12 Winter Salad Recipes Featuring In-Season Produce
Can salad be comfort food? These hearty but healthy salads starring winter fruits and vegetables make a strong case.
Winter is generally the season of comfort foods—cozy stews and soups, and low-and-slow oven roasts. But with the right in-season ingredients, winter salad recipes can be your ticket to a hearty and healthy meal—often in just a few minutes.
Here's how to pull together a perfectly delicious winter salad for lunch or dinner today.
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Every-Citrus Salad With Almonds and Manchego
Bitter radicchio pairs perfectly with the sweet-tart mix of citrus (orange, blood orange, and grapefruit), and a touch of salt from the manchego cheese and almonds.
Kale and Roasted Cauliflower Salad
A tangy lemon and tahini salad adds a refreshing touch to a kale and cauliflower salad.
Arugula and Pear Salad With Maple Vinaigrette
Sweet pears and a maple-infused dressing balance out the peppery arugula in this peppy winter salad recipe.
Roasted Vegetable and Wild Rice Salad With Almond-Parsley Sauce
Pre-roast your vegetables so you can easily pull this salad together for a weeknight meal.
Chopped Winter Salad With Butternut Squash
This colorful salad features apples, butternut squash, radicchio, and olives—with chickpeas and feta to help elevate it to main dish status.
Citrus Endive Salad
Belgian endive, grapefruit, and red onions create a fresh side salad for a winter night.
Shrimp, Escarole, and Fennel Salad With Olive-Herb Dressing
The curly, slightly bitter green leaves of escarole make the perfect crevices for the meaty, briny olives in the dressing. Endive and anise-like fennel add texture and brightness to this shrimp salad.
Steak and Beet Salad
Vibrant and tender beets are a sweet contrast to the meaty steak pieces in this stunning salad. The torn leaves of radicchio are slightly bitter, but mellow out with the creamy yogurt. Don't skimp on the freshly cracked pepper, and the toasted pepitas, which make for a crunchy finish.
Seven-Layer Salad
We transformed a classic dip into a comforting, elevated salad the whole family will love. There's so much flavor packed into one dish, you won't know where to dig into first. The tangy, cumin-spiced dressing is one you'll want to keep drizzling on everything. Serve with warm tortillas for an added bonus.
Crispy Pork and Bok Choy Larb
This striking salad with a kick hits all the right notes with perfectly browned ground pork and the zesty lime juice mixture that seasons it. Ribbons of rainbow carrots not only add a nice crunch (so do the salted peanuts!) but also look absolutely beautiful.
Grapefruit and Feta Fregola Salad
Fregola is a small, toasted pasta from Sardinia, but if you can't find it, you can use Israeli couscous—very similar and just as delicious. This salad, tossed with quick-broiled onions, fresh grapefruit, briny feta, and toasted hazelnuts, will be on your dinner rotation all winter long.
Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad With Creamy Tahini Dressing
Post-holidays and come winter we've had plenty of roasted vegetables, especially Brussels sprouts and wilted kale. To switch it up, we opted for shaved sprouts and torn, raw kale. Miso and tahini come together for a stellar, creamy dressing to coat every bit of this salad. Swap tofu in for the chicken if you're looking for a vegetarian-friendly option.