16 Bright, Crunchy Winter Salads That Bring Fresh Color to the Darkest Months

Warm kale and caramelized mushroom salad in a white ceramic bowl on a green surface. There are a pair of wooden spoons at the bottom right corner, a glass of golden liquid in the top left corner, a stack of plates covered with a napkin in the bottom left corner, and another plate of salad in the top right corner. — Serious Eats / Qi Ai

In spring and summer, salads are an obvious meal—farmers markets overflow with fresh produce, and salads are a seasonally appropriate way to showcase the lettuces, tomatoes, and other vegetables that are in abundance. When the seasons change, the offerings at the local market change, too, but that doesn't mean you have to forget about salads for the year.

Hearty cool-weather vegetables like kale and cabbage, fruits like pears and citrus, and grains like wild rice all let you make satisfying salads all through the fall and winter. We've rounded up 15 of our favorites, from a cabbage salad with roasted onions to a Caesar that trades romaine lettuce out for kale.

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

The Best Black Friday Deals on Our Favorite Tested Kitchen Gear

Kale Caesar Salad

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

Kale is significantly tougher than your average salad green, so if you're going to serve it raw you will need to put in a little work. Massaging the leaves with olive oil is a great way to soften them to a more pleasant texture. From there you can use the kale in whatever salad you like—I love it with a classic Caesar dressing.

Kale Caesar Salad
Warm Brussels Sprout Salad With Bacon and Hazelnut Vinaigrette

Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

Forget about a steaming bowl of soup—I want a warm salad on a cool day. Brussels sprouts are a natural choice because they take on such a satisfyingly sweet, nutty flavor when cooked. For the ultimate in comfort, try cooking the leaves in bacon fat and serving with crumbled bacon and a hazelnut vinaigrette made with more bacon fat.

Warm Brussels Sprout Salad With Bacon and Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Warm Kale and Caramelized Mushroom Salad

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

This salad is made with baby kale, goat cheese, and sherry vinegar dressing, but it's really all about the mushrooms. The key is to cook them until they have a golden crust, just as if you were cooking a steak. We add the mushrooms to the salad straight from the pan, so that their heat wilts the kale slightly.

Warm Kale and Caramelized Mushroom Salad
Pear Salad

Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

Looking for a hearty showstopper of an autumn salad? You just found it. When all the winter and holiday dinner fare is heavy, a salad like this one, which features pears, pomegranate seeds, and shaved Gouda, is the perfect way to balance things out. We like to sear the pears in a skillet to create a rich caramelized flavor and beautiful golden appearance.

Pear Salad

Continue to 5 of 16 below
Roasted Veggie Caesar Salad

Serious Eats / Two Bites

In this twist on the classic Caesar salad, a savory vinaigrette is paired with crisp leaf lettuce, salty Parmesan cheese, and a medley of sweet roasted vegetables. Marinating the vegetables briefly in the Caesar vinaigrette infuses them with a balanced garlic and anchovy flavor without overpowering their natural sweetness.

Roasted Veggie Caesar Salad
Vegan Tofu and Herb Salad

Vicky Wasik

When the bounty of vegetables we associate with summer go out of season, turn to this tofu and herb salad. It's comprised of chewy, meaty aburaage (fried tofu), along with lots of soft herbs. Make the salad more substantial by pairing it with a bowl of sticky rice to sop up the tart and spicy dressing, or serve it on its own as a light dinner.

Vegan Tofu and Herb Salad
Red Cabbage Salad With Roasted Cipollini Onions

Emily and Matt Clifton

Making a great salad is all about paying attention to contrasting textures and flavors, and in this case, that means soft and sweet cipollini onion, crispy red cabbage, bitter chicory, crunchy walnuts, and creamy aged goat cheese. For even more flavor, go with a slightly funky aged goat cheese like Humboldt Fog.

Red Cabbage Salad With Roasted Cipollini Onions
Roasted Root Vegetable and Kale Salad With Maple-Pecan Dressing

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

Roasted carrots and beets, glossy kale, and a maple-pecan dressing come together in a fall salad that's packed with flavor and textures.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Kale Salad With Maple-Pecan Dressing

Continue to 9 of 16 below
Salt—Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This salad uses shredded Brussels sprouts in two ways—half raw and half wilted. Both get paired with creamy goat cheese, crunchy toasted hazelnuts, and a winter-appropriate tangerine vinaigrette.

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

Vicky Wasik

Carrots get served two ways in this colorful salad—pickled and shaved—and are paired with a bold dressing of warm spices bloomed in ghee mixed with yogurt and vinegar. To finish, the salad is garnished with tart barberries and fresh dill.

Carrot Salad With Yogurt, Ghee, and Barberry Dressing
Tiger Salad (Lao Hu Cai) Recipe, à la Xi'an Famous Foods

Vicky Wasik

Celery is often overlooked, but it's the star in this tiger salad. Batons of crisp celery are tossed with stems of cilantro, thin slivers of scallion, a few slices of hot chili pepper, and a sweet-tart soy sauce and rice vinegar dressing. The salad is topped off with a generous sprinkling of salty dried shrimp.

Tiger Salad (Lao Hu Cai) Recipe, à la Xi'an Famous Foods
Radicchio, Endive, and Anchovy Salad

Vicky Wasik

This hearty salad eats like a full meal. A base of slightly bitter radicchio and Belgian endives is offset by a rich anchovy vinaigrette, while shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano adds a salty kick, and bread crumbs bring richness to each bite.

Radicchio, Endive, and Anchovy Salad

Continue to 13 of 16 below
Trevisano Radicchio Salad With Satsumas, Pistachios, and Calabrian Chili Vinaigrette

Vicky Wasik

Instead of searching the grocery store for wilted, past-prime summer produce, this salad will have you embracing winter. The bitterness of Trevisiano radicchio is balanced out by sweet satsuma mandarins, ricotta salata, and a mountain of fresh herbs.

Trevisano Radicchio Salad With Satsumas, Pistachios, and Calabrian Chili Vinaigrette
Arugula, Sweet Potato, and Walnut Salad With Dashi "Vinaigrette"

Vicky Wasik

The unconventional dressing for this salad isn't actually a vinaigrette at all—we ditch the typical vinegar for Japanese shoyu-dashi. A mixture of soy sauce and dashi, shoyu-dashi gives the dressing a deep, savory note rather than a bright, acidic one. The "vinaigrette" is delicious on all kinds of salads, like this one made with sweet potatoes, arugula, and walnuts.

Arugula, Sweet Potato, and Walnut Salad With Dashi "Vinaigrette"
Warm Pigeon Pea Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Onions

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

This filling pigeon pea salad is rich with sweet morsels of roasted butternut squash, gently cooked spiced onions, and a simple dressing. A touch of honey in the dressing rounds out the sharp flavors of lemon juice and Dijon mustard and pairs well with the warm spices in the onion.

Warm Pigeon Pea Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Onions
Wild Rice Salad With Mushrooms, Celery Root, and Pine Nuts

Vicky Wasik

Sautéed mushrooms, celery root, and toasted pine nuts help play up wild rice's innate earthiness, making for a super-savory side salad. And while it's perfect for the holiday table, it's also great just as a side for dinner on a weeknight. If you're looking for something a little less earthy, with a touch more sweetness, give this version, with dried cranberries and pickled apples, a try.

Wild Rice Salad With Mushrooms, Celery Root, and Pine Nuts

October 2018

Explore more:

16 Bright, Crunchy Winter Salads That Bring Fresh Color to the Darkest Months

October 2018

More Serious Eats Recipes