A table full of salads not only looks stunning, it also tastes great and lets you linger with your guests.
If you find cooking for a crowd intimidating, you are not alone.
A dinner party can test the nerves of even the most confident cooks and hosts. Relieve the tension by changing how you think about party food. Do away with fussy hors d’oeuvres and abandon serving multiple courses. The ultimate spread, prepared with ease and without stress, is not only the simplest to throw together, but it’s also the most visually compelling and affordable — a table full of salads.
Salads that can be prepped ahead and served at room temperature showcase your creativity as a cook. Think beyond raw leaves with vinaigrette. Consider smoky roasted vegetables, pantry-friendly legumes, comforting noodles, chunky dips and conversation-starting dressings.
Best of all, entertaining with salads achieves something that often feels impossible: freeing the host to join guests at the table for the whole meal.
Here are five tips for a salad party.
Choose make-ahead dishes that only taste better over time.
While most salads should not be dressed until they’re ready to eat, some benefit from being composed ahead, allowing the flavors to harmonize. This cauliflower salad, a vegetarian take on the British chicken dish, has a spiced yogurt base and loves a bit of time to hang out. While it can be eaten immediately, a day in the fridge makes the flavors bolder, more complex and exciting — and it greatly simplifies party prep.
Recipe: Coronation Cauliflower and Chickpeas
Turn favorite hot dishes into room-temperature salads.
You can still take inspiration from a hot dish, even if you’re not serving one. Noodle salads are a stellar option for a gathering, since they are filling, economical and adaptable to the seasons. Borrow elements of a crowd-pleasing comfort like dan dan noodles to create a hearty salad. Here, sesame paste, chile crisp and black vinegar form a lush, spicy dressing that is unmistakably dan dan.
Recipe: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
Rely on pantry ingredients to make prep even faster.
The pantry is your friend when feeding a crowd — just like it is when feeding your family on a weeknight. Powered by canned chickpeas and lentils, this salad, inspired by flavors of the North African soup harira, is made almost entirely on a sheet pan. Then, a robust foundation of roasted spiced vegetables are tossed through the legumes, becoming the dressing. A generous shower of herbs brings vital freshness and aroma.
Recipe: Spiced Chickpea and Lentil Salad
Make a great dip or two.
Dips can easily make up your entire party menu, effortlessly scaled up for larger groups or future gatherings. Take them even further by using them as a base for roasted vegetables. In this whipped feta, the salty cheese becomes a creamy, zesty and nutty dip for miso-butter tossed turnips. Just don’t forget the bread, or even some crudités, to swipe through.
Recipe: Turnips With Whipped Pistachio Feta
Prepare make-ahead sauces and dressings.
Making dressings and sauces early is one of the best ways to get ahead in your party planning. Most dressings can be refrigerated for two to three days. This Mexican mole encacahuatado, a spicy peanut sauce, is robust enough to be frozen for up to three months. Like other rich sauces, it’s an excellent way to highlight the elegance of everyday vegetables, such as carrots.
Recipe: Carrots With Mole Encacahuatado
These recipes have been adapted from “Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor” by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Knopf, 2025).
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