Rainbow Summer Salad
With fresh produce abundant, it’s the perfect time to make this delicious, colorful Rainbow Summer Salad!
This Chopped Summer Salad features the best of the season’s produce, plus the ingredients listed in the recipe can be adapted to your palate. Add some roasted chicken or sliced rare beef to make a light, delicious dinner on a warm evening.
Why You Must Make
- This Chopped Salad Recipe is a delicious way to enjoy summer produce.
- You can add or subtract any ingredients to personalize this salad for you or your family.
- This Chopped Summer Salad is a healthy side dish or entree!
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Extra Virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link), Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Corn – Local, fresh, sweet corn, blanched and sliced off the cob, tastes best, but defrosted frozen corn is a good substitute.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Or grape tomatoes, slice in half. Use any color or a variety of colors.
- Bell Peppers – Use red, yellow, or orange. Green peppers can be used, but they aren’t as sweet as the others, so I don’t recommend them unless that’s your only option.
- Red Onion – Diced. I like to soak the diced onions in ice water, then dry them on paper towels to help remove some of the sharpness. This step is optional.
- Small Cucumbers – There is no need to peel these, since the peels on mini cucumbers are more tender than standard cukes. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Fresh Mozzarella Pearls – You can use other shapes of fresh Mozzarella, just cut into small pieces.
- Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed will taste best.
- Honey (affiliate link) – My addition. Add to taste (1-2 tablespoons) to help balance the acidity/sharpness from the lime juice if desired. Local honey can help with seasonal allergies, so it’s nice to use it if you have access to some. The pollen the bees pick up on their legs will give you a small dose that will trigger your immune system to respond.
Recipe Tips
- Whatever ingredients you choose, pick a variety of colors to enhance your salad’s appearance. Remember, we eat with our eyes first, meaning a dish that is beautiful is often a clue that it will be delicious, too!
- Cut everything into bite-sized pieces so a knife is not needed to eat the salad.
- This salad uses a citrus vinaigrette, but you can offer any salad dressing that goes well with your ingredients, like your favorite vinaigrette, Ranch, Caesar dressing, French, etc.
- To make it an entree salad, add your favorite protein source, cut into cubes. Other cheeses besides fresh mozzarella work well, like Cheddar, Swiss, or Monterey Jack. Cubes of cooked chicken, beef, or pieces of smoked or cooked chunks of salmon are all tasty options.
How to Make
Frequently Asked Questions
A chopped salad is a side salad or entree salad where all ingredients are cut into bite-sized pieces. Like regular salads, they can be served as a main dish or side dish.
The ingredients may include vegetables, including lettuce, fruits, cheese, and/or other proteins like fish, chicken, or beef.
The first known chopped salad was served at La Scala, created by Chef Jean Leon at his Beverly Hills restaurant in the 1950s.
If you’d like your vinaigrette to emulsify, or combine smoothly instead of separating into two layers, you must slowly add oil into the lime juice (or vinegar) while whisking continuously. Otherwise, whisk the two together before serving, but note that it will separate back into two layers as it sits.
You May Also Like
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Kitchen Sink Chopped Salad
- Southwest Chopped Salad
- Mexican Chopped Salad
- Plus, all my Best Salad Recipes
Rainbow Summer Salad
A delicious summer salad made with colorful fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
- 4 Ears of Fresh Corn on the Cob
- 8 ounces Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ Red Onion, diced into small pieces. Soak in ice water, then drain before using to remove some of the sharpness.
- 2 Small/Mini Cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, then slice vertically into half-moon shaped pieces. No need to peel since the mini cucumbers have more tender skin.
- 8 ounces fresh Mozzarella balls, cut in half. I used Ciliegine, oval shaped balls.
- Shredded Fresh Basil to taste, ½-1 cup
- Juice of 3 Limes, ½ cup
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons honey, optional (I used it to balance out the tartness of the lime juice)
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Blanch the corn in salted boiling water, 2-6 minutes depending on how fresh it is. Mine was fresh from the farmers' market and only needed 2 minutes. Let cool.
- Chop the other Vegetables into bite-sized pieces and add to a large salad bowl.
- Drain the onions (I like to put the drained onions on paper towels to remove excess moisture) and add to the bowl.
- Make the salad dressing by drizzling the olive oil into the lime juice while whisking until the mixture is emulsified. Whisk in the honey plus a touch of kosher salt and freshly black pepper, then dip one of the veggies into the dressing to taste for seasonings. Add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
- Add the salad dressing right before serving. Toss to combine. Or pass the salad dressing separately with the undressed salad.
Notes
Store leftover salad and dressing separately in the refrigerator.
Calories will vary depending on the amounts of each ingredient you use and the amount of salad dressing on each serving.
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 193Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 340mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 8g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
4 Comments on “Rainbow Summer Salad”
I love this refreshing summer salad..it really hits the spot with all the fresh ingredients!
Looks so fresh and tasty. My kind of salad.
Amalia
xo
Such a beautiful salad, so colourful and packed with delicious flavours. I’ll be borrowing this idea as the hot and humid temperatures continue in Toronto.
A lovely combo of colours, flavours and textures!