Thanksgiving Salad Recipes

This stunning winter salad gets its sweet, earthy flavor from roasted beets and balsamic vinegar. Creamy goat cheese and peppery arugula add color and balance, while toasted walnuts add crunch. A mandoline is the best way to get thin, even slices from the roasted beets.

This festive salad features colorful greens, fruit and cheese tossed with a light and zesty dressing.

In California's Ojai Valley, citrus growers have mastered cultivating the tiny Pixie tangerine. Pixies are only available in the spring, but you can make this salad year-round with any variety of tangerine or clementine.

This updated take on German potato salad is a sophisticated addition to any holiday spread. Granny Smith apples are a good choice, as they hold their shape when roasted.

A few minutes of judicious massaging will transform bitter mustard greens into a mellow, well-balanced salad spiked with hints of lemon, garlic and Parmesan.

For a nutrient-packed twist, this healthy Caesar salad features spinach and kale in addition to romaine. But it's the Parmesan crisps that make this salad holiday-worthy. Serve it for Thanksgiving or any other special meal.

This pear and arugula salad recipe is topped with homemade candied walnuts, which are incredibly easy to make in the oven. For a touch of heat, add a pinch of ground chipotle or cayenne to the walnuts before baking.

Contrasting sweet grapes with savory feta cheese and crisp, colorful greens, this salad makes an elegant first course.

This easy holiday salad gets its flavor from a sweet citrus dressing that's infused into the kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. We like a mix of kale for this recipe, but any type of kale will work.

In this kale salad recipe, we massage dressing into the kale leaves until they're tender and coated with flavor. Topped with bold Mediterranean flavors--olives, walnuts and preserved lemons--this healthy salad is as delicious as it is nutritious. Look for preserved lemons at specialty-foods shops or online at surlatable.com. Or, to make your own, see the recipe on eatingwell.com.

This salad was one of the favorites chosen from over 1,000 salad recipes for our 30th anniversary issue. In 2004, Deborah Madison waxed poetic about winter ingredients, particularly nuts. “In the chill air of winter, nuts move up to center stage as do their warming, substantial, golden oils--so good with winter salad greens and vegetables, such as shaved fennel, all of which are likely to end up in a salad together,” she says. Madison suggested using a mix of lettuces that balance each other here--a mild, tender variety, such as Boston, with a more intense and sturdy green, such as escarole, for instance.

With a lot of low-calorie veggies, a slimmed-down dressing, and just a sprinkling of dried cranberries and olives, this colorful tossed salad comes up a nutrition winner.

Crunchy fennel and celery are combined with grapes in this delicious salad recipe.

Grapefruit juice is the base for the tangy vinaigrette on this salad studded with grapefruit segments and dried cranberries. It serves 12 as a starter or about 6 if you'd like a large portion per person.

For this elegant salad, sweet-tasting fennel bulbs are thinly sliced and tossed with salty toasted pistachios, sweet oranges and tangy lime juice. Jícama or radishes add another layer of texture and earthy flavor.

Using the slicing blade of a food processor on Brussels sprouts creates a big, fluffy pile of crunchy sprout ribbons quickly. In this easy salad recipe, the shaved Brussels sprouts are dressed with a lemony vinaigrette spiked with crushed red pepper and sweetened with a bit of honey.

Bitter, sweet and peppery flavors marry well in this confetti-like salad of wintery fruit and vegetables.

This raw Brussels sprouts salad featuring shaved Brussels sprouts, toasted pecans, sweet-tart cranberries and nutty Parmesan cheese is tossed with a light and lemony vinaigrette. You can shave the Brussels sprouts using a chef's knife--or use the slicing attachment of your food processor to make it even easier. This quick and easy recipe is perfect for fall or anytime you have crisp, fresh Brussels sprouts on hand.

This classic vegetarian salad is loaded with vegetables, bulgur and chickpeas. Our suggested serving size is 1 1/2 cups, but feel free to cut that in half to serve more people or to make the dish last longer.

Raw shredded beets, pears and carrots make a crunchy, vibrant and sweet beet slaw. This healthy slaw is delicious on its own or as a topping for tacos, pork chops or grilled sausages.

In this broccoli rabe salad recipe, the dressing is massaged into the leaves and florets, virtually eliminating its bitter undertones.

This colorful salad offers a symphony of flavors and textures. Savory black olives, sweet orange slices and crisp, licorice-flavored fennel balance the slightly bitter tastes of chicory, radicchio and Belgian endive.

This is a special-occasion salad that pairs grapefruit segments with creamy avocado, pungent red onion, crunchy pomegranate seeds and aromatic, herby basil. Look for grapefruit with firm, shiny skin that are heavy for their size, which means they will have lots of juice. Store grapefruit for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the refrigerator.

Besides giving this salad a nutty crunch, walnuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins, minerals, protein and antioxidants. For an added flavor dimension, crumble some Gorgonzola cheese over each salad.