17 Southern Salad Recipes Everyone Should Try At Least Once

If you're craving a crunchy side that's full of flavor, you're likely to want to keep Southern salads in mind. They include not just lettuce based salads and potato salads, but also include ones with creative pairings of meats, veggies, and fruits. Plus, there are several dessert salads.

We have to admit that there are some very loose definitions of "salad" in the South, like the pear salad that's nothing but a canned pear half topped with mayo, shredded cheddar, and a maraschio cherry. Some of these salads will have you raising an eyebrow wondering how it was ever deemed a salad and whether or not it will taste good. However, we assure you that Southerners are all about flavor and will not steer you wrong. Granted, you have to be a mayonnaise fan to enjoy a lot of them. And some Southerners will fight you over whether you should be using Duke's real mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. However, there are certainly a few that use a vinegar-based dressing or other creamy ingredients besides mayo.

The best places to experience a good Southern salad in the wild are picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and holiday get-togethers, nestled among the deviled eggs and dinner rolls. However, you can easily try making one of these 17 Southern salad recipes at home and have everyone reaching for seconds.

A Southern picnic isn't complete without a classic Southern potato salad. There might be a few variations out there when it comes to what fresh veggies might or might not be included, such as celery or onions. However, at its most basic, it's made with potatoes, mayo, mustard, and sweet relish. The seasonings depend on what's in the cupboard, but some options beyond salt and pepper include celery seed and powdered garlic. We've seen plenty topped with paprika as well. It's common to see it alongside fried chicken or pulled pork.

Recipe: Classic Southern potato salad

If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you probably know ambrosia as the "food of the gods." A North Carolina cookbook writer tapped into the idea in 1867, giving the name to her sweetened coconut and orange dessert salad. However, it's morphed over the years to also include crushed pineapples, maraschino cherries, mini marshmallows, sour cream, and whipped topping. This salad is served cold and is the perfect hot weather dessert treat, topped with a few extra Mandarin oranges and marshmallows for good measure.

Recipe: Old-fashioned ambrosia salad

In the South, anything can be a salad if you believe hard enough. To prove our point, we offer strawberry pretzel salad, which often shows up at Southern get-togethers as a dessert. The bottom layer is buttery pretzel crumbles; the middle layer is a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, and whipped topping; and the top layer is a mixture of sliced strawberries and gelatin. Yes, there's a bit of baking and refrigeration time involved, but it's worth the effort, especially with an extra dollop of whipped cream and strawberry slices on top.

Recipe: Strawberry pretzel salad

If there's not a potato salad (or three) at a Southern potluck, there's a macaroni salad. The base is usually elbow macaroni and mayo, but every cook provides their own twist. For example, you might experience one that's more tart and sweet with the addition of Dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, and sour cream. There are usually crunchy ingredients, like chopped dill pickles, celery, red onions, and bell pepper. Cherry tomatoes might make an appearance. Then, there might be a spice like celery seed or a green onion garnish.

Recipe: Creamy macaroni salad

Cowboy caviar originated in Texas in the 1940s, created by a New York City transplant. So, you'll sometimes hear it called Texas caviar instead. It's a Southern salad that often combines canned ingredients with fresh ones. Although, you can certainly make every ingredient from scratch. Canned black eyed peas, black beans and corn form the base. Then you add chopped fresh colorful veggies like red onions, and bell peppers. Finally, you marinate it in a mixture of ingredients like olive oil, honey, and lemon juice. It's excellent topped with avocado before serving with tortilla chips.

Recipe: Cowboy caviar

If you're looking to turn cowboy caviar into a salad that's more of a meal than a side dish, you might want to consider making cowboy caviar pasta instead. It has all the canned and fresh beans and veggies from the traditional salad, while adding ditalini or another macaroni-like pasta. Sprinkled over the top with fresh avocado and cilantro as well as some crumbles of cotija cheese, it turns into a delicious lunch. It's even better the second day after all the flavors have melded together.

Recipe: Cowboy caviar pasta salad

Broccoli salad is a recipe that wins over those Southerners who are dubious as to whether or not broccoli can taste nice without being smothered in Velveeta cheese. Like so many Southern salads, it's a creamy one, but it's also sweet and tart, owing to ingredients like mayo (or Greek yogurt for a nutritious option), honey, raisins or grapes, and rice vinegar. Raw broccoli florets, red onions, and sunflower seeds, and chopped bacon provide both crunch and flavor. After marinating, it can be enjoyed as a side to any Southern dish like fried pork chops.

