As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to start planning the spread for Thanksgiving. This year, include some new Thanksgiving salad recipes into your dinner plans and add a new component to your traditions.
There are many types of salads that work well for side dishes, and it’s easy to find one that pairs well with turkey, mashed potatoes, and your other holiday favorites.
Types of Salads
- Fruit Salad – full of fresh fruit, sweetness, and sour flavors. Best served as an appetizer or for an early meal.
- Green Salad – this is a great way to include fresh vegetables into your meal plans.
- Pasta Salad – these salads can be customized to your liking and usually have a vinaigrette dressing.
- Dinner Salad – you can have a salad as your main dish. These types of salads usually include meat or any protein base.
- Dessert Salad – these types of salads are based with pudding or whipped cream and contain fruit, candy, and/or nuts.
- Bound Salad – there are many different types, including egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, and pasta salad.
25 Thanksgiving Salad Recipes for Your Holiday Spread
1. Ramen Broccoli Salad
Have you ever tried using ramen noodles in a salad? Lemons for Lulu has a delicious broccoli salad paired with kale, almonds, dried cherries, and ramen noodles.
2. Roasted Pumpkin Salad
During Thanksgiving, pumpkin is in season and great for incorporating into your holiday spread. The roasted pumpkin spinach salad from Lively Table is simple, easy to make, and a combination of both sweet and savory.
3. Low-Carb Cauliflower Potato Salad
Potato salad isn’t just for summer. By adding heart chunks of cauliflower, Lemons for Lulu has created a Thanksgiving salad recipe that’s both familiar and unique.
4. Spinach Bacon Salad
A simple spinach salad isn’t complete without a warm bacon topping. Lively Table has a simple salad recipe made with boiled eggs, uncured bacon, and baby bella mushrooms.
5. Easy Rainbow Salad
A fresh rainbow salad can help brighten up a savory Thanksgiving meal spread. The recipe is not only light and healthy, but it is also dairy-free and gluten fee, making it perfect when accommodating dietary restrictions. It just requires a bit of chopping.
6. Avocado and Zucchini Salad
At first glance, this dish may look like a pasta salad. Lively Table has created a light salad option for a holiday, made with fresh zucchini noodles and topped with avocado and tomatoes.
7. Easy Spinach Salad
A spinach salad can be made any way you desire. This spinach recipe at Lemons for Lulu is full of crisp apples and soft dried cherries.
8. Kale Superfood Salad
If you enjoy a bountiful salad that can be made in just 10 minutes, you’ll be interested in trying this recipe for a superfood kale salad. The honey lime chia dressing provides a unique flavor that will impress your dinner guests.
9. Healthy Three Bean Quinoa Salad
Salads can be just as filling and savory as any dish. Lively Table has a three-bean quinoa salad that will satiate those who aren’t interested in turkey.
10. BLT Salad
For a hearty, flavorful salad, try using arugula for your base. Lemons for Lulu has a recipe for an arugula BLT salad topped with bacon and tomatoes.
11. Cherry Almond Chicken Salad
The cherry almond chicken recipe at Lively Table is robust and satisfying. This salad can be eaten as a side or as the main dish.
12. Pudding Fruit Salad
Spice up your traditional fruit salad, and add some dessert topping. The Betty Crocker recipe for dessert fruit salad contains fruit, marshmallows, and vanilla pudding.
13. Blueberry and Kale Quinoa Salad
Some of the best salads contain a mixture of fruit, grains, and greens. Lemons for Lulu has a harvest salad full of blueberries, arugula, veggies, and topped with feta cheese.
14. Oreo Fluff Dessert
Oreo fluff dessert is a quick and easy dessert to whip up for Thanksgiving. You can find a recipe for this dessert at The Recipe Critic.
15. Fresh Fig and Arugula Salad
Figs are in season for weeks into the autumn season. If you can find them fresh, consider making this fig, arugula, and blue cheese salad from Lively Table.
16. Marinated Crunchy Salad
Looking for a salad that isn’t just greens and dressing? This recipe for marinated vegetable salad is a simple way to add some vegetables to your meal that everyone in the family will enjoy.
17. Pina Colada Fruit Salad
Thanksgiving is often accompanied by cold weather and snow. This pina colada fruit salad recipe from Lemons for Lulu is a great way to enjoy a taste of warmer days this holiday.
18. Fall Harvest Salad
A fall harvest salad is a mixture of produce harvested in season during autumn. For a delicious seasonal salad, try this recipe full of sweet potato and apple with creamy almond butter apple dijon dressing.
19. Strawberry Pretzel Salad Bites
Lemon for Lulu has a salad recipe that can also be considered finger food. Their strawberry pretzel salad bites are sweet, creamy, and great for dessert.
20. Herby French-Style Potato Salad
If you like potato salad, Lively Table has a spin on the traditional recipe. Instead of the potatoes being based in a creamy dressing, they’re smothered in a homemade mustard vinaigrette.
21. Easy Mango Avocado Salad
A mango avocado salad is easy to make and full of fresh, bright flavors. You can make this simple recipe in just 10 minutes and have a healthy option on the table.
22. Egg Salad
Instead of deviled eggs for an appetizer, you can supplement them with a side of egg salad. If you have leftovers, you can use this recipe for sandwiches over the next few days. You can find a delicious recipe for this salad on All Recipes.
23. Balsamic Green Bean Salad
Green beans are a popular vegetable eaten during Thanksgiving. If you have extra, you can make them into a balsamic salad, recommended by Taste of Home.
24. Cranberry Salad
Cranberries are a Thanksgiving staple. All Recipes has a salad recipe made of a blend of cranberries, nuts, and other fruit.
25. Turkey Leftover Salad
After Thanksgiving dinner, it’s likely you’ll have an abundance of leftover turkey. Simply Whisked has a recipe designed to reuse your turkey by creating an autumn salad that will last for days after the holiday.
FAQ
When Should You Serve a Thanksgiving Salad
When you should serve a salad on Thanksgiving depends on the type of salad. For instance, egg salads, green salads, or any vegetable-based salad can be served as an appetizer or at the beginning of the meal.
These salads are usually light and won’t fill your guests up too much before the main dish. For protein-based or heavy salads, they should be served during the main course and can even be used as the main dish.
Sweet salads or dessert salads are usually served after the main course. Some people prefer to leave these salads out for guests at the beginning of the holiday, as long as there’s enough time in between dinners.
Can You Prepare Thanksgiving Salad Recipes the Day Before?
If you’re looking to cut back on prep time for Thanksgiving day, you can make almost any salad ahead of time. Some salads, especially dessert salads, will even taste better if they’re allowed to sit overnight.
If you’re preparing salads that are lettuce based, you can make this ahead of time, but don’t add the dressing until you’re ready to serve it.
Can You Store Leftover Thanksgiving Salad Recipes?
Yes, you can store your Thanksgiving Salads. Some salads will keep better than others. If you have a salad with greens as the base, they will tend to wilt after a day or so.
Any salads based with potatoes, beans, quinoa, or dessert salads will last for more than a couple of days after Thanksgiving dinner.
Conclusion
There are many Thanksgiving salad recipes to choose from this holiday. Whether you’re looking for an appetizer, main dish, or dessert, you can find the best recipe for your dinner plans on this list.
Salads don’t have to only include lettuce and cucumbers; they can be fun, bright, hearty, and the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal
