15 Easy to Prepare Platter Salads for Dinner Time

The weather is warming up, it’s time to drag the barbecue out and start grilling that meat. Summer time is here. There’s pasta salad, potato salad and coleslaw to make but no time, right? These easy to prepare platter salads are great to prepare ahead of time and make the perfect accompaniment to any family dinner.

There are no hard or fast rules with these recipes. In fact they are a great way to use up vegetables and/or fruits that are getting near their use by date.

It’s best to keep a good supply of pantry staples like oils, vinegar, herbs and spices, nuts, canned pulses etc to throw together these one platter salads so everyone can help themselves and, most importantly, you aren’t spending a lot of time in the kitchen preparing a variety of salads.

If you’re looking for platters, I love this three (3) piece porcelain set from Kovot.

Meal Suggestions

Dinner can comprise grilled, poached, fried, baked meats, for example, with one of these salads. Serve with bread rolls, pita bread, Lebanese bread, garlic bread and you’ve got an easy meal on the table.

Add the grilled meat to the salad or just have another protein like canned pulses, boiled eggs or cheese for a meat free dinner.

Ingredients List

Vegetables

Tomato, cucumber, onion (red, spring, white, brown), cabbage, leftover roast vegetables, avocado, corn, capsicum (peppers), lettuce (iceberg, gem, cos), broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, snow peas, olives, pumpkin, sweet potato, frozen vegetables

Fruit

Pears, pomegranate, lime, orange, apples, melon, pineapple, berries, lemon

Herbs (Fresh or Dried)

Parsley, coriander (cilantro), mint, oregano, basil

Spices

Salt, pepper, dried coriander, cayenne pepper, sumac, Dijon mustard, cumin, paprika, onion powder, fennel seeds

Other

Extra virgin olive oil, eggs, canned pulses (chickpeas, lentils, black beans), nuts (any kind), sugar, vinegar (white wine, red white, white, apple cider, rice wine), pasta (any kind), cheese (goat’s cheese, feta, cheddar, mozzarella), fruit juices, Greek yoghurt, mayonnaise, honey, sesame oil, seeds (sesame, pumpkin, chia), soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic (fresh or crushed), ginger (fresh or crushed), pesto, tahini, grains (couscous, quinoa)

Platter Salads

Rustic Italian Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Lemon Garlic Orzo (Risoni) & Roast Vegetable Salad

Pomegranate, Pear & Avocado Salad

Mediterranean Chickpea & Egg Salad

Mixed Salad with Black Beans

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

Asian Chopped Salad

Easy Caprese Pesto Penne

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea, & Arugula (Rocket) Salad

Roasted Pumpkin Quinoa Salad

Grilled Peach & Sweet Potato Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mexican Chopped Salad

Chopped Thai Salad with Sesame Garlic Dressing

Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Of course, you are not limited to the ingredients in these recipes. They really only serve as a guide. It’s all about using the fresh vegetables you have plus any canned pulses you’d like to add for more protein or even to eat as is as a whole meal.

Check out the ingredients list and keep a few different oils, nuts, seeds, vinegars etc in your pantry so you can make any or all of these platter salads for your next dinner or barbecue. I trust it makes meal times more easy and enjoyable for you and your family.

13 Indian style salads and vegetable dishes to try

Who doesn’t love Indian food? It’s the perfect comfort food. Unfortunately, for my family, they don’t enjoy it too spicy so I do try to create a more mild version of the traditional dishes but I satisfy my Indian food cravings with salads and a bulk cook up of vegetable dishes I can enjoy for my lunch. Here are 13 Indian style salads and vegetable dishes to try.

Ingredients to Keep in Your Pantry

These types of salads are based around whatever is in season. Other ingredients to keep in your pantry include:

• tinned or dried pulses and beans, eg chickpeas, lentils, quinoa etc
• olive oil
• spices like cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric, cardamom, ground ginger, mustard seeds, cinnamon and cloves
• fresh herbs can be added to flavour and garnish the dish like coriander (cilantro), parsley, mint
• nuts like cashews or almonds can be stirred through or sprinkled on top for extra crunch.

Recipes

Spiced Chickpea & Cucumber Salad

Indian Chopped Salad

Indian Salad with Coriander & Poppy Seeds

Bombay Salad with Cashews & Raisins

Indian Fried Cabbage

Masala Pasta (Indian Style Pasta Salad)

Curried Sweet Potato & Lentil Salad

Easy Bombay Potatoes

Coconut Vegetarian Korma

Pumpkin Coconut Curry

Curried Sweet Potato, Chickpeas & Quinoa

Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry)

Cauliflower Tikka Masala

 

Moroccan Lamb & Roast Pumpkin Salad with Date Vinaigrette

Have I told you how much I love trying new ingredients? They aren’t always in the budget but running my kitchen like a restaurant, where I top up my basic pantry/fridge/freezer staples each fortnight, enables me to sometimes have a bit leftover in the grocery budget to buy unusual ingredients which can turn an ordinary meal into something extraordinary. Dressing a pretty standard Moroccan Lamb & Roast Pumpkin salad with a date vinaigrette sent an every day kind of meal to something extraordinary.

On this occasion, I was pretty lucky to receive two bottles of Exotic Date Vinegars, one sweet and one authentic. I didn’t even know they were ‘a thing’. If I would’ve known about them, I probably would’ve been using them all summer to dress my salads. They gave a beautiful taste to the salad ingredients which complimented the Moroccan flavours of the lamb really well in this dish.

Date vinegar has been used for both food and medicine (*) for many years in the Middle East. Some of the health benefits include:

• assists in weight loss
• prevents cancer
• remedy for a weak heart
• eases childbirth
• menstrual disorders
• strengthens immune system
• high in iron and potassium
• improves fatigue
• eases a persistent cough and helps to remove phlegm
• relieves headaches
• heals burns and skin inflammations

Exotic Date Vinegars are made from 100% dates, nothing else. There is no artificial colouring or preservatives and no chemical filtration. Who would’ve thought dates could be turned into something so delicious and healthy at the same time.

Date nights with my husband are becoming more of an ‘at home’ thing with me spending a little extra on a nice cut of meat instead of paying some ridiculous amount of money for something similar out at a restaurant. Even though these lamb steaks were $26 per kilo, these 5 steaks only cost $9, which was the only cost. I had all the other ingredients. Still a pretty cheap meal, considering. I marinated the leg steaks in a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and a Moroccan spice blend. I buy the blend already made as I use it a lot in cooking but you can make it yourself with basic pantry spices. For a cheaper option, you could use either chicken thighs or breasts or go vegetarian by using chickpeas.

While that’s marinating, cube some pumpkin and toss in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until tender. I just happened to be baking that day so these were popped in between trays of cookies and cake. After roasting, cool until required.

The easiest way I’ve found to mix any kind of vinaigrette is to put all ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake like crazy. It emulsifies pretty well. Use the date vinegar in place of your standard wine or balsamic vinegar that you would use in a normal vinaigrette.

Grill your lamb steaks until just cooked. You want it to be a little pink inside with a lovely char on the outside.

To dress your salad greens, I pour a little of the salad dressing on the platter I’m serving the salad on then toss the greens in the dressing.

For this recipe, I had rocket (arugula) and added a few sprigs of coriander (cilantro) and mint.

Place the roasted pumpkin, sliced red onion, chunks of tomato and the sliced lamb on top of the salad greens. Finish with more coriander. Pour more dressing over the top and you’re done. This was such a quick and easy meal to put together. You can prepare a whole heap of roasted pumpkin in advance and freeze and use until required. It’s a great addition to any salad. My husband and I ate from this one platter. It was romantic (and saved on washing up).

I hope you give it a try. I can’t wait to try the sweet date vinegar. Will let you know what I come up with.

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Moroccan Lamb & Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Date Vinaigrette

All the flavours of Morocco with this easy lamb and roasted pumpkin salad flavoured with a simple vinaigrette made with date vinegar.

