20 Cold Salad Recipes for a Refreshing Bite

From seafood to pasta and a few cucumber options, these are our favorite cold salad recipes to serve this season.

Updated June 21, 2024

A dark bowl with tomato-watermelon salad, sprinkled with mint and feta, — Serious Eats / Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle

Spring is in full swing, and summer feels like it's just around the corner. With warmer weather comes lighter fare—think grilled meats and fish, as well as an array of no-cook options to keep the kitchen cool. What better accompaniment to these foods than a refreshingly cold salad? From seafood to pasta and a few cucumber options, these are our favorite cold salad recipes to serve this season.

Insalata di Mare (Italian Seafood Salad)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Italy's classic light, bright salad of gently cooked and marinated seafood is finished with lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and subtle spices.
Italian Seafood Salad (Insalata di Mare)
Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles
Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer
Two classic dishes—Italian-style seafood salad and refreshing pasta salad—collide in this perfect warm-weather dish, bright with lemon and olive oil.
Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles
Classic Potato Salad
Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg
Tangy, salty, and sweet, this potato salad has a texture that's simultaneously creamy, crunchy, and fluffy in each bite.
Classic Potato Salad
Japanese Potato Salad With Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Onion
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
This potato salad is a unique take on the classic flavor with tangy mayo, rice vinegar, and hot mustard.
Japanese Potato Salad With Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Onion
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Tomato-Watermelon Salad
Serious Eats / Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Sweet watermelon, juicy tomatoes, salty feta, and mint come together in this refreshing salad. Marinating sliced shallot and halved cherry tomatoes in a serrano-spiked vinaigrette mellows and melds flavors while drawing out juices, forming a delicious dressing for cubes of watermelon, torn mint, and thick slabs of salted heirloom tomatoes.
Tomato-Watermelon Salad
Caprese Salad
Serious Eats / Julia Estrada
The only trick to a great caprese salad is to use high-quality, in-season ingredients.
Caprese Salad
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Serious Eats / Lynn Wolsted
This crunchy, creamy cucumber salad is made with tahini, lemon, and fresh dill.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Mustard Oil-Dressed Cucumber Salad
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This cucumber salad is both fiery and cool, thanks to the distinctive properties of mustard oil and spicy red pepper flakes.
Mustard Oil-Dressed Cucumber Salad
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Salata Falahiyeh (Palestinian or Farmers Salad)
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
If all you have at home are tomatoes, onion, and mint, you can enjoy a very delicious salad.
Salata Falahiyeh (Palestinian or Farmers Salad)
Gajarachi Koshimbir (Carrot Salad with Mustard Seeds and Curry Leaves)
Serious Eats/Kanika and Jatin Sharma
Sweet, spicy, and acidic, gajarachi koshimbir features carrots tossed with lime juice, spice-infused oil, cilantro, peanuts, and grated coconut for a crunchy and aromatic side salad.
Oi Muchim (Korean Marinated Cucumber Banchan)
Sichuan-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Try smashing your cukes to create a lot of flavor in this cucumber salad.
Sichuan-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad
The Un-Composed Niçoise Salad
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
In this recipe, we abandon the rules of a classic Niçoise salad and bring you one unlike any other.
The Un-Composed Niçoise Salad
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Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Serious Eats / Kevin White
Go all out and grill the chicken, romaine, and croutons for a grilled chicken Caesar salad that's a cut above the rest.
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Horiatiki (Greek Salad)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
For the best Greek salad, combine traditional and non-traditional elements.
Horiatiki (Greek Salad)
Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
If you want nothing more than heavy, mayo-laden pasta, the ubiquitous deli macaroni salad is for you. This recipe, however, takes the standard and gives it a depth and tang that makes it stand out in a crowd.
Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad
Raw Corn Salad With Shiso and Basil
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Here, shiso is combined with crunchy-sweet raw corn, spicy radishes, tangy feta cheese, juicy tomatoes, and crisp sliced cucumber, with some sliced shallots for a little extra bite.
Raw Corn Salad With Shiso and Basil
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Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This Chinese cold salad features clingy, velvety sauce, starchy noodles, and fresh vegetables.
Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Fattoush (Chopped Vegetable and Pita Salad)
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Crunchy, refreshing vegetables, crisp pita, and a tangy pomegranate dressing make this a satisfying salad you’ll want to eat every day.
Fattoush (Chopped Vegetable and Pita Salad)
Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải (Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad)
Serious Eats / Vy Tran
A classic Vietnamese salad of tender chicken, crunchy cabbage, sweet carrot, pickled onion, fresh herbs, and crispy toppings, served with a gingery sauce.
Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải (Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad)
Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Everything you could want in a salad—refreshing, light, and quick to prepare. Mixing in and lightly pounding green papaya just before serving ensures that it absorbs the dressing but also retains its crunch.
Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)