22 Christmas Salads That Are The Perfect Way To Start Your Holiday Meal
Greens aren't just for the reindeer anymore.
During the Christmas season, we’re all about super-comforting weeknight meals, like casseroles and soups, dinner party showstoppers like ham or turkey, and ALL the desserts, from cakes to cookies and everything in between. Salads… not so much. We’re here to tell you, though, that while they may not be synonymous with the holidays, we think they’re an important part of the winter season. Not only are they full of good-for-you greens, they also add some much needed brightness and fresh flavor to your table. Check out our 22 Christmas salads to see what we mean, then be prepared to see lettuce in a whole new light.
For the best salads, we like to start with a green, add some raw or roasted vegetables, something crunchy, something sweet, and something tangy, then tie it all together with dressing. Within that formula, there’s lots of room to play if you want to make your salads holiday-worthy. You could add hearty cold-weather vegetables like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, fennel, cabbage, or beets to the mix. They’re great raw, like in our grapefruit & goat cheese fennel salad or our crunch salad, or roasted like in our roasted cauliflower salad or our roasted beet goat cheese salad, so experiment to see which flavors and textures you like best.
Another great way to make a winter salad extra festive for the holidays is to add fresh or dried fruit to the mix. We love pomegranate seeds and dried cranberries for their sweet-tart flavor and pop of red color, but apples, oranges, pears, and grapes are also all delicious.
Another option to make your salads feel special for a holiday meal is to incorporate new types of cheese. Crumbled feta and Parmesan are always welcome, but if you want to take things over the top, try fried goat cheese, halloumi, or blue cheese instead.
And don’t forget, salads aren’t only about the greens! Salad is one of those nebulous words that can mean a variety of things, so chicken and fruit salads are on this list too. Try our ambrosia salad, our chimichurri chicken salad (in Christmas-y red & green), our Waldorf salad, or our cranberry walnut chicken salad for ideas. Hot tip: They'll turn any lackluster lunch into a mini festive celebration this holiday season.
Want more Christmas meal inspiration? Check out the rest of our favorite Christmas side dishes, our top Christmas soups, and our best Christmas appetizers to finish rounding out your Christmas dinners too.
Fried Goat Cheese Salad
A quick pan-fry makes creamy goat cheese a fun, super-crunchy salad topper. It’s a creative take on croutons that makes a simple salad so much more exciting. These are also great on their own and would be delicious on a cheese board with a little drizzle of honey.
Get the Fried Goat Cheese Salad recipe.
Grapefruit & Goat Cheese Fennel Salad
For this salad, we paired crisp licorice-y fennel with juicy grapefruit, briny Kalamata olives, creamy goat cheese, and some rich toasted pine nuts. Most things are highly adjustable: Swap in your favorite citrus for the grapefruit, ditch the cheese and substitute with avocado for a dairy-free version, or swap in your favorite nut or seed for the pine nuts—just make sure they’re toasted!
Chimichurri Chicken Salad
This festive-looking salad couldn't be more simple to make. Toss shredded (rotisserie) chicken with a good amount of parsley (this is inspired by our favorite condiment, chimichurri, after all), garlic, olive oil, and vinegar and serve with toasted bread or in lettuce wraps.
Get the Chimichurri Chicken Salad recipe.
Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad
Making this festive salad might seem intimidating, but it doesn't actually require much prep. Tossed with a combo of toasted almonds, shaved Parmesan, and pomegranate seeds, Brussels make a great side for any get-together.
Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
Beet lovers, rejoice! Creamy goat cheese, roasted beets, avocado, and arugula make this the ideal salad. Instead of buying precooked beets, you simply wrap them in foil and bake them like a baked potato. The resulting beets will be tender, earthy, and slightly sweet in a way that no store-bought beet can.
Ambrosia Salad
Whether a creamy fruit salad horrifies you or makes you want to dig in immediately, Ambrosia salad's a classic for a reason. It's been around since the 1800s, when citrus fruit first became available more prevalently in the U.S. The more you know!
Get the Ambrosia Salad recipe.
Pear Salad
This simple yet satisfying wintery salad packs a flavorful punch with slightly smoky seared pears, creamy blue cheese, and ultra-crunchy candied pumpkin seeds. Tied together by a sweet-sour honey vinaigrette, it’s the perfect holiday side (or add some protein to make it a main!).
