13 Quick and Easy Salad Bar Ideas

Mix and Match From These Delicious Recipes

By
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
A freelance journalist and avid home cook, Cathy Jacobs has more than 10 years of food writing experience, with a focus on curating approachable menus and recipe collections.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 03/6/20
Roasted Beet and Feta Cheese Salad With Sumac Dressing

The Spruce / Anita Schecter

Want to recreate a salad bar experience at home? This quick and easy salad buffet menu is a great choice for entertaining at any time of the year. These salad recipes not only taste wonderful, but most can be made ahead and last for several days in the fridge. Add a basket or two of rolls or some chewy bakery bread to your buffet table and offer some brownies or cookies as dessert. Mix and match the following recipes and you're well on your way to an easy buffet party.

Featured Video
  • 01 of 13

    Avocado Egg Salad

    Avocado Egg Salad

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

    Green eggs aren't just for children's books. This recipe adds ripe mashed avocado to classic egg salad in place of the usual mayonnaise to create a creamy texture with more nutrition and fewer calories. Parsley, chives, and lemon juice add fresh flavor and brightness to the mixture.

  • 02 of 13

    Perfect 3-Bean Salad

    Perfect 3-Bean Salad

    The Spruce / Diana Rattray

    Those eating paleo will dig this colorful salad that's chock full of protein and nutrition from three types of beans, chopped bell pepper, and red onions, all tossed in a zingy apple cider vinaigrette.

  • 03 of 13

    Spinach Salad With Strawberries and Pecans

    Spinach Salad With Strawberries and Pecans

    The Spruce / Diana Rattray

    Fresh spinach leaves, juicy seasonal strawberries, and crunchy toasted pecans are simply fabulous when combined. This quick and easy recipe dresses them in a lovely balsamic vinaigrette that is low in calories, but high in flavor. Go ahead and add some goat cheese or blue cheese crumbles on top if you like and multiply the recipe as needed to feed a crowd.

  • 04 of 13

    Blue Cheese Coleslaw

    Blue Cheese Coleslaw

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

    Add blue cheese coleslaw to the salad bar and watch it disappear. The easy recipe creates a creamy dressing flavored with blue cheese, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce. With that ready, simply mix it with pre-cut slaw, top it with bacon crumbles, and it's ready to serve.

    Continue to 5 of 13 below.
  • 05 of 13

    Classic Macaroni Salad

    Macaroni Salad Recipe

     The Spruce

    Macaroni salad is a crowd-pleasing classic that you can always count on. This recipe calls for chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced vegetables, and a well-seasoned mayonnaise and mustard dressing that is sure to be popular at buffets, picnics, potlucks, and cookouts. Make it ahead of time and store in the fridge so it's well-chilled when serving.

  • 06 of 13

    Quinoa and Black Bean Salad With Corn and Cilantro

    Quinoa and Black Bean Salad With Corn and Cilantro

    Bill Boch / Getty Images

    Serve up a salad that vegans at your gathering can cheer for with this protein-rich grain salad that's god great crunch and flavor. Nutty-tasting quinoa mingles with creamy black beans, sweet corn kernels, and herbaceous fresh cilantro in this Mexican-inspired salad that's seasoned with fresh lime juice and spiked with cayenne pepper.

  • 07 of 13

    Dairy Free Tuna Salad

    Dairy Free Tuna Salad

    Debbi Smirnoff / Getty Images

    Tuna salad is a popular addition to a salad bar and buffet plates. This version includes egg-and-oil-based mayonnaise for creaminess but omits the sour cream sometimes included in tuna salads, so it's suitable for those avoiding dairy. It gets a great sweet and sour flavor from both sweet pickle and dill pickle relishes, plus a little kick from optional garlic powder.

  • 08 of 13

    Crunchy Broccoli Salad

    Crunchy Broccoli Salad

    The Spruce / Diana Rattray

    Vitamin-packed broccoli is the star of this crunchy salad that's sure to disappear quickly from potluck and buffet tables. Raisins, sunflower seeds, crumbled bacon, red onion, and peas add fabulous flavor and crunch to fresh florets in this salad bar favorite that's finished with a tangy, creamy, and slightly sweet dressing.

    Continue to 9 of 13 below.
  • 09 of 13

    Tomato, Corn, and Basil Salad

    Tomato, Corn, and Basil Salad

    The Spruce / Molly Watson

    Basil leaves add fresh flavor to juicy chopped tomatoes, and crunchy sweet corn in this simple, tasty salad. It's so quick to prepare and tastes refreshing on hot summer days. You can make it up to two days in advance and store in the fridge, reserving the basil to add at the last minute before serving.

  • 10 of 13

    Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

    Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

    The Spruce / Anita Schecter

    Chickpeas are rich in protein with a nutty flavor that makes them a popular salad ingredient. They are the featured players in this delicious Mediterranean salad that co-stars cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh parsley, crumbly feta cheese, and a tasty olive oil dressing flavored with mustard, oregano, garlic, and lemon juice.

  • 11 of 13

    Roasted Beet and Feta Cheese Salad With Sumac Dressing

    Beet and feta salad

    Arx0nt / Getty Images

    Roasting beets is super easy and produces tender, sweet chunks that are perfect for salads. This colorful salad includes red onion, tangy feta cheese, and your preferred salad greens, all tossed in a creamy sumac dressing.

  • 12 of 13

    Curried Chicken Salad With Diced Apple

    Curried Chicken Salad With Diced Apple

    rian Leatart / Getty Images

    Diced cooked chicken is dressed up to create this delightful curried chicken salad recipe. It's a great tweak on classic chicken salad with diced apple, chopped pecans or peanuts, crisp celery pieces, mayonnaise, curry powder, and a few other simple seasonings.

    Continue to 13 of 13 below.
  • 13 of 13

    Vegan Couscous Salad With Chickpeas

    Vegan Couscous Salad With Chickpeas

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

    This vegan and vegetarian couscous salad is a calorie-conscious dish with great flavor. This recipe prepares the couscous in vegetable broth for added flavor and tosses in nutty-tasting chickpeas for extra protein, along with chopped cucumber, red bell pepper, and green onions, all tossed in a light lemon, olive oil, and Dijon mustard vinaigrette.