17 Thanksgiving Salad Recipes to Balance the Feast
Have you ever thought of adding a salad to your Thanksgiving menu? While the turkey often steals the spotlight, incorporating a delicious Thanksgiving salad in your holiday menu can elevate your feast to new heights. That’s why I gathered 17 super delicious Thanksgiving salad recipes that will balance the main course.
Salads are not just side dishes; they offer a balance to heavier items like stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and heavy casseroles. A thoughtfully crafted salad can introduce seasonal ingredients and textures, making your meal more vibrant and enjoyable.
Creating a Thanksgiving salad that complements a traditional turkey dinner can enhance your holiday feast by adding freshness, color, and a delightful contrast to the rich flavors of the main course.
Why Include Salads in Your Thanksgiving Menu
You may not have thought of including a salad course in your Thanksgiving menu, but there are good reasons to do so:
- Salads add a refreshing contrast to the rich flavors of typical dishes.
- Salads provide a vibrant splash of color to your table.
- Salads can balance out heavier fare and introduce seasonal ingredients that celebrate the fall harvest.
- Salads provide a variety of textures and flavors to the meal.
- Salads can cater to different palates and dietary preferences, especially for those who do not eat turkey, ham, or dishes containing dairy products. (NOTE: Many of these salads contain cheese, so that ingredient may warrant attention.)
From crisp greens to hearty grains, these dishes can be both satisfying and light, making them perfect accompaniments to the more indulgent items on your table.
Ingredients that Enhance Any Thanksgiving Salad
As you plan your Thanksgiving menu, consider the array of seasonal ingredients that can make your salads truly special. Especially at Thanksgiving, a salad doesn’t have to be just about lettuce and tomatoes. These ingredients feel festive, hold up well on a buffet, and tie your salad to the rest of the Thanksgiving spread.
- Mixed greens (arugula, spinach, kale)
- Seasonal fruits (cranberries, pomegranate seeds, apples, pears)
- Roasted vegetables (butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, carrots)
- Nuts and seeds (candied pecans, walnuts, pomegranate arils)
- Cheeses (cheddar, blue cheese, feta)
- Grains (quinoa, farro)
- Fresh herbs (parsley, thyme)
- Flavorful dressings (apple cider vinaigrette, honey mustard)
- Flavorings, such as maple syrup, Dijon mustard
Salad Ideas to Complement Turkey
Traditional Thanksgiving dishes, such as turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy may be delicious, but they are lacking in color, texture and visual interest. Salads can fill in those missing elements.
A bright salad is the perfect counterpoint to a rich Thanksgiving plate. Crisp greens with apple and pecans, or a tangy cranberry and goat cheese salad, cut through the heavier sides and add welcome color to the table. Here are some general suggestions to think about:
- Pomegranate and Acorn Squash Salad: This salad features roasted acorn squash, mixed greens, pomegranate arils, sliced pears, and candied pecans drizzled with an apple cider vinaigrette. The sweetness of the squash and pomegranate balances the savory turkey perfectly.
- Brussels Sprout Salad: Shredded Brussels sprouts tossed with almonds, dried cranberries, and a lemony dressing create a crunchy texture that contrasts nicely with the softness of turkey. This dish is not only visually appealing but also packed with flavor. Check out the two salads that use Brussels sprouts as the main ingredient.
- Roasted Beet Salad: A medley of roasted beets combined with goat cheese and walnuts offers earthy flavors that complement turkey while adding a pop of color to your table. One of my favorite salads on the list includes beets.
- Sweet Potato Salad: This hearty option includes roasted sweet potatoes mixed with feta cheese, red onions, and dried cranberries. It’s great served warm or cold, making it versatile for your Thanksgiving spread. Sweet potatoes aren’t just about a hot dish with marshmallows on top.
- Apple and Blue Cheese Salad: Mixed greens topped with thinly sliced apples, crumbled blue cheese, pomegranate seeds, and candied pecans create a delightful mix of sweet and savory flavors that pair beautifully with turkey. Apples are the perfect fall fruit to add to a salad. There are quite a few salads that contain apples.