Get the Pear Salad recipe.
Crunch Salad
We created this kale salad as an homage to crunch. Every ingredient has been chosen to amplify texture while also adding bold flavors. We included green apple, roasted peanuts, and cabbage, but go ahead and add any ingredient with crunch that you like!
Get the Crunch Salad recipe.
Mandarin Orange Salad
When it comes to dinner-worthy salads, this one takes the cake. The mandarin oranges give it a burst of freshness while the Parmesan gives it a bite of sharpness and nuttiness. Its homemade poppy seed vinaigrette (super-simple!) is unbelievably tasty—you'll want to put it on everything.
Get the Mandarin Orange Salad recipe.
Tomato Fried Rice Salad
How does a bowl of warm, savory grains and tender, dressed greens with creamy crumbly feta on top sound to you? With much of the same toppings as our classic Greek salad but with an element of hearty carbs added, this is as much a salad as it is a rice bowl.
Get the Tomato Fried Rice Salad recipe.
Keto Broccoli Salad
Packed with crispy bacon, broccoli, cheddar cheese, and sharp red onion all tossed in a creamy dressing, this is a crowd-pleaser. If you're vegan, no prob! Simply sub out the bacon for avocado, use your fave vegan cheese, and opt for vegan mayo in the dressing.
Get the Keto Broccoli Salad recipe.
Anything Goes Grain Salad
We recommend sticking with the bright lemony dressing and finishing this salad with some goat cheese to add creamy tanginess, but otherwise, truly anything goes. Swap in different beans, any of your favorite roasted seasonal veggies, or even different greens.
Get the Anything Goes Grain Salad recipe.
Sweet Potato Salad
This salad is the perfect way to lighten up any holiday meal. It's packed with all the things we like to pair with sweet potato—feta, dried cranberries, and red onions—and it's great served hot or cold. We can't get enough!
Get the Sweet Potato Salad recipe.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
The roasted cauliflower here is perfectly spiced with just a little bit of heat, and the creamy avocado dressing helps balance everything out. This salad good enough to be a main dish, but is easy enough to make a great, simple side too.
Get the Roasted Cauliflower Salad recipe.
Farro Salad
With pecans, Parm, green apples, and leafy arugula, this salad really feels like a full meal—AKA a make-ahead dream. It's got ALL the elements you need: sweet, salty, soft, crunchy, fatty, fresh, but feel free to make it your own with your preferred mix-ins too.
Get the Farro Salad recipe.
Lolita's Kale Salad
At Lolita’s, one of Poughkeepsie, New York’s best restaurants, an ultra-creamy kale salad is bound with what is essentially a Caesar dressing amplified by extra lemon juice, then grounded and offset by toasted bread crumbs, pistachios, and Pecorino. It's the perfect salad to enjoy any time this winter.
Get the Lolita's Kale Salad recipe.
Crunchy Mandarin Orange-Chicken Salad
Legend has it this was invented in the 1960s at Madam Wu's in Los Angeles because Cary Grant requested it. Sunset magazine published a recipe in 1970, and Wolfgang Puck created his own version of it in the '80s. We're suckers for the syrupy sweetness you get from a can of mandarin oranges, but fresh mandarin oranges (aka clementines) will add the perfect pop of brightness to your salad too.
Halloumi Salad
This salad is one of our favorite ways to enjoy halloumi cheese. It has crunchy fennel (or sub celery if you like), juicy orange segments, creamy avocado, crispy fried pita, and a simple herb-packed dressing that ties it all together. It's a full-blown MEAL, perfect for those days when you just can't bring yourself to turn the oven on.
Get the Halloumi Salad recipe.
Kale Salad with Apples and Toasted Almonds
Need a simple winter salad that comes together fast? Kale yeah you do! Pair apples and kale with dried cherries, toasty almonds, and feta for a salad everyone will love this holiday season.
Waldorf Salad
Created in 1896 for a charity ball held at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, this salad used to be composed of just three ingredients: apples, celery, and mayo. Sounds weird, but it's a classic. Our modern take adds juicy grapes and walnuts, all enveloped in a creamy, lemony dressing.
Get the Waldorf Salad recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
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