Recipe: Best broccoli salad

As you can imagine, cranberry fluff is another dessert salad, and it's most likely to show up during cold-weather get-togethers like Thanksgiving and Christmas. This one quite often turns out pink, like other fluff recipes, but instead of strawberry or cherry, the pinkness comes from cranberries, pink mini marshmallows, and being blended together. Other ingredients in this fluffy salad are heavy creamy, cream cheese, and mini marshmallows. Some cooks add different fruits, like grapes and pineapple. Consider topping it with Southern pecans for a bit of crunch.

Recipe: Easy cranberry fluff

The classic Southern potato salad uses sweet pickles to boost its flavor, but there are also Southerners who prefer dill-flavored potato salad. While some simply substitute out dill pickles for sweet in a traditional recipe, others don't include pickles at all, using onions for all the crunch. Mayo and Dijon mustard provide creaminess, while lemon juice, minced garlic, and fresh dill provide the flavor punch. This creamy dill potato salad is great served with hamburgers topped with dill pickles to emphasize the dill notes.

Recipe: Creamy dill potato salad

If there's not fried chicken inside a Southern picnic basket, there's probably chicken salad sandwiches instead. And one thing you'll notice about Southern savory salads, whether it's chicken salad or potato salad, there's likely to be a surprise crunch in it. For chicken salad, you get creaminess from mayo and sometimes Dijon mustard, while fresh ingredients like celery and apples lend crunch. If you want even more flavor, you can add lemon juice, green onions, and fresh dill. Between two slices of bread, it makes a great sandwich.

Recipe: Crisp and creamy chicken salad

Creamed cucumber slices are a simple, old fashioned side dish that's simple, but surprisingly tasty. This is an especially good salad to make if your home garden is giving you an abundance of cucumbers and fresh dill in the summer. Besides those two ingredients, it also features chopped yellow onions and a bit of salt. Sour cream and vinegar provide both flavor depth and acidity. So, you get everything you love from dill pickles, but with a creamy mouthfeel and fresh ingredients. It's excellent alongside grilled chicken.

Recipe: Old fashioned creamed cucumber slices

Many a Southern child has become obsessed with carrot raisin salad, making parents happy that their child was eating their vegetables even if it was sugar-laden. This one is easier to make if you have a food processor or mandoline, but you can also grate the carrots by hand. The only other ingredients necessary are mayo and raisins. Although, we've seen it with sugar or pineapple chunks as well. While some recipes include parsley, that's not standard in the South. It's a nice accompaniment to pulled pork.

Recipe: Easy carrot raisin salad

Any salad with Cajun seasoning is instantly Southern, calling up the bayous of Louisiana to your salad plate. This salad relies on chicken sauteed with Cajun spices to imbue it with flavor. It's a green salad that contains lettuce, tomatoes, and grated cheese, but takes on a Southwest fusion twist with black beans, jalapeños, avocado, and cilantro. It's topped simply with sour cream instead of dressing. Consider having it with Cajun corn sticks instead of tortilla chips to make it even more Cajun.

Recipe: Cajun chicken salad

Cucumber tomato salad signals tend to hit Southern tables at the height of summer, when gardens are giving up their bounty and it's too hot to want to use heat in the kitchen. It's a simple combination of freshly sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onions, drowning in either store-bought or freshly-made Italian salad dressing. With an herb garden at your disposal, you can make a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and fresh herbs like basil, oregano, and parsley. Serve with cold cut sandwiches to keep the kitchen cool.

Recipe: Cucumber tomato salad

Like chicken salad, a Southern ham salad has plenty of crunch. This is a great dish to try to use up leftover ham from when you've made too much breakfast ham or have lots leftover from a holiday like Christmas. It starts with chopped pieces of Southern ham and includes mayo and mustard for creaminess. The other ingredients are up to the cook, but you're likely to find chopped celery, chopped onions, and dill pickles among the other ingredients. Serve between two slices of bread to turn it into a sandwich for lunch.

Recipe: Classic ham salad

The first time you saw a seven layer salad among the offerings at a Southern potluck, you probably looked at it with suspicion, sitting among all the homey casseroles and mayo-laden salads. However, since it was easy to make, included irresistible bacon and was impressive-looking served in a clear bowl, people ran with the idea, changing up the layers here and there. A typical salad included layers of iceberg lettuce, diced red onion, cooked bacon, peas, chopped celery, a sour cream and mayo mixture, and cheese. It goes well with casseroles.

Recipe: ​​Easy seven layer salad

You'll find all sorts of creamy seafood salads in the South, especially in coastal areas near fresh seafood. One delicious iteration is Cajun shrimp salad. The shrimp is cooked with Cajun seasonings. The salad gets its creaminess from mayo but also includes freshly chopped raw veggies from the Cajun holy trinity: celery, onions, and green bell peppers. For even more flavor, you can add lemon juice, dill, and parsley. This salad is excellent served on buns like lobster rolls.

Recipe: Cajun shrimp salad