7 Hearty Fall Salads That Belong at Every Autumn Gathering

Close up of a spoon of pigeon peas and squash — Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

My choice of clothing isn't the only thing that changes when autumn rolls in—my food preferences do, too. I trade light summer fare for more robust meals, craving substance and layers of deeply complex flavors and textures. That's why these satisfying fall salads are exactly what I want to make right now. They're loaded with hearty vegetables like brassicas, bitter greens, butternut squash, and beets; tangy-sweet fruits; bold dressings; and cheeses, nuts, and seeds. Whether you're looking for a standout side dish to complete your autumn table or a filling main, these fall salad recipes will carry you through the season and beyond.

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Red Cabbage Salad With Roasted Cipollini Onions

Photograph: Emily and Matt Clifton

Vibrant, crisp red cabbage, bitter chicory, tender caramelized cipollini onions, crunchy walnuts, and creamy goat cheese make up this hearty salad. A balsamic vinaigrette adds sweetness and helps temper the bitterness of the cabbage and chicory.

Red Cabbage Salad With Roasted Cipollini Onions
Fall Harvest Salad

Vicky Wasik

This gorgeous salad stands out not only for its mélange of colors and textures but also for its heartiness, thanks to a mix of roasted brassicas, sunchokes, and radishes, as well as boiled fingerling potatoes and wilt-resistant greens. Most of the components can be prepped ahead of time and tossed together with cider vinaigrette. Add fresh parsley leaves, thinly sliced raw sunchokes and radishes, and toasted sunflower seeds just before serving.

Fall Harvest Salad
Carrot Salad With Yogurt, Ghee, and Barberry Dressing

Photograph: Vicky Wasik

This simple, flavorful salad makes the most of carrots. Use a vegetable peeler to shave multicolored carrots into ribbons, then quick-pickle the remaining cores. The pickles provide a crunchy, tangy counterpoint to the soft, pliable ribbons. Toss everything in a creamy ghee-and-yogurt dressing infused with warm spices, then finish with tart barberries and dill.

Carrot Salad With Yogurt, Ghee, and Barberry Dressing
Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This salad similarly showcases the full range of a single vegetable: Brussels sprouts. Half are salted to soften their texture, while the rest are left raw to retain their crispiness. The two are combined with a bright citrus vinaigrette, then finished with creamy, tangy goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts, which add a subtle smokiness.

Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese

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Radicchio, Endive, and Anchovy Salad

There's a good reason anchovies share top billing in this salad: Their assertive saltiness and savory funk in the vinaigrette tame the bitterness of the radicchio and Belgian endive while also enhancing the sweetness of the fennel and celery. Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano adds a savory kick, and toasted bread crumbs bring delightful crunchiness.

Radicchio, Endive, and Anchovy Salad
Lao Hu Cai (Tiger Salad)

Although celery is usually cast as a background vegetable—valued for its crunch or used as an aromatic—here it takes center stage. Peel the stalks to remove their fibrous outer layer, cut them into batons, then toss them in a sweet-tart soy sauce and rice vinegar dressing with cilantro leaves and tender stems, thin slivers of scallion, and sliced hot chile. A generous sprinkling of tiny, umami-packed dried shrimp adds a finishing touch to the salad.

Lao Hu Cai (Tiger Salad)
Roasted Beet Salad With Goat Cheese, Egg, Pomegranate, and Almonds

Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Serious Eats Video

In this autumnal salad, the sweet earthiness of roasted beets balances the tangy richness of goat cheese. Pomegranate seeds add crunch and juicy pops of brightness, while raw onion brings a pleasantly sharp bite. Quartered hard-boiled eggs provide protein, turning the salad into a satisfying meal.

Roasted Beet Salad With Goat Cheese, Egg, Pomegranate, and Almonds
Warm Pigeon Pea Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Onions

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

The combination of cooked pigeon peas, tender roasted butternut squash, and gently spiced onions, all tossed in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, makes for a flavorful side dish or a satisfying vegetarian main. A touch of honey in the dressing softens the sharpness of lemon juice and mustard while complementing the warm spices in the onion.

Warm Pigeon Pea Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Onions

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Beet and Wheat Berry Salad With Pickled Apples and Pecans

Vicky Wasik

Chewy wheat berries, roasted beets, sautéed beet greens, pickled apples, and toasted pecans make this a hearty grain salad bursting with color and texture. Quick-pickling the diced apples in seasoned white vinegar preserves their crunch and slows oxidation, making the salad ideal for preparing ahead—whether for a party or a few days of meals.

Beet and Wheat Berry Salad With Pickled Apples and Pecans