The Ultimate Summer Salad Recipe with Dill Buttermilk Dressing (2024)

This "ultimate" summer salad recipe is filled with a fantastic mix of summertime fruits and vegetables, and is topped with a creamy, low-calorie buttermilk dill dressing. 134 calories and 1 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP

The Ultimate Summer Salad Recipe with Dill Buttermilk Dressing

A great summer salad recipe is essential! I love a good steak as much as the next cavewoman, but please tell me I'm not the only one who can't even fathom eating something that requires cutting (makes me sweat) or extra chewing (oh, the effort) when it's hot out. In fact, I have several criteria for hot weather food. You may call it high-maintenance. I call it self-preservation.

Rule #1: Preparation of any meal must not result in me having to wrap an ice pack around my neck to ward off the extra heat. Very important. No one likes a sweaty cook.

Rule #2: There must not be any sort of steam rising from the food when it's served. Steam = hot = crabby Dara. Bring on the cool stuff: chilled soups, sorbet and co*cktails. Plenty of co*cktails.

Cold food + co*cktails = cheerful, non-crabby Dara

Rule #3: All recipients of said food must pretend to be happy with night after night of salads, chilled soups and bowls of watermelon. This attitude, real or fake, will result in pleasant conversation and a cool, calm mum/wife/hostess. My self-preservation leads to your self-preservation.

My "ultimate" summer salad recipe:

This summer salad recipe, which I refer to as "ultimate" because it is packed with all of the summer fruits and veggies that I love most, follows all of the rules. It's cold, it doesn't require any sort of steamy prep and my family loves it (or at least they've become very good at pretending they do...they're good rule followers).

I've served this salad as-is as a colorful side dish, and as a dinner salad (topped with leftover grilled chicken) for the four of us. The creamy dressing is surprisingly low-calorie, thanks to low fat buttermilk and plain Greek yogurt. Dijon mustard, fresh chopped dill and a touch of agave add in a great punch of flavor.

Now that's good summertime eating!

Other summer salad recipes:

Summertime Salmon Chopped Salad {Cookin' Canuck}
Greek Rice Salad Recipe with Lemon Vinaigrette {Cookin' Canuck}
Fresh Summer Corn Salad Recipe {Fox and Briar}
Chopped Feta Salad {Skinnytaste}

Printable Recipe

This post was originally published on July 28, 2014 and has been updated.

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