This Sunday Summer Salad is the absolute perfect summer meal! Packed with delicious ingredients, it is so fresh and indulgent at the same time.

a photo of sunday summer salad in a green bowl

A Note From Teri on Sunday Summer Salad

During the summer, I’m tempted to make this very special salad every single weekend. I feel so good eating it, and I feel energized afterward. It’s the most healthful, juiciest, most delicious way to enjoy my protein, and the dressing is quite simply sublime. It transports so well, making it perfect for a potluck, Sunday lunch, or a girls’ weekend away. I like to prep it in Chicago, placing individual elements in Mason jars, and take it to my cabin for the weekend.

End of summer is the time of the year when I want to pack my meals with all the freshness of summer produce. That’s why I had to create a summer version of my Sunday Salad.

For this summer version of my favorite salad, I added French green beans, avocados, and radishes. I omitted the peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and artichokes. I simplified the chicken, and rather than doing a full marinade, I used my Everyday Chicken Breasts. It’s changed just enough to make it seasonal.

Juicy roasted chicken breasts with crispy skin, cooked to perfection. Ideal for healthy, flavorful family dinners or meal prep.
two hands with red nail polish and gold rings cutting chicken breast into cubes

The perfect dressing for the Summer Salad is my Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing. If you haven’t made this yet, run don’t walk. This Magic Elixir has quickly become a blog favorite. It’s bright, fresh, and creamy. The salad is also quite delicious with my Charred Scallion Dressing!

Ingredients and Variations

ingredients for creamy chive citrus dressing
ingredients for sunday summer salad

For the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing:

  •   Large egg
  •   Light olive oil
  •   Chives
  •   Fresh lemon juice
  •   Shallots
  •   Apple cider vinegar
  •   Garlic cloves
  •   Anchovy
  •   Hot sauce
  •   Lemon zest
  •   Kosher salt

For the Salad:

  •   Your choice of greens: we used baby romaine but use your favorite salad greens or a mix!
  •   Kosher salt 
  •   Marinated Red Onions and its oil
  •   Sizzling Everyday Chicken: I love the versatility of this roasted chicken but you can also buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store
  •   French green beans
  •   Radicchio lettuce
  •   Cucumbers
  •   Radishes
  •   Avocados
  •   California green olives
  •   Cherry tomatoes
  •   Pepperoncini peppers
  •   Celery
  •   Hearts of palm (optional)
  •   Red wine vinegar
  •   Freshly ground black pepper

Feel free to get creative and add ingredients like Manchego, feta, baby pearls of mozzarella, peanuts, pepitas, sprouts, or Napa cabbage. What I love about a salad like this is that there are infinite ways to make it your own. Balance some savory goodness with a beautiful crunch, add a touch more sweetness, and follow your cooking instincts.

Turn Your Summer Salad into Chicken Salad

a photo of summer chicken salad in a bowl

A fun twist on this Sunday Summer Salad is to turn it into chicken salad! Skip the lettuce, shred your chicken breasts, then slice up the rest of your ingredients and toss everything together with your dressing and enjoy. It’s absolutely delicious.

How to Make This Sunday Summer Salad

Chive Dressing in a mason jar and on small green plate with spoon

Step One: Make the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing

Place the egg in a wide mouth Mason jar, and using an immersion blender to blend, slowly add the light olive oil until it emulsifies and thickens. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate to allow the dressing to thicken while you make the salad.

Sliced vegetables on a cutting board

Step Two: Blanch the green beans

In a large pot over high heat, bring water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl. Place green beans in the boiling water and parboil for 3 minutes or until cooked through but still crisp. Immediately remove, drain, and place in the ice water bath. Let cool in the ice water for 5 minutes. Drain and dry. Set aside.

a photo of lettuce, chicken, tomatoes and pepperoncini in a bowl
a photo of summer salad ingredients in a bowl
a photo of dressing pouring over sunday summer salad

Step Three: Assemble the salad

In a large bowl, arrange the greens and sprinkle with salt. If your greens are large, tear the leaves into smaller pieces. Sprinkle salt and add about 3 tablespoons of Marinated Red Onion oil and around ½ cup of Marinated Red Onions. Add the chicken, green beans, radicchio, cucumbers, radishes, avocado, olives, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, celery, and hearts of palm. Toss to fully combine. Add more Marinated Red Onion oil until the salad is fully coated and add red wine vinegar. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground black pepper and voila!

