Salad recipes

Skip the expensive store-bought overly salty salad dressing mix and make your own using ingredients found in most pantries. Perfect for a low-salt ranch dressing.

A light and healthy version of a creamy ranch salad dressing.

Juicy and sweet cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, crunchy cucumber and creamy avocado are tossed with a light and tasty vinaigrette. An ideal summer salad.

Gazpacho salad takes all the fresh vegetables from the classic cold soup and serves them chopped over lettuce with a tangy herb dressing. No cooking, no blender, just crisp tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers chilled until the flavors meld.

Brown rice salad tossed with French dressing, water chestnuts, snow peas, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. A crunchy, make-ahead cold rice salad for potlucks and picnics.

Italian-style green bean salad tossed with thinly sliced onions, red wine vinegar, olive oil, basil, and Parmesan. A low-calorie make-ahead side dish that gets better the longer it chills.

Microwave taco salad with hot Italian sausage, green chilies, and Monterey Jack over crisp lettuce and tomatoes. Single-person dinner ready in 20 minutes start to finish.

Cold bow-tie pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, radishes, and roasted sunflower seeds in a tangy lemon dressing. A crunchy, make-ahead side dish that's best chilled overnight.

A Cajun-spiced tuna and egg salad mixing flaked tuna, chopped hard-boiled eggs and fresh tomato with a punchy mayo-mustard dressing kicked up with hot sauce and Worcestershire. Bold, briny and a little fiery.

A refreshing vegan brown rice salad tossed with fruit cocktail, tomato, celery, and green onions in a tangy tarragon-Dijon vinaigrette. Light, nutty, and naturally sweet.

When spring arrives, asparagus is always one of our favorite vegetables; and the best way to cook them is roasting or grilling that develops tons of flavor, simply toss with the marinated artichoke hearts, hmm, now there is a good reason to allow yourself to indulge.

Skip store-bought packets and make your own Italian dressing mix that will keep in the pantry for up to a year.

Refreshing Bulgar salad with garbanzo beans (chickpeas).

Marinated basil tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of garlic chilled for 2 hours. The 5-minute summer salad that turns ripe tomatoes into something lunch-counter worthy.

Nuclear chicken wings: oven-baked wings glazed with a double-hot sauce of Tabasco and habanero, brown sugar, vinegar, and ground red pepper. For the chili-head crowd. Serve with blue cheese.

Ranch oyster cracker mix with fish crackers, nuts, dill, lemon pepper, and garlic, baked low and slow until crispy. A classic party snack ready in 30 minutes that stores well in an airtight container.