By selecting ingredients that highlight seasonal produce and incorporate textures that contrast with traditional dishes, you can create a Thanksgiving salad that not only complements turkey but also elevates your entire meal experience.
Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Salads
Salads are a gift to the hostess because so many can be prepped ahead. Wash and chop greens, make the dressing, and toast the nuts the day before, then toss everything together just before serving to keep it crisp.
TIP: If a guest offers to bring a dish, give them your chosen salad recipe to make.
Explore these delicious Thanksgiving salad options. Pick your favorites. Then you can create memorable dishes that will impress your guests and enhance the overall dining experience.
So grab your favorite ingredients and get ready to add some freshness to your Thanksgiving feast!
Another way to start off your Thanksgiving celebration is with this collection of wonderful appetizers: 25 Tasty and Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers.
What Were the Criteria for These Thanksgiving Salads?
- a variety of recipes for different tastes
- different seasonal ingredients to choose from
- easy for all culinary skill levels
- some of the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time
- the salads have different textures, especially soft and crunchy
- salads that appeal to the senses; they have to look delicious.
I hope that you will love these delicious Thanksgiving salad recipes as much as I do.
Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad
Tiffany of Creme de la Crumb shares the perfect autumn-inspired crisp salad featuring apples, dried cranberries, feta cheese, and hearty walnuts. It is an easy and delicious salad dish for any of your favorite meals!
Autumn Chopped Salad
Polly and Rachel of Thrive Home Blog share this delicious autumn chopped salad with an apple cider vinaigrette that will quickly become your go-to fall apple salad. It’s great for large groups.
Holiday Honeycrisp Salad
This gorgeous salad from Samantha of Five Heart Home is full of flavor and texture, with fresh apple slices, crunchy toasted pecans, chewy dried cranberries, zippy blue cheese, and a tangy-sweet apple cider vinaigrette. It’s perfect as a Thanksgiving salad, but would also be great as a Christmas salad, for a dinner party, or as part of a regular weeknight dinner
Thanksgiving Salad with Candied Pecans
Chungah of Damn Delicious shares a bright, refreshing fall salad with apples, bacon and the most amazing candied pecans. The arrangement of this composed salad will be lovely on your Thanksgiving table. Perfect for the holidays!
Easy Thanksgiving Salad
Jillian of Food Folk and Fun shares this Thanksgiving salad recipe that is great served as a side dish or as an accompaniment to a charcuterie board before the Thanksgiving meal is served. This Thanksgiving Salad recipe serves 16, which is perfect for a large gathering.
Crisp Brussels Sprouts Cranberry Salad
Olya of What’s in the Pan delivers this Brussels Sprout Salad that is all about fresh, crisp, shredded sprouts tossed with a slightly sweet honey mustard vinaigrette, dried cranberries and chopped pecans. This delicious flavor combination is a perfect fall salad for your holiday recipe repertoire.
Classic Waldorf Salad for Thanksgiving
Lisa of Downshiftology picks a classic salad for your holiday dinner table. It’s a combination of crisp apples, celery, grapes, and crunchy walnuts, tossed in a tangy-sweet, creamy dressing that adds the perfect refreshing counterpoint to a heavier meal.
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Natasha of Natasha’s Kitchen shares a salad with an iconic Thanksgiving vegetable that has all the best flavors of fall wrapped in one delicious salad. It’s loaded with kale, creamy sweet potatoes, crisp apple, and crunchy pecans with the best maple vinaigrette dressing.
Brussels Sprouts, Kale and Apple Salad
Coley of Coley Cooks created this easy, flavorful and healthy fall salad with sharp cheddar and bacon that’s perfect for Thanksgiving. It has just the right balance of healthy and indulgent because it’s packed with nutrient-dense vegetables and just enough bacon and cheese to make it taste incredible.
Thanksgiving Panzanella Salad
Panzanella Salad may evoke memories of the classic Italian bread and tomato salad. This one is the American Thanksgiving version from Jamie of Dishing Out Health. It’s full of autumn ingredients, like herb-roasted squash combined with rustic sourdough, toasted hazelnuts, and Parmesan in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
Wild Rice Salad with Grapes
Here is a colorful, eat-the-rainbow, hearty salad that is loaded with fresh, flavorful, and satisfying crunchies! Kathleen of The Fresh Cooky shares this wild rice salad with grapes, pecans, apples, and pomegranate, dressed with maple Dijon vinaigrette.
Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
This beautiful salad with acorn squash as the central attraction is from Natalie and Holly of The Modern Proper. Flavored with maple syrup, this salad offers bold flavors, a colorful presentation, and peppery arugula.
Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Salad
Sam and Dan of A Head of Thyme created this salad with classic roasted butternut squash, fresh crisp apples, bright pomegranate seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, and tangy feta cheese. This fall salad is tossed with kale and a delicious homemade apple cider vinaigrette.
Cranberry Pineapple Jello Salad
If you want a salad that is light and refreshing, then Mindy of Mindy’s Cooking Obsession has the perfect salad for you. This recipe features cranberries, crushed pineapple and raspberry Jell-O. This dish is tangy and sweet, the perfect foil to the savory flavors of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Fall Pear Salad with Vanilla Fig Dressing – Oh, My!
What attracted me to this Thanksgiving salad were the pears and the vanilla fig vinaigrette. Doesn’t that sound lovely? This time of year, pears are a refreshing addition to any meal. Sylvia of Feasting at Home has created a flavorful, colorful, and elegant salad for a special occasion.
Roasted Wheatberry, Beet and Feta Salad
Sue of The View from Great Island has an earthy whole grain salad that is homey, but festive enough for the holidays. Even if you’re dealing with a mashup of carnivores, weight watchers, picky eaters, and vegetarians around your table, everybody’s going to love this salad!
Chopped Autumn Salad
I love a chopped salad. They are easy to prepare and you can add whatever seasonal ingredients you want. Tiffany of Creme de la Crumb combines seasonal elements with an easy apple cider vinaigrette for a tangy taste.
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Salad Questions? I Have Answers.
What salad goes well with turkey?
Bright, crisp salads with fall fruits, vegetables, and nuts, like an apple pecan salad or a cranberry goat cheese salad, balance a rich turkey plate.
What makes a good Thanksgiving salad?
Fall greens, roasted seasonal vegetables, fall squashes, seasonal fruits, seasonal nuts, crumbled cheese, and maple flavors. And anything with cranberry, apple, or pomegranate suits the holiday beautifully.
Can you make Thanksgiving salad ahead of time?
Yes. Prep the components and the vinaigrette ahead. Keep the components separate until ready to serve. Toss the ingredients just before serving so everything stays fresh.
Ideally yes. There is still turkey, sides, and dessert to come. Salads should whet the appetite, not fill you up. If you are serving the salad yourself, place smaller portions on the plate, 1/2 to no more than 3/4 of a normal salad. If you are serving the salad as part of a buffet dinner course, people may naturally take smaller portions of salad. Exception: if someone does not eat turkey, give them more salad.
Absolutely! All these salads will work beautifully for any cool weather (from October through March) meal, for lunch or dinner. Some are heartier and could serve as a lighter meal served with a fall or winter soup.
Here are more Thanksgiving salad recipes from Bluesky at Home.
- 3 Amazing Salads to Love and Lots of Serving TIPS
- Kale Salad with Pear-Thyme Vinaigrette
- Kale Salad with Warm Cranberry Almond Vinaigrette
- 21 Best Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes
To see even more fall salad ideas, please VISIT and FOLLOW these Pinterest Boards: Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas and Salad Recipes.
Which salads are your favorites? Be sure to PIN to keep these ideas handy.
