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Salad Is the Sleeper Side of Thanksgiving

Pick one of these 23 recipes—and watch it be the first dish to disappear.
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Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott

I know what you’re thinking: Salad is a desk lunch. Salad is a weeknight side. It has no place on a Thanksgiving menu. But I’m here to say it definitely does. Not for fiber, but for flavor. Not for virtue, but for verve.

Think of salad as a moment of relief, like the shade of a tree on a sunny afternoon. On a holiday table chock-full of dishes that are rich and richer, something raw and tangy is a welcome contrast. Salad tastes good on its own, but it also makes everything around it taste better. Its crunch peps up silky-smooth mashed potatoes. Its zing brightens gravy-smothered turkey.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated either. In fact, come Turkey Day, it should be the easiest dish you make. If you ask me, all you need are leafy greens and a zippier-than-usual vinaigrette, like this one you can shake up in the length of a song. But if you want to show off a little, show off a little! Try Broccoli Spoon Salad With Warm Vinaigrette or Roasted Squash Salad With Crispy Chickpeas.

Here are 23 salad recipes that prove this underdog deserves a seat at Thanksgiving. If your table is anything like mine, despite the skepticism, salad will end up on every plate—this year and for many more to come.

  • A macro shot of vinaigrette on lettuce
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni
    1/23

    Three-Minute Red Wine Vinaigrette

    This dressing comes together in a jar and gets along with any leafy green. Try shiny kale, crisp romaine, or one of those bags of prewashed mixed greens.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop styling by Sophie Leng
    2/23

    Kale Salad With Pecan Vinaigrette

    Its nutty vinaigrette makes this salad especially fitting for Thanksgiving. If you can, use a mix of radishes for a range of shapes and colors.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Emma Ringness
    3/23

    Suspiciously Cheesy Salad Dressing

    Suspiciously cheesy, thanks to nutritional yeast. This creamy dressing can be made weeks in advance, so there’s one less thing to do on Thanksgiving.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Allison Ritchie
    4/23

    Wedge Salad With Toasted Sesame-Seaweed Ranch

    As food editor Shilpa Uskokovic puts it, “It’s ranch. What won’t it work with?” And so we dub this a perfect Thanksgiving salad recipe. Because it’s ranch!

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminsky
    7/23

    Ice Water Salad

    Ice water means crisper, juicier vegetables in your salad. This step can also be done hours in advance, so there’s less of a scramble for Thanksgiving dinner.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
    8/23

    Spicy and Creamy Slaw

    This super-flexible, all-purpose salad turns cabbage into luscious tangles of crisp leaves coated in a rich and bright dressing.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco and Tom Cunanan, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    9/23

    Cucumber and Onion Salad

    Cool, crunchy, and a bit sweet, this salad is meant to quench the fire from all the other dishes on the table.

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  • Photograph by Kelly Marshall, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    10/23

    Raw and Crispy Kale Salad With Ginger and Coconut

    In this refreshing Thanksgiving salad, half the kale gets crisped up in the oven like chips while the rest is tossed with a gingery soy-tahini dressing.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio
    11/23

    Roasted Squash Salad With Crispy Chickpeas

    Roasted vegetables can turn into salad too. This recipe features plush squash and crisp chickpeas, dropped onto yogurt and sprinkled with scallions.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Lillian Chou, prop styling by Beatrice Chastka
    12/23

    Shredded Daikon Salad

    This salad is palate-cleansing and refreshing. A little spicy, a little tart—and you can prep it in advance.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kay Boytsova
    15/23

    Sesame Caesar Salad

    Swapping tahini for the mayonnaise that you typically see in classic Caesar salads keeps things creamy but adds nutty earthiness to the tangy mustard and funk from Parmesan cheese.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
    16/23

    Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad

    Here’s the answer to your question: “What can I make on Sunday night that will taste great for my desk lunch on Wednesday?”

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    23/23

    Radicchio Salad With Sour Cream Ranch

    With salty, sweet, and creamy components, this recipe is more than just a salad: It's a fully realized side dish.

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Emma is the senior cooking editor at Bon Appétit, leading the brand's digital cooking coverage. Before this, she was the food editor at Food52, where she oversaw the site's recipe program and created an award-winning column called Big Little Recipes. In 2021, Emma turned Big Little Recipes into her [debut... Read more
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