20 Picnic-Perfect Salads to Pack and Enjoy Outside
Make your next alfresco meal a memorable one.
When conditions are right, nothing beats enjoying a good meal alfresco. With a little planning, you can put together a tasty menu of dishes that are easy to transport and eat without needing to be reheated or fussed over. The best picnic salads are the ones that can be made in advance and actually improve as the flavors meld together in the fridge while they await their final destination. If you're looking for something to fill a picnic basket or feed a crowd at a cookout, peruse this roundup of make-ahead salads, including savory fruit salads, robust pasta salads like esquites-style poblano, hearty bean salads, and more.
Spanish-Style Pasta Salad with Tuna and Marinated Tomatoes
2015 F&W Best New Chef Katie Button makes the most of Spanish pantry staples like mildly spicy, sweet piparra peppers and tangy sherry vinegar for the bold flavor in this hearty pasta salad.
Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint
Chef Jacques Pépin cuts a small, seedless watermelon into rounds with a melon baller for this easy summer watermelon salad with refreshing mint, briny olives, and savory feta.
Potato Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil
Lucy Morrow adds fresh yellow corn, yellow onion, celery, basil, and dill to tender, creamy red baby potatoes in this two-hour make-ahead salad.
Havuç Tarator (Turkish-Style Carrot Salad with Yogurt)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Shredded carrots are cooked until just softened and paired with a tangy and creamy yogurt to make this vibrant Turkish side.
Crunchy Mango and Avocado Salad
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva
Balance the crunch of Savoy and red cabbage with creamy avocado and juicy mango in this slaw-like salad. Tender scallions, mint, cilantro, and toasted cashews play off the tangy, tahini-laced lemon-ginger dressing.
Gỏi Gá (Crunchy Vietnamese Chicken Salad)
Photographer: Kelsey Hansen, Food Stylist: Kelsey Moylan, Prop Stylist: Addelyn Evans
Pick up a rotisserie chicken for this salad, then toss it with crisp cabbage, carrots, red onion, herbs, and a tangy dressing before topping it with fried shallots and chopped peanuts.
Antipasto Salad
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee
Dress hearty lettuces, salami, provolone, tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers, and celery with olive oil and vinegar, then top with Parmesan, basil, and seasoning, for the ultimate combination of Italian flavors in a quick, satisfying salad.
Esquites-Style Poblano Pasta Salad
Enjoy the flavor of esquites in a pasta salad rendition, loaded with charred corn, zucchini, scallions, and poblano chile.
Italian Tuna Salad
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman
This Italian tuna salad combines oil-packed jarred tuna, sundried tomatoes, red onions, juicy olives, and celery, all tossed in a lemony honey-mustard dressing. It all comes together in 20 minutes and is a great recipe to make ahead.
Mustard Slaw
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
This slaw of tangy Dijon mustard, vinegar, and hot sauce is packed with punchy flavors that cut through the fattiness of rich, smoky meats whether alongside barbecue or a charcuterie spread.
Cucumber Salad
Julia Hartbeck
Vinegar, sugar, salt, and onion add gentle, versatile flavor to this quick and easy cucumber salad recipe. Feel free to make it up to a day ahead and store it in the fridge — the salad will only get tangier and more delicious as it sits.
Greek Rice Salad
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
This bright, punchy rice dish is packed with all the flavors of a Greek salad, with crunchy vegetables, juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs, and salty feta cheese. Torn olives give a wonderful texture and a simple homemade red wine vinaigrette adds the perfect amount of flavorful zing.
Lemony Chickpea Salad
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee
This chickpea salad is accented with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and oregano, and gets a kick of flavor from quick-pickled onion and chopped peperoncini. Serve it chilled or at room temperature for a picnic as a vegetarian-friendly main course or a side dish that can be made in advance and doesn't mind sitting out for a bit.
Black Rice Salad with Cherries and Plums
Fresh plums and cherries add pops of juicy sweetness to this hearty summer salad. Black rice gives the dish a dark, moody hue and an extra textural bite, while crunchy, craggy, blue cheese–infused breadcrumbs provide a lovely textural reprieve to the chewy rice and fruit.
Beech Mushroom Salad
Heami Lee / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This simple chilled salad features a zesty dressing of black vinegar, chiles, oyster sauce, and toasted sesame oil over sautéed beech mushrooms. Serve it right away, or make it ahead and chill it in the refrigerator for up to three days to allow the mushrooms to further absorb the punchy marinade.
Vegetable Rainbow Salad
This vibrant salad showcases a colorful mixture of pickled onions and radishes, roasted root vegetables, leafy greens, and black quinoa.
Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette
Potlikker, as it’s called in the South, is the savory, starchy liquid left over after cooking beans or greens. Here, chef Joe Kindred whisks the über-flavorful liquid into a vinaigrette, but you can also use it in soups and pasta sauces, or thicken it with butter and drizzle over fish.
Eggplant Caponata
Sicily’s caponata is a tangy eggplant salad served as a side dish or appetizer. This version adds bits of velvety avocado.
Lemony Barley Salad with Kale Pesto
Kale does double duty here: Some of the leaves are pureed with lemon juice and olive oil for a phenomenal pesto, and some of them are torn into pieces that are stirred into the cooked barley at the end.
Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
Chef Ken Oringer mixes quinoa with black beans, onions, and peppers to make a hearty and very satisfying side dish that's a fun variation on prosaic five-bean salad.
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