a photo of sunday summer salad in a green bowl

More Salad Recipes to Try

Summer is absolutely the best time to enjoy nature’s bounty, and making a delicious salad is one my favorite ways to do it! There are so many great ways to switch up this Sunday Summer Salad so that it feels fresh and different every time you make it. If you haven’t tried my Antipasto Sunday Salad or the Whole30 or Vegan versions, what are you waiting for? They’re incredibly delicious too! Make the most of the summer produce season and try my Summer Steak and Grilled Corn Salad, Summer Celebration Wedge Salad, or Raspberry Summer Salad.

Frequently asked questions

I don’t have chives; what other dressing goes well with this?

If you have green onions on hand, my Charred Scallion Dressing is absolutely divine with this salad or you can make my Green Goddess Dressing or Creamy Olive Dressing!

Can I make this ahead?

Absolutely! One of the best things about summer salads is how easy they make mealtime. Once you’ve prepped all your ingredients, simply keep them in containers or jars and assemble and toss with the dressing before serving. Perfect for a make ahead meal or meal prep.

What is a Sunday Salad?

A Sunday Salad is a larger, heartier dinner salad that will satiate your favorite eaters. They normally include a larger variety of ingredients and require more prep work and thus they’re ideally made on slower days, like Sundays, when you can take your time. This is not your typical quick weeknight salad, but you can prep your ingredients on Sunday and enjoy the deliciousness all week long!

If you make this Sunday Summer Salad, make sure you rate and review it below! If you’re looking for more inspiration, sign up for our newsletter, and follow along on Pinterest,  Instagram, and TikTok to join in all the fun!

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a photo of sunday summer salad in a green bowl

Sunday Summer Salad

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  • Author: Teri Turner
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Oven
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

This Sunday Summer Salad is perfect for light, seasonal eating! It’s full of crunch and great for delicious dinner.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  •   10 ounces of your choice of greens, we used baby romaine
  •   Kosher Salt 
  •   Marinated Red Onions and its oil
  •   4 cups cubed Sizzling Everyday Chicken, or rotisserie chicken
  •   1 cup cut French green beans (bite-size)
  •   1 cup thinly sliced radicchio lettuce
  •   1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers (into half moons)
  •   1 cup radishes, sliced
  •   1-2 avocados, cubed
  •   3/4 cup California green olives, halved
  •   3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  •   3/4 cup thinly sliced pepperoncini peppers
  •   3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
  •   3/4 cup hearts of palm, cut into tiny bite pieces (optional)
  •   3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  •   Freshly ground black pepper

For the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing:

  •   1 large egg
  •   ¾ cup light olive oil
  •   3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
  •   3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  •   2 tablespoons minced shallots
  •   1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  •   2 garlic cloves, pressed
  •   1 anchovy
  •   1 teaspoon hot sauce
  •   1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  •   ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1.   Make the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing: In a wide mouth mason jar, using an immersion blender to blend, place the egg and slowly add the light olive oil until it emulsifies and thickens. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate to allow the dressing to thicken while you make the salad.
  2.   Blanche the Green beans: In a large pot over high heat, bring water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl. Set aside.
  3.   Add the green beans to the boiling water and parboil for 3 minutes or until cooked through but still crisp. Immediately remove, drain, and add to the ice water bath. Let cool in the ice water for 5 minutes. Drain and dry. Set aside.
  4.   Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl, add the greens and sprinkle with salt. If your greens are big, tear the leaves into smaller pieces. Sprinkle salt and add about 3 tablespoons of Marinated Red Onion oil and around ½ cup of marinated red onions. Add the chicken, green beans, radicchio, cucumbers, radishes, avocado, olives, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, celery, and hearts of palm (if using). Toss to fully combine. Add more marinated onion oil until the salad is fully coated and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  5.   Serve with the dressing on the side and enjoy!

Notes

This salad is also perfect without the dressing, but we love it with a few spoonfuls!