Stay cool with these main-dish salads built around chicken.

That’s whensummer saladsbecome dinner’s best side dish.

If you add some protein, like chicken, they turn into dinner’s best main dish.

Easy sesame chicken salad in bowls with tahini dressing set in between them.

Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

Its light yet satisfying and has multiple make-ahead moments.

Makehomemade Caesar dressingor use store-bought dressing to make it a little easier on yourself.

It’s also just creamy enough due to a little mayo and made crunchy and refreshing with cucumbers.

Two salad spoons used to mix sheet pan caesar salad

Simply Recipes / Sara Haas, RDN

Serve alone, on a bed of greens, or use it as a sandwich filling.

Overhead shot: banh mi salad bowl with a baguette piece next to a wooden board with another baguette piece, a table napkin with a fork, and another bowl of salad

Simply Recipes / Shilpa Iyer

Un-Cobb Salad

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Serving Utensils Picking up Some Classic Caesar Salad Topped with Homemade Croutons

Simply Recipes / Michelle Becker

Cobb salad with greens, egg, bacon, chicken tomatoes on a plate

Sally Vargas

Smashed Cucumber Salad with Chicken

Sabrina Modelle

Chow mean chicken salad in a decorative bowl

Elise Bauer

Chili crisp chicken salad in a bowl

Simply Recipes / Sheela Prakash

salad of chicken and roasted vegetables in a white bowl

Elise Bauer

Plate of Tarragon Chicken Salad

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker