These Festive Thanksgiving Salads Will Make Choosing Sides Even Harder

Planning Your Thanksgiving Feast? Don’t Forget the Salad
Big Green Winter Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Warm Apple Cider Dressing
Kale Salad with Pickled Cranberries and Crispy Quinoa
Acorn Squash Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette
Winter Citrus Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Simple Green Salad
Winter Greens Salad
Southwest Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
Grilled Mushroom Panzanella with Tomato Vinaigrette
Bibb Salad with Pickled Onion, Fennel, and Plums
Grilled Corn Salad with Feta, Walnuts, and Shallot
Grape Salad
Chopped Salad
Composed Waldorf Salad
Crispy Brussels Sprouts Salad with Citrus-Maple Vinaigrette
Roasted Mushrooms and Radicchio
Winter Chopped Salad
Sweet Potato-and-Cauliflower Salad
Honey-Drizzled Citrus Salad with Pistachio-Poppy Seed Granola
Corn Salad with Bacon and Honey
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
Green Salad with Roasted Carrots and Creamy Tarragon Dressing
Tossed Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
Marinated Mushroom-and-Charred Broccolini Salad
Farro-and-Acorn Squash Salad

Planning Your Thanksgiving Feast? Don’t Forget the Salad

The hardest part about Thanksgiving dinner is often choosing sides. But one side dish can be all-to-easy to skip: the salad.

Weak, watery, limp Thanksgiving salads just can’t compete with bulky mashed potatoes, hearty casseroles, and thick, spiced cranberry sauce. So we’ve built some super hearty flavor-packed salad recipes that are sturdy enough to hold their own on a piled-up plate and crunchy and flavorful enough to be worth adding.

These crunchy sides are good enough the family is sure to perk up, grab a pile, and clean it off the plate before you can say “seconds.” From bold salad dressings, to festive, seasonal ingredients, to super smart combos, these Thanksgiving salad ideas will complement the rest of the feast without taking ages to make.

Big Green Winter Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Come holiday time it’s easy to get focused on the main dishes and heavier sides—your turkey, your stuffing, your casseroles—and forget about the salad. With sweet golden beets, lightly toasted pine nuts, and a kicky vinaigrette all on a bed of hearty kale, this recipe is here to change all that.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Warm Apple Cider Dressing

Skip the roasted sprouts side this year, and serve’em up as a salad instead. Trust us: One bit of this tangy, richy, cider-and-bacon laced dish and the family won’t let you make them any other way.

Kale Salad with Pickled Cranberries and Crispy Quinoa

This beauty takes a little work, but you can make most of the elements a few days—or even a week—ahead. And the “oohs” and “ahhs” you’ll get from the table will be worth it.

Acorn Squash Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette

Fun fact: Salad doesn’t necessarily mean raw.

Case in point: This rustic roasted squash sensation, peppered with baby kale and drizzled with a dip-worthy dressing.

Winter Citrus Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette

Three kinds of citrus give this crunchy salad a ton of fun flavors!

Simple Green Salad

Some Feta and mild green olives give this light side salad a lot of oomph. Get the freshest greens you can find and dress them simply in lemon and oil.

Winter Greens Salad

Rosemary-Parm croutons, a citrus-maple dressing, and all our favorite winter greens—kale, chard, collards—give this salad enough heft that it’ll easily hold its own with the turkey and mashed potatoes.

Southwest Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Looking for a way to add cornbread to the table? This’ll do it.

Grilled Mushroom Panzanella with Tomato Vinaigrette

Bread salad with a variety of toasty mushrooms—make this a part of your grilled Thanksgiving menu.

Bibb Salad with Pickled Onion, Fennel, and Plums

Here’s a light side salad that’s nevertheless long on flavor.

Grilled Corn Salad with Feta, Walnuts, and Shallot

Corn is a Thanksgiving staple, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be on the cob!

Grape Salad

Brown sugar and toasted pecans give this fruity salad some extra flavor and crunch.

Chopped Salad

The purpose of a Thanksgiving salad is to give your guests a break from the heavier fare on the table. That’s why we love the idea of dressing yours with a simple, tangy red wine vinaigrette, loading it with crunchy Persian cucumbers, and topping it all off with a smattering of local parsley, basil, and fennel.

Composed Waldorf Salad

Add color into your family’s Thanksgiving dinner with this refined version of the classic Waldorf salad.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Salad with Citrus-Maple Vinaigrette

This may be the ultimate Thanksgiving salad. Crispy roasted sprouts combine with mixed lettuce, crunchy apples, toasted almonds, and nutty asiago cheese, all topped with a sweet vinaigrette. Trust us, the bowl will quickly get emptied.

Roasted Mushrooms and Radicchio

For those who enjoy bold flavors, this mix of bitter radicchio tamed with earthy mushrooms and a sweet balsamic dressing is the perfect celebration.

Winter Chopped Salad

We’re pretty sure there isn’t a more appropriate salad to place on your fall menu than one that’s packed with cold-weather vegetables. This one features beets, cauliflower, cucumber, and more.

Sweet Potato-and-Cauliflower Salad

Searching for a new way to serve sweet potatoes during Thanksgiving dinner? Look no further than this salad that pairs the root vegetable with cauliflower.