topic Re: Weekly Main Course Salads in Recipes

Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 02:48:36 GMT

Happy New Year 🙌

I'm not one to make New Year resolutions, but I like to set new goals at this time of the year. One of those goals for this new year is to have a weekly Main Course Salad for dinner. Looking at recipes that I will review weekly; will need to do some advance planning for shopping for the fresh ingredients. Will also try to shop as much as possible at the Sunday Farmers Market.

Do you have any favorite salads that could be hearty enough as a main course?

Here's the Main Course salad that I've picked for this week. Will shop on Monday and make it either Tuesday or Wednesday. The recipe yield info says 6 servings but I think it will be less if it's the main course. Thinking about also buying a rotisserie chicken to add to it.

QUINOA, CORN, AND AVOCADO SALAD

INGREDIENTS (6 servings?)

1½ cups cooked quinoa
1½ cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn
2 medium avocados, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ medium red onion, diced small
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Zest of 1 lime and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Sea salt, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Kachina624 — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:13:29 GMT

I'd add some meat of some kind, especially if feeding a man or kids. Some diced ham or chicken, even pulled pork.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

wagirl — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:29:54 GMT

I fix dinner salads all the time. Most times I put leftovers in it like chicken, steak, salmon. I add beans, hard boiled eggs, cheese , berries, all sorts of greens and the usual salad dressings or just balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Not a fan of quinoa tho. Also I add broccoli slaw . Nuts are good too. I make quick pickled beets to add. Tuna is good too. Love roasted corn. There is nothing better!!

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:35:28 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
I'd add some meat of some kind, especially if feeding a man or kids. Some diced ham or chicken, even pulled pork.

@Kachina624 - yes, I'm going to buy a rotisserie chicken. It will be good for a few extra meals

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

kze — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:36:19 GMT

I think I would substitute lemon for lime juice and add artichokes, also anchovies, salmon or other seafood would be tasty.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:39:37 GMT

@wagirl wrote:
I fix dinner salads all the time. Most times I put leftovers in it like chicken, steak, salmon. I add beans, hard boiled eggs, cheese , berries, all sorts of greens and the usual salad dressings or just balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Not a fan of quinoa tho. Also I add broccoli slaw . Nuts are good too. I make quick pickled beets to add. Tuna is good too. Love roasted corn. There is nothing better!!

@wagirl - I'm not a big salad eater, usually it's just a side dish. And that doesn't happen with every meal. Figure it will help to actually plan it as a weekly main course. And there are some really good ideas and recipes other than the usual Caesar or Cobb or leftover steak salad.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:47:08 GMT

@kze wrote:
I think I would substitute lemon for lime juice and add artichokes, also anchovies, salmon or other seafood would be tasty.

@kze I did a double take as the quinoa recipe that I posted does not have an actual dressing. But maybe the avocado serves as as dressing when it melds with the lemon or lime juice?

I'm thinking about doubling the salad recipe and portioning half of it to save for next day salad. But will not add the avocado to the salad until mealtime as avocado in a salad will not be good leftover. I think the salad minus the avocado should be good for a couple of days?

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

cjm61 — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 04:49:07 GMT

@Calibeach

We eat salads as our main dish about 4X per week.

I change it up in many ways but here are a couple ideas and the names I just have made up:

Fiesta Salad: chopped lettuce with a lot of pico de gallo, a little shredded cheese and leftover pork/roast/steak/chicken. If I have leftover corn on the cob I like to shell them and use the corn to sweeten it up a bit. We like a salsa type dressing. If you want you can add a few tortilla chips.

Thai Chicken salad: Lettuce (any kind), green onions, cashews, chopped chicken, peanut sauce and a Thai dressing. Add a few won tons if you like.

Candied Pecan Salad: Lettuce, Feta, sweet onions sliced thin, sliced apples (or pears or pomegranate seeds), honey glazed pecans and use a light raspberry vinaigrette dressing like Newman's. Chicken

Greek Salad: variety of greens with just about anything you like with balsamic vinegar dressing pepperchini's, kalamata olives, onions, cucumbers, feta, broccoli, bell peppers, just about anything we have and add chicken

Pea Salad: I love green peas so I basically just have lettuce, lots of peas, black olives, beets, with a light thousand island dressing. w/chicken

Caesar type salad: lettuce, Parmesan cheese, green onions and I make my own Caesar dressing. I like to add a few homemade croutons. Chicken

Hope this gives you something to work with. I tweak it for myself and my husband to suit our tastes but these are our standby salad recipes.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

kze — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:09:24 GMT

@Calibeach wrote:
@kze wrote:
I think I would substitute lemon for lime juice and add artichokes, also anchovies, salmon or other seafood would be tasty.
@kze I did a double take as the quinoa recipe that I posted does not have an actual dressing. But maybe the avocado serves as as dressing when it melds with the lemon or lime juice?

I'm thinking about doubling the salad recipe and portioning half of it to save for next day salad. But will not add the avocado to the salad until mealtime as avocado in a salad will not be good leftover. I think the salad minus the avocado should be good for a couple of days?

@Calibeach

I agree with everything you said. I wonder if a tiny bit of olive oil would be good? Can't wait to try this.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Laura14 — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:15:06 GMT

I do a modified chef salad with romaine chopped, hardboiled eggs, and shredded cheese with a lighter dressing, usually the skinny girl brand.

Occasionally I might add chicken chunks or strips(non breaded) or strip steak, if you have any left over from another meal.

You could put cucumbers on as well, but I do it as a side salad with vinegar and oil. If you like tomatoes (I don't) a traditional cucumber salad includes slices of tomatoes as well and my grandparents would season it with salt, pepper, and oregano. I like it just dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Still Raining — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:11:52 GMT

Thanks for posting, that one look good. One of my kids uses a lot of quinoa.

I love tabbouleh and make some most weeks. You can tweak the ingredients as you wish. It seems to go well with leftover cold meat and keeps for a day in the refrigerator too.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

wagirl — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:49:32 GMT

@Calibeach --I am a huge salad eater---always have been but my DD is like you--she likes a weekly dinner salad but gets tired of them easily. And there are soo many salads to fix and eat.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Puppy Galore — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:02:55 GMT

@Calibeach wrote:
@kze wrote:
I think I would substitute lemon for lime juice and add artichokes, also anchovies, salmon or other seafood would be tasty.
@kze I did a double take as the quinoa recipe that I posted does not have an actual dressing. But maybe the avocado serves as as dressing when it melds with the lemon or lime juice?

I'm thinking about doubling the salad recipe and portioning half of it to save for next day salad. But will not add the avocado to the salad until mealtime as avocado in a salad will not be good leftover. I think the salad minus the avocado should be good for a couple of days?

@Calibeach

This would also be good if you have little salad left, cut an avocado in half and fill the center of the avocado with the leftover salad. Serve with your favorite bread.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

walker — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:35:49 GMT

I love salads and would fix more but that won't work for my husband every night ....but, once in awhile is ok. I just have more salads for lunch. If you like salmon, this is a good one. You could probably substitute chicken or shrimp. Serve with bread or rolls on side, if desired.

PASTA SALAD WITH SALMON AND DILL

1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill*

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from same lemon)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 (5-6 oz) cans or pouches salmon, drained*

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 ozs. Small or Medium dried pasta shells

Romaine or other lettuce for serving

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and refrigerate until it cools completely or until needed, at least 30 minutes.

Stir together yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, mustard, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper until combined; set aside.

in separate bowl, break up salmon into chunks. Add about half of the dressing to coat. Next add celery, onion and cooled pasta along with remaining dressing. Gently toss to combine.

Place lettuce on each serving plate. Mound pasta salad on top....enjoy!

Serves about 4.

* I took a shortcut and used dried dill. And, next time I fix

it, I think I may add one more can or pouch of salmon

OR use fresh cooked salmon.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:07:03 GMT

@cjm61 Thank you so much for sharing your weekly main course salad basic recipes. I'm hoping this will become more second nature for my meal planning. This is very helpful 💝

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Calibeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:55:29 GMT

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions and recipes 🙌

From what I've read and understand, salads are a healthier meal option but the dressings can add unnecessary calories. I try to make at home dressings but we always have a couple of bottled dressings in the refrigerator as quick grabs for salads and condiments (Italian, ranch and blue cheese).

Also interested in make at home dressing recipes. Please share your favorites.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

cusegirl — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:22:08 GMT

I like to add chicken, shrimp or tuna to a main course salad. Also, beets, chickpeas, radishes, red peppers, artichoke hearts, celery, and hard boiled eggs. I make a home made dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

haddon9 — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:42:58 GMT

@Calibeach wrote:
Happy New Year 🙌

I'm not one to make New Year resolutions, but I like to set new goals at this time of the year. One of those goals for this new year is to have a weekly Main Course Salad for dinner. Looking at recipes that I will review weekly; will need to do some advance planning for shopping for the fresh ingredients. Will also try to shop as much as possible at the Sunday Farmers Market.

Do you have any favorite salads that could be hearty enough as a main course?

Here's the Main Course salad that I've picked for this week. Will shop on Monday and make it either Tuesday or Wednesday. The recipe yield info says 6 servings but I think it will be less if it's the main course. Thinking about also buying a rotisserie chicken to add to it.

QUINOA, CORN, AND AVOCADO SALAD

INGREDIENTS (6 servings?)
1½ cups cooked quinoa
1½ cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn
2 medium avocados, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ medium red onion, diced small
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Zest of 1 lime and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Sea salt, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well.

@Calibeach That looks delicious!

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

cody2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 19:33:23 GMT

@cjm61 That pea salad is calling my name. Definitely going to give that one a try.

Re: Weekly Main Course Salads

Puppy Galore — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 02:27:37 GMT

@Calibeach

Would canned corn kernels be acceptable instead of fresh or frozen corn?