As the warm weather rolls in, and it doesn’t sound like much fun to crank the oven up to full blast, keep cool with one of these amazing spring salads for a refreshing, healthy dinner.

With temperatures rising throughout the day, it can get downright balmy by evening. As a result, you might be reluctant to use the oven–or consume a warm meal, for that matter–and we don’t blame you! In fact, now is a great time to trade out some of the cozy, winter comfort foods like hearty shepherd’s pie and hot bowls of chilli for lighter fare more fitting for the warm months ahead. So we’ve put together a list of spring dinner salads you’ll love!

Why Have Salad for Dinner?

Besides allowing you to avoid using the oven and overheating your home, having salad as an entree is a great way to get more veggies, trim that waist-line, and feel great for your exciting spring activities! Worried that salad won’t fill you up? Don’t be! These spring dinner salads are dense with the vitamins, healthy fats and protein your body needs for fuel, but low in calories. So you can fill your bowl to the brim and go back again for seconds. And salad for dinner doesn’t have to be the same four vegetables and single-flavor dressing served over and over again. We’ve curated four diverse dinner salads for you to try this spring, each with a flavor palate all its own. Try one a week, or try them all in one week! We’re sure one or all of these will become favorites in your household. Packed with quality, delicious ingredients, even the pickiest members of your family will find something to love in these spring dinner salads! 

4 Mouth-Watering Spring Dinner Salads

Summer Berry Spinach Salad 

Perfect for spring evenings on the patio, this salad is a fruit lover’s dream. For those of us who like our salads more sweet than savory, Summer Berry Spinach Salad is packed with antioxidant-rich berries and bursting with flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:

Fresh spinach

Strawberries, quartered

Blueberries 

Pecans

Goat cheese (Montchevre’s Blueberry Vanilla)

Tacoma Boys Vanilla Peach Dressing

Grilled chicken, chopped

For the freshest spinach, plumpest strawberries, and sweetest blueberries, look no further than our produce section. This salad is best with spinach or a spring mix as its base. Next, top with blueberries and strawberries (make sure they’re stemmed and quartered). Then, add the pecans! Feel free to leave them whole, halve them, or chop them to your taste. For added sweetness and crunch, candy your pecans prior to making your salad. Top with crumbled goat cheese–we recommend grabbing some Montchevre’s Blueberry Vanilla flavored goat cheese from Tacoma Boys and H&L Produce’s vast cheese selection. Finally, toss in Tacoma Boys Vanilla Peach Dressing. This salad is great as a vegetarian option, but feel free to grill up some fresh skinless, boneless chicken breasts from our butcher, chop and add to your salad for added protein. This dish is a crowd pleaser–so enjoy it with your family at home or bring it to your next BBQ and watch it disappear!

Classic Caesar Salad

Elevate the classic side salad to a mouth-watering entree by focusing on quality ingredients and adding protein. While not strictly classic, the addition of avocado makes this dish irresistibly craveable. Bonus: it’s as easy as it is delicious and nutritious. For this spring dinner salad, you’ll need:

Romaine lettuce

Fresh grated Parmesan

Avocado

Tacoma Boys Baguette Croutons

Blackened Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

Annie’s Organic Caesar Dressing

Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Start by washing, drying and chopping your romaine into bite sized squares. Dice avocados to your preferred size. (Note: The quality of your avocados can make or break this salad, so be sure to take extra care when picking them, or ask one of our friendly store associates to help you choose.) Add avocados, Tacoma Boys Baguette Croutons and freshly grated Parmesan cheese (again, quality matters–the better the cheese, the better the salad). Next, add blackened salmon. (Be sure to check out this week’s killer deal on Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon!) Finally, toss everything in Annie’s Organic Caesar Dressing (in our salad dressing section). Salt and Pepper to taste. Top with fresh squeezed lemon juice right before serving. This twist on the classic Caesar is sure to impress at your next dinner party or delight taste buds at the family dinner table, so give it a try today!

Avocado Prawn Salad

Toasted almond slices give this light, flavorful salad just the right amount of crunch. All the summer vibes of seafood and salad come together in one tasty dish in this Avocado Prawn Salad. Here’s what you need:

Arugula

White prawns, peeled, deveined, tail off

Avocado, diced

Sliced almonds, toasted

Cucumber, chopped

Tacoma Boys Soy Ginger Vinaigrette 

Salt

Pepper

First, swing by our seafood section for a great deal on white prawns this week! Start by marinating your prawns in Tacoma Boy’s Spicy Asian Honey Marinade. Pan fry. Then, add to a bed of peppery arugula. Next, add avocado, sliced almonds and chopped cucumber. Finally, toss in Tacoma Boys Soy Ginger Vinaigrette. Salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy, and don’t be surprised if this satisfyingly sweet and spicy salad ends up on the menu again and again!

Traditional(ish) Greek Salad

If you like the hearty crunch of a traditional Greek salad, with its juicy tomatoes, plump olives, and snappy bell peppers, you’ll love this twist with its delightful secret ingredient–fig salami! If you opt to leave out the feta (or exchange for a vegan cheese option),  it’s completely vegan and gluten free. Here’s what you need:

Olives (Kalamata or black)

Feta

Tomato

Cucumber

Bell pepper

Red Onions

Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette 

Hellenic Farms Fig Salami (Tikka Masala + Onion flavor)

Chop all ingredients to a similar size. Toss in Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette (in our salad dressing section). And don’t forget the Fig Salami from Hellenic Farms (found in our cheese aisle). Gluten free, with no sugar added, plant based fig salami is the perfect addition to this spring favorite!

Specialty Items at Tacoma Boys

As always, Tacoma Boys and H&L Produce have what you need to elevate what might be an ordinary dish to something extraordinary with our unique house dressings, vast array of rubs and marinades, and hard-to-find specialty items. All it takes is one or two special ingredients to make a meal like you’ve never had before! So swing by one of our locations today. And don’t be afraid to ask our knowledgeable associates for help finding a dressing or salad topping that will make your spring dinner salad amazing!