Our Readers’ Most-Saved Salad Recipes This January

These fresh, flavorful salads are perfect for January reset cooking.

By
Leah Colins
A studio portrait of editor Leah Colins.
Leah Colins
Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America's Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK's digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

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Published January 17, 2026
A bowl of broccoli and chickpea salad with a spoon serving a portion

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

January is when the glitter settles, the cookie tins are empty, and we all collectively realize we cannot live on prime rib leftovers and sugar alone. The New Year’s resolution energy kicks in, the gym bags come out… and yes, eventually, we eat a salad.

But if our most-saved recipes this month on MyRecipes—our tool for saving and organizing recipes from Serious Eats and beyond—are any indication, eating "better" doesn't mean punishing yourself with sad desk lunches or flavorless bowls of obligatory greens. The salads Serious Eats readers bookmarked most in January are bold, crunchy, creamy, savory, and occasionally bacon-y—proof that balance doesn't require boredom. Our list includes roasted vegetables with punchy dressings, protein-packed classics,  and a few wildly satisfying throwbacks. These are the salads you saved when you wanted something fresh and genuinely delicious. Resolution-friendly? Sure. Joyless? Absolutely not.

Love these recipes? With MyRecipes, your personal home for recipes, easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place.

  • Roasted Grape and Cauliflower Salad

    A dish of roasted cauliflower with grapes herbs and nuts being scooped with a spoon

    Serious Eats/ Qi Ai

    Roasted grapes bring bursts of jammy, caramelized sweetness to this warm cauliflower salad, turning an often-bland vegetable into something genuinely delicious. Starting everything on a preheated baking sheet jump-starts browning, so the cauliflower gets deeply nutty and crisp while the grapes blister and collapse into tiny flavor packets.

  • White Bean and Tuna Salad

    20200506-tuna-white-bean-salad-sasha-marx4
    Sasha Marx

    Creamy white beans and rich oil-packed tuna make this Italian classic the definition of pantry-friendly eating that still feels fresh and satisfying. Quick-pickled red onions add brightness and bite, while their vinegary juices become the backbone of a simple, no-fuss dressing. It’s protein-packed, savory, and requires little more than smart assembly.

  • Broccoli and Chickpea Salad

    A bowl of broccoli and chickpea salad with a spoon serving a portion

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This five-ingredient salad proves that minimalism doesn’t have to mean boring. With the right technique, broccoli gets savory, and chickpeas turn crisp and satisfying, each pulling double duty for texture and flavor. It's warm, punchy, and simple.

  • Cucumber Salad with Peanut-Lime Dressing

    Plate of cucumber salad garnished with crushed peanuts and lime wedges on a table set with dining utensils

    Serious Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey

    Cool, crunchy cucumbers and a bold, tangy dressing make this salad stand out. Inspired by the punchy, layered flavors of pad Thai, it leans into intensity: nutty peanut butter, pleasantly pungent fish sauce, bright lime juice, and a little kick of heat. But it's not all about power moves—the cucumbers hold their own and bring balance, adding cool crunch and refreshing contrast to every bite.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Broccoli Salad With Bacon and Cheddar

    Broccoli salad with fruit and nuts in a bowl on a green marble surface

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Broccoli is often treated as an afterthought—steamed next to chicken and rice, shaved raw into a salad, or left lurking on a crudité platter. But not here. In this Southern salad, broccoli gets fully dressed up with a creamy yet bright dressing, crunchy apples, crispy bacon, plump pickled raisins, and smoked cheddar.

  • Grape Salad

    Grape Salad with fresh mint leaves on a purple surface, with a purple striped towel.

    Serious Eats - Morgan Hunt Glaze

    While a salad by name, this grape dish is really more a dessert—or a wonderfully rich side dish. Juicy grapes, crunchy almonds, fresh mint, and a sweet brown sugar topping make this fruit salad a welcome addition to any potluck, holiday meal, or picnic.

  • Classic Potato Salad

    Classic potato salad

    Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

    This is potato salad that refuses to be background noise. Thoughtful techniques turn a few humble ingredients into a dish that's tangy, salty, and subtly sweet, with creamy, crunchy, and fluffy textures all showing up in the same bite.

  • Moroccan Roasted Carrot and Date Salad With Honey Dressing

    A roasted carrot and date salad with seeds on a bed of greens served in a wide bowl with a fork

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    Warm spices, caramelized carrots, and jammy dates make this salad feel far more luxurious than its humble ingredients suggest. Roasting intensifies the carrots’ natural sweetness while giving the dates a little char and chew, all balanced by a bright honey–vinegar dressing. Inspired by classic Moroccan carrot salads, it’s a deeply flavorful dish that’s just as at home on a weeknight table as it is at a dinner party.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Mayo-Free Chicken Salad With Kimchi, Ginger, and Scallions Recipe

    20141205-korean-chicken-salad-vicky-wasik-4.jpg
    Daniel Gritzer

    Mixing mayonnaise into chicken salad is the most common way to add moisture, but it's not the only way. Vinaigrettes—such as this tangy Korean-inspired rendition with kimchi, pine nuts, and lots of fresh ginger—work well too.

  • Pear Salad

    Overhead view of winter pear salad

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    Bitter greens, juicy caramelized pears, and crunchy candied hazelnuts deliver contrast, texture, and just enough sweetness to this salad. Tied together with a bracing vinaigrette, it’s bright, balanced, and exactly what you want after a holiday season full of rich, heavy meals.

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