Recipes Salads 11 Filling Salads with Meat By Food & Wine Editors Updated on August 18, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: © Tina Rupp Beds of veggies are an excellent vehicle for showcasing an array of meats. Add a flavorful dressing and voila! You've got an utterly satisfying salad. We've rounded up our heartiest meat-topped salad recipes, including everything from grilled chicken to juicy meatballs to charred lamb — and bacon, of course. Read on to discover your new go-to lunch or weeknight dinner. 01 of 11 Cold Saimin Salad with Soy-Ginger Grilled Pork Victor Protasio This Hawaiian-style cold ramen noodle salad is topped with slices of savory, crispy pork shoulder, crunchy bean sprouts, tender ribbons of egg, shredded nori, and slices of Japanese pickled cucumber. A cooling dressing of dashi, rice wine vinegar, and sake brings it all together. Get the Recipe 02 of 11 Autumn Salad with Figs and Blue Cheese Christina Holmes Food blogger and cookbook author Mimi Thorisson tosses her incredible mesclun salad with figs, toasted hazelnuts, bacon, sliced apple, grapes, and blue cheese, making for a satisfying amalgamation of sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy. Get the Recipe 03 of 11 Jicama, Kirby, and Carrot Salad with Charred Lamb © James Baigrie Because chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is constantly opening new restaurants, it's easy to forget Vong's 1992 opening in Manhattan. This smoky lamb salad was on the menu with crunchy carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and a spiced vinegar dressing. It's one of the dishes that launched America's Asian-fusion trend. Get the Recipe 04 of 11 Grilled Meatballs with Scallion and Shaved Cheese Salad Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson makes his savory meatballs with a mixture of lamb, veal, and bacon, plus a little ricotta cheese to keep everything moist. He serves them atop an unconventional salad of grilled scallions with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Get the Recipe 05 of 11 Antipasto Salad with Green Olive Tapenade © Greg DuPree Chef Nancy Silverton is a master of Italian cooking, getting the biggest flavor from the simplest ingredients. She does just that with this hearty salad, which combines crisp iceberg lettuce, milky mozzarella, spicy-tangy peperoncini, and salty olives and salami. Get the Recipe 06 of 11 Juicy Steak and Tomato Salad Con Poulos This summery salad from Food & Wine Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple is quick and easy to pull together, and a total crowdpleaser. His mixture of cherry and heirloom tomatoes, luscious avocado, fresh herbs, and grilled steak marries beautifully with the Champagne vinaigrette. Get the Recipe 07 of 11 Corned Beef Salad with Thousand Island Dressing and Rye Croutons You've probably eaten a sandwich with a salad inside; now try a salad with a sandwich inside. Strips of corned beef are tossed with lettuce and rye bread croutons, then topped with Thousand Island dressing — the real old-fashioned kind with "islands" of pickle relish, hard-cooked egg, and chopped scallion. Get the Recipe 08 of 11 Grilled Chicken Salad with Ginger-Miso © Tina Rupp Grilled chicken puts a little flavor twist on this classic salad, which gets its crispness from snow peas, cabbage, and carrots. Store-bought shredded coleslaw mix makes this recipe incredibly easy to make. Get the Recipe 09 of 11 Peppery Greens Salad with Avocado, Chicken, and Tortilla Croutons Greg DuPree Crispy, pimentón-dusted tortillas stand in for the flatbread traditionally found in the Lebanese bread salad fattoush. Make this recipe with easy homemade Tex-Mex Tortillas or use your favorite store-bought version. Get the Recipe 10 of 11 Italian Sausage Salad © Fredrika Stjärne As an homage to the salads of his youth, marinated in bottled Italian dressing, New York City chef Jamie Bissonnette developed this "grown-up" version. Here, grilled Italian sausage and vegetables marinated in red wine vinaigrette sit atop a bed of crisp iceberg lettuce. Get the Recipe 11 of 11 Spinach Salad with Smoked Chicken, Apple, Walnuts, and Bacon © David Malosh Celebrate autumn's apple season with this delicious and satisfying salad. We call for the thick-sliced smoked chicken available in the meat department of most supermarkets. Of course, you can always use smoked turkey from the deli counter instead. If you like a more pronounced sweet-and-sour flavor, use another teaspoon of vinegar. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit