15 Super-Fresh Tomato Salad Recipes
You can improve any salad with juicy, fresh tomatoes.
Greens like kale, arugula, and spinach are good—come summertime, tomatoes make them BETTER. The sweet fruit is the ultimate addition to any summer salad, whether you’re bringing them to a BBQ or eating them at home for a healthy dinner. Check out our favorite 15 tomato salad recipes—we bet you’ll find some new classics to enjoy all summer long.
Tomatoes are fresh and juicy, sweet and savory, and you really can’t go wrong adding them to any type of salad. That said, if you’re looking for something extra simple (or if you were lucky enough to find some good quality, peak season heirloom tomatoes), all you really need for the perfect summer salad is some good olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. And CHEESE, we can’t forget the cheese. Try our classic Caprese salad (with mozzarella) or our burrata salad to see what we mean—one bite and you’ll be hooked. If you want a salad that’s got a little more going on, we’ve got you too. Tomatoes pair particularly well with ingredients like avocado, feta, and sweet corn—check out our avocado tomato salad, our black bean and corn salad, and our antipasto chickpea salad for flavor ideas. Feel free to take inspiration from the salad dressings, and then swap in and out your favorite ingredients. Another classic summer salad you’re going to love? Panzanella, or Italian bread salad. It’s basically a tomato salad paired with extra crusty stale bread, and we like it so much we’ve got 3 recipes—try our summer panzanella, our sheet-pan panzanella, or our skillet BLT panzanella.
Want more summertime salad inspiration? Check out our favorite potato salads, pasta salads, and summer soups too.
Tomato Salad
This tomato salad can be served as a side or as a meal all on its own. It will delight you on all fronts: It's got leafy greens, juicy tomatoes, blue cheese, candied hazelnuts, and stove-top croutons, tossed in gingery balsamic vinaigrette.
Get the Tomato Salad recipe.
Avocado Tomato Salad
Don't confuse this colorful salad with guac—there's way more depth of flavor and variety of texture, which makes it one of our favorite summer sides of all time. You're totally welcome to still eat it with tortilla chips (just know it tastes amazing without 'em too).
Get the Avocado Tomato Salad recipe.
Burrata Salad
Think of burrata salad as caprese salad's fancy cousin. Peak-summer tomatoes are topped with this luscious cheese (think a shell of mozzarella filled with a soft, creamy filling) and garnished with a shower of peppery basil leaves and savory chives. 😍
Get the Burrata Salad recipe.
Summer Panzanella
Panzanella is one of those recipes that truly tastes like summer. It's one that you want to make in peak season—when the tomatoes are extra juicy, the squash slightly sweet, and the basil extra cheap. To give this classic dish more flavor, we grill the bread, zucchini, and onion until charred, then toss those with the remaining ingredients.
Get the Summer Panzanella recipe.
Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is one of the best ways to show off those juicy in-season farmer's market tomatoes, or your own backyard harvest. With good quality tomatoes and mozzarella, all you really need is some good olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Even the lightest sprinkling of salt on a slice of tomato helps to bring out the sweetness and the natural umami, so don't hold back!
Get the Caprese Salad recipe.
Greek Salad
Known as horiatiki, this traditional Greek salad is made with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, thinly sliced red onion, and feta. The easy dressing is a mixture of red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil. Simply said, it's the best.
Get the Greek Salad recipe.
Pesto Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is classic, featuring a homemade basil-and-pine nut pesto, a generous amount of Parmesan, and juicy grape tomatoes. It's worth getting out your nicest olive oil for this recipe since the flavor will shine through.
Get the Pesto Pasta Salad recipe.
Black Bean And Corn Salad
This stores well in the refrigerator and can be made up to one day in advance. If you're making it the day before your event, save the avocado till right before you head out to keep it extra fresh and green.
Get the Black Bean And Corn Salad recipe.
Bruschetta Pasta Salad
This salad is the epitome of summer in a bowl. We love using orecchiette pasta here to soak up the simple extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, but you can use whatever pasta shape you like!
Get the Bruschetta Pasta Salad recipe.
Antipasto Chickpea Salad
This versatile chickpea salad is a great summer side, but can easily be a full meal on its own! Adding a spoonful of Dijon mustard to your red wine vinaigrette makes it creamier in both taste and body—consider it your secret weapon in making a classic dressing just that much better.
Get the Antipasto Chickpea Salad recipe.
Tabouli Salad
This Lebanese (or Syrian, depending who you ask 😉) salad is sure to improve whatever it's paired with. Bright, fresh herbs get friendly with sweet tomatoes and a sharp lemon dressing to create the salad equivalent of a breath of fresh air.
Get the Tabouli Salad recipe.
Sheet-Pan Panzanella
Rather than toast the bread cubes on their own, you'll roast them alongside tomatoes, onion, and garlic for this summer salad. The tomatoes burst as they roast, mixing their juices with the bread and fresh arugula. Oh, and did we mention that the combination of roasted tomatoes, toasted bread coated with Parmesan, fragrant garlic, and mozzarella basically tastes like pizza? 😍
Get the Sheet-Pan Panzanella recipe.
Basil & Feta Corn Salad
Corn salad makes the perfect summer dish for picnics, potlucks, or BBQs. Just toss to combine, season to taste, and serve!
Get the Basil & Feta Corn Salad recipe.
Caprese Zoodles
This simple salad is one of our favorite ways to enjoy zucchini noodles, or "zoodles." It takes notes from our favorite caprese salad and celebrates all the best fresh produce of summer, without the carbs!
Get the Caprese Zoodles recipe.
Skillet BLT Panzanella
Bacon and crunchy croutons make this feel more like a BLT sandwich than a salad—win!
Get the Skillet BLT Panzanella recipe.
