19 Filling Dinner Salads You’ll Actually Want to Eat

Side salads are great, but dinner salads should not be slept on. You might have some preconceived notions that salad for dinner won’t fill you up, but if you make use of the right ingredients (especially proteins), there are plenty of delicious salads to explore. We’ve rounded up 19 of our favorite recipes below but trust us, they’re only the tip of the iceberg (see what we did there?). 

1. Thai Beef Salad

This salad is exploding with flavor and it all starts with the spicy-sweet skirt steak marinade. Bold bites of green onion, peanuts, mint, and cucumbers kick things up another notch, and the marinade doubles as the dressing, delivering a full-circle moment.

Recipe: Dinner Then Dessert

Related: A Guide to the Best Thai Restaurants in America

2. Spicy Southwest Salad

We love a good southwest salad, and it opens the door to play around with toppings. From Santa Fe-style tortilla strips to pico de gallo, there are so many bold flavors that beautifully complement this recipe.

Recipe: The Oregan Dietitian

3. Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

Caesar salad is a classic. To maximize the “filling” aspect, grilled chicken is an ideal companion, and the homemade croutons are a must. Shred some fresh parmesan and top with a creamy, homemade dressing and you can’t go wrong.

Recipe: Damn Delicious

4. Big Mac Salad

Big Macs don’t need the bun to be filling. This recipe embraces all the ingredients you’d find between the buns and offers up one tasty and unique salad. We love a good “think outside the box” recipe.

Recipe: BellyFull

5. Taco Salad

Who doesn’t love taco salad? This stuff is so filling that you almost forget it’s a salad at all. Topped with taco meat, chips, cheese, and any other taco toppings that tickle your fancy, this recipe hits every single time. Bonus points for tortilla bowls or Doritos in place of tortilla chips.

Recipe: The Cozy Cook

6. Chef Salad

Protein-rich meats and hard-boiled eggs help chef salad be one of the more filling options out there in the world of lettuce-based dishes. Cheese, bacon, a handful of veggies, and a tasty dressing do the trick, too.

Recipe: Jo Cooks

7. Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

The avocado, chicken, and corn add some good substance to this salad, providing a nice punch of protein and fat. With added sweetness from the strawberries and honey mustard dressing, this recipe doesn’t leave much left to be desired.

Recipe: Damn Delicious

8. Warm Fajita Steak Salad

There’s something about sauteed peppers on a salad. They just do something completely different than raw peppers, and we are totally here for it. Add warm spicy-seasoned steak to the mix and we are all the way sold. This salad is a “yes, please” with no tortillas necessary.

Recipe: The Kitchn

9. Italian Grinder Salad

If you’ve somehow evaded videos of the viral TikTok grinder sandwich, we offer you a round of applause. Still, we do admit that it looks pretty tasty. and if you’re a dressing fanatic, this salad might speak to the depths of your soul.

Recipe: Smile Sandwich

Related: 11 Easy and Delicious Salad Dressings You Can Make at Home

10. Honey Lime Shrimp Salad

Shrimp is simply delectable when combined with the flavors of honey and lime. This salad gives us that among other tasty ingredients like queso fresco, charred corn, and cilantro. 

Recipe: Recipe Runner

11. Antipasto Salad

Salami, pepperoni, artichoke, mozzarella pearls, pickled peppers … we are practically salivating over this one. The homemade Italian vinaigrette is definitely necessary. 

Recipe: 40 Aprons 

12. Barbecue Chicken Salad

Barbecue chicken and black beans bring the protein to this salad. Corn, cheese, onion, cilantro, and tortilla strips round out this scrumptious salad, which we’re thinking would be best paired with your favorite ranch dressing. 

Recipe: Life in the Lofthouse

Related: 50 Cheap and Easy Chicken Recipes

13. Salmon Avocado Salad

Salmon and avocado are fan-favorite ingredients these days and they provide the promise of a filling meal, so they make perfect sense as the main characters to bulk up a salad. With simple companions like tomato and cucumber, this one is fresh and simple.

Recipe: Downshiftology 

14. Chinese Chicken Salad

There’s just something about wonton strips. They’re the perfect topping for this cabbage and lettuce combo salad, which is made complete with other Asian salad staples like shredded carrots, green onion, and sesame seeds.

Recipe: Confetti & Bliss

15. Steakhouse Wedge Salad With a Twist

You don’t need to head to your favorite steakhouse to order a wedge salad. Make one at home! This recipe’s “twist” is blue cheese crumbles and a homemade dressing that embraces sweet flavors.

Recipe: Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish

Related: The Best Under-the-Radar Steakhouse in Each State

16. Buffalo Chicken Salad

Buffalo chicken everything is a yes from us. Although the debate between blue cheese and ranch is always a hot one when it comes to buffalo chicky, this recipe actually embraces both with a spicy ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles.

Recipe: Recipe Runner

Related: I Tried 7 Kinds of Buffalo Sauce and This Was the Best

17. Spring Roll Salad

Turning spring roll fixings into a salad is nothing short of genius. The spicy ginger dressing that comes along with this recipe sounds like a deal-sealer if we’ve ever heard one.

Recipe: Whole and Heavenly Oven

18. Cajun Shrimp Caesar Salad

If there was going to be a salad we mentioned twice, you knew it had to be Caesar. This one skips the chicken and instead uses cajun-seasoned shrimp. Not mad at that one teeny tiny bit.

Recipe: Wholesome Yum

19. Greek Salad with Chicken

We love a good Greek salad and adding chicken to it is the perfect way to create a more filling dish. Plus, you can marinate the chicken to punch up those Mediterranean flavors. 

Recipe: Foodie Crush

Up next: Delicious Greek Recipes Made Cheaper at Home