors of rainbow from generous amounts of fresh vegetables, shrimp and whole grains all topped with a peanut dressing for the ultimate satisfying salad.
Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing
This hearty vegan salad is loaded with plant-based power ingredients: chickpeas, quinoa and hummus. We love the crunch of the sunflower seeds and the unexpected flavor of roasted peppers.
Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu & Peanut Dressing
Prep four days' worth of high-protein vegan meals using just four easy ingredients from your local specialty grocery store, including a veggie-heavy salad mix as a base. Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry. If you can't find a hearty mix, go with broccoli slaw or shredded Brussels sprouts.
Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad Bowls
Pasta salad is a classic summer side dish, but adding protein (leftover grilled chicken is perfect here) and extra greens makes it a super-satisfying meal. We use baby spinach, but arugula or baby kale works too. Top with a bright and tangy basil vinaigrette just before serving.
Middle Eastern Salad Bowls with Farro & Chicken
We're pairing two shortcut products you can likely find at your local specialty grocery store—Middle Eastern bean salad and microwaveable farro—to add protein, fiber and satisfying texture to these high-protein bowls. To cut down on prep time, we're also using preseasoned grilled chicken breasts from the refrigerated section, bottled balsamic vinaigrette and a few other ready-to-use ingredients to make these quick and easy meal-prep salads.
Greek Salmon Salad
If mixed salads fail to fill you up, try this hearty Greek salmon salad recipe, which calls for bulking up a traditional bed of mixed greens with roasted vegetables and protein-rich salmon. Leftovers make it a breeze to put together this delicious Mediterranean salad. Here we suggest two recipes you could meal-prep ahead of time—Lemon-Roasted Mixed Vegetables and Sweet & Spicy Roasted Salmon—but you can use whatever roasted veggies you have on hand and pick up a precooked salmon fillet from the deli counter at your grocery store. This healthy salad would also be good with chicken. Serve it for an easy dinner or pack it up for lunch.
Chopped Cobb Salad with Chicken
This healthy chopped salad is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. You can reserve the remaining hard-boiled egg half for a snack.
Chopped Chicken & Sweet Potato Salad
This easy salad recipe allows for a wonderful use of leftover cooked chicken. Look for escarole in the produce section near the leafy greens; if you can't find it, you can use romaine instead.
Strawberry-Balsamic Arugula Salad
This fruity green salad with chicken offers an explosion of flavors in each bite. The taste of sweet strawberries, peppery arugula and tangy feta cheese is enhanced by the intense balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Easy Vegetarian Taco Salad
Taco salad doesn't always have to contain beef—this 15-minute version uses tofu or black bean crumbles, which taste delicious and offer up a healthy dose of protein. This vegetarian meal is so tasty that even meat-only eaters won't miss the beef.
Tangy Chicken Salad with Grapes
Sweet red grapes and crunchy celery make this chicken salad sing, and also balance out the slight tang from the yogurt and lemon. But go ahead and customize the mix-ins with whatever you desire (perhaps some chopped nuts or dried fruit) because this chicken salad recipe is easily adaptable. We use rotisserie chicken (look for unseasoned to keep sodium in check!) to simplify things, but any leftover cooked chicken will work.