Author Anne

Ingredients

• lamb steaks or chicken thigh or breast fillets
• pumpkin cubed and roasted with extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper
• salad greens rocket, lettuce etc
• red onion sliced thinly
• tomatoes cut into chunks
• fresh herbs coriander, mint, parsley etc
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Exotic Date Vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch of sugar
• Moroccan spice blend
• Extra olive oil for marinade

Instructions

1. Marinate lamb (or chicken) steaks in Moroccan spice blend, salt & pepper and olive oil.
2. Leave in fridge for at least 2 hours.
3. Add 3/4 cup olive oil, date vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar to a jar and shake.
4. Toss salad greens and fresh herbs in a little vinaigrette.
5. Pan fry lamb steaks on high until just cooked through and charred on the outside.
6. Allow to sit before slicing.
7. Assemble salad by placing salad greens on a platter, adding roasted pumpkin, red onion, tomatoes and top with sliced lamb.
8. Top with additional coriander to serve.

Recipe Notes

Can be served on a bed of cous cous.
Can use chickpeas instead of meat for a vegetarian version.

Disclaimer: I was gifted two bottles of Exotic Date Vinegar. All photos, thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not paid for this post.

(*) The health benefits of Dates Vinegar may not be fully documented and the information provided, should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice and treatment. Please consult your health care provider if you have any history of medical problem or before taking any alternative remedy.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

You'd think at this time of the year I'd be mad for wanting a salad. (I'm mad at any time of the year!) But I love fresh vegetables, winter is the perfect time for citrus in Australia and who doesn't usually have nuts in the pantry to whip up this quick Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad.

What constitutes a salad anyway? Wikipedia says "a salad is a dish consisting of small pieces of food, which may be mixed with a sauce or salad dressing". So whether that's hot, cold, winter or summer, serving up an accompaniment to any meal that contains fresh vegetables, a zingy dressing and something with a bit of crunch sounds good to me.

The Navel oranges are just gorgeous at the moment, full of juice and a lovely deep orange colour, perfect for boosting the immune system when we're all a little prone to catching whatever virus is doing the rounds in winter. 

This salad literally took me all of 5 minutes to throw together. I served it alongside some grilled chicken breasts and it was just perfect. You could use any green. Think blanched broccoli, lettuce of any kind, beans, peas, kale etc. Citrus could be mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, blood orange and the nuts are whatever you have in the pantry, like walnuts, macadamia, peanuts, hazelnuts. Summer or winter, get your extra serve of vegies in this simple 3 ingredient salad.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

• Baby spinach (or any other green vegetable)
• Orange segments (or any other citrus fruit)
• Almonds, toasted (or any other nuts)

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp honey

1. Arrange spinach, orange and almonds on a platter.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
3. Pour over salad.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

 

You’d think at this time of the year I’d be mad for wanting a salad. (I’m mad at any time of the year!) But I love fresh vegetables, winter is the perfect time for citrus in Australia and who doesn’t usually have nuts in the pantry to whip up this quick Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad.

What constitutes a salad anyway? Wikipedia says “a salad is a dish consisting of small pieces of food, which may be mixed with a sauce or salad dressing”. So whether that’s hot, cold, winter or summer, serving up an accompaniment to any meal that contains fresh vegetables, a zingy dressing and something with a bit of crunch sounds good to me.

The Navel oranges are just gorgeous at the moment, full of juice and a lovely deep orange colour, perfect for boosting the immune system when we’re all a little

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prone to catching whatever virus is doing the rounds in winter.

This salad literally took me all of 5 minutes to throw together. I served it alongside some grilled chicken breasts and it was just perfect. You could use any green. Think blanched broccoli, lettuce of any kind, beans, peas, kale etc. Citrus could be mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, blood orange and the nuts are whatever you have in the pantry, like walnuts, macadamia, peanuts, hazelnuts. Summer or winter, get your extra serve of vegies in this simple 3 ingredient salad.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

• Baby spinach (or any other green vegetable)
• Orange segments (or any other citrus fruit)
• Almonds, toasted (or any other nuts)

 

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp honey

 

1. Arrange spinach, orange and almonds on a platter.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
3. Pour over salad.