Thanksgiving Salad
Don’t serve just any salad for Turkey Day—serve this Thanksgiving salad! With butternut squash, cranberries, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, apples, and pears, it’s a cornucopia of fall flavors. (There’s even cranberry sauce in the dressing!)
For most holiday meals, the salad is an afterthought. The focus is on the roast turkey or ham, and of course all those fabulous sides, so maybe you buy a few bags of salad mix from the grocery store, or you put together a standard lettuce-tomato-cucumber type of deal. Either way, it’s not something to get excited about. This Thanksgiving salad, though? It’s worthy of excitement.
Truly, you will want to eat this salad from the start of the fall all the way until the end, and maybe even into winter too. It’s everything delicious about harvest season in a bowl. Sweet and savory! Colorful! Crisp, crunchy, and tender! You might not even want the mashed potatoes on your plate so you can leave more room for the Thanksgiving salad. (Okay, there’s always room for mashed potatoes.)
The salad starts with butternut squash, which is seasoned with sumac and roasted to caramelized perfection. Once this cools, it’s just a matter of making the cranberry apple cider dressing (could it BE anymore fall?!) and tossing it together. Since the squash and dressing can be made in advance, this salad won’t add all that much work to your Thanksgiving Day cooking—just enlist a kitchen helper to slice the apple and pear while you make the turkey gravy.
Ingredients for Thanksgiving Salad
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
Salad:
- Butternut Squash – Delicata or honeynut squash would also work if you want to switch things up.
- Olive Oil and Kosher Salt – Two essentials for roasting any vegetable.
- Sumac – Sumac is a spice made from ground sumac berries. It has a beautiful deep red color and it adds a tangy, slightly fruity flavor to recipes.
- Candied Walnuts – Store-bought or use my Easy Candied Walnuts recipe.
- Dried Cranberries – AKA Craisins.
- Pomegranate Arils – See: How to Cut a Pomegranate.
- Red Onion – The pungent flavor of red onion helps balance the sweet ingredients in this Thanksgiving salad.
- Pumpkin Seeds – These are often labeled as pepitas. They add a nice crunch to the salad.
- Greens – I use a combination of chopped romaine hearts and spring mix.
- Honeycrisp Apple – Other varieties are fine too, but I like Honeycrisp for its crispness and sweet-tart balance.
- Anjou Pear – Make sure it’s ripe so it’s tender and juicy! When you press near the stem, it should have some give to it without feeling mushy.
Dressing:
- Apple Cider Vinegar and Olive Oil – The base of our vinaigrette.
- Cranberry Sauce – It is a Thanksgiving salad after all. You can use canned or homemade. (Try my Homemade Cranberry Sauce.)
- Honey – To balance the acidity from the apple cider vinegar.
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper – I recommend freshly ground black pepper, which has a more vibrant flavor than pre-ground pepper from the store.
How to Make Thanksgiving Salad
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full printable instructions.
- Roast the butternut squash. Toss with the oil, salt, and sumac, then roast at 400ºF for 20 minutes, or until tender. Cool completely.
- Assemble. Arrange the greens in an even layer on a platter and top with all of the remaining salad ingredients.
- Make the dressing. Whisk the vinegar, cranberry sauce, and honey in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Slowly whisk in the oil, then add the salt and pepper.
- Dress the salad. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then serve.
Tips for Making Thanksgiving Salad
This Thanksgiving salad is an easy accompaniment to your holiday dinner, but these tips will help you make it perfect!
- Don’t dress until you’re ready to serve. The dressing can make the salad wilt if you add it far in advance, so it’s best to wait until right before serving to pour it over the salad, or serve it on the side and let everyone add the amount they like.
- Make the squash and dressing in advance. Both the roasted butternut squash and cranberry apple cider dressing can be made a day or two ahead of time. Just keep them stored separately in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
- Let the squash cool completely. Don’t add hot squash to the salad. It will make the pears mushy and wilt the greens.
- Slice the onions very thinly. Red onions can be quite pungent, so slicing them thinly will prevent them from overpowering the other flavors in the salad. Once you add the dressing, the acid in the vinegar will help soften them and tame their bite.
Variations
Want to put your own spin on this Thanksgiving salad? Here’s some inspiration to get you started.
- Swap the red onions for shallot. They’re slightly milder in flavor and they’re also smaller.
- Add cheese. Shaved Parmesan, feta, goat cheese, or blue cheese crumbles would all be delicious in this Thanksgiving salad.
- Make it a meal. If you’re not having this salad for Thanksgiving and want to make it as a filling lunch or dinner, you can add roasted chickpeas or baked chicken. It would also be great with leftover turkey as a post-Thanksgiving salad!
How to Store Leftover Thanksgiving Salad
Leftover Thanksgiving salad can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two. If possible, store the dressing separately; this will keep the greens from wilting. The apples and pears will brown a bit, but they’re still edible, even if they’re not aesthetically pleasing.
What to Serve With Thanksgiving Salad
- Spatchcock Turkey
- Best Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
- Southern Cornbread Stuffing
- Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Dry Brine Turkey
- Roasted Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
More Salad Recipes
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Citrus Avocado Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Spring Mix Salad
- Artichoke Salad
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Get the Recipe: Thanksgiving Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 cups butternut squash cubes, 1/2-inch cubes; from about a 2 1/2-pound squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tablespoon sumac
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup candied walnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 romaine hearts, chopped
- 4 cups spring mix
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, sliced
- 1 anjou pear, sliced
Dressing:
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons cranberry sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
- platter or serving bowl
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Toss the butternut squash with the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and sumac on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the squash into an even layer and roast until the cubes are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
- Layer the squash, pecans, parmesan, cranberries, onions, pumpkin seeds, romaine, spring mix, pears and apples in a large serving bowl.
- Whisk together vinegar, cranberry sauce and honey in a bowl or measuring cup. While whisking continuously, slowly drizzle in the oil. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.