20 Make-Ahead Cookout Salads

Vegetable Rainbow Salad
Photo: © Con Poulos

When conditions are right, nothing beats enjoying a good meal alfresco. With a little planning, you can put together a tasty menu of dishes that are easy to transport and eat without needing to be reheated or fussed over. The best cookout salads are the ones that can be made in advance and actually improve as the flavors meld together in the fridge while they await their final destination. If you're looking for something to fill a picnic basket or feed a crowd at a gathering, peruse this roundup of make ahead salads, including savory fruit salads, robust pasta salads like esquites-style poblano, hearty bean salads, and more.

01 of 20

​​Spanish-Style Pasta Salad with Tuna and Marinated Tomatoes

Spanish-Style Pasta Salad with Tuna and Marinated Tomatoes
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

Spanish pantry staples like mildly spicy and sweet piparra peppers and tangy sherry vinegar bring bold flavor to this hearty pasta salad from 2015 F&W Best New Chef Katie Button. "I love this pasta salad because it incorporates fresh summer ingredients, like tomatoes and herbs, with staples I already have on hand in the pantry," she says. "This is a go-to salad in my house, and when I pack it for a picnic or a hike, it feels like I've won."

02 of 20

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

This easy summer watermelon salad is perfect for eating outside under the warm sun. Watermelon and mint add plenty of refreshing flavors, while briny olives and feta offer the ideal counterpoint. Although chef Jacques Pépin cuts a small, seedless watermelon into rounds with a melon baller, you can chop the watermelon into cubes if you prefer.

03 of 20

Crunchy Mango and Avocado Salad

Crunchy Mango and Avocado Salad

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Creamy avocado and juicy mango balance the crunch of Savoy and red cabbage in this slaw-like salad. Tender scallions, mint, cilantro, and toasted cashews play off the tangy, tahini-laced creamy lemon-ginger dressing. Acidic apple cider vinegar and lemon juice join forces in the dressing to balance the earthy tahini, sweet honey, and pungent fresh ginger.

04 of 20

Esquites-Style Poblano Pasta Salad

Esquites Pasta Salad
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Esquites is the creamy corn salad version of elote, the beloved Mexican street food where corn on the cob is slathered with mayo and sprinkled with chile powder and Cotija cheese. Here, we've taken esquites and turned it into a pasta salad, loaded with charred corn, zucchini, scallions, and poblano chile. It's a hearty dish ideal for barbecues or packing for a picnic.

05 of 20

Lemony Chickpea Salad

Chickpea Salad

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee

This chickpea salad is accented with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and oregano, and gets a kick of flavor from quick-pickled onion and chopped peperoncini. Serve it chilled or at room temperature; it's fantastic for a buffet or picnic as a vegetarian-friendly main course or a side dish that can be made in advance and doesn't mind sitting out for a bit.

06 of 20

Italian Tuna Salad

Roman-Style Tuna Salad

Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman

This Italian tuna salad combines oil-packed jarred tuna, sundried tomatoes, red onions, juicy olives, and celery, all tossed in a lemony honey-mustard dressing. This recipe is a perfect example of how a handful of pantry ingredients can become a meal that sings. It all comes together in 20 minutes and is a great recipe to make ahead.

07 of 20

Black Rice Salad with Cherries and Plums

Cherry Plum Black Rice Salad
Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Fresh plums and cherries add pops of juicy sweetness to this hearty summer salad. Black rice gives the dish a dark, moody hue and an extra textural bite. The salad builds to a delicious crescendo with its finishing touch: crunchy, craggy, blue cheese–infused breadcrumbs, which provide a lovely textural reprieve to the chewy rice and fruit.

08 of 20

Vegetable Rainbow Salad

Vegetable Rainbow Salad
© Con Poulos

This vibrant salad showcases a colorful mixture of pickled onions and radishes, roasted root vegetables, leafy greens, and black quinoa.

09 of 20

Smashed Cucumber Salad with Butter Beans and Tarragon

Smashed Cucumber Salad with Butter Beans and Tarragon
Jennifer Causey

Gently crushing the cucumbers for this salad releases their aroma and creates nooks and crannies for soaking up the dressing. They still retain plenty of crunch, a great contrast to the rich, creamy butter beans. Don’t skip the tarragon here; its fragrance and delicate anise flavor give the dish a refreshing pop.

10 of 20

Antipasto Salad with Bocconcini and Green-Olive Tapenade

Antipasto Salad with Bocconcini and Green-Olive Tapenade

© Greg DuPree

This no-cook salad from Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton, inspired by the antipasto in Italian-American restaurants, is a delicious toss of iceberg lettuce, mozzarella, salami, and olives in an oregano-laced dressing.

11 of 20

Potato Salad with Bacon and Barbecue Sauce

Potato salad

© John Kernick

The mayonnaise dressing for this potato salad gets pungency from mustard oil (store-bought spicy mustard works fine, too) and a hit of smoky-sweet flavor from bacon and bottled barbecue sauce.

12 of 20

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing
© Dave Lauridsen

Chef Susan Feniger likes to make this salad early in the day, so the carrots marinate a bit in the dressing. Harissa, the North African chile paste, adds fiery heat.

13 of 20

Santa Fe Quinoa Salad

Santa Fe Quinoa Salad
© Stephanie Foley

Chef Chad Aaland makes quinoa salad with three types of beans and house-pickled onions. This streamlined version with black beans and jarred cocktail onions is tasty, too.

14 of 20

Crunchy Cabbage Salad

Crunchy Cabbage Salad
© James Baigrie

“Sometimes I make this simple salad with just one color of cabbage; sometimes I arrange it in alternating rows of color,” says chef Jacques Pépin. The tangy-salty anchovy dressing would also be delicious on other crisp salad greens, such as escarole or chicory.

15 of 20

Chicken and Rice Salad with Pine Nuts and Lemon

Chicken and Rice Salad with Pine Nuts and Lemon
© Iain Bagwell. Food styling by Simon Andrews.

This Mediterranean-inspired salad can be served warm or slightly chilled. Be sure to check the seasonings, as cold dishes often need more salt and pepper than those served hot.

16 of 20

Eggplant Caponata

Eggplant Caponata
© Tina Rupp

Sicily’s caponata is a tangy eggplant salad served as a side dish or appetizer. This version adds bits of velvety avocado.

17 of 20

Barley Salad with Parsley and Walnuts

Barley Salad with Parsley and Walnuts
© Kana Okada

Barley is versatile enough to be served warm or at room temperature, as in this terrific salad with walnuts, parsley, and salty bits of ricotta salata cheese in a lemon-garlic vinaigrette.

18 of 20

Couscous Salad with Zucchini and Roasted Almonds

Couscous Salad with Zucchini and Roasted Almonds
© Petrina Tinslay

This salad is a fragrant mixture of taste and texture: Fluffy couscous contrasts with crunchy toasted almonds, while fresh herbs get balanced with bright, tart lemon juice.

19 of 20

Summer Farro Salad

Summer Farro Salad
© John Kernick

Chef Marco Canora simmers farro in water with sautéed onion, carrots, and celery. The aromatic vegetables add delicate flavor to the cooked grains.

20 of 20

Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette

Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette
Eva Kolenko

Potlikker, as it’s called in the South, is the savory, starchy liquid left over after cooking beans or greens. Here, chef Joe Kindred whisks the über-flavorful liquid into a vinaigrette, but you can also use it in soups and pasta sauces, or thicken it with butter and drizzle over fish